Hand of Vengeance

by Monte Cook, #Dragon #279

In the dark recesses of the Abyss lies the Demonweb. There lives Lolth, Demon Queen of Spiders and patron of the drow. Angering her is never wise - she is willing to go to great lengths for vengeance. In fact, she has culled from her most powerful followers a group of foul but deadly enforcers and forged them into a strike team dedicated to one purpose: revenge.

These individuals are collectively known as the Hand of Vengeance. They dwell within the Demonweb, each called upon for special missions directly by Lolth herself; although their leader Jaggedra Thul is the only one that actually speaks to Lolth in most cases. Each has gained a special blessing from the goddess to aid them, in the form of magic equipment, ability score increases, or other special powers.

Missions Of The Hand Of Vengeance

The types of missions in which the Hand of Vengeance take part usually involve attacking someone, either in an ambush or an assassination attempt in the target's home. They are always proactive and used for attack - never defense. Few ever see the Hand of Vengeance unless they want to be seen - and those that do are usually quickly slain.

Those who number among the enemies of Lolth include:

• Those who would trespass into the Demonweb and wreak damage or kill servants
• Those who would steal from her
• Those who would slay her most trusted servants, including clerics of 17th or higher level
• Those who would steal from or harm her most trusted servants, and in so doing harm her plans or important sites dedicated to her
• Most importantly, those who would take up arms against Lolth's children or Lolth herself

Committing any of these acts does not necessarily insure that Lolth sends the Hand of Vengeance to slay the transgressors (sometimes her divine attentions are directed elsewhere, and sometimes her motives are strange, alien, and most of all, chaotic). However, the chance for an encounter with the Hand of Vengeance is likely enough that interlopers should never be able to sleep soundly again.

Group Tactics

The Hand of Vengeance prepares as much as it can ahead of time for an attack against a designated target. Sierona uses her clairvoyance/clairaudience ability, as well as scouting the area out invisibly and ethereally if possible. Vinter uses Divination spells to learn what he can. If the target seems well protected, they might even resort to capturing and interrogating those near and dear in order to gain more information, and possibly some leverage to draw the target out.

If there are multiple powerful targets, the Hand of Vengeance might attack them individually. They love fighting foes when their opponents are at their most vulnerable - they thoroughly enjoy exploiting and mocking enemies caught at a bad time or in an unfortunate circumstance. For example, if their foe is having an affair with the queen of the land, they attack when the two are indisposed so that the target is not only slain but the tryst is exposed and the most embarrassment, anger, and misery are inflicted on the most people.

The Hand of Vengeance has used the following tactics in the past:

• Approaching a target in disguise (this is Sierona's area of expertise)
• Inflicting a target with a disease (often followed up with an actual attack when the target is weak)
• Poisoning the drinking water of the community that the target lives in
• Poisoning the target's food
• Attacking with summoned monsters repeatedly, over the course of many days, to weaken a target's defenses.
• Using Enchantment spells to control or convince the target's friends and allies that the target is insane, evil, untrustworthy, or otherwise not really their friend - Sierona and Vinter are very good at this, but Jaggedra's spells and vampiric abilities also make her effective at turning people against each other
• Holding the target's loved ones hostage to draw him out

That said, the Hand of Vengeance prefers a more straightforward approach when possible, both because they enjoy inflicting physical pain and because they are inherently lazy and chaotic.

If necessary, the members of the Hand of Vengeance procure bribes or needed equipment (or the money to buy such) from Lolth's storehouses. Each of them is able to draw upon up to 500 gp per level in wealth or equipment. If targeting non-good foes, members of the Hand that can alter their spell selections do so accordingly.

The Achilles Heel

The one weakness that the members of the Hand of Vengeance have is something that they would never see as such: their own evil and chaotic natures. They rarely help each other with spells or work to save each other in combat. The exceptions to this include the group's willingness to help Sierona set up flanking positions and Vinter's willingness to cast helpful spells on the others (to make them reliant on him). But for the most part, one will abandon, betray, and even hurt the others to save himself, and it often does not occur to them that helping an ally betters their own position.

The Members

The following individuals are the members of the Hand of Vengeance. If one is slain, he or she might be resurrected or replaced. When running these NPCs, remember that above all else they are wicked and depraved - although each in their own way. They laugh at their enemies as they inflict wounds. Ruthless to the extreme, each uses his or her most potent attacks first. The only instance in which they accept surrender is when they want to take a prisoner for interrogation and sadistic torture. They pause to make sure a downed opponent is dead with a coup de grace. They have no honor, no sense of fair play, and exploit any weaknesses.

