16
Legacy of the Dragons
Balthrok Medium Monstrous Humanoid Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hp), dying/dead –3/–15 Initiative: +0 Speed: 30 feet AC: 16 (+6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 16 Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+5 Attack: Claw +6 melee (1d8+3) Full Attack: 2 claws +6 melee (1d8+3) Space/Reach: 5 feet/5 feet (Face/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet) Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet, digging claws, tremorsense 60 feet Saves: Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +2 Abilities: Str 16, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 6 Skills: Climb +6, Swim +5 Feats: Sense the Unseen, Weapon Focus (claws) Environment: Any temperate Organization: Solitary, pair, pack (3–8 plus one 3rd-level elder), war party (4–20 plus one 6th-level elder), or colony (20–500 plus 1d6 10th-level elders) Challenge Rating: 2 Treasure: Standard Advancement: By character class Level Adjustment: +1 Combining the qualities of a bear, mole, and human, a balthrok resembles a massive, hairless beast with overly long arms. Its wide, powerfully built hands end in thick, jagged claws that can tear through armor and tunnel through dirt. Driven to aggressive acts because of overpopulation, balthroks slowly infiltrate and assault towns and villages from below. Balthroks burrow through the ground, lying in wait beneath the surface to ambush prey. They sometimes wield crude weapons, usually taken from their enemies. Balthroks hate all humanoid life, and sometimes groups of them gather to destroy a village or town. They burrow beneath walls and homes, coordinating their actions to cause several important structures within a town to collapse at the same time. In the confusion that follows, they erupt from the ground and attack the townsfolk. The dramojh created and bred balthroks to serve as siege troops. Their ability to tunnel through earth and stone makes them invaluable in such operations, since they can undermine fortifications or create paths into the heart of a fortress’s defenses. With their masters long defeated, they retreated to the dark corners of the world. In isolated hills, forests, and mountain ranges, they have dug extensive towns and cities far from prying eyes where they live in peace. Over time, their population grew too large for their burrows. Recalling the earlier war that spawned them, balthrok leaders spread propaganda painting the giants and their allies as murderers and usurpers of their rightful lands. War parties of balthrok scouts now probe the borders of civilized realms, using
their digging talent to create hidden passages beneath cities. In some areas, sewers are rife with these creatures. Balthroks like to launch raids on isolated buildings and delight in slaying giants.
Combat Strong and tough, balthroks rarely flee from battle. They prefer to stand and die, seeing defeat as a stain that only blood can purge. The elders’ propaganda has fanned the flames of fanaticism in many balthrok scouts and warriors, making them liable to win battles through sheer force of will. And since they refuse to surrender, they cause heavier casualties than other marauders. Balthroks prefer to fight at a place and time of their choosing. If possible, they sow an area with hidden pits and other hazards that disrupt their enemies’ plans and give them the advantage of surprise. One of their favorite tactics is digging a hole and hiding in it beneath a loose cover of earth, then leaping out to fall upon an opponent’s flank or rear. Digging Claws (Ex): A balthrok’s thick, jagged claws allow it to tunnel through dirt and rock with relative ease. It does not work fast enough to have a burrow speed, but it can construct tunnels more quickly than even the stoutest miners. A single balthrok can dig a 10-foot tunnel usable by Medium or smaller creatures after 10 minutes of work. It takes an additional 10 minutes to enlarge such a passage to be usable by Huge or Large creatures. Teams of balthroks usually work together to create elaborate mazes and intricate subterranean strongholds. A balthrok’s claws are tough and durable, owing partially to their magical nature. Skilled balthrok smiths can improve them with mundane and magical weapon enhancements. Use the standard rules for enchanting an item, except that the claws have a base cost of 0 gp. They must be upgraded to masterwork quality as normal before they can receive magical abilities. Tremorsense (Ex): A balthrok automatically detects the presence and location of any creature or object that stands on the ground within 60 feet of it.
Balthrok Society Balthrok society is built around the veneration of and obedience to the elders who rule. As a balthrok ages, its claws gradually take on a gleaming, gemlike appearance. This feature allows a balthrok to easily display its social rank. Even the fiercest warrior becomes a passive underling in the presence of an elder. Balthroks rarely fight among themselves for leadership, since combat and natural causes kill most of them before they grow old enough to claim the mantle of rulership. The elders rule as an oligarchy, forging a consensus by popular vote among themselves to set policy and make decisions. Common balthroks have no say in their government. Some sages believe balthroks were bred for maximum pliability and obedience. The dramojh designed them to blindly follow whomever they identified as a leader. In the absence of a strict military structure, the balthroks now give their obedience to the next closest thing—the elders among them.
