It is said he arose fully formed from a soured pail of milk, or crawledforth from the egg sac of a spider. His hatred for life was such that he devoured his own siblings, and to meet him is to know despair, and spithis name forevermore. This, and more, is spoken of Flae of the Trollhaunt. Long ago, Flae led his people on an exodus from the deeper dark to the twilit caves of the surface. Slaves no more, his grimlocks raisedwretched heads to a brethren-born master: a rarity amongst such beasts, and blessed with horrid cunning. Thus arisen, they were unleashed upon the world of men. No longer would they grovel in the dark. Now they would dance in the sun. They would take, and feast, and laugh, and slay. But master kept a secret. That great shield of his was stolen from matron’s palace, and he is nothing without it. On his arm, it gives him strength undeserved: the glory of a thousandchampions. Older than civilization, hammeredby gods lost to time, it is Gom Vardae, Aegis ofAges, and it seeks a new master. Aegis of Ages is a 4 th Edition DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS encounter for characters of level 9-13. Challenge your players by pitching them against a vile grimlockchampion and his wolves: either as a climactic encounter towards the end of the Heroic tier, or as a memorable sub-boss duri ng an early Paragon tier adventure.
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8/3/2019 Aegis of Ages
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/aegis-of-ages 1/6
It is said he arose fully formed from a soured pail of milk, or crawled
forth from the egg sac of a spider. His hatred for life was such that he
devoured his own siblings, and to meet him is to know despair, and spit
his name forevermore. This, and more, is spoken of Flae of the
Trollhaunt.
Long ago, Flae led his people on an exodus from the deeper dark to
the twilit caves of the surface. Slaves no more, his grimlocks raised
wretched heads to a brethren-born master: a rarity amongst such
beasts, and blessed with horrid cunning. Thus arisen, they were
unleashed upon the world of men. No longer would they grovel in the
dark. Now they would dance in the sun. They would take, and feast,
and laugh, and slay.
But master kept a secret. That great shield of his was stolen from
matron’s palace, and he is nothing without it. On his arm, it gives him
strength undeserved: the glory of a thousand
champions. Older than civilization, hammered
by gods lost to time, it is Gom Vardae, Aegis of
Ages, and it seeks a new master.
Aegis of Ages is a 4th
Edition DUNGEONS ANDDRAGONS encounter for characters of level 9-13.
Challenge your players by pitching them against a vile grimlock
champion and his wolves: either as a climactic encounter towards
the end of the Heroic tier, or as a memorable sub-boss during an
early Paragon tier adventure.
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2
AEGIS OF AGES Encounter Level 13 (4,000 XP)
SETUP Flae (F)
3 War Wolves (W)
The PCs confront the grimlock champion Flae
and his war wolves. Although the setting is
intentionally vague, a good spread of
environmental hazards is important. That is,
you may need a few squares of difficult
terrain, but it doesn’t matter if these
represent the rubble of a sacked town, or apatch of bulrushes in a marsh.
When the adventurers encounter Flae,
read:
A masked grimlock stands before you,
holding three gigantic war wolves on a
chain. Strapped to his arm is a mighty shield,
its surface fashioned into a snarling face. As
he steps toward you, the shield’s eyes flick
open and an echoing voice speaks into your
minds:“This wielder shames me with his
weaknesses, yet I yield to no man. Know the
glories of my past, hero, and die well. Only
then shall you know triumph.”
Flae’s shield is a powerful artifact that has
been wielded by countless champions over
the ages. Unhappy with its present owner, the
shield tests its enemies’ worth by hurlingtheir minds back in time, where it offers them
a glimpse of its previous glories (see Battles in
the Past, below). If they learn from these
visions, the proud shield grants them an edge
in the present. Throughout, Flae is unaware
that his artifact is betraying him, and fights on
in ignorance.
T ACTICS
Flae unleashes his wolves and wades intobattle, stunning as many enemies as possible
in the first round with Gaze of the Aegis.
