Terpenia, Worg Leader

My Dear Duke Enkam,
I’m afraid I have only bad news for you. The town of Orlond has been raided once more. But this time, the goblins were far more vicious; their tactics, sharper. Many soldiers lost their lives in this battle. As per the tales of some survivors, the leader is still the same little goblin, an ugly fellow by the name of Gronen. Since the leadership doesn’t seem to have changed, I don’t understand how those goblins improved their effectiveness this far. As long as they are living in the forest near my barony, I’m afraid I will not be able to assure the protection of the population. I humbly beg you some more military troops to eradicate this menace from my domain and yours.
-Your devoted vassal, Baron Willhelm of Orlond

Being done with his reading, the old human slave turns toward his mistress, eyes down, waiting instructions. The large she-worg emits an horrific noise that should pass for a laugh. She ignores him totally, only observing the smaller wolf-like creature in front of her.

“You did a good work in hunting down this messenger. Unfortunately, your skills on the battlefield still place you behind your brethren, but if you repeat this kind of feat regularly, you may well end up as First Mate.”

The young worg doesn’t answer; he simply bows down before the larger beast and quits the den. Once alone with her human slave, the she-worg continues to herself: “. . . unless one of your brethren happens to kill you. Cunning ones could be worthy to become the First Mate, if they survive!”

Terpenia is the most respected worg leader in an hundred miles around. When she was pup, she was captured by some goblins and left with their wolves. Obviously, they confused her with her primitive cousins. At first deeply disturbed, she quickly understood the positive aspects of the situation. She was strong enough to wrestle the wolves for food, and intelligent enough to understand what the goblins were doing. Wondering why the larger and stronger females were not used as mounts, she finally understood that these females were producing stronger pups, leading to a larger number of strong mounts. She never forgot this principle.

The goblins finally made a mistake, and Terpenia escaped in the forest. Her first priority was to join a worg pack. Since few of them accept newcomers, she had to fight a few lesser beings to win a bit of respect and be accepted in a pack. Far more aggressive than the other worgs, she increased her size and strength and she finally became the dominant female. That was not enough for her. She subsumed the dominant male and became her pack’s true leader. Her aggressiveness led her to conquer neighboring packs, leading to more strong males who had to fight each others to prove their worth. She considers herself to be the strongest she-worg in the forest, and she’s right; her goal is to find the strongest male available in order to produce stronger young. This male will gain the title of First Mate.

One of the best ways to discover such a strong male is to sell the worgs as mercenaries. Her customers are often goblins, who use the worgs as mounts. She usually follows the goblin raiders, but seldom takes part in battle. She prefers to remain in a distance, watching the worgs to see which performs best in the fighting. Her experience at watching battles has made her a good tactician, and her advice is always listened to by her employers.

Her current employer is Gronen (fighter 2/rogue 3), an ambitious goblin looking to grow rich by attacking larger human towns. Terpenia cares little for Gronen’s goals, as long as her pack is fighting.

Encountering Terpenia:
Anyone who might use worgs as special troops, either as mounts or as elite guards, is likely to hire Terpenia’s pack. While fighting against a pack of worgs can be an attention-grabber, it should be possible to see a large wolf hiding in the distance (Spot DC equal to her Hide check). The large worg seems to be wearing an amulet and a cloak, though the shadows seem to remain around the beast, helping it to hide.

Alternatively, while interrogating captured goblins and worgs, PC’s might hear or read references to her. While breaking into her employer’s lair, it’s also possible to surprise her while she is negotiating with her employer.

In all situations, she prefers to let her worgs show their might and handle foes themselves. However, she is able to recognize more powerful foes; she will not stupidly allow her pack to be decimated and she will join a battle to prevent it. She is also likely to negotiate with interlopers, perhaps offering them some worgs as mercenaries.

Terpenia’s Den:
Terpenia’s den is a deep grotto into a cliff, hidden by spruce trees (Spot DC 18 or Survival DC 16 to find). There are few treasures inside, since she wears most of her magical possessions. She has an old human slave who can’t remember his own name; it’s an old farmer (commoner 1) who was captured by hobgoblins, and they gave the slave to her as a reward for mercenary services. He’s not even tied; he just fears the consequences if he tries to run away and fails. His main use is to help her to don her chain barding. While the amulet and the cloak are her own war treasure, the barding was crafted by a talented goblin artisan. She later had it magically enhanced by Rattin Gedreycon, a gnome (illusionist 7) captured by her pack. Unfortunately for him, he was later hacked to death in front of Terpenia’s slave, as a warning. Most of his possessions have been sold.

Deep in the grotto, skeletal remains of any kind of creatures can be found. If the PCs are looking for NPCs (including Rattin Gedreycon), their remains are likely there. There is also a 50% chance to find a minor magic item or a gem that Terpenia didn’t notice earlier.

