BALROG (Greater Devil)

All of their nature if filled by fire. Their weapons are flame tongues and flaming whips; their eyes, mouths and nostrils are burning; their blood is black and boiling and instantly burns in the air.

Balrog resemble huge humanoids covered with thick and long black furs, that are even longer at manes and at their large membranous wings.

They fight with a sword in one hand and a whip in the other. The sword is a huge magical one causing 1-10 +4 hit points damage; it has a gold hilt but blade is no metal -just a long flame. The whip is a nine-tails type; it's magical and flaming as well, and it causes 2-8 +4 hit points damage. It has moreover the same characteristics as normal (Unearthed Arcana page 78), with the following differences:

-heavily covered flesh suffers half damage; -balrog's entanglement chance is 70%; -whip severing chances are 15% per tail (2-8 tails entangle each time); -a balrog disentangles automatically.

Balrog strength is 20, thus a further bonus +3 to hit and +8 damage applies both to sword and whip. They also regenerate 2 hit points/round.

Balrog can reflect spells against spell casters when they obtain 25 or less upon their magic resistance dice throw. They can also use the following spells, one in each round unless they are fighting: flaming sphere, pyrotechnics, produce flame, dispel magic, wall of fire, detect magic, detect invisible, ESP, illusion, know alignment, polymorph self, hold person or monster, fire charm, fire shield, summon (70% chance) 1-3 Pit Fiends (70%) or 1 Balrog (30%). Once a day they can also use symbol of pain, fireball and fire storm. Their magic strength is at 20th level. Balrog cause fear in a 30' radius and have all the abilities and defenses of the devil kind (see Devil, Monster Manual).

Taken from J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion.

By Gianluca Meluzzi, 1982, 1987, 1999.

glmeluzzi@libero.it

For AD&D 1st Edition, TSR Games.