Thereafter, he uses Aegis Bite on the toughest
stunned enemy in range , ganging up with his
wolves wherever possible to maximize
damage.
Flae uses his first action point to stun his
enemies with Dreams of Ages Past , saving his
second for a deadly double Aegis Bite once
he’s bloodied. He makes use of Gaze of the Aegis whenever it recharges.
As he can only use Demanding Glare once
per round, he often holds it back to defend
against his hardest-hitting enemy.
Flae Level 12 Solo ControllerMedium Natural Humanoid (Grimlock) XP 3,500
HP 473; Bloodied 236AC 28; Fortitude 25; Reflex 26; Will 24Speed 6
Immune gazeSaving Throws +5; Action Points 2
Initiative +10Perception +8Blindsight
Standard Actions
m Aegis Bite (psychic, weapon) • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +17 versus ACHit: 3d6+10 damage. Against a stunned target, this attack
deals an extra 2d8 psychic damage.
C Gaze of the Aegis (gaze, psychic) • Recharge z56 Attack: Close blast 5 (targets enemies); +15 versus WillHit: 2d8+6 psychic damage and the target is stunned until
the end of flae’s next turn.
C Dreams of Ages Past (gaze) • Encounter Attack: Close burst 8 (targets enemies); +14 versus WillHit: The target is stunned until the end of their next turn or
until the end of flae’s next turn; whichever is longer.Triggered Actions
C Demanding Glare (gaze)
Trigger: An enemy makes a melee attack against flae.Attack (Immediate Interrupt): Close blast 3 (targets
enemies); +14 versus WillHit: The target is stunned until the end of their next turn or
until the end of f lae’s next turn; whichever is longer.
C Opening the Third Eye
Trigger: Flae is bloodied by an enemy attack.Effect (Free): Flae recharges Dream of Ages Past and uses
it immediately.
Memories of War (psychic)
Trigger: Flae stuns an enemy with one of his attacks.Effect (Free): The enemy’s mind is thrown back in time (see
Battles in the Past ).Skills Athletics +17, Endurance +15, Intimidate +12
Str 23 (+12) Dex 19 (+10) Wis 15 (+8)
Con 19 (+10) Int 14 (+8) Cha 13 (+7)
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Deep Speech
Equipment Aegis of Ages, Maze Facemask
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War Wolf Level 10 Skirmisher Medium Natural Beast XP 500
HP 104; Bloodied 52AC 24; Fortitude 22; Reflex 23; Will 21Speed 8
Initiative +12Perception +13Low-light vision
Standard Actions
m Bite • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +15 versus ACHit: 2d8+9 damage or 4d8+9 damage against a prone
target. If the war wolf has combat advantage against thetarget, the target falls prone.
Effect: The war wolf shifts up to 4 squares
Str 17 (+8) Dex 20 (+10) Wis 17 (+8)
Con 18 (+9) Int 6 (+3) Cha 14 (+7)
Alignment Unaligned Languages -
FEATURES OF THE AREA The following features also apply to the
battles that take place in the adventurers’
minds (see Battles in the Past, below).Illumination: Bright
Stairs/Slopes: These lead to the upper
levels of the battlefield, and count as difficult
terrain to creatures ascending them.
Upper Levels: These are 20 feet above
ground level. To climb up here requires a
DC20 Athletics check.
Hazards: These may be cauldrons of fire,
waterfalls of molten lead, or even enemies
locked in mortal combat. Creatures enteringthese squares or starting their turns inside
Trigger: A creature is forced into the square.Attack: Close burst 1 (creatures in burst); +15 vs. ReflexHit: 2d8+7 damage and the target is dazed (save ends)Effect: All squares in the burst now count as difficult terrain.
B ATTLES IN THE P AST The shield’s magic flings its enemies’ minds
back through time to inhabit ancient warriors
on a long-forgotten battlefield.
Determining avatars
Whenever a player is stunned by one of Flae’s
attacks, hand them the following character
and then roll 1d4 to determine their powers:
Ancient Warrior Level 12 Minion SoldierMedium Natural Humanoid -