ABOUT the AUTHOR Oliver Darkshire Writes Ttrpg Material from His Raven-Filled Apartment in London, Which He Shares with His Exceedingly Patient Husband
Designer: Oliver Darkshire Graphic Design: Oliver Darkshire Cover Art:”Xanathar” by Lore Evans Interior Art: “Jarlaxle”, “Xanathar” and “Vecna” by Lore Evans. “Tiamat” by Lluis Abadias. “Graz’zt” and “Lord of Blades” by David Markiwsky, “The Raven Queen” and “Lolth” by Thea Jacobsen, “El-Mystra” by Gennifer Bone, some spot art by Kevin Miller Cartography: by Cze & Peku, made available for commercial licensing via patreon reward. Graphics, fonts and various assets licensed through creative commons, Adobe Stock Services, Unity, Artstation, Creative Market and others, individual licenses available on request, with particular thanks to Rexard & A-RAVLIK.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Oliver Darkshire writes ttrpg material from his raven-filled apartment in London, which he shares with his exceedingly patient husband. He writes D&D material because it’s lucrative and because he’s far too invested to stop. Something about control issues? I don’t know, he can’t Sampleafford a therapist. Stop enabling him. file
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast. ©2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK
2 It’s a book of queer villains. that’s the explanation.
kind regards the author x Sample file
3 CONTENTS 5
22 12
43 31
52
60Sample file
70
4 Tiamat as a Campaign Villain Identity Woman/Divinity You are beautiful. Nothing compares, does it? In Pronouns She/Her all of reality, in all of the worlds, there is nothing as Gender Presentation Feminine awe-inspiring as you. And here you sit, rotting away in this hellhole, unable to spread your glory to the Orientation(s) Dragons? Dragons. realms of men. For each day that passes, the mortal races suffer an indescribable loss - your glory has been stolen from them. Your children are weak. Your consorts are pathetic. Everyone fails you, over and over. It’s a wonder you still have the energy to fight.
But fight you will. Fight for a day when the dragons return, burning your will into the earth and forging a new age where you rule as god-queen over the ashes. This is the future the people want. The future they demand. And you will bring it to them. In the meantime, their tribute will be sufficient reminder of their devotion. Perhaps a nap, whilst you wait? Yes. A good nap, and you’ll think about it again in the morning...
Sample file
5 Modus Operandi Dragon Polycule Tiamat is a draconic goddess of evil dragons. Vain. Tiamat is the Goddess of Evil Dragons, and at any Powerful. Completely unaware of her own failings. one time she has seven draconic boyfriends, who are To Tiamat, the world is a failed experiment which also boyfriends with each other. continues to find ways to disappoint her. The only solution is to burn it to the ground, and rise from the ashes as Queen of Nothing. She adores treasure Jasper, a ancient red dragon and sacrifice, and extends her divine power only to who would raze the earth to those she feels are abasing themselves sufficiently in cinders to earn a single smile her name. from the goddess. d6 Tiamat Schemes
Tiamat orders her cultists to steal as much Lazuli, an ancient blue gold as they can, melting it into a gigantic idol 1 dragon with a bitter turn of of her face. It’s not magical, she just wanted phrase and a nasty attitude. to know if they would do it. Tiamat escapes the Nine Hells, and decides she wants to live on Mount Celestia. The war 2 between angels and dragons leaves no-one Malachite, an ancient green unchanged, and the sky rains fire. dragon who lies constantly to Tiamat hears of a unique art object, get his own way somewhere on the material plane. She wants 3 it. She’s prepared to burn everything to the ground to get it. Tiamat’s heads all scheme against each other Onyx, an ancient black independently, throwing the entirety of evil 4 dragon who likes to kill for dragonkind into a battle royale that shakes the fun of it and make art the earth to its foundations. from the remains. Tiamat has decided that she owns the concept of colour, and successfully claims it 5 for her portfolio. As a result, the world fades to greyscale. Topaz, an ancient white dragon Tiamat decides that five types of dragon is who is sharp as a brick and built not enough for her, and births a new species, like an outhouse growing an additional head in the process. 6 The world is unprepared for the spontaneous, confused, simultaneous genesis of thousands of adult dragons. Mellow, an adult blue shadow dragon who prefers not to be bothered by the others and so Samplepretends to be asleep. file Bombar is the resident dracolich, who is so incredibly old they no longer remember that they are undead.
6 Violent Acts Common Monsters Tiamat is prone to particularly destructive acts in Tiamat is associated with evil aligned dragons and pursuit of her goals. If you aren’t sure what to do their servants. Adventures that bring characters into in any given session, you can consult the following conflict with Tiamat don’t just have to be about drag- table to generate something violent. ons, however. The Tiamat Monsters table presents some other foes likely to serve her will. d4 Tiamat Violent Acts 1 Killer Kobolds CR Tiamat Monsters Source 2 Raze It To The Ground 1/4 Imp mm 3 Pillage the Village 1 Kobold Dragonshield vgtm 4 The New Landlord 2 Guard Drake vgtm Killer Kobolds 5 Barbed Devil mm Tiamat sends word to the many warrens of Kobolds 6 White Abishai mtof under her wing, ordering them to infest a town or 6 Wyvern mm village which has displeased her. The kobolds, and their many intricate devices, bury themselves into 8 Hydra mm the sewers, tombs and cellars of the settlement, 15 Green Abishai mtof gleefully infiltrating themselves into suburban life 17 Dragon Turtle mm to the dismay of the residents who find themselves drowning in unwanted but enthusastic lodgers. 19 Pit Fiend mm 23 Empyrean mm Raze it to the Ground The only warning is flame in the sky, like a falling star. Then the dragon attacks. When Tiamat is moved to rage, she sends an ancient red dragon to burn it all down in her name. Very few settlements possess the magical power or martial force to resist such an assault, and the ashes tell a grisly tale for those who have the misfortune to stumble across them.
Pillage the Village A job for her many cultists, Tiamat loves it when people loot for her. A sucessful pillaging leaves the victim with enough resources to survive, as Timat has learned that if she leaves some alive they will eventually repopulate and accrue more gold for Tiamat to harvest later.
The New Landlord When a dragon moves into the neighbourhood, it usually ends with people giving it tribute in the hopes it won’t eat them. If Tiamat is particulary wroth with someone, she may encourage nearby dragons to move into the area, starting a bidding war whichSample either results in draconic natural disaster file or forces the entire settlement to uproot and find another place to live.
7