DCC Bestiary - Balor Demon

Into the depths, deep in the earth, in the Lower Hells far from the realms of mortals, dwell great demons, with a raging forge within them, black wings that can blot out the sun.  They stand twice the height of a man, with taloned hands holding a burning sword and whip, and its footsteps are the thunderous ring of a hammer on an anvil.

Let’s work out a Balor, the quintessential Type VI demon.  Clearly inspired by Tolkien's balrog, the AD&D ruleset states they are all named, and six are only known to exist. 

The DCC Core Rulebook offers no full examples of Type VI demons, but gives some guidelines of how horrible they should be in a table.  Going back to the AD&D Balor entry, I can work out a few things – I’ll give it 16d10 HD (vs the AD&D 8+8 HD), an array of spell like abilities like the original Monster Manual entry, the equivalent of a full 50% magic resistance equal to a DCC dragon (-4 to spell checks made directly against the demon, I prefer this method, way more elegant) … but it still needs something else.  Let’s give it a curse effect – anyone struck by it’s fell blade is subject to the curse of the Balor, and we’ll add it to anyone who tries to pick up a sword of a felled demon.  That being said, a Balor that has a fight going poorly will likely teleport or plane shift away.

While not as fancy as a dragon, death knight, or other calamitous foe, it’s plenty dangerous, and a good example of an ultimate demon.

(Artwork is by Miroslav Sunjkic, check out his blog at https://miroslavsunjkic.wordpress.com/2015/05/30/pencil-drawing-of-gandalf-facing-balrog/)

Questions, ideas, thoughts on end-game monsters?  Drop me a line at archadethered@gmail.com.

     Demon, Balor (Type VI): Init +1; Atk claw +20 melee (2d6+4) or +1 desecrated longsword +21 melee (2d10+5 plus curse of the balor) and +1 desecrated whip (1d14+4 and entangle); AC 22; HD 16d10+16 (104 hp); MV 30’, fly 70’; Act 2d20+1d16; SP critical hits on 16-20, curse of the balor, demon traits, entangle, immune to weapons of less than +4 enchantment or natural attacks from creatures of 9 HD or less, immune to fire, cold, electricity, gas, acid, infernal spells – control fire, darkness, demon summoning, detect invisible, detect magic, dispel magic, force manipulation, scare (+20 check), infravision 120’, magic resistance (-4 to any spell check directly targeting the demon); AL C; Crit DN/d16.
     Any struck by the fell blade of the balor must make a DC 25 Will save or be cursed, suffering -2 to their Luck score, -2 to all Fort saves, and cannot heal naturally or be healed by idol magic unless the caster is at least 5^th level and rolls 25 or higher on their casting check.  The curse can only be lifted by rescuing a damned soul from the Lower Hells, or a remove curse spell with a result of 27 or higher is achieved.
     A balor can use it’s whip to entangle a foe upon a successful strike unless the target can make a DC 25 Reflex save, or on its own turn make a DC 25 Strength check.  Entangled foes are -2 to hit with melee attacks, move at only half speed no further than 30’ from the balor, and can do little else.
     As a demon of the greatest stature, a balor can teleport at will to any location on the same plane, as long as it is not bound or otherwise summoned, and can also project its form astrally and ethereally to any other plane, although this requires great effort and can only be done once every 4d10 days.  If a balor is slain on the material plane, it does not truly die but is committed back to the fell plane of its origin for 100 years.  Balors have the ability of telepathic communication with any creature within 100’.
     Should any attempt to retrieve the fell blade of a balor, it is treated as a +1 two-handed sword to mortal-sized creatures, dealing 2d10 damage in mortal hands, with additional abilities as the Judge sees fit, but even the mere touch of it bestows the curse of the Balor.