The Duelist Supreme

The 2CGazette—May, 2017

Written By Produced By
Steven Gordon 2CGaming

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1
The Duelist Supreme (EL 7)
 Terrain
The Duelist Supreme The ruined walls are fairly flimsy. Each 5-ft. section has AC 8,
Encounter Level 7 (Scales 5 to 11) 60 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
Once knocked down, they create difficult terrain, but don’t do
Summary damage to any creatures nearby. There are no other terrain
The wood elves fear the ancient duelist. They tell tales of her features of note.
wrath, and warn against uttering her name, lest she take it as a
challenge. This encounter pits your players against an
incredibly powerful single opponent. The ancient duelist is a Tactics
match for an entire party, and is capable of shrugging off all The Ancient Duelist is a complex creature with lots of abilities.
but the most powerful attacks. Your players will need to work Take some time to familiarize yourself with them before
together if they want to take her down, and she only gets more running this encounter. The duelist makes common use of her
dangerous the longer they take. attack action, augmented by the blade, Moonlight. Her
powerful legendary actions provide either a debilitating
condition to one of the characters or a bonus to the duelist
Encounter Statistics until the end of her next turn. It’s critical you keep track of the
Terrain Tags: Boss, nature, travel number of rounds that have elapsed in this fight, as the
duelist’s Momentum ability makes her more dangerous the
Favors: Barbarians, paladins longer the battle drags on.
Foils: Wizards, rogues
Moonlight, the Duelist’s Sword
Encounter Weight: Heavy (fully-rested parties)
You might want to give your players a bit more than “a
Creatures: 1x The Ancient Duelist favor” as treasure, so here are some statistics for the rapier
XP: 20,000 experience points (13, 000 from used by the ancient duelist. Because magic items can
creatures, 7,000 ad hoc) unbalance a campaign, you should only provide this reward
if it’s right for your game. Moonlight isn’t overly powerful
Encounter Weight compared to other magic weapons, but if your game has
This is a boss battle. The ancient duelist is a powerful foe that very few of them, it might be a poor fit. Trust your
only gets stronger as the fight continues. If your players are the judgment.
type to save their strongest abilities, relying on at-will powers
they can use over and over again, they’re going to have a very Moonlight
difficult time here. Parties that prefer to shoot first and ask Weapon, very rare (requires attunement)
questions later will fare significantly better, as the sooner they
take down the Duelist, the better. Moonlight is an ancient elven spirit bonded to steel, the
weapon itself altering its form to accommodate its wielder.
Facing the Duelist When a character attunes to Moonlight, they feel a question,
The exact location of this fight is up to you, but an example is a wondering as to what their ideal weapon is. Moonlight
provided if you don’t have a place in mind. The ancient duelist then becomes whatever weapon they imagine and remains
has awaits challengers in ruins amongst a forest grove. When in that form until the character is no longer attuned, at
deciding where to set this fight, it’s important that the location
which point Moonlight becomes a rapier once more.
be in close quarters, so the duelist can stay in melee range, and
it should have some opportunities to block line of sight for
While wielding Moonlight, you gain a +2 bonus to attack
both the players and the duelist to take advantage of. The
following text will set the scene when the players approach. and damage rolls. When you take the attack action, you can
The forest grows sparse ahead. In the widening gaps make one additional attack beyond your normal limit. If you
between the trees you see ruins, old enough they’re are reduced to 0 hit points while wielding Moonlight, you
scarcely more than a stone foundation set in the soft are instead healed for half of your maximum hit points, and
earth. What little of the walls that remains reaches Moonlight loses all magical properties until you take a long
pitifully toward the sky. The remains of a campfire
rest while bathed in the light of the moon.
smolder in the center of the ruins. Someone has been
here recently.
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The Duelist Supreme (EL 7)
 Who is the Ancient Duelist? Plot Hooks
Though she has very little desire to converse, clever players As mentioned in the ‘Who is the Ancient Duelist?’ sidebar,
you can use her history as a plot hook for your game. She was
may find ways to open a dialogue with the ancient duelist.
a mighty warrior, and elves seldom succumb to old age, so