While a typical worg pack can reach a dozen, Terpenia’s pack counts approximately thirty worgs. Two thirds of this pack is usually working as mercenaries; the older ones usually remain behind to take care of Terpenia and her pups.

Variations on Terpenia:
Terpenia’s main preoccupation being reproduction, there is a high probability that she might be encountered while she is pregnant. For normal canines, gestation period is 63 days, so it is safe to assume it’s a bit longer for a similar magical beat, between 70 and 80 days. The large part of the gestation period doesn’t affect Terpenia very much, but she is slowed and weakened in the last month. Her speed drops to 35 feet, and she takes a penalty of -4 to her physical attributes. She is likely to remain in her den for this period, with at least two worgs at the entrance to guard her.

Terpenia (pregnant)
Female Advanced Worg: CR 6; Large Magical Beast; HD 10d8+30; 71 hp; Init +1; Spd 35 ft. (7 squares); AC 20 (+1 Dex, +4 natural, -1 size, +6 chain barding), touch 10, flat-footed 13; BAB/Grapple +10/+21; Atk +17 melee (2d6+8, bite); Full Atk +16 melee (2d6+8, bite); Space/Reach 10 ft./5 ft.; SA trip; SQ darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; AL NE; SV Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +9; Str 25, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 8.
Skills and Feats: Hide +11, Listen +10, Move Silently +4, Spot +10, Survival +7*; Alertness, Improved Natural Attack, Iron Will, Track.
*A worg has a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent

Trip (Ex): When Terpenia hits with a bite attack, she can attempt to trip the opponent (+11 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip her.

Skills: A worg has a +1 racial bonus on Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks, and a +2 racial bonus on Hide checks.

Possessions: amulet of mighty fists +1, cloak of resistance +2, +2 glamered shadow chain barding.

Knowing Something About Terpenia:
Some of these facts are specific to this presentational setting, but should be easy to customize for the needs of individual Dungeon Masters.

Knowledge (nature):
DC 10: Goblin raiders sometimes use wolves or wolf-like creatures as mounts
DC 13: Gronen is a goblin chieftain, and his tribe is known to raid towns and small cities.
DC 15: Worgs are wolf-like monsters and are able to speak.
DC 16: A typical worg has gray or black fur, grows to 5 feet long and stands 3 feet tall at the shoulder. It weighs 300 pounds.
DC 16*: Rattin, a friendly gnome adventurer, has been missing for a few years.
DC 17: A typical worg pack count up to a dozen members.
DC 18: Somewhere in the forest there is a worg pack counting thirty members.
DC 20: Terpenia is the fierce leader of a large worg pack.
DC 21: Unlike typical worgs, Terpenia is the size of an horse.
DC 21: Terpenia is selling her worgs as mercenaries.
DC 24: Terpenia is searching for strong male worgs in order to breed a lineage of super-worgs.

*applicable only if the PCs have heard of Rattin from another source

Knowledge (arcana):
DC 17*: Rattin Gedreycon, a gnome illusionist, is been missing for a few years.
DC 18*: Rattin Gedreycon is known for his ability to enhance armor and weapons.

*applicable only if the PCs have heard of Rattin from another source

Knowledge (planes):
DC 16: Barghests are outsiders able to take the form of a goblin and a worg, and able to speak Worg.
DC 17: Barghests are known to consume corpses and augment their strength.
DC 19: A Barghest consuming enough fallen foes can grow to the size of a dire wolf.

Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (local), or Knowledge (geography):
DC 12: Duke Enkam is the leader of a large portion of the country, some parts being near a large forest.
DC 13: Gronen is a goblin chieftain, and his tribe is known to raid towns and small cities.
DC 15: Duke Enkam has sent some troops to a little barony a few months ago.
DC 17: Baron Willhelm of Orlond asked for troops to protect himself from goblins a few months ago. There haven’t been news from the Barony of Orlond since.

Bardic Knowledge or Gather Information:
DC 10: Goblin raiders sometimes use wolves or wolf-like creatures as mounts
DC 14: Gronen is a goblin chieftain, and his tribe is known to raid towns and small cities.
DC 15*: Rattin, a friendly gnome adventurer, has been missing for a few years.
DC 16: Duke Enkam has sent some troops to a little barony a few months ago.
DC 18: Baron Willhelm of Orlond asked for troops to protect himself from goblins a few months ago. There haven’t been new from the Barony of Orlond since.
DC 18*: Rattin Gedreycon is known for his ability to enhance armor and weapons.
DC 18: Barghests are known to consume corpses and augment their strength.
DC 22: Terpenia is the fierce leader of a large worg’s pack.

*applicable only if the PCs have heard of Rattin from another source