SHAPESHIFTERS: Farron, King of Baubles A dangerous NPC broker in the underground magical-items market
The two NPC stat blocks below are both designated as Open Game Content.
Farron, King of Baubles
Medium humanoid (Human), neutral evil
Armor Class 8 (-2 Dex)
Hit Points 75 (10d8 + 30)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 13 (+1) | 6 (-2) | 17 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 18 (+4) |
Saving Throws Dexterity +2, Charisma +8
Skills Arcana +12, Deception +8, History +8, Insight +11, Intimidation +8, Investigation +12, Perception +11, Persuasion +8, Religion +6
Senses passive Perception 21
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarvish, Elvish, Primordial, Thieves’ Cant, Undercommon
Tools can play wineglass rims and spoons as improvised musical instruments, and Farron can use his hands for whistling and bird calls; Herbalism kits; poisoner’s kit; alchemist’s supplies.
Challenge 3 based purely on combat stats. But Farron isn’t a stand-up fighter. He’s a schemer and evader with layers of escape plans. As a highly survivable leader of an organization with many political resources, he should be a viable adversary up to level 10. Recommended experience: 8,900 XP (equivalent to Challenge Rating 8).
Countercharm. By invoking words of power that he has studied and practiced, Farron can disrupt or thwart mind-influencing effects. During any turn in which Farron can speak the words uninterrupted until the end of that turn, he and all allies within 30 feet receive advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Inspirational Flattery & Cutting Words. Farron has studied how bards can inspire better performance from associates or impair the performance of others, and he has drawn on that knowledge to create some tricks of his own: By whispering flattering words of inspiration at the right cadence and with the right mystical pause patterns, he can instill his underlings with greater competence. (If need be, he can shout these words across a room, but he prefers the subtlety of the whisper, as it conceals what he is doing.) The target receives a bardic inspiration die of d10 that may be invoked at any time within the next 10 minutes and added once by the recipient to any d20 check he or she makes. The target may choose whether to add the d10 after seeing how the d20 result turns out. Alternatively, using the Cutting Words option, he may use his Reaction to impair the competence of an enemy on a specific task they are attempting or has just attempted, subtracting 1d10 from the creature’s result. After using either version of this ability 4 times, Farron cannot use it again until he completes a short rest.
Jack of All Trades. On any ability checks not listed among skills above, Farron has a +2 proficiency bonus, in addition to any ability score modifier.
Spells. Farron casts spells as a 10th-level bard (DC 16, Attack +8).
Cantrips: message, minor illusion, prestidigitation, vicious mockery
1st (4/day): charm person, cure wounds, detect magic, disguise self, identify, sanctuary
2nd (3/day): detect thoughts, enthrall, locate object
3rd (3/day): nondetection, remove curse, speak with dead
4th (3/day): dimension door, greater invisibility
5th (2/day): legend lore, mislead
Actions
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 3 (1d4+1) piercing damage. The target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save or half that amount on a successful save.
Voice Activated Traps. Farron can trigger two traps by voice (free actions) and one by lever (bonus action). See above.
Agent of Farron
Medium humanoid (Human), lawful evil
Armor Class 15 (studded leather, +3 Dex)
Hit Points 52 (8d8 + 16)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 10 (+0) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 8 (-1) |
Saving Throws Dexterity +6, Intelligence +6
Skills Acrobatics +6, Arcana +7, Investigation +7, Perception +4, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8
Senses passive Perception 14
Languages Common, Thieves’ Cant, plus one additional language (varies by agent)
Tools Thieves’ tools
Challenge 5
Evasion. On a successful Dexterity save against an effect that permits a save for half damage, the agent takes no damage. He or she takes only half damage if the save is failed.
Sneak Attack (1/Turn). The agent deals an extra 13 (4d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the spy that isn’t incapacitated and the agent doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Spellcasting. The agent casts spells as an 8th-level arcane trickster (DC 14, Attack +6). Spell selection varies by role of the agent: Leader, Recon, or Retriever. Farron employs two teams of agents, each of which has three members–one of each type.
The Leader uses illusory script to communicate with Farron, arcanist’s magic aura and forgeries to swap out stolen magic items with fakes, and identify to verify they have retrieved the right items. Leader spells:
Cantrips: mage hand, message, true strike
1st (4/day): disguise self, identify, illusory script
2nd (2/day): arcanist’s magic aura, blur, invisibility
The Recon Agent uses disguise self to get close to marks, charm person to get escorts through security, detect magic to identify possible target items, and other spells to escape if detected. Recon spells:
Cantrips: mage hand, message, prestidigitation
1st (4/day): charm person, detect magic, disguise self, sleep
2nd (2/day): blur, invisibility
The Retriever uses invisibility to approach items, locate object to find the desired items, and replaces them with the forgeries provided by the Leader. Retriever spells:
Cantrips: mage hand, message, true strike
1st (4/day): charm person, disguise self, sleep
2nd (2/day): blur, invisibility, locate object
Actions
Imbibe Antitoxin. As an action, the agent of Farron may imbibe an antitoxin, granting him or her advantage on saving throws against poison for 1 hour.
Multiattack. The agent makes two melee attacks.
Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) slashing damage. The target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save or half that amount on a successful save.
Hand Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage. The target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save or half that amount on a successful save.†
You can find the OGL for the stat blocks in this article here.
♦ Graham Robert Scott writes for Ludus Ludorum when not teaching or writing scholarly stuff. Graham has also written a Dungeon Magazine city adventure titled “Thirds of Purloined Vellum” and a fantasy novella titled Godfathom. Like the Ludus on Facebook to get a heads-up when we publish new content.
