Enemy Elite: Methragor's Skull

Methragor the Red was famed for his mastery over humankind. Though young, his path to power was carved by an immense network of spies, robbers and assassins, many of whom had no idea they were working for a dragon. Methragor's Machiavellian schemes made him a deadly adversary, but it was his cruelty that finally brought him to the attention of Orcus, Demon Prince of Undeath. The dragon's penchant for periodically eating his most favoured servants appealed to the demigod, who offered him lichdom in return for undying service.

Stripped of his earthly body, Methragor now appears as nothing more than a jawless dragon skull. Such appearances are deceptive though, for in death as in life, Methragor relies on his puppets. When the dragon's skull is worn as a helmet, Methragor immolates his victim and raises their body as an undead vessel for his mind. In battle he surrounds himself with devout orcish warriors, each one sworn to sacrifice their body should his current vessel fail him.

Today Methragor serves Orcus, but his scheming ways are far from over. He longs for a way of escaping his servitude; and with an eternity to plot, remains confident he shall someday find one....

ABOUT THE ARTIST

This week's guest art comes from Paul Worster, a really nice guy who I worked with at Frontier Developments. Paul is a talented 3D artist who shared my pain on the sadly-cancelled Outsider project, and more recently, on the much more successful Kinect Disneyland Adventures (where I did some work as a writer). This generous submission to the Pie took me completely by surprise this week, but look at him! I couldn't be happier working with this creepy villain - and now my players have another memorable adversary to fear. As for Paul, do make sure bookmark his stunning website, and drop by his blog. There's lots more great stuff to see! 

Enemy Elite: Chudda Feg

This obese cyclops is the bludgeon of the fomorian government. When trouble flares in the crowded slums, Chudda Feg delivers a message spelled out in blood, bile and broken bone. Against the hated eladrin he is a juggernaut, screaming from his trap like a missile flung from a trebuchet.

Chudda was reared in the slave pits of Behol, where his prodigious size and lumpish mind made him a prized gladiator. His fury on the sand caught the eye of the fomorian statesman Magg Ra Bhrune, a rising star in the city’s regime, who took him on as bodyguard. Here he earned a brutish signature: tearing the arms off those who defied his master.

Chudda’s mutations stem from this dark habit. Sent to intimidate a local drug ring, he stumbled into a meeting with their hidden supplier: an Aboleth working for the Fifth Coil. Undaunted, Chudda exacted his orders, tearing off the Aboleth’s barbed tentacles as his prize. When the Fifth Coil came for him, they grafted those same tentacles onto his shoulders, and held open his one eye to the screaming horror of the Far Realm. His mind shattered, Chudda Feg was thrown back to his master as a crude warning of what was to come. Now, his only use is mayhem. He no longer understands the act of killing: instead, it has become a curious reflex. Who knows what madness whorls in his mind now? What horrors that eye has seen?

ABOUT THE ARTIST

This week's artwork comes from Jason Hickey, art director of Cobweb Games and Thoroughly Nice Chap. Jason and his brother Sebastian recently published their own role-playing game, Chronicles of Skin, using money raised from a particularly successful appeal on IndieGoGo. I got my copy through the post the other day, and it's a thing of beauty. Go and buy one for yourself this instant!   

For me, this has been a fantastic opportunity to design to an image, which isn't something I do often. Jason's pic initially made me think Brute, but ultimately those tentacles turned him into a Controller. Forcing motion during combat is one of 4th Edition's strengths, so I thought I'd play to that. I'm also quite proud of his name, which is a homage to two favourite creatures from my youth: the Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, and the Lord Weird Slough Feg.  

I threw Chudda Feg against my players over the weekend, giving me a chance to playtest him in earnest. He was pretty nasty, but I felt he needed some tuning. The monster you see to the right is the result of that.