Villains' Lorebook.pdf - Department of Political Science

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doesn’t suffer damage from holding more than five
times its Constitution, but does shed those extra levels
as radiant energy (light and heat) at the rates
specified in the aforementioned spellfire rules.
A balhiir has only one draining “attack” per
round, but the creature can passively drain many
items at once. Any spell or magical item that is cast
or brought within 10’ of the balhiir is absorbed as
above.
Only two methods are known to defeat a balhiir.
The first is that its magic-absorbing abilities must be
overloaded, as with the spellfire ability. This method
usually requires several high-level mages casting
spells into the creature simultaneously. The second
method involves binding the balhiir to a physical
object or a creature. The specific details of this ancient
ritual are left for DMs to decide and players to
ponder.
Once bound, the balhiir is freed upon the destruction
of the vessel containing it. The balhiir can then
be rebound only by the being that freed it. Its rescuer
can attempt the ritual to rebind the balhiir or can attempt
to draw the creature’s energy into himself
through sheer force of will. To do this, the character
must save vs. death (the price of failure in this instance).
Divide the total spell levels held by the balhiir
by the character’s Constitution score, rounding
up, to reach a number similar to the spellfire danger
rating. Apply a -1 modifier to the saving throw for
each number above 5.
If the save is made the character lives, and until
the character uses up the balhiir’s spell levels, the
character can cast spellfire as a 1st-level wielder. All
normal spellfire rules apply. Once the spell levels are
used, the balhiir is destroyed and the character must
make a system shock roll to survive the experience.
Habitat/Society: Balhiirs normally reside on the
Negative Energy Plane, and in the creatures’ native
environment, they can absorb all forms of energy, including
life forces or experience levels. Little else is
known of the balhiir’s habits in its home plane, due
to that plane’s inimical effect on normal lifeforms.
Ecology: Balhiirs are very efficient in their use of
the energy/magic they consume. These creatures can
hold enough energy to keep them active for months.
If they run out of energy however, they do not perish.
Instead, they enter a form of hibernation that
can last indefinitely. The presence of energy within
its sensory range awakens it, a process that requires a
full turn.
History: While a prisoner of the Cult of the
Dragon, Shandril accidentally released a balhiir
trapped in a sphere of crystal when she struck a Cult
mage with it. The creature then absorbed the Cult
mage’s magic, that of Shandril’s companion Narm,
and several members of the Knights of Myth Drannor,
filling it with incredible amounts of raw magical
energy.
Elminster arrived on the scene and instructed
Shandril that, as she was the one who released the
balhiir, it must be she who destroyed it. Shandril did
so, despite agonizing pain. This process also awakened
her latent spellfire abilities, inherited from her
mother, who also possessed the power to hurl bolts of
raw magical energy.
Sources: SPELLFIRE® game.