MORDEN NEN N RO

Stat block as a 13th-level spellcaster NPC ready to

join your party in an assault on Castle Ravenloft
M ORDENKAINEN About This Stat Block
The idea behind this publication is to provide a low
N THE COLD AND MISTY MOUNTAINS OF

I
level (13th-level spellcaster) stat block for Mordenkainen
Barovia, the adventurers have found to be used as an NPC that joins the party in the later
a Mordenkainen they barely recognize. stages of Curse of Strahd. I wanted a set of abilities that
His appearance and behavior differ had a distinct �avour of the famous wizard, but at the
greatly from the legends of the Wizard from same time would not outshine the player characters.
Oerth they’ve heard so many times. They have A short summary of Mordenkainen’s Bio to show
restored his sanity, but the damage might be to your players can be found in the book Wizards &
Spells (2020) by Jim Zub from the D&D series A Young
greater than they anticipated. The Old Vancian Adventurer’s Guide.
magic that the archmage wields requires a
brain at full capacity, in order to hold on to the
subtle patterns of each individual spell, until
the moment it is cast. However, the relentless
C REDITS
Designer: Santiago Cabrera
attacks of Strahd Von Zarovich left a dreadful
scarring in his psyche. It will take time for the Cover and Interior Illustrator: Dean Spencer
mind of Mordenkainen to fully heal, but with The following sources provided material and
the threat from Ravenloft looming larger than inspiration:
ever, time has become a luxury the heroes Gygax, Gary and Kuntz, Robert J.
might not possess... Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure. 1984
Greenwood, Ed. The Wizards Three: Magic in
the Evening (Dragon magazine #185). 1992
Wizards RPG Team. Monster Manual. 2014
Wizards RPG Team. Curse of Strahd. 2016
Wizards RPG Team. Mordenkainen’s Tome of
Foes. 2018
Norman, Gavin. Old-School Essentials.
Classic Fantasy. Rules Tome. 2019
Zub, Jim. Wizards & Spells. 2020
Colville, Matthew. Running the Game (Video
Series). 2016-2021
Playtesters: Latoya, Oscar, Art, Aoeoea and
Rael

ON THE COVER: Exploring Castle Ravenloft, Disclaimer: The Circle of Eight cannot be held responsible for
the fate of any adventurer under their care reckless enough to
a wounded Mordenkainen opens a portal to wear a full suit of armor with Strahd’s crest and imbued with
an extradimensional safe space, granting the lightning powers and other magical effects that identify could not
fully determine.
party a rare and precious time of respite.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other
Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This
work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the
Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2021 by Santiago Cabrera and
published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

Cover artwork Portal, and filler artwork Mountain Range © 2015 Dean Spencer, used with permission. All rights reserved.

1
 M ORDENKAINEN
Medium humanoid (human), neutral the key (in this case, no loud knock is heard emanating from
the target object). The key regains all expended charges daily
Armor Class 13 (16 With Mage Armor) at dawn.
Hit Points 87 (12d6 + 45)
Speed 30 ft. Actions
Signature Spells. Mordenkainen is the creator of some of the
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
most popular spells in the multiverse. As a result he can cast
10 (+0) 17 (+3) 17 (+3) 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 18 (+4)
slightly enhanced versions of them with little e�ort. The three
Saving Throws Int +8 signature spells are detailed below, he can cast them at will
Skills Arcana +14, History +14 and they do not count against the number of spells he has
Damage Resistances damage from spells memorized. These spells don’t require concentration, but he
Senses passive Perception 13 cannot have two versions of the same signature spell active at
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elvish, the same time.
Infernal, Primordial Signature Spell: Phantom Hound. As an action, Mordenkainen
Challenge 13 (10,000 XP) conjures a phantom watchdog in an unoccupied space that
he can see within 60 feet, where it remains for 8 hours, until
Old Vancian Magic. Mordenkainen is a 13th-level spellcaster. he dismisses it as an action, or until he moves more than 100
His spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 17, +9 to feet away from it. Once dismissed, he cannot recast this spell
hit with spell attacks). He doesn’t use spell slots, but instead until one hour has passed.
has memorized the following spells and can cast them 1/day The hound is invisible to all creatures except him and can’t
each (he still requires material components): be harmed. When a Small or larger creature comes within 30
feet of it without �rst speaking the password that he speci�es
1st level (1/day each): jump, mage armor, magic missile,
when he casts this spell, the hound starts barking loudly. The
protection from evil and good
hound sees invisible creatures and can see into the Ethereal
2nd level (1/day each): darkness, locate object, ray of enfeeblement,
Plane. It ignores illusions.
web
As a bonus action, he can command the hound to bite
3rd level (1/day each): dispell magic, �reball, haste, slow
one creature within 5 feet of it that is hostile to him. The
4th level (1/day each): �re shield, ice storm (x2), arcane eye
hound’s attack bonus is +9. On a hit, it deals 18 (4d8) piercing
5th level (1/day each): wall of force
damage.
6th level (1/day each): globe of invulnerability
As an action, Mordenkainen can make the hound swap
After �nishing a short rest, Mordenkainen can choose one of places with an ally he can see within 30 feet of the hound,
the spells he has memorized and replace it with another spell if at least one of Mordenkainen’s enemies is within 5 feet of
of the same level from his spellbook. After �nishing a long that ally before the swap.
rest he can replace any number of spells in the same way Signature Spell: Planar Sword. As an action, he creates a
(although the list given above represents his favorite spells to sword-shaped plane of force that hovers within 60 feet. It
memorize when going on fantastic adventures). lasts for 1 minute.
Spellbook of Eldritch Wizardry. Mordenkainen carries a As an action, and when the sword appears, he makes a
spellbook containing all the spells in the wizard spell list. melee spell attack (+9 to hit) against a target of his choice
The spellbook is a heavy object that has three times the within 5 feet of the sword. On a hit, the target takes 16 (3d10)
size of a regular book and a weight of 6 lb. However, as an force damage.
action, Mordenkainen can temporarily dismiss it into a pocket As an action, he can command the sword to protect an
dimension. As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, he ally within 5 feet of it. The ally obtains a +5 bonus to AC and
can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 5 Dexterity saving throws until the beginning of Mordenkainen’s
feet of him. next turn.
Silver Key of Portals. Mordenkainen carries a silver skeleton As a bonus action, he can move the sword up to 20 feet to
key that was found in an abandoned chapel to Dalt, the lesser a spot he can see.
god of portals and enclosures. The key has 4 charges. While Signature Spell: Magni�cent Mansion. Mordenkainen can cast
holding it, you can use one action to expend 1 of its charges a permanent version of the spell Mordenkainen’s magni�cent
to cast the spell knock, targeting an object that is touching mansion (the casting time for this spell is still 1 minute).