Whether they use speak with dead to talk to her after what finally killed the ancient duelist? Perhaps she has
defeating in her battle or some method to win the fight unfinished business and entreats the party for their aid in
without destroying her, as long as she has been defeated in completing her task. Or perhaps she was killed in an attempt
to acquire her sword, and now those same forces are after the
battle, the ancient duelist is content to talk for a time before
party. If you give your players the blade Moonlight, you can
passing on to her afterlife. Shae-Saree Vilumiadel is her use the sword as a strong plot hook for almost anything.
name, a wood elf from many, many years ago. She was Maybe the blade begins to point toward the east every night,
obsessed with becoming the greatest warrior to ever live, pulling slightly on its wielder. You could have the spirit in the
and needed a weapon to match her lofty aspirations. She blade begin speaking to its new owner in their dreams, or even
during the day, but only the wielder can hear the voice. The
sought the aid of a wizard, and together they performed a
voice provides them with warnings and guidance, but isn’t
ritual to capture the moon’s very light and forge it into a always right. It might warn that a perfectly innocent man is
blade. The wizard tricked her, and the ritual in fact caught about to rob its wielder, for example.
the spirit of a still more ancient elven warrior. The warrior
was bound to the blade, ripped from a deserved afterlife and Changing the Flavor
trapped in a cage of steel. Shae-Saree killed the wizard using You can very, very easily tweak all of the flavor aspects of this
the blade, and felt the spirit’s approval. She devoted the rest encounter. The ancient duelist can be a member of almost any
of her life to killing those who had escaped justice. See the race, she need not be an elf, and you can change the moon-
Plot Hooks section for more ideas on integrating Shae- based flavor of the sword and its origins to be just about
anything else. One fun idea is to change the duelist to be a
Saree’s story into your game.
character that you or one of your friends played in a former
group, tying the worlds together for a brief moment. You
Her Legendary Actions are where most of her damage comes could also make the duelist not a spirit, but an actual living
from, focus these attacks on characters that are weakened by champion, potentially giving them evil motivations and
either her Cursed Dagger or Mark Prey abilities. When picking making them a proper villain.
targets, the duelist should focus on worthy opponents,
primarily other melee fighters. She relies on her Thrown
Riposte ability to deal damage to other foes while she focuses Scaling by Level 
on her main target. Her Fan of Knives legendary action is
EL 5 (53,000 xp) - Reduce the duelist’s AC to 17, hit points to
initially a good choice, but as she gains Momentum, it
140, and reduce the damage dice gained from Momentum to
becomes far more effective to use Dashing Strike to make dual
1d4 per round. These changes tone the duelist down and make
rapier attacks. Once the fourth round of combat has begun,
her more manageable for a 5th level party without removing
she should use Dashing Strike exclusively. Use the Endurance
what makes her a unique and compelling adversary. They are
Legendary Action when she’s dealing with debilitating
fairly simple to implement before the session begins, and don’t
conditions such as hold person or web, or if she has used all
change the tactics used in the encounter.
her uses Legendary Resistance.
EL 9 (+5,000 xp) - The duelist now makes three rapier attacks
each time she uses the Dashing Strike legendary action instead
Treasure of two. She gains the trait Magic Resistance, giving her
The spirit of the ancient duelist, if defeated, will offer a favor to advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical
the party. She will give them a small brooch depicting a sword effects. At level 9 the party will have a lot more tricks that can
set against a crescent moon and tell them to cast it on the potentially lock down the duelist or mitigate the damage she
ground when they need the help of a skilled warrior. The deals. Increasing the number of attacks she makes and giving
Duelist’s Brooch will break used in this way, summoning the her magic resistance helps to mitigate both of this, keeping her
Ancient Duelist for 10 minutes. She obeys the commands of a credible threat.
the one who summoned her and then vanishes, never to be EL 11 (+10,000 xp) - Make the same changes as EL 9, then
summoned again. increase the damage dice gained from Momentum to 2d6 per
round, and increase her hit points to 210. At level 11, the party
has moved to the next tier of play. They’re going to take down

