Balhannoth
Threat Level: Extremely High
Description
Although its proportions aren’t fully known, the following description is from the handful of specimens to have been observed and documented.Balhannoths have an ovoid body with six tentacles and a large mouth of jagged teeth. They are a sexless species and mate with other balhannoths by intertwining their tentacles. The gestation period for a balhannoth egg is over a year, then after being laid it needs to be incubated for one month. During this time, the egg needs to be kept near some form of magical item or magic area of effect. Once a balhannoth is hatched, they reach maturity within three years.
Behavior
As Balhannoth are so extremely rare, little to no information has been gathered on them. What is known, has been gleamed from a partially chewed journal of the missing Halfling researcher, Humber Dumblfeet. Also due to this, in memory of the researcher, his findings make up the bulk of this article.“So begins my quest to learn of the ever elusive Balhannoth. I wish to be the first to document their true behavior, and so I have dedicated the next 2 years of my life to studying them.
Day 1
I have located a Balhannoth deep within a magic soaked ruin, which i believe they prefer as homes. So far it hasn’t noticed my presence, which while fortuitous, is also very odd. On my entry, a piece of ceiling collapse nearby, and while the beast began to investigate the noise, it seemingly moved past me without any acknowledgement. I will have to further observe this peculiar phenomenon.
Day 6
These beasts seem to have evolved to fill an unusual niche in the magic-permeated Jotunheim. They are attuned to magic and use its presence to detect their prey.
I learned of this when I found a magical ring within a chest, luckily it was a cursed ring. It singed my finger, causing me to drop it. No sooner had I done so, the Balhannoth reappeared suddenly and lunges towards the ring! After devouring it, the beast seemed to hum quietly, before wandering off. Hah!! A Magic eating slug! What a truly fascinating discovery! I’ll have to follow this lead.
Day 13
It seems Balhannoths are able to feed on both flesh AND magical auras. magic item with a faint aura, such as the ring previously mentioned, sustains a balhannoth for a day. With this in mind, I presume one with a moderate aura gives food for a week, and one with a strong aura is sufficient for a month. How long a balhannoth might survive on an overwhelming magical aura, however, is unknown. but I believe an item of such power might sustain it for life!
Additionally, while before I had believed the Balhannoth to have “eaten” the ring, it appears it was in truth “syphoning” magic from it, to then deposit in a pile of discarded magic items. After examining the items, I’ve learned that the Balhannoth does no permanent harm to the item.
Lastly, I decided to perfume an experiment to see if it preferred any certain type of magics. After collecting and laying out the items I found around that I believed to be enchanted, I observed as it seemed to sniff each item one by one. And while I have no way of telling what item is enchanted with what, it seemed to enjoy the odd sword I found the most, twirling its tendril around, while wrapping and unwrapping them together. After this, it seemed it grew tired of the magic's flavor, as it left some of the items alone.
Day 20
I have made a remarkable break through!! After observing the Balhannoth hunting I have discovered that they have the uncanny ability to… [this portion of text has been torn away, however continues on the next page] …thus luring it in with the distorted reality.
I’ve also discovered that they almost exclusively hunt and kill magic-bearing individuals, and in fact can't tell the difference between a magic item and an ongoing spell effect, so they attack anything they are able to detect (observed when the previously stated Gnoll managed to escape for a time after luring the Balhannoth away after missing a fire bolt attack).
Additionally, I have learned that a creature without magic is in no danger, unless it wander too close, rendering it "visible" to the predator. Luckily, I’ve not a single Magic bone within my body, and haven’t had the nerve to wander closer then necessary to the beast. This also explains why it ignored me that first day.
Once a balhannoth has killed its prey and dealt with any other threats, it takes the corpse back to its lair. There it devours the flesh and separates out any magic items the creature possessed. It chooses one item to carry and feed on, placing the others in a hidden or hard-to-reach place. Common hiding places for such food stores include cavities beneath large boulders or cracks in cavern ceilings.
[Several pages have been rendered illegible due to corrosion, chew marks, and dried blood]
Day 32
Leg broken. Slipped on stone. I don’t think it heard me, but I think I landed on a magic nail from a shield, because it thrums with some power, deep within my calf. Gods I can’t get it out. I fear if I’m not quick enough to remove it, the- [the writing ends here abruptly. No further pages have been filled out.]”
Comments