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4e to 5e Balhannoth Conversion
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<blockquote data-quote="ghabrel" data-source="post: 6914383" data-attributes="member: 6805138"><p>[MENTION=996]Tony Vargas[/MENTION] So I haven't gone the individual tentacle route just yet, but doing so from this point wouldn't be hard. What I did do, though, was make a legendary laired version (relatively) from scratch. Let me know what you think.</p><p></p><p><strong>Balhannoth</strong></p><p>Large Aberration CR 16 (15,000 XP) [23 {50,000 XP} in lair]</p><p>AC 19 HP 402 (23d10 + 184) Spd. 20’</p><p>-----Attributes-----</p><p><strong>Str</strong> 23 (+6) <strong>Dex</strong> 21 (+5) <strong>Con</strong> 18 (+4)</p><p><strong>Int</strong> 8 (-1) <strong>Wis</strong> 16 (+3) <strong>Cha</strong> 3 (-4)</p><p>-----Abilities-----</p><p><strong>Saving Throws</strong> Wis +10, Cha +3</p><p><strong>Skills</strong> Insight +10, Stealth +12</p><p><strong>Senses</strong> blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this), passive Perception 15</p><p><strong>Damage Resistance</strong> Psychic</p><p><strong>Damage Vulnerability</strong> Thunder</p><p><strong>Languages</strong> Deepspeech</p><p><strong>Armor</strong> Natural</p><p><strong>Proficiency</strong> +7</p><p>-----Special Abilities-----</p><p><strong>Flailing Tentacles</strong> The balhannoth has six tentacles. If attacked directly, they have an AC of 17 and 71 (8d8 + 32) HP. If reduced to 0 HP, a tentacle is severed or otherwise neutralized. Damage done to the tentacles never applies to the balhannoth. A neutralized tentacle takes a full day and a long rest to regenerate, and cannot be used until then. Area of effect attacks and spells only hit the body of the balhannoth itself, and do not affect any of the tentacles. The balhannoth has a tendency to attempt to flee from fights in which three or more of its tentacles have been neutralized.</p><p><strong>Flurry of Blows</strong> The balhannoth may make two opportunity attacks instead of one.</p><p><strong>Keen Hearing</strong> The balhannoth has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) tests that involve hearing.</p><p><strong>Labyrinthine Recall</strong> The balhannoth can perfectly recall any path that it has travelled.</p><p><strong>Opportunist</strong> The balhannoth deals an extra 1d8 damage against targets it has advantage on attack rolls against.</p><p><strong>Reactive</strong> The balhannoth can take one reaction on every turn in a combat.</p><p><strong>Reality Shift (3-6)</strong> The balhannoth may teleport up to 50 feet as a bonus action. Any enemies adjacent to it before it teleports are stunned until the end of the balhannoth’s next turn unless they pass a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw, and the balhannoth automatically gains advantage on attack rolls against enemies it teleports adjacent to.</p><p><strong>Spider Climb</strong> The balhannoth can climb across any surface, even upside down, at its full speed without the need for any ability checks.</p><p><strong>Stone Camouflage</strong> While in areas of natural or worked stone, the balhannoth has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.</p><p>-----Actions-----</p><p><strong>Multiattack</strong>: The balhannoth makes three tentacle attacks, and then it makes up to two slam and/or throw attacks if able.</p><p><strong>Slam</strong> (Melee): +18, 15’, one target.</p><p><em>The balhannoth must have at least one creature grappled with one of its six tentacles to make this attack.</em></p><p>Hit: The balhannoth chooses one grappled creature to bash against the target, dealing 21 (2d8 + 12) bludgeoning damage to both creatures. The grappled creature remains grappled, and the target must pass a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.</p><p><strong>Tentacle</strong> (Melee): +18, 15’, one target.</p><p>Hit: The target takes 13 (1d8 + 9) bludgeoning damage, and must pass a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or be grappled by one of the balhannoth’s six tentacles. On its turn, the target may spend its action to try to pass a DC 20 Strength test to escape the grapple.</p><p><strong>Throw</strong> (Ranged): +18, 30/60’, one target.</p><p><em>The balhannoth must have at least one creature grappled with one of its six tentacles to make this attack.</em></p><p>Hit: The balhannoth chooses one grappled creature to fling at the target, dealing 31 (3d8 + 18) bludgeoning damage to both creatures and knocking them prone. The previously grappled creature lands in a space adjacent to the target, and both creatures must pass a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of the balhannoth’s next turn.</p><p>Miss: The balhannoth flings the chosen grappled creature within 15 feet of the target, knocking the previously grappled creature prone but dealing no damage to it.</p><p><strong>Whipping Tentacles</strong> (Melee): +18, 15’, all targets within range.</p><p>Hit: The targets take 13 (1d8 + 9) bludgeoning damage, and the balhannoth slides the targets to any other space within the area of effect.