Snow blew in a frigid flurry, the whipping wind almost as blinding to the party as the heavy snowfall. But even in the blizzard, there were things too big to hide. An unnatural sound, somewhere between an animalistic lowing and metallic-sounding drone, pierced the howling winds. Periodically, resounding booms shook the earth and bones of those standing upon it, but the fighter steadied himself against the tremors as his eyes carefully scanned his snowy surroundings. He felt the backs of his comrades pressing against his own, each searching just as feverishly. Suddenly, his world darkened, almost imperceptibly and he reacted without thought – shoving the rogue out of the way before turning to tackle the wizard and cleric. Seconds later, an immense hoof landed in the place where they had been standing seconds before. The fighter groaned, his old body aching as he rolled onto his back, his companions scurrying out from beneath him and trying to pull his armored figure to his feet. As he fought to stand, a light came from on high – a cold blue glow that drew closer until they realized that it was an eye. A single, cyclopean eye set in a horned but otherwise featureless head that regarded them dispassionately. Then the light intensified before erupting in a screaming beam aimed straight at them.
The balestrider hails from League of Legends but was only properly explored in their virtual card game, Legends of Runeterra. These are immense creatures and inhabitants of the arctic Freljord who were twisted by the otherworldly watchers. Three cards represent the balestrider: They Who Endure has Overwhelm and enter the battlefield with +1 power and +1 toughness for each ally that has died this game, It That Stares can destroy all landmarks or deal 3 damage to all other creatures, and She Who Wanders has Regeneration and obliterates creatures of power 4 or less when she hits the field.
Like the mu spore, the balestrider is an Enormous creature, exceeding the usual dimensions of a Gargantuan creature. It has fast healing to represent the regeneration of She Who Wanders, which also influenced the decision to keep both its Armor Class and Hit Points in the moderate range. Initially, I only designed it with a foot Strike but it felt a little lacking so I added a horns Strike as well to give it some variety. The former uses a high attack bonus with moderate damage whereas its horns have a moderate attack bonus with high damage. While its Perception isn't high, I wanted to represent the destructive capabilities of its eye that even destroy illusions and falsehoods caught in it with its true seeing. The balestrider can also cast death knell at will, based off of the increased strength that They Who Endure gain from the dead.
The central ability of the balestrider is its Balesight, inspired by the eye beam of It That Stares and She Who Wanders alike. It takes some mechanical inspiration from disintegration, including the object/structure destruction whish is based off of It That Stares destroying landmarks, but it's a line effect that I made extra wide to account for the balestrider's size. I wanted to expand on the balestrider purging creatures from existence with this sight and so I added the Excoriating Sight reaction to allow it to immediately trigger death knell when Balesight downs a victim, erasing even its soul from existence. On the suggestion of a member of the Discord and because it matches somewhat nicely with the Overwhelm ability on They Who Endure, the balestrider also has Trample, a pretty standard ability. Even with all that, the balestrider felt a little lacking and I wanted to include something a bit more unique. Thunderous Stomp gives the balestrider an area Strike as it rears back before slamming down with a force that can knock enemies prone if they can't keep their footing with an extreme Reflex save. I also wanted to play into the unnaturalness of the balestrider and its generally horrific design through the inclusion of a Fearsome Presence.
Pathfinder 2e:
There's really not much to add for the PF1e balestrider. It uses options such as Awesome Blow to replicate the Improved Push of its horns and then adds some range to death knell with Reach Spell-Like Ability. Trample has an absolutely insane DC because it gets based off of Strength in PF1e, but that about covers it!
Pathfinder 1e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
In the Way of Danger: The heroes discover that a small village, possibly one that has even helped them/provided them with shelter, is in the path of a balestrider. While the village can be evacuated, that will take time and there are lives built there. Against this terrible foe, the heroes can try to slow it down long enough for people to flee, but it tends to ignore them unless they do something specific to slow its progress or gravely wound it. However, the balestrider does begin to slow upon finally reaching the village – so that it can destroy the obstacle with its balesight.
Bring Down the Mountain: The heroes must journey through a mountain pass that is supposedly haunted by an ancient evil. If they dig more into this, they might find that legends tells of a balestrider that dwells there. This tale turns out to be true and the balestrider that resides within the pass is a particularly shrewd individual. If the fight starts turning against it, it will turn its balesight on the surrounding peaks to drop an avalanche on the party.
I'm going to be taking a break next week because I have a friend coming to visit that I'll be hosting for the week. But if you're interested in joining the discussion on what creatures/builds I'm working on or just discussing your own homebrew works, check out our Discord! If you want to get some teasers or help us get to our yet unlisted milestones for extra content, check out the Twitter.
If you have the time, I'd appreciate it if you'd check out the latest video on this monster, which sees my return to voicing the videos!
Have a monstrous Monday!
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