A14 & A15 (Tendriculous Pit)

The Tendriculous doesn't have a 4th Edition incarnation just yet, and that's fine by me. What's essential to this encounter is Muck's sorry, fey-cursed state as a nearly mindless plant creature. The blightborn from P1 King of the Trollhaunt Warrens is an excellent substitute. I have modified the base creature and made it into a solo threat.

Solo monsters can run a pretty wide range of combat role. It's best to think of them as "solo" only in the sense that they should be able to occupy the attention of most or all of the party. They do not necessarily need to be the only monster in the encounter, and often shouldn't be. At the same time, however, some solo monsters can effectively account for an entire encounter relying on only their own abilities. A few of the dragons (not to mention Tiamat herself) are good examples of such beasties. This version of Muck Graul is an attempt at one such solo monster - as a controller, Muck is capable of locking down a large part of the party with powers that restrict movement while draining the PCs of their hit points. Muck's ability to create temporary minions grants it the extra damage boost it needs to pose a serious threat, and it has the same lockdown avoidance that two-headed trolls and other similar creatures do. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers (plus Shalelu):

• Muck Graul
• Tangling Root Crawlers (these minions do not provide experience for the encounter)

Total: 3,000 xp (Level 10 Encounter)

Muck's tactics should consist of restraining as many PCs as possible at a time and pumping out minions with any remaining actions. With enough successful terrain control, Muck doesn't even need to approach the party in melee; as long as it keeps its minions and the party within its tangling roots, its actions are best spent restraining the party, extending its roots, and turning those roots into Tangling Root Crawlers. You may find that Muck's action points are best spent providing additional minor actions.

Area A15 contains a heap of treasure: the ring is worth 600 gold pieces, the necklace is worth 900 gold pieces, the sack of coins contains roughly 1,300 gold pieces, and the cloak clasp is worth 1,900 gold pieces (treasure parcels 5, 7, 8 and 9 from level 8). The party should also find treasure parcel 2 from level 8 and treasure parcel 4 from level 9 here, in addition to Jarkardros' distinctive elven longbow (here nonmagical).

Stat block: