Worldbreakers: Etherkai, the Nightmare Dragon, written by Quinn Murphy of the Ennie nominated At-Will website, is a short 6 page PDF detailing an unusual type of solo encounter intended for your D&D4e game. The first question that I, or anybody, might ask is “What is a Worldbreaker?”.
The answer to which is actually answered on the last page of the pdf. To quote: “Imagine a monster of such power and presence that, for a short period of time, it drastically alters the world around it. A monster that changes the rules of the game, presenting players with unexpected twists, new and interesting mechanics, and previously unfathomable problems.” I can’t find any real faults or inaccuracies from this description, given how Etherkai is presented. Etherkai is the first of nine planned Worldbreaker monsters, plus a how-to article to allow people to create their own. Etherkai is currently available here at RPGNow for $2. A compilation of all nine Worldbreakers will eventually be made available as well.
The pdf starts not with mechanics or statblocks, but with a brilliant piece of artwork by Shane Tyree and nearly a full page of backstory and description about Etherkai. This story-driven approach is one that I like, giving a monster and encounter more depth than you often see. As a DM, knowing what a monster’s motivations and history are can lead me to better roleplaying and description. The short version is that Etherkai is an unusual dragon (he doesn’t fit into the chromatic/metallic D&D spectrum) with vast psychic powers. He carved out a cruel empire for himself in the Underdark and declared himself a god, but his subjects rebelled with the aid of a real deity called the Chained God. The Chained God captured and brutally tortured Etherkai, driving him mad before the dragon was finally able to escape. It’s not said who the Chained God is, though you could easily suppose that it’s Torog, Tharidzun, or some other similar god from another pantheon or setting.
Next is a section on using Etherkai, broken into three parts. The first part explains what Etherkai’s motivations are and the kinds of things that players are likely to see and experience when the dragon is nearby (thus getting them interested and involved). The second section is a good one, giving DMs ideas on how to use Etherkai’s psychic and nightmare abilities can be used to create interesting roleplaying scenarios with the players as they get closer to the dragon. Extended rests turning into disturbed and unsettling dreams, which can factor in later when confronting Etherkai directly. The final section is tactics and terrain, which is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin really. It’s a solid listing of what the dragon does and where he tries to fight in the first place.
Next we finally get to Etherkai’s stat block. He is a level 10 solo controller, surprisingly just Large in size. Less surprising is the fact that Etherkai is a really nasty opponent. He has the increasingly common solo patch trait of being able to shake dazed, stunned, immobilized, or dominated conditions at the end of his turn. Nearly all of the dragon’s attacks have a “kicker” effect in addition to the damage caused. There’s a good variety of effects, ranging from losing healing surges, being dominated, gaining vulnerability to attacks, and more. In addition to Standard Action attacks, Etherkai has a number of Minor action attacks which make him capable of dealing a great deal of damage to a party in a single round. This is not a monster to be used by inexperienced DMs or against inexperienced players. Etherkai is quite capable of obliterating a party of adventurers very easily even before factoring in the Worldbreaker abilities and a DM might have to quickly toe the line between challenge and a and TPK.
Which brings up the Worldbreaker ability, called Nightmare’s Gate. After Etherkai is bloodied, he can use this power, which immediately grants him 120 temp HP and gets to shake any status effect currently on him. Until these temp HP are gone, Etherkai gains new powers and abilities in addition to being able to place down terrain called Nightmare Wells which drastically changes how the encounter goes. While Nightmare’s Gate is active, the dragon is even more dangerous. To me, the most interesting feature of the Nightmare’s Gate is the ability to summon additional creatures to the fight. Not because the extra monsters make the fight better, but because it’s suggested that these creatures take forms from the disturbing dreams and nightmares that the PCs had while approaching Etherkai. I think that’s a really brilliant idea, making it more personal and emotional for the PCs to have to strike down creatures wearing the faces of long lost family or friends.
The next section provides both the stat block for the monsters that Etherkai summons as well as ways for PCs to resist or counteract the Nightmare’s Gate effect. The monsters are level 8 and, at only 40hp, are not terribly difficult to dispose of. They also disappear when the Nightmare’s Gate effect ends. However, they are useful in complicating the fight and, as I mentioned earlier, increasing the roleplaying potential. The player options can be helpful to take some of the sting out of the Worldbreaker, though some are easier to accomplish than others.
Overall, Etherkai makes an interesting opponent and one that would be more than suitable as the climactic encounter of the heroic tier. My only complaint is that I would have liked more hooks to allow DMs to get players involved or to tie Etherkai into an ongoing campaign. As it stands, Etherkai feels kind of like one of the bonus bosses that you see in games like Final Fantasy. Interesting and difficult, but only vaguely connected to whatever else your players might be doing at any given time. Still, even with this disconnect it’s an excellent product that I like a lot. The monster design is interesting and unique and I like how roleplaying and fluff has been considered and incorporated well into the whole.