Sierona

As the only true demon in the ranks of Lolth's Hand of Vengeance, Sierona is arrogant and imperious in her relations with the rest. She views herself as the leader - at least when Jaggedra is not nearby. The others do not care for her, but tolerate her for her usefulness and work to get her into position to make sneak attacks.

If left to her own devices, Sierona would fall into activities centered around her demonic nature: the temptation and corruption of mortals, particularly males. She despises mortals and delights in seeing them drained of all energy, lying helpless before her. When the group fights such foes, she usually asks that at least one be spared so that she can take him away and torture him for weeks to come (until she gets bored, forgets to look in on him, and he dies).

Tactics: Before battle, Sierona uses her Use Magic Device skill to activate her wand of cat's grace. With an average roll, she gains a +2 bonus to AC (24 total), Reflex saves (+14 total), and Dexterity-based skills, as well as an attack bonus with her claws (+14 total). She uses clairvoyance/clairaudience to scope out the location of the attack beforehand as well, telling the others what she sees and giving them advice and even orders.

Sierona uses her wings, teleport without error, and ethereal jaunt abilities to get herself (invisibly if possible) into a position to make a sneak attack. Lolth has granted her the ability to drain energy with but a touch of her hand. Thus, she makes sneak attacks with her claws, hoping to drain energy as well as inflict damage. With all of her special movement capabilities, she tries to stay very mobile.

In battle, she uses her telepathic abilities to communicate where she is to her allies so that she can coordinate actions. She also occasionally relays information from one team member to another in this way, but she resents being a "messenger."

Sierona never attempts to summon a balor. It just isn't her style. If she becomes desperate, she teleports away instead.

Design Notes: Sierona's CR has been increased by one because her energy drain ability has changed and she has more magic equipment than normal.

Phauman

Confident and chaotic, Phauman is probably the least cooperative member of the Hand of Vengeance. He uses his abilities to help himself and no one else. He fancies himself a desirable and formidable lover among the drow women in the Demonweb, but he is actually a cruel and heartless boor that abuses those weaker than him and lies to those more powerful. He occasionally insinuates that he and Jaggedra are lovers, which is a lie that she would probably kill him for if she heard it.

Phauman is a wizard that uses his spells almost solely to augment his fighting capabilities. He is not interested in grandiose, showy spells like fireball, believing them to have no finesse or style.

Tactics: Phauman doesn't make a move without first casting mage armor (giving him AC 24), bull's strength (with an average roll, this increases his attack bonuses, damage, and Strength-based skills by +2), and endurance (with an average roll, this increases his hit points by 14 and his Fortitude save by 10. Vinter usually casts resist elements (fire) on him before they go into battle.

Before combat, Phauman also casts shield (AC 31 and +3 to Reflex saves), invisibility, displacement, and haste. Once in battle, he uses true strike against a well-defended foe (5% spell failure chance because he uses a buckler) but mostly he just makes as many attacks in his hasted state as he can with his poisoned blade. In situations where range is a factor, he uses poisoned crossbow bolts, although he doesn't hesitate to fall back on magic missile.

Vinter

Originally, all of the members of the Hand of Vengeance rebelled at Vinter's presence based on his status as a drider - often thought of as "cursed," by the drow and other inhabitants of the Demonweb. That position has changed. As the newest member, he has gained the begrudging respect of the others, as well as put himself in a position where they must rely on him for healing and support spells. Now the others will sometimes go out of their way to protect Vinter as he remains in the back and casts spells.

Tactics: Before battle, Vinter casts endurance (an average roll gives him 14 more hit points and a +1 bonus to Fortitude saves and Concentration checks), dispel good (AC 31 plus offensive capabilities) protection from elements (usually fire), and spell resistance on himself (increasing his SR to 26). In his role as "support," Vinter casts resist elements (usually fire) on Phauman, bull's strength on Berkurt, and bless on everyone. He attacks foes with destruction, disintegrate, blasphemy, flame strike, blade barrier, and greater command

If forced into melee, Vinter casts divine power on himself (and divine favor if there's time) and uses his smite ability and the inflict serious wounds stored in his mace immediately. Divine power makes his attack bonuses with his mace +20/+15/+10, increases his damage and Strength-based skills by +1, and gives him 14 more hit points. If his first swing (attack bonus +24 total with the smite) with the mace hits, he inflicts 4d8+34 points of damage.

