Disclaimer: The CR rating for these creatures has been calculated a little differently to other monsters due to the unique encounter style. The statblock presented here has been designed so that a full set of pieces can be faced by players of fifth level. These creatures can be easily adapted to a table of any level, with the following points being considered:

• The damage dealt by a piece should be approximately equal to half of an average character’s health, with potential for a very high roll to reduce a weaker character to 0hp immediately.
• The pieces’ hit points should be adjusted so it takes approximately two turns for a character to kill one. The King should have four times this much health.

Overview 

The Game Master’s lair contains many monsters, traps, riddles, and games to stop intruders. One of his favourites is the chess room, a forty foot by forty foot room covered in black and white checkered tiles laid out as a giant chess board. On this board stand his chess pieces, animated statues tasked to defend the room against intruders.

Precise Movement

The Game Master’s chess pieces are unable to move normally. Instead, they can only move like the pieces they are modelled after. The pieces lift themselves off the ground, travelling to their target position at great speeds before slamming down with alarming force. Anything beneath a chess piece when it lands must escape quickly or be crushed.

Centralised Intelligence

Rather than grant each piece intelligence, the Game Master instead centralised all decision making within the king. The king is able to move any pieces that are part of its group, and if the king is destroyed then all linked chess pieces become inanimate. While chess pieces will not always be found in a full set, they will always have a king commanding them.

Move Variants

• Pawn. The pawn moves 5ft forward, and must make all subsequent moves in the same direction. If a space is occupied by another creature, the pawn may not move forward onto it, but may move diagonally forward onto it.
• Bishop. The bishop moves up to 40ft along any diagonal direction. Any creature in its path blocks its movement, and the Bishop must end the movement either on or before the creature’s space.
• Rook. The Rook moves up to 40ft in any non-diagonal direction. Any creature in its path blocks its movement, and the Rook must end the movement either on or before the creature’s space.
• Knight. The knight moves 10ft in one direction, and then 5ft in a perpendicular direction. The knight may move past other creatures.
• Queen. The Queen moves up to 40ft in any direction. Any creature in its path blocks its movement, and the Queen must end the movement either on or before the creature’s space.

Protecting the King

Some parties are much more equipped to deal damage at range than others. If you think your party is likely to immediately burst down the king from a distance, consider the following optional abilities:

• Blocker. If a projectile would travel through a space occupied by a chess piece, it instead hits that chess piece. If the projectile has an area effect, the effect is instead focussed on the chess piece that it hits.
• Draw Strength. At the start of each turn, the King regenerates 5% of its maximum hit points for each chess piece under its control.
• Protectors. The King is immune to all damage until 20% of the chess pieces under its control have been destroyed.