Should the Balor cast Blasphemy?

Balors, according to the (3.5ed?) monster manual, should be able to cast the spell Blasphemy, at will.

Blasphemy is a spell that was not implemented in the vanilla game, but was introduced in Co8.

Summary of the spell: (as it pertains to the Balor's caster level - 20)

• Affects non-evil only.
• Spell effects: (cumulative)
  • Up to Level 10: Instakill
  • Up to Level 15: Paralysis for 1d10 minutes
  • Up to Level 19: Strength decreases by 2d6 points for 2d4 rounds
  • Up to Level 20: Dazed for 1 round
• No saving throw!
• Full details here.

The question is - should the game's Balor Guardian be given this spell as part of its casting/AI routine?

Arguments in favor:

• He should be able to cast it, as per the rules. (see link)
• It will make the battle much more challenging, and thus rewarding.

Arguments against:

• It's a really cheap spell.
• Players will pretty much have to grind till they're level 16 to stand a chance to beat the Balor.
  • Well, either that or use exploits, like Protection From Evil, sending a sacrificial NPC, etc.
• The original game was designed for level 10 parties.
• It's already tough enough as it is.
• Not sure, but I think p&p ToEE didn't even have Balors in it? ("type VI demons")

What do you think?

 

What is the Balor's caster level? This is the last line from the spell description:

Creatures whose Hit Dice exceed your caster level are unaffected by blasphemy.

Seems like if this is an at-will power, it should be used. Would really ramp-up the frustration level for those who experience the Balor crashes though.

 

The Balor's caster level is 20.
Hence, it instakills up to level 10 parties, and might as well instakill up to level 15 (paralysis for more than 10 rounds).

 

The damn thing is grossly overpowered now. With that spell the encounter would be way over. I've always hated that encounter anyway. I'd just console the gem and move on.

 

Let's not forget that Blasphemy affects only non-evil creatures. Evil parties wouldn't be bothered at all, good parties could use evil NPCs (Oolghrist, Scropp, Zert etc etc...) properly pre-buffed. Good parties would fight evil with evil, cool
I say, bring it on :yes:

 

naw man. cause like, if the battle goes bad zert will turn on ya. oolghrist is weak to fire damage, and oolghrist and scorp have increadably low wisdom so when the balor casts fear, they would be runnin away. get me? also i feel that the balor should not cast blasphemy cause like, unless your party has 1-2 ppl in it, cause like the less ppl the more xp every1 else gets from what i notice, then who is actually lvl 16 by the time you get to the nodes?

 

Like I said, evil parties are not affected no matter the level. good parties should keep more than 40ft from the Balor(the radius of the spell, casted on the Balor) so level doesn't really matter. As about the NPCs, they were just examples. You can find lots of others( Darley :dribble: ....) And I said "properly pre-buffed", i.e. protection from fire, from evil, owl's wisdom, ring of fire etc.... And after all it doesn't have to be easy, when you played the game for the Nth time you want more challenge. As long as it isn't mission impossible, I'm up for it.

 

I'd follow the general rule of thumb: unbalancing encounters are a no go!

In this specific case, the only other alternative would be to tweak the Blasphemy spell to have the Balor's casting level halved (from 20 to 10):

Spell effects: (cumulative)

* Up to Level 5: Instakill
* Up to Level 7: Paralysis for 1d10 minutes
* Up to Level 9: Strength decreases by 2d6 points for 2d4 rounds
* Up to Level 10: Dazed for 1 round

It'd still be quite a challenge for good/neutral aligned partys while there would not be much difference for evil eligned ones, since they'd still be equally unaffected.

 

a better solution is to have something weaker then a goddamn BALOR there... A less powerful demon would work.

When all powers and class abilities up to level 20 are implemented it could be done, in conjunction with high XP monsters preceding it and setting the XP multiplier to 1.00x (vanilla was 0.72 IIRC, current co8 is 0.6)

having the expected party level when facing it close to 20 would certainly give you a good chance, especially with the magical defenses available to a level 20 party.
but i don't see that happening any time soon so this is definitely not a good idea

 

No one would accept the removal of the Balor. It's one of ToEE's main "attractions". (even though the p&p ToEE never featured any)

As it seems, fitting the spell in requires one of the following:

1. "Hard Mode" ToEE, as Livonya once began implementing; we don't have a proper platform for that, though.
2. Refitting ToEE to a 20th level adventure; not going to happen any time soon.
3. Nerfing the spell.

 

The Balor is hard and always has been, but it can be beaten. Best challenge in the whole game. Dumbing-down would be a bad idea.

 

what if the balor cast blasphemy at CL10?
with increased difficulty (if it is every introduced) raising it to 15, and then 20 at max?

 

You are correct, Sitra, there was no Balor in the original pencil & paper super-module. The original pencil & paper super-module states that the Fire Node has the following residents:

For the New Content Edition only, I wish that Sitra Achara would change the Balor Guardian's weapon and AI Strategy Type so that it wields a vorpal weapon and uses Blasphemy and acts according to the SRD as follows (the reason for this is because in the New Content Edition, the player can bypass the Fire Node and do all of the quests in Verbobonc first, and then clear out the Fire Node and take on the Balor Guardian just before retiring from adventuring):

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/demon.htm#balor

Death Throes (Ex)
When killed, a balor explodes in a blinding flash of light that deals 100 points of damage to anything within 100 feet (Reflex DC 30 half). This explosion automatically destroys any weapons the balor is holding. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spell-Like Abilities
At will— blasphemy (DC 25), dominate monster (DC 27), greater dispel magic, greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), insanity (DC 25), power word stun, telekinesis (DC 23), unholy aura (DC 26); 1/day—fire storm (DC 26), implosion (DC 27). Caster level 20th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Vorpal Sword (Su)
Every balor carries a +1 vorpal longsword that looks like a flame or a bolt of lightning.

Summon Demon (Sp)
Once per day a balor can automatically summon 4d10 dretches, 1d4 hezrous, or one nalfeshnee, glabrezu, marilith, or balor. This ability is the equivalent of a 9th-level spell.

True Seeing (Su)
Balors have a continuous true seeing ability, as the spell (caster level 20th).

Tactics Round-By-Round
The balor is most effective as a ranged combatant, using its spell-like abilities to attack from a distance.

•Prior to combat: Unholy aura.
•Round 1: Fire storm or implosion and quickened telekinesis, or summon additional demons. If the balor does not deem itself seriously threatened, it conserves abilities usable only once per day and uses blasphemy instead.
•Round 2: Insanity or power word stun.
•Round 3: Full melee attack with weapons, including entangle with whip.
•Round 4: Teleport or fly away with entangled foe to reestablish range; repeat round 1 and continue.

 

Thanks Gazra, I will make sure the KotB Balor does the above.

j/k but I might create an ini toggle for the Balor casting Blasphemy in a future Co8 release. (vorpal sword is impossible AFAIK)