</p><p>-----Legendary Actions-----</p><p>The balhannoth can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The balhannoth regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.</p><p><strong>Tentacle Burst</strong> The balhannoth makes a whipping tentacles attack.</p><p><strong>Constrict (Costs 2 Actions)</strong> The balhannoth deals 21 (2d8 + 12) bludgeoning damage to each creature it has grappled.</p><p><strong>Shift (Costs 3 Actions)</strong> The balhannoth automatically regenerates and uses the reality shift action.</p><p>-----Lair-----</p><p> Balhannoths lair in subterranean tunnels, caves, and chasms, both natural and constructed. The darker, the damper, all the better. High ceilings are also major attractions to balhannoths, as they allow them to secretly stalk their prey easier.</p><p> These lairs are quite often secluded and ill-traveled, but fortunately for balhannoths, they can easily go long periods without eating. Instead of leaving their lairs to actively hunt down prey, balhannoths tend to conserve their energy and wait for prey to stumble into their lair, relying on their exceptional hearing to catch the distant echoes of unwary footsteps.</p><p> Most desirable for a balhannoth in its lair is winding and interconnected passages. The balhannoth itself can navigate these confusing corridors with ease, but it is not uncommon for its prey to lose enough time backtracking and traveling in circles for the balhannoth to get them right where it wants them.</p><p>-----Lair Actions-----</p><p> On initiative count 20 (losing all ties), the balhannoth takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the balhannoth can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:</p><p>-The tunnels and chambers within a 300 foot radius of the balhannoth quickly fill with a thick fog that heavily obscures everything more than 5 feet away. The fog dissipates at initiative count 20 on the following round.</p><p>-The air within a 30 foot radius of the balhannoth seems to leech magical energy, imposing disadvantage on all spellcasting attempts made within the area of effect or targeting a creature within the area of effect. This effect fades at initiative count 20 on the following round.</p><p>-A stone tunnel or doorway within 60 feet of the balhannoth seals itself, preventing its usage as a passageway. The barrier that is formed may be broken with a DC 24 Strength test. The balhannoth may only form three barriers in this way at a time; attempting to create a fourth causes the oldest to revert to its original form. These barriers revert to their original forms over 5d4 hours if the balhannoth is slain, but otherwise remain in place.</p><p>-----Regional Effects-----</p><p> Reality around the balhannoth’s lair seems to warp and distort from the creature’s mere presence, which manifests in the following ways:</p><p>-Starting 300 feet away from the balhannoth’s location, stone passageways and cavities begin to expand beyond their normal size, eventually reaching eight times their normal size at 60 feet from the balhannoth (these distances are always measured from normal dimensions, meaning traveling to a balhannoth that is measured as being 60 feet away would require 480 feet of actual movement). This increase in volume creates an extradimensional effect, in that two parallel passageways may normally be separated by only 5 feet of stone, but when exposed to the full force of this effect, there is still a barrier between each of the now enlarged tunnels.</p><p>-Echoes within the same subterranean stone superstructure as the balhannoth persist far longer and travel much further than they would naturally. They are detectable from up to four times the distance at which they normally would be.</p><p>-The tunnels of the balhannoth’s lair seem to double back on themselves and twist in ways that baffle the mind. Any creature attempting to use an Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Insight, Perception, or Survival) test to navigate the balhannoth’s lair, determine their location within it, or recall from which direction they have come do so with disadvantage.</p><p> If the balhannoth is slain, these effects fade over 5d6 hours.</p><p></p><p>I can already tell you some (at least one) of those regional effects are liable to get all kinds of wonky, but that's more or less existing canon that I just gave a mechanic (The balhannoth is domesticated by a cult, and they both share their lairs in a literal labyrinth. Normally, the passages are only 5 feet wide, but I had already planned on them widening to 10 feet to fit the balhannoth. In doing this, I widened it to the point where the balhannoth can be in the center of a tunnel and have its reach extend to the wall on either side. May just be too weird.)</p><p> [MENTION=59848]Hawk Diesel[/MENTION] I... actually have yet to start this campaign. And, being even more honest, I'm intending on powerleveling my players up to 12 in a meatgrinder. They're starting at level 4 and being tasked with clearing out a goblin/hobgoblin/orc raiding lair, which is essentially 95% combat and 5% story using 'milestone' leveling. After that, I'll change it back to experience leveling and actually get to the storyline.