abyssalbrews

One More Thing: Salanek, Spirit of the Dunes

Added 2022-05-20 16:00:10 +0000 UTC

Greetings adventurers,

We're back again with another Patreon exclusive "One More Thing" release and this month, we have journeyed into the shifting sands of the desert to tell you the tale of a mythical creature so powerful that the dunes themselves bend to its will. Salanek, Spirit of the Dunes is a CR 21, gargantuan elemental at the center of a miles wide sandstorm that's sure to torment your players and present a unique challenge for them on the field of combat.

Design Notes from Matthew:

Okay this was just an absolute blast to design. Often times I have to work within some parameters to make it fit a tier of encounter that I'm aiming for, but this time I kind of got to throw wide the gates of monster design hell and unleash some absolutely scary abilities with this thing.

I wanted the creature to feel powerful, as though it controls the very battlefield around it. I gave it quite a number of abilities that push players around, stop them from taking cover, and in general disrupt plans that would be made to take down the creature. Control of the battlefield itself is something that I've always found a little lacking in base monsters, so giving this giant snake the ability to shove creatures around just felt like a very cool thing to do.

I'm often a little underwhelmed by some of the legendary actions I see in core monsters, so I wanted to give this one something truly powerful with its Shifting Sands. The idea that it could burrow and there's a moment of quiet before it starts swallowing small buildings whole is just a stunningly cinematic moment for me. It reminds me a bit of Tremors if I'm honest. While that movie was a B-movie at its best, it still created a fun sense of action and terror not knowing where the creature would emerge.

Fernando created a stunning illustration and token for this beast. Without his work, I don't know that it would hit as strong as it does. Thing thing should certainly strike terror into the hearts of your players. I hope they run from it!

As always with these One More Thing releases, we try to put some extra care into them as a special thank you to you, our patrons. You'll find included in the downloads on your master post: a pdf, pngs of the statblock, tactics, lore, the full art, and tokens in various sizes. We want to make sure you have everything you need to run an epic encounter with this monster.

If you're not a patron and would like access to these exclusive releases, click this link and check out our tiers. Every patron gets full access to these "One More Thing" releases each month.