Monster Analysis: Shoosuvas and Rat Swarms

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  • First Appearance: 2-52 Feral Business

  • Armor Class 15 (suggested 14)

  • Speed 40 ft

  • Darkvision 60 ft, Passive 12

  • Resistant to cold, fire, and lightning damage (suggested nonmagical weapon damage)

  • Immune to poison damage and poisoned, charmed, and frightened

  • Suggested Average, Max HP: 110, 169

    • Shoosuva 1: 158 damage taken, 10 KO by Beau

    • Shoosuva 2: 135 damage taken, 31 HDYWTDT by Jester

    • Shoosuva 3: 29 damage taken, Banished by Caleb

Shoosuvas were birthed of Yeenoghu, the rampaging demon lord of the gnolls, and are typically bestowed upon the most destructive of gnoll war bands as a blessing. The demon hounds’ fast movement and Pack Tactics greatly aids an ambushing force, while their venomous tails can paralyze any threat that surrounding allies can quickly cut down without resistance.

These shoosuvas were not intentional gifts of Yeenoghu, and instead seem to be regular denizens of the Abyss that lived near a rift in the planes. Interestingly, the second two shoosuvas waited to attack until the second round, only after the Nein dispatched the first one. Their sloth to engage greatly limited their potential for advantage on attacks, though their multiattacks still provided a very legitimate threat to the detectives-turned-exterminators. Their poison still affected Yasha and Nott, but Nott was quickly relieved of the effect before it could be a problem and Yasha’s rage prevented her from falling unconscious to subsequent autocrits.

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Media References and Puns of 2-52 Feral Business

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Coming soon, from the producers of Survivor: Darktow, the new hit show Abyssal Demon Warrior!

Media References

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Monster Analysis: Kryn Mage and Warrior

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Monster Analysis: Kryn Mage and Warrior

Thanks to @nikkidawesdraws for this art piece!

While we got our first taste of the Kryn’s special tools of war back in episode 13 following the collapse of the Zauber Spire in Zadash in addition to the often-used Motes of Possibility from the stolen Beacon, the Nein’s first direct encounter with the Kryn Empire on the front lines of the war provided a much stronger preview for dunamancy, Matt’s new branch of magic, and the individuals capable of wielding it. Despite the disadvantage in numbers, the Kryn soldiers’ use of dunamis to manipulate the battlefield provided a remarkably strong advantage, potentially honed over generations of Beacon use. While full details will almost certainly be unveiled at a much later, unspecified time, we’ve taken the liberty to catalog what we have learned about these new dunamancy-based classes.

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Media References and Puns of 2-51 Xhorhas

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City of Beasts, Sorrow Seap, dark powers over time and space, roc that shreds, and a tattooed bugbear... Confirmed: Xhorhas metal af.

Media References

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Quick Answers 71

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Was Perkins the first guest player to ever lose a PC in the main campaign, or have there been others?
We answered this as part of our Talks Machina stats (episode 99), but to post it here: yes.

Was Spurt the quickest entrance and exit of a guest?
Chris was at the table as Spurt for 6.5 fewer minutes than Will and Mary Elizabeth’s cameo in Episode 114, making it the shortest single appearance of a guest player (22:25 to 27:59, respectively).

What does AoO mean [in your livetweeting]?
Attack of opportunity. (Trying to save some characters, ya know?)

Any stats out there on how many times Liam/Caleb has cast Alarm and gestured placing the wire as he casts it?
Do you have a number for how many different/unique spells Caleb has cast so far in the campaign?
As of episode 2-50, Caleb has cast 43 unique spells. He has cast Alarm 140 times. As for how many times he’s gestured, you’d have to check those 140 instances out. Luckily for you, we have each spell timestamped!

How many times has Jester healed the party?
Jester has healed the party with spells 60 times.

You can always find how many times a spell has been cast by looking at our Spells Cast chart.

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Level 8 Update: More Feats and ASIs

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Level 8 Update: More Feats and ASIs

Thanks to @Queddajaw for this art piece!

ALL THE ABILITY SCORE IMPROVEMENTS! No, but seriously, as Matt said at the end of Episode 49, all of the Mighty Nein receive their choice of either an ability score increase or a feat this level. In addition, all the spellcasters get additional spell slots or spells known (or both), and both clerics get domain features and improvements to their Destroy Undead abilities.

