For our third and final timed release, I'd like to share the near-finalized stat block of the great dragon, J'gulga, and explain how this primordial monstrosity affects gameplay and the party's decisions.
"Dragon's Rage," by Gary Trow.
MONSTER STAT BLOCK
This is the book's most complex and powerful monster. I designed J'gulga so that referees can run it quickly at the table. The familiar stat line caps the block, followed by the dragon's offensive options and then its defensive and behavioral traits.
As you can see below, even the highest-level heroes will discover that this creature is not easily killed. To achieve such a victory, the players must study J'gulga, learn its patterns and behaviors, and lure it to a predetermined battlefield that gives them the greatest possible advantage. For example, the dragon always telegraphs its breath weapon by visibly charging during the spell declaration phase.
The dragon's heads are especially vulnerable to a few tricks that can gradually reduce J'gulga's offensive output. Each head the heroes destroy brings them one step closer to permanently slaying the beast.
But even after exploiting these weaknesses and preparing carefully for battle, the dragon can slaughter the party if they suffer a few unlucky rolls.
Several artifacts hidden within the megadungeon of Exesed Mordax can swing the battle further in the heroes' favor. This design encourages players to explore the setting and discover as much as they can about the beast. However, the adventure doesn't force them to do so. That's because slaying the dragon is technically possible without any of these hidden artifacts, leaving each group free to decide exactly how they will bring down the great dragon, and become legends themselves.
The near-finalized stat block.
RUNNING THE DRAGON
Since J'gulga was inspired by Bowser's Fury, I originally designed the dragon around a Fury Die mechanic (a nod to that fun video game). The idea was that the referee would roll this Fury Die at specified intervals, with the results determining how and when the dragon appeared.
But after playtesting, I discovered that OSE's overland travel procedure already demands plenty of rolls from the referee. To cut down on dice rolling and make the game faster and easier to run, I instead incorporated J'gulga's "scenes" into each terrain type's random encounter table.
In Overlords, whenever wandering monsters are indicated during hex travel, the referee rolls on these encounter tables, which produce interesting situations involving creatures, hazards, and inclementweather. Occasionally, they also result in dragon sightings.
This means the referee doesn't need to separately track the dragon's movements. He simply follows the tables while hex-crawling and keeps one (lavishly red, green, or black) bookmark on J'gulga's stat page.
K.I.S.S. principles are the best principles!
LEARNING THE DRAGON
J'gulga appears more frequently and behaves differently in certain terrain types. The players learn information about the beast through NPCs, research, rumors, and (everyone's favorite) direct observation.
If encountered near Exesed Mordax, the dragon brutally attacks anyone approaching or leaving the megadungeon, acting as the city's guardian. The heroes must flee back into the ruins and wait for the monster to depart before daring the long journey home again. Thankfully, J'gulga only strafes the dungeon a few times each day, so entry and escape remain possible even for low-level adventurers.
In the mountainous Spines of Arratan, however, where J'gulga hunts larger prey, the dragon isn't immediately hostile. One encounter describes the PCs spotting 1d3 rocs soaring overhead as if preparing to attack the party, only to notice an enormous silhouette darkening the clouds above. A moment later, the 230-foot-long dragon swoops down and tears into the largest roc with all six biting heads, crashing into the mountainside with its prey and pinning the bird beneath its titanic weight. One of J'gulga's heads snarls at the heroes while the others begin feeding on the thrashing avian. As long as the PCs do not approach or attack the dragon while it dines, it leaves them be.
In other regions, J'gulga flies low overhead and roars as it passes, scattering the party's retainers and horses. The adventurers must chase after their fleeing hirelings and mounts, possibly losing some of them if they fail to react quickly enough.
As the players advance through the campaign, they can use these dragon lore scraps to avoid, fight, or manipulate J'gulga, even steering the beast into the midst of factional enemies and using it to slaughter them. For example, if the players witness the dragon swallowing a glittering chest of gold coins from one of their carts, they might later exploit that knowledge by covering their wagons with thick blankets or tarps to conceal their latest treasure hauls and avoid J'gulga's attack along the road home.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In short, the dragon serves the campaign as both a hazardous environmental force and an end-game party goal. Unlike many adventures, where the villain appears only briefly to monologue in the dungeon's final room, the players feel this Big Boss's presence from the campaign's very beginning. They also have many chances to interact with J'gulga before the final showdown (if one ever occurs).
I hope you and your players find J'gulga a challenging, memorable, and exciting foe unlike any other!
Very Best, Rob, PHP
"Awww. He wants a kiss!" Early concept art of J'gulga's head (inspired by deep sea anglerfish), by Gary Trow.
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