Aspect of Bane

D&D Miniatures
Aspect of Bane
Recurring Villainy
By Dale Donovan

Have your player characters ever taken on the chosen one of a god? If not, this installment of Recurring Villainy allows them to do just that. The religious hierarchy of an evil deity makes a great long-term campaign foe for a D&D game, especially if there are well-roleplayed clerics, paladins, or other devout followers of good gods among the heroes.

Presented here are 20 encounters ranging from EL 8 to 14. Each involves the Aspect of Bane and/or its minions. Feel free to substitute other figures of the same CRs if you want more variety or to keep players who peruse this website off balance. Only the Aspect of Bane and the Human Cleric of Bane figures are rare. If you don't have one or both of these, replace the Aspect miniature with an Aspect of Lolth (and replace as many humanoids with drow as you choose), a fomorian, or another figure of your choosing. A manticore, a troll, a kobold sorcerer, or an achaierai can replace the human cleric.

As always, DMs must preserve the "Big Bad" in the campaign long enough for the Aspect of Bane to become a focus of the heroes' attention. Because the Aspect of Bane is a moderately high-level being, it can be present in the background of the campaign as a mover and shaker for a long time before the PCs can threaten the Aspect itself. Let the Aspect's minions run up against the characters more and more as the heroes advance in levels. Ratchet up the suspense and the consequences of each encounter until either the PCs or the Aspect feels compelled to eliminate the opposition once and for all.

	Creature
	Bladeling Fighter	Hell Hound	Human Executioner	Human Cleric of Bane	Scarlet Brotherhood Monk	Xill	Half-elf Hexblade	Destrachan	Fiendish Tyranno -saurus	Aspect of Bane
	GoL	Har	Har	AF	GoL	AF	Ab	Ab	GoL	AF
EL	CR 3	CR 3	CR 4	CR 5	CR 5	CR 6	CR 7	CR 8	CR 10	CR 11
8	3	2
8			2				1
8				1	2
9	2	1	2
9				1	3
9	3		1					1
10		2			3
10				1		2	1
10				1	1				1
11			2		2		1
11				1	3	1		1
11						2			1
12				1	3		1
12						2	1	1
12							2			1
13				1	1	2		1
13				1		1	2			1
13							2		1	1
14				1	3				2	1
14				1		2	3	1		1

About the Author

Dale Donovan is a 15-year veteran of the gaming industry, during which time he edited Dragon Magazine, wrote or edited on every roleplaying line produced by the company (be it TSR or Wizards), and moved from rural Wisconsin to suburban Seattle and back to Wisconsin. He's worked for Steve Jackson Games, Guardians of Order, White Wolf/Sword & Sorcery, the Valar Project, Green Ronin, and Wizards, among others. He loves games, books, comics, movies, and his wonderful wife and lovely daughter.