</p><p></p><p>BUT, bottom line, I have no idea how I'm going to run this, or how awful I'll be at it. Part of me is excited, but a bigger part is just really, really nervous...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Those sound like they might be some words to live by for me. Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ghabrel, post: 6914383, member: 6805138"] [MENTION=996]Tony Vargas[/MENTION] So I haven't gone the individual tentacle route just yet, but doing so from this point wouldn't be hard. What I did do, though, was make a legendary laired version (relatively) from scratch. Let me know what you think. [B]Balhannoth[/B] Large Aberration CR 16 (15,000 XP) [23 {50,000 XP} in lair] AC 19 HP 402 (23d10 + 184) Spd. 20’ -----Attributes----- [B]Str[/B] 23 (+6) [B]Dex[/B] 21 (+5) [B]Con[/B] 18 (+4) [B]Int[/B] 8 (-1) [B]Wis[/B] 16 (+3) [B]Cha[/B] 3 (-4) -----Abilities----- [B]Saving Throws[/B] Wis +10, Cha +3 [B]Skills[/B] Insight +10, Stealth +12 [B]Senses[/B] blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this), passive Perception 15 [B]Damage Resistance[/B] Psychic [B]Damage Vulnerability[/B] Thunder [B]Languages[/B] Deepspeech [B]Armor[/B] Natural [B]Proficiency[/B] +7 -----Special Abilities----- [B]Flailing Tentacles[/B] The balhannoth has six tentacles. If attacked directly, they have an AC of 17 and 71 (8d8 + 32) HP. If reduced to 0 HP, a tentacle is severed or otherwise neutralized. Damage done to the tentacles never applies to the balhannoth. A neutralized tentacle takes a full day and a long rest to regenerate, and cannot be used until then. Area of effect attacks and spells only hit the body of the balhannoth itself, and do not affect any of the tentacles. The balhannoth has a tendency to attempt to flee from fights in which three or more of its tentacles have been neutralized. [B]Flurry of Blows[/B] The balhannoth may make two opportunity attacks instead of one. [B]Keen Hearing[/B] The balhannoth has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) tests that involve hearing. [B]Labyrinthine Recall[/B] The balhannoth can perfectly recall any path that it has travelled. [B]Opportunist[/B] The balhannoth deals an extra 1d8 damage against targets it has advantage on attack rolls against. [B]Reactive[/B] The balhannoth can take one reaction on every turn in a combat. [B]Reality Shift (3-6)[/B] The balhannoth may teleport up to 50 feet as a bonus action. Any enemies adjacent to it before it teleports are stunned until the end of the balhannoth’s next turn unless they pass a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw, and the balhannoth automatically gains advantage on attack rolls against enemies it teleports adjacent to. [B]Spider Climb[/B] The balhannoth can climb across any surface, even upside down, at its full speed without the need for any ability checks. [B]Stone Camouflage[/B] While in areas of natural or worked stone, the balhannoth has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. -----Actions----- [B]Multiattack[/B]: The balhannoth makes three tentacle attacks, and then it makes up to two slam and/or throw attacks if able. [B]Slam[/B] (Melee): +18, 15’, one target. [I]The balhannoth must have at least one creature grappled with one of its six tentacles to make this attack.[/I] Hit: The balhannoth chooses one grappled creature to bash against the target, dealing 21 (2d8 + 12) bludgeoning damage to both creatures. The grappled creature remains grappled, and the target must pass a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. [B]Tentacle[/B] (Melee): +18, 15’, one target. Hit: The target takes 13 (1d8 + 9) bludgeoning damage, and must pass a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or be grappled by one of the balhannoth’s six tentacles. On its turn, the target may spend its action to try to pass a DC 20 Strength test to escape the grapple. [B]Throw[/B] (Ranged): +18, 30/60’, one target. [I]The balhannoth must have at least one creature grappled with one of its six tentacles to make this attack.[/I] Hit: The balhannoth chooses one grappled creature to fling at the target, dealing 31 (3d8 + 18) bludgeoning damage to both creatures and knocking them prone. The previously grappled creature lands in a space adjacent to the target, and both creatures must pass a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of the balhannoth’s next turn. Miss: The balhannoth flings the chosen grappled creature within 15 feet of the target, knocking the previously grappled creature prone but dealing no damage to it. [B]Whipping Tentacles[/B] (Melee): +18, 15’, all targets within range. Hit: The targets take 13 (1d8 + 9) bludgeoning damage, and the balhannoth slides the targets to any other space within the area of effect. -----Legendary Actions----- The balhannoth can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The balhannoth regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. [B]Tentacle Burst[/B] The balhannoth makes a whipping tentacles attack. [B]Constrict (Costs 2 