Krad

Krad was raised and nurtured by priestesses of Lolth in the Demonweb, and fed magic elixirs so he would grow particularly large and strong. Surprisingly intelligent, this tough, half-demon dragonne serves as one of the Hand of Vengeance's central melee combatants as well as a flying mount for both Phauman and Vinter, or Berkurt alone. Unlike most of his kind, his scales and mane are dark, rather than golden in color.

Krad is greedy and materialistic, interested in accumulating a vast hoard like a dragon. Rumor has it that he has started such an accumulation of wealth somewhere in the strands of the Demonweb.

Tactics: Krad is very straightforward and doesn't hesitate to swoop into battle and attack, although if attacking with surprise he uses horrid wilting, blasphemy, or unholy blight to weaken his foes at range before he gets there (horrid wilting, inflicting 18d8 damage, is the best choice unless the targets are undead or otherwise immune).

Design Note: Krad's CR has been increased not only due to the increase in size and his half-fiend nature, but because he has useful magic items beyond the sort of treasure a dragonne would normally use.

Berkurt The Corruptor

A fiendish stone giant, Berkurt is thoroughly evil and vile in his pursuits. He enjoys inflicting pain and spreading misery wherever he goes, crushing those weaker than him simply because he can. He angers easily and flies into bloody rages all the time. The rest of the Hand of Vengeance has simply learned not to get him angry, although a suggestion from Sierona usually can calm him if need be.

Berkurt's favorite team member is Krad. He does not understand or care for spellcasting, although he appreciates those spells that obviously help him - particularly a well-timed heal from Vinter.

Tactics: Vinter usually casts bull's strength on Berkurt well ahead of time; with an average roll, this gives him an attack bonus of +21/+16 with his sword and an additional +1 to all damage and Strength-based skills. Berkurt wades into battle with his unholy sword quickly, and he possesses a great love of gore, pain, and death.

Jaggedra Thul

Lolth's favored avenger is a priestess that has served her for hundreds of years. Born the daughter of a powerful priestess and a black dragon in drow form, Jaggedra served her goddess for many years, rising quickly through the ranks and eventually assassinating her own mother to attain the position of high priestess in a major Underdark temple. She found a powerful and like-minded mate in a drow vampire named Zachean. Zachean eventually betrayed and slew Jaggedra to get at a powerful magic item, but direct intervention by the Queen of the Spiders allowed Jaggedra to rise as a vampire herself (normally, a half-dragon cannot be afflicted with vampirism). Jaggedra joined her mistress in the Abyss and has lived there ever since.

As a vampiric, half-dragon cleric, Jaggedra has a wide variety of abilities at her command. She is also well-armed with magic items, most of which she fashioned herself. Jaggedra only occasionally associates with the rest of the Hand of Vengeance and works with them only when the task is of the utmost importance. She sometimes carries out missions alone, but she most often operates as a liaison between Lolth and the other members of the Hand.

Tactics: Jaggedra fights on her own terms, or she leaves immediately to prepare, using word of recall, ethereal jaunt, or gaseous form. She enters combat with the following spells cast: divine favor (makes her total bonus with her flail +28/+23/+18, inflicting 1d10+21 damage), shield of faith (grants +4 deflection, but only +2 of that stacks with her ring, for a total AC of 38), invisibility, freedom of movement, nondetection, bane weapon (usually elves unless another choice is more obvious), true seeing, spell immunity (magic missile, fireball, searing light, halt undead), dispel good, and unholy aura. If she is with the other members of the Hand of Vengeance, they all benefit from the affects of the unholy aura. The unholy aura also grants an additional +4 deflection bonus to AC, which does not stack with her other spells but ensures that she maintains a high Armor Class if some of her spells are dispelled; it also adds +4 to her saves (Fort +14, Ref +12, Will +20).

Jaggedra always starts off any attack with implosion, followed by a pair of destructions. She then wades into melee, using Power Attack to maximize the damage she inflicts. If hard-pressed, she might use miracle to bring back fallen allies and restore the Hand of Vengeance to fight alongside her. Otherwise, she keeps it as a fallback means of complete escape.

Jaggedra has the following new spell (though Vinter could potentially use this spell as well): Bane Weapon

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