One of the topics I intend to explore more in coming posts is the application of Generative AI capabilities to role-playing preparation. Although human creativity and artistic talent will clearly continue to be the main driving force in Role-playing Games, there is little doubt that Gen AI can play a role in helping the busy GM!
As a bit of fun, for St Patrick’s day, I asked ChatGPT to create a Tales of the Valiant monster inspired by Irish mythology. Here is the (pretty much raw) result. Enjoy throwing this at your players.
Fomorian Balorborn
Titanic Horror of the Cursed Eye
“Tales speak of a cyclopean horror that roams the misted moors, its single, blazing eye scorching the land in its wake. Beware the gaze of the Balorborn, for it carries the ruin of kings and the doom of heroes.”
Description
The Fomorian Balorborn is a twisted remnant of the ancient Fomorians, the dreaded giants of Irish legend. It is said to be the cursed offspring of Balor of the Evil Eye, born from the abyssal tides of the Otherworld. Towering over mortals with its grotesque, asymmetrical form, the Balorborn’s most fearsome trait is its singular, monstrous eye—sealed behind heavy, stone-like lids, only opening to unleash cataclysmic devastation.
Legends say that a Balorborn is a harbinger of ruin, drawn to places where fate teeters on the edge of calamity. It appears in times of war, famine, or magical upheaval, as if feeding on the suffering it inflicts.
Fomorian Balorborn
Huge Aberration, Chaotic Evil
Armor Class: 17 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 230 (20d12 + 100)
Speed: 40 ft.
STR 24 (+7), DEX 12 (+1), CON 20 (+5), INT 10 (+0), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 18 (+4)
Saving Throws: CON +10, WIS +7, CHA +9
Skills: Arcana +6, Perception +8, Intimidation +10
Damage Resistances: Fire, Psychic, Necrotic
Damage Immunities: Radiant, Poison
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., Truesight 60 ft., Passive Perception 18
Languages: Common, Giant, Primordial, Sylvan
Legendary Traits
- Titanic Horror: The Balorborn’s immense size causes structures to tremble as it moves. It ignores difficult terrain and can move through spaces occupied by Medium or smaller creatures without impediment. Any creature within 10 feet when it moves past must make a DC 18 Strength save or be knocked prone.
- Abyssal Bloodline: Magic cannot put the Balorborn to sleep, and it has advantage on saves against spells and magical effects.
- Cursed Eye (Recharge 5-6): As a legendary descendant of Balor, the monster’s single eye is a wellspring of devastation. The Balorborn keeps its eye shut unless using this ability.
Actions
Multiattack. The Balorborn makes two melee attacks.
- Titanic Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 32 (4d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Strength save or be flung 20 feet away and knocked prone.
- Crushing Stomp. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 36 (6d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage, and the ground within 10 feet becomes difficult terrain until cleared.
- Balor’s Gaze (Recharge 5-6). The Balorborn opens its monstrous eye, releasing a wave of sheer destruction in a 60-ft. cone. Each creature in the area must make a DC 19 Dexterity save:
- Failure: 72 (12d10) radiant damage and 36 (6d10) fire damage.
- Success: Half damage.
- Creatures reduced to 0 hit points by this effect are completely disintegrated unless they are wearing or wielding a magic item.
Legendary Actions
The Fomorian Balorborn can take three legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one action can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn. It regains spent actions at the start of its turn.
- Doomed Whispers (Costs 1 Action). The Balorborn murmurs in an ancient tongue, forcing one creature within 60 feet to make a DC 17 Wisdom save or be frightened for 1 minute. The target can repeat the save at the end of each turn.
- Cyclopean Sweep (Costs 1 Action). The Balorborn swings its massive arm in an arc. All creatures within 10 feet must make a DC 18 Dexterity save or take 22 (4d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage and be knocked back 10 feet.
- Cursed Awakening (Costs 2 Actions). If the Balorborn’s Balor’s Gaze ability is recharging, it instantly recharges.
Lair Effects
When encountered in its domain, the Balorborn exerts a powerful aura of otherworldly doom.
- The land within 1 mile of its lair becomes cursed: crops wither, livestock grows ill, and the night is filled with eerie, disembodied voices.
- Once per minute, the lair can release a wave of nightmare energy. Each creature within 120 feet that is asleep must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom save or awaken screaming, gaining one level of exhaustion.
Tactics & Roleplaying Notes
The Fomorian Balorborn is a true force of devastation. It will stomp through battlefields, reducing heroes to cinders with its gaze. It is intelligent enough to speak, though cryptic and doomsaying. If forced into conversation, it will speak of fate, ruin, and the futility of resistance. Only an extraordinary act of cunning or persuasion could sway it from destruction.
Plot Hooks:
- A cursed moorland whispers of the Balorborn’s coming.
- A kingdom on the verge of war sees omens of a cyclopean horror.
- A dying seer warns that “the eye has opened once more.”
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