3
The Duelist Supreme (EL 7)
the duelist, but these changes keep her in the fight long enough
to be an interesting battle before they do. Consider pairing
this with the harder tactics below. Harder - You don’t want to completely focus your attacks on
one character, as that will be too much, but you do want to put
the pressure on. Make use of Cursed Dagger and Mark Prey
Scaling by Tactics 
whenever they are available, and don’t be afraid to lean on
Easier - The best way to make this fight easier is to avoid using Defensive Parry if the party has a lot of weapon based
the three recharging actions on the duelist’s turn. Cursed characters who don’t have great accuracy.
Dagger in particular can make for a devastating round of
Lethal - It’s time to kill some heroes. Focus the duelist’s
damage against characters with low armor class. Stick to basic
attacks on one party member, use Cursed Dagger and Mark
attacks, favor the throwing knives over the rapier, and spread
Prey on that same target, and they’ll drop very quickly.
out the damage amongst the party. This will still be a difficult
Prioritize clerics and other characters with strong healing
battle, but your players will have a much greater margin for
abilities first, then spellcasters, and target damage dealing
error.
characters last. This is not going to be a fair fight for the party.

Reactions
The Ancient Duelist Defensive Parry (3/day). As a reaction when an attack would
hit the duelist, she gains a +5 bonus to AC until the start of
Medium humanoid, lawful evil
her next turn, including against the triggering attack.
Armor Class 19 (plate) Thrown Riposte. As a reaction when a weapon attack misses
Hit Points 170 (20d8 + 80) the duelist, she can make a single throwing knife attack
against her attacker. The duelist does not suffer disadvantage
Speed 45 ft. from being within 5 ft. of an enemy when making a ranged
weapon attack in this way.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14 (+2) 20 (+5) 19 (+4) 13 (+1) 16 (+3) 12 (+1)
Legendary Actions
Saving Throws Str +7, Dex +10, Con +9, Int +6, Wis +8 The duelist can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the
Cha +6 options below. Only one legendary action option can be used
Skills Insight +13, Perception +13 at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The
Condition Immunities Blinded, charmed, exhaustion, duelist regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
frightened Dashing Strike. The duelist teleports 30 ft. to a location she
can see and then makes two rapier attacks.
Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 23
Endurance. The duelist makes a saving throw against an effect
Languages Elvish
on her that a save can end.
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP) Cursed Dagger (Costs 2 Actions). The duelist makes a
Traits throwing knife attack. If this attack hits, the target becomes
vulnerable to piercing damage until the end of the duelist’s
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the duelist fails a saving next turn. If the target has resistance or immunity to piercing
throw, she can choose to succeed instead. damage, it loses that resistance or immunity until the end of
Momentum. For each round of combat beyond the first, the the duelist’s next turn but does not become vulnerable.
duelist deals an additional 4 (1d8) damage with all weapon Fan of Knives (Costs 2 Actions). The duelist makes a
attacks. This bonus damage resets to zero when combat ends. throwing knife attack that targets all creatures in a 30 ft. cone.
Magic weapons. The duelist’s weapon attacks are magical. All targets must make a Dexterity saving throw, DC 18, taking
17 (4d4 + 7) piercing damage plus the duelist’s bonus damage
from her Momentum ability on a failed save, or half as much
Actions damage on a successful one.
Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one Mark Prey (Costs 2 Actions). The duelist chooses one creature
target. Hit: 11 (1d8 + 7) piercing damage. she can see within 60 ft. and marks it as her prey until the end
Throwing Knife. Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, range of the duelist’s next turn. While marked, the duelist has
20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d4 + 7) piercing damage. advantage on attack rolls against her prey.

4
The Duelist Supreme (EL 7)