After watching D&D Live: The Descent I was very excited to see the warlords of Avernus and what they had to offer. And while the ones in BG:DIA are great, I felt having a few extra options would be more interesting. So in this new series of articles I’ll be detailing some more warlords for you to throw at your players. Most of them are creatures from the books who happen to be lawful evil and who I thought would make interesting opponents in the Nine Hells.

Grung Elite Warrior, Grung, and Grung Wildling

Grungs are the first creatures I’ll be tackling, and to be honest at first I had no idea how to make them a viable threat or how to make them fit into Avernus. But then I got inspired by the Kakamora from Moana. A single grung may not pose a threat to someone wandering the wastelands but an entire army of them? Add to that a massive multi-part ship just begging to be turned into an Infernal War Machine and you have the making of a warlord and their gang.

Moana vs. the Kakamora

Grungs are promoted to a higher caste in their society through mysterious ritual magic. This particular tribe had their ritual interrupted/tampered with and a portal to Avernus was opened up and the entire tribe descended. Led by the gold skinned Soog they started to prepare for survival in the hostile wastelands. Their first order of business was to seek a source of water due to their water dependency trait. Their attempts at rejuvenating within the River Styx led to the lost memories of several of their members. For a while they only found small sources of foul, decrepit water while avoiding the terrors of the landscape around them. Eventually some became desperate enough to immerse themselves in pools of demon ichor and had their flesh warped.

Shortly after that is when they encountered the Wandering Emporium, and Mahadi. He offered Soog and the grungs a deal, he would supply them with water for an equal amount of their natural poison. Out of better options, the grungs reluctantly agreed. But after the exchange was made Mahadi had the emporium move out immediately. Knowing the small supply of water they had would not last long the grungs were forced to follow. The march was long and exhausting before Mahadi stopped the move and waited for the grungs to catch up. Soog knew the grungs would not survive trekking through the wastelands after the emporium and decided to ask Mahadi for a war machine. Mahadi agreed as long as the grungs agreed to work for him. Once again the leader agreed to the terms. And so the unfair trades continued, the grungs needed weapons, soul coins, mechanics and food and Mahadi had them do whatever he wanted. Over time Soog and the grungs have grown powerful, taking advantage of people who find themselves stranded on the plane. They especially enjoy seizing war machines to add to their already impressive rolling fortress. But whatever, or whoever they capture must first be brought to Mahadi, as the rakshasa has first pickings from their loot.

The Kakamora’s Ship(s)

The tribe’s Infernal War Machine looks like a massive pile of twisted, rusted metal. The grungs use this to their advantage, letting hopeful scavengers get near before springing their trap. The Infernal War Machine is actually multiple machine attached to each other. Taking inspiration from Moana again, we’ll say the central hub is a Demon Grinder and the two auxiliary machines are Scavengers. It takes an action for the drivers to separate the machines from each other. The grungs don’t want to kill potential captives or destroy useful machines and will attempt to capture them in one piece. This could involve good use of the grappling claws and/or sending the Scavengers up close to the PC’s machine and having grungs jump off and board them.

Chief Soog is out of his element in Avernus but does his best to lead the grungs. He tried to bathe in demon ichor like many of his troop and his stomach is clear as glass, revealing his internal organs. Soog hates Mahadi and only works for him due to dire circumstances. He feels that having to kowtow to Mahadi makes him look weak to his subjects, and given any opportunity to turn on the rakshasa he will gladly take it. Unfortunately Soog takes this aggression out on his people, treating them cruelly to assert his power over them. He also loves to assert his power over those they encounter on the wastelands, potentially the PCs.

Needs

The grungs do not want to be under Mahadi’s thumb any longer, but their need for fresh water is the basis for his control. If the players can offer a supply of fresh water or inform the grungs that Styx water loses its potency after 24 hours then the grungs will be extremely thankful and willing to help them.

Offers

The grungs know Mahadi’s true nature and can tell the players if they win them over. The grungs also have a pile of extra parts for Infernal War Machines. Chief Soog has also become wantonly cruel, if the players can take him out the other grungs may let them live as a sign of gratitude.

If you like grungs and supporting charity, check out One Grung Above on the DMs Guild. It has an adventure as well as rules for using grungs as a playable race!

Thanks for checking out the article, let me know what you think or if you use Soog and the grungs in your campaign in the comments below!