The Arrears Gate
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 85 (10d10+30)
Speed 20 ft.
Saving Throws Con +6, Wis +5
Skills Insight +5, Perception +5
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't adamantine
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3
Actions
Reactions
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"No passage without payment. No payment without interest. No interest without consequences." — The Arrears Gate, on every surviving toll sign
Lore & Description
Appearance
The Arrears Gate is a sagging wooden toll booth mounted on six iron wheels, its faded green paint blistered by rain and sun. A little roof bell hangs above a shuttered window, though it rings without wind. Brass numerals spell out contradictory toll rates across its front, while parchment ledgers bulge from every crack and flutter with ink-stained pages. When it awakens, the booth unfolds crooked wooden legs, a ticket arm becomes a heavy iron club, and a long brass stamp protrudes from its counter like a beak. Its single glass window glows with the red light of a banker's seal.
Behavior & Origins
The Arrears Gate once served the Duchy of Veyr, collecting passage fees on the King's Road until the duchy collapsed and the road was abandoned. The toll booth continued its duties, adding unpaid fees, penalties, and compound interest to a ledger that has somehow grown longer than the road itself. It insists that every traveler owes something, especially those whose names already appear in its books. The gate is currently searching for Magistrate Odran Pell, who vanished after stealing the master ledger and leaving the booth with a debt it considers unforgivable. A party member may discover that their names were written into the ledger years before they ever reached the road.
Running The Arrears Gate
Tactics
The Arrears Gate opens by using Stamp of Delinquency to mark and scatter as many creatures as possible, then focuses its Tolling Arms on anyone who already has debt marks. It uses Demand Payment to disarm spellcasters or force a valuable object into its collection, while positioning its body to block the road and keep foes within reach. When bloodied, it uses Collect Interest against the most heavily marked creature and fights to the destruction of its frame unless someone offers the master ledger or a payment that genuinely satisfies its ancient contract.
DM Tips
- Telegraph danger with fresh ink on supposedly weathered notices, brass bells ringing as the party approaches, and a ledger page bearing one character's name in handwriting none of them recognize.
- Roleplay the gate as a humorless civil servant: it cites paragraph numbers, corrects pronunciation, and treats attacks as procedural disputes rather than personal insults.
- For a weaker party, reduce the gate to 68 hit points, lower its saving throw DC to 13, and remove Exact Change; for a stronger party, let debt marks deal 1d8 force damage each and give the gate a third Tolling Arm attack in its Multiattack.
- Make payment a meaningful alternative to combat. A stolen signet, a signed confession from Magistrate Pell, or the return of the master ledger could satisfy the gate and end the encounter.
Loot
- The Master Ledger — A black iron-bound book containing names, debts, secrets, and travel records from three generations. Its pages include the names of several powerful local figures and may serve as leverage or proof in a political investigation.
- Brass Toll Stamp — A heavy official seal that can mark documents with an unforgeable impression of the old Duchy of Veyr. Once per day, its bearer can stamp a mundane contract to make it glow faintly whenever a signer knowingly breaks it.
- Unclaimed Payments — Behind the booth's false counter are old offerings: a tarnished signet ring, a pouch of obsolete silver coins, three sealed letters, and a small wooden box containing a single diamond wrapped in a delinquent notice.