Actions)[/B] The balhannoth deals 21 (2d8 + 12) bludgeoning damage to each creature it has grappled. [B]Shift (Costs 3 Actions)[/B] The balhannoth automatically regenerates and uses the reality shift action. -----Lair----- Balhannoths lair in subterranean tunnels, caves, and chasms, both natural and constructed. The darker, the damper, all the better. High ceilings are also major attractions to balhannoths, as they allow them to secretly stalk their prey easier. These lairs are quite often secluded and ill-traveled, but fortunately for balhannoths, they can easily go long periods without eating. Instead of leaving their lairs to actively hunt down prey, balhannoths tend to conserve their energy and wait for prey to stumble into their lair, relying on their exceptional hearing to catch the distant echoes of unwary footsteps. Most desirable for a balhannoth in its lair is winding and interconnected passages. The balhannoth itself can navigate these confusing corridors with ease, but it is not uncommon for its prey to lose enough time backtracking and traveling in circles for the balhannoth to get them right where it wants them. -----Lair Actions----- On initiative count 20 (losing all ties), the balhannoth takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the balhannoth can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row: -The tunnels and chambers within a 300 foot radius of the balhannoth quickly fill with a thick fog that heavily obscures everything more than 5 feet away. The fog dissipates at initiative count 20 on the following round. -The air within a 30 foot radius of the balhannoth seems to leech magical energy, imposing disadvantage on all spellcasting attempts made within the area of effect or targeting a creature within the area of effect. This effect fades at initiative count 20 on the following round. -A stone tunnel or doorway within 60 feet of the balhannoth seals itself, preventing its usage as a passageway. The barrier that is formed may be broken with a DC 24 Strength test. The balhannoth may only form three barriers in this way at a time; attempting to create a fourth causes the oldest to revert to its original form. These barriers revert to their original forms over 5d4 hours if the balhannoth is slain, but otherwise remain in place. -----Regional Effects----- Reality around the balhannoth’s lair seems to warp and distort from the creature’s mere presence, which manifests in the following ways: -Starting 300 feet away from the balhannoth’s location, stone passageways and cavities begin to expand beyond their normal size, eventually reaching eight times their normal size at 60 feet from the balhannoth (these distances are always measured from normal dimensions, meaning traveling to a balhannoth that is measured as being 60 feet away would require 480 feet of actual movement). This increase in volume creates an extradimensional effect, in that two parallel passageways may normally be separated by only 5 feet of stone, but when exposed to the full force of this effect, there is still a barrier between each of the now enlarged tunnels. -Echoes within the same subterranean stone superstructure as the balhannoth persist far longer and travel much further than they would naturally. They are detectable from up to four times the distance at which they normally would be. -The tunnels of the balhannoth’s lair seem to double back on themselves and twist in ways that baffle the mind. Any creature attempting to use an Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Insight, Perception, or Survival) test to navigate the balhannoth’s lair, determine their location within it, or recall from which direction they have come do so with disadvantage. If the balhannoth is slain, these effects fade over 5d6 hours. I can already tell you some (at least one) of those regional effects are liable to get all kinds of wonky, but that's more or less existing canon that I just gave a mechanic (The balhannoth is domesticated by a cult, and they both share their lairs in a literal labyrinth. Normally, the passages are only 5 feet wide, but I had already planned on them widening to 10 feet to fit the balhannoth. In doing this, I widened it to the point where the balhannoth can be in the center of a tunnel and have its reach extend to the wall on either side. May just be too weird.) [MENTION=59848]Hawk Diesel[/MENTION] I... actually have yet to start this campaign. And, being even more honest, I'm intending on powerleveling my players up to 12 in a meatgrinder. They're starting at level 4 and being tasked with clearing out a goblin/hobgoblin/orc raiding lair, which is essentially 95% combat and 5% story using 'milestone' leveling. After that, I'll change it back to experience leveling and actually get to the storyline. BUT, bottom line, I have no idea how I'm going to run this, or how awful I'll be at it. Part of me is excited, but a bigger part is just really, really nervous... Those sound like they might be some words to live by for me. Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated. :) [/QUOTE]
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