Because of the wide variety of possibilities, we chose to delay our level update until we could narrow down the options, but as you’ll see, there are still a few unknowns. All of the Mighty Nein (except Yasha) have now maxed out their primary ability scores (barring certain special items), and Caleb, Nott, and Caduceus have each tacked on a feat to their already-diverse skill sets.

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Monster Analysis: Fire Giant Dreadnought

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Monster Analysis: Fire Giant Dreadnought

Thanks to larimonium for this art piece!

Fire Giant

  • First Appearance: 1-75 Where the Cards Fall

  • Encounter Appearance: 2-50 The Endless Burrows

  • Armor Class 18-25 (Suggested 18)

  • Speed 30 ft

  • Passive Perception 16

  • Immune to fire damage

  • Suggested, Max HP: 162, 234

  • 43 damage taken, 15 taken as cow

Fire giants rank third in the Ordning, the giant status classification system. Metalworking and craftsmanship drives their society, so it’s in their best interest to live somewhere with easy access to the materials and circumstances required for forging.

The fire giant society that The Mighty Nein stumbled upon has carved out their home on the banks of a river of lava underneath the Ashkeeper Peaks that separate Xhorhas from the Dwendalian Empire. From what Jester discerned, the sentry giants were put in place only recently due to the Kryn’s sudden trespass in the giants’ territory by tunneling through the rock.

Fire Giant Dreadnought

  • First Appearance: 2-50 The Endless Burrows

  • Encounter Appearance: 2-50 The Endless Burrows

  • Armor Class Unknown (Suggested 21)

  • Speed 30 ft.

  • Passive Perception 15

  • Immune to fire damage

  • Suggested, Max HP: 187, 270

  • 0 damage taken

We analyzed fire giants in campaign 1, but the dreadnought the Nein faced is new to the show. Introduced in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, the dreadnought is stronger, but less wise and intelligent than a standard fire giant. Dreadnoughts aren’t crafters, but gain respect in fire giant societies for their superior combat training and use of their massive shields. As the Nein witnessed, dreadnoughts fill their full-height shields with whatever hot, painful substances is nearby when they sense a threat. They use these shields as their primary weapon. The Nein can count themselves very lucky that they never got within Shield Charge range of the dreadnought, considering it was able to destroy a bridge with one strike.

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Monster Analysis: Kobold Colony

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Monster Analysis: Kobold Colony

Thanks to @psyk0zap for this art piece!

  • First Appearance: Hearthstone One-Shot (sort of)

  • Encounter Appearance: 2-50 The Endless Burrows

  • Armor Class 12

  • Speed 30 ft.

  • Darkvision 60 ft, Passive Perception 8

  • Suggested Average, Max HP: 5, 10

Ah, the kobold. The starter combatant for so many Level 1 adventuring parties. (Now these guys were cute. ~L) With five of their six main stats at negative modifiers, they’re very easy prey, especially when they’re alone, and they are very aware of this fact. Once they begin grouping up, however, the odds start tilting more in their favor, using pack tactics to gain advantage on their attacks to quickly overwhelm their enemies.

While kobolds can be enlisted as minions for chromatic dragons, kobolds naturally try to live in absolute solitude from any other much more dangerous creatures, happy to toil away for the good of the colony. While they generally grow their own food supplies, a starving colony may turn toward cornered “loud food” for sustenance. However, they can easily be convinced otherwise for offers of power that they think can be used to give them equal footing with the surrounding threats. This is especially true for arcane power. (For more on kobold culture, check out Volo’s Guide to Monsters, page 63.)

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Monster Analysis: Ropers

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Monster Analysis: Ropers

Thanks to @HitokiriChibi for this art piece!

  • First Appearance: 2-50 The Endless Burrows

  • Armor Class 20

  • Speed 10 ft., Climb 10 ft.

  • Darkvision 60 ft., Passive 16

  • Suggested, Max HP: 93, 143

  • Roper 1: 158 taken, HDYWTDT by The Mighty Nein

  • Roper 2: 133 taken, 19 HDYWTDT by Fjord

The Nein’s first encounter in the tunnels to Ghor Dranas was a classic combat encounter against a pair of ropers that had disguised themselves as mere stalagmites. We know you’re here for stone-cold analysis, but we’ll be honest: the Stats consensus reaction to the ropers’ appearance was, “NO. Eww. Gross! Gross gross gross.”

(Aw, I thought they were kinda cute. They just want to give hugs! ~A)
(That’s a lie, A. ~Badger)
(Hugs with teeth are not hugs, A. ~L)

...The general Stats consensus, at least. Spot the Dungeon Master.

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