Too Many Legs for Our Liking

Do you have room in your campaign for a Giant Centipede? Yes, yes you do. So let’s create an encounter around this chorus line of unsettling legs and see how it strolls.

Our Giant Centipede comes from EC3D Designs and their fun Beasts and Baddies Kickstarter. It’s got a bunch of the core DnD monsters and as usual, their no-hassle STLs print supportless.

So we recently decided our beloved Huckle Riverstone NPC needed to go toe-to-toe-to-toe-etc with this creepy crawly creature. Why? Well, we want ol’ Huckle to be more of a starring character in our campaign because his initial “Pumpkins that ain’t pumpkins” encounter was such a hit with our game group. Thus, we need to tee up another eventful interaction with our fearless farmer sooner rather than later.

But first, let’s catch you up. Huckle is an eccentric agriculturalist known for his miraculous topsoil. However, he’s a bit of a loaner and relies on his farm inhabitants to keep him company. He’s become increasingly frustrated with all the invasive attacks on his land and has asked the party to secure some rare seeds from “Pumpkins that ain’t pumpkins” so that he can grow his own Mimic guardians to protect his homestead.

So now the group has nearly finished Huckle’s first mission and is heading back to collect their rewards (a small amount of his precious topsoil). Rather than just waltzing in though, we want the party to come upon him just as he’s under attack from this Giant Centipede!

Why? Well, a combat encounter with this quirky NPC creates a conundrum: do they rush to help Huckle or do they let nature take its course against him? DM Ben wants to see how the party reacts. If they save Mr. Riverstone from defeat, that act of heroism will form a better bond with the group and this NPC…”Hey, remember that time I pulled you from that Centipede’s mouth?!”

Now little does the group know that this NPC is an eighth-level Druid and this Giant Centipede (16 AC, 33 HP), while annoying and creepy, is certainly no match for his skills.

Still, this meant we needed a Druid character build. So DM Ben just hopped over to D&D Beyond and utilized their starting pre-rolled Druid character. He then added some cool items like (a Ring of Protection, a Sickle of Warning, a Hat of Disguise, a Tan Bag of Tricks, etc) to make him a more formidable farmer. Huckle likes to keep his Druid skillz on the d-low but sometimes duty calls when unwanted guests visit his vast acreage.

Now ol’ Huckle Riverstone often seems to talk to himself with phrases like, “Steady boys, steady now” and “Everyone just settle down and keep your cool” as a way to remind others that he’s not alone. What the group doesn’t initially realize is he’s actually speaking to his beloved plants. And he will call on some of them to aid if a situation becomes a bit sticky. Spells like Grasping Vine, Entangle, Plant Growth, etc are often utilized. Plus, a game group typically respects an NPC more if they see firsthand how tough they are.

This farmland is no stranger to these types of intrusions so Huckle’s has a methodical attack plan:

• Sickle of Warning triggers
• He rushes over and casts Grasping Vine
• If that save is made, he casts Entangle
• If both attempts fail, he pulls out a ball from his Bag of Tricks
• He will then use his +3 darts and his sharpshooter feat
• And then close-in with two-weapon fighting to finish it off

DM Ben wants to see the group witness a couple of these combat actions from afar/while they quickly decide if they’re intervening.

Remember, little clues and hints on what’s to come always make for a more interesting game sesh so you can also do a little foreshadowing here. Have the group encounter a couple of the Monstrous Centipede’s burrow holes as they get closer to the Huckle’s farm. We’re saying this venomous crawler is about 9 ft tall and can burrow a hole of about 4′ tall, 5′ wide.

The kind crew over on the Milestone Heroes Discord also offered some descriptive advice. Emphasize that the hole isn’t exactly circular but more elongated. You can say that the burrow holes are large enough for people to walk through but you would still probably need to duck your heads a bit (in an uncomfortable sorta way). And certainly, the risk of a tunnel cave-in is possible.

Pretty good though, right?! How would your game group handle this encounter?