An altraloth was a yugoloth of any type (from lesser yugoloths such as mezzoloths to greater yugoloths such as ultroloths) that had been transformed into a unique being by a ritual known only to the night hags.[1]
Abilities[]
Altraloths were changed little mentally, but their physical forms often changed dramatically and they gained powers far in excess of the rest of their kind. After they had paid off their debt to the hags, they often rose to become the rulers of their kind.[1]
Creation[]
To begin the ritual, a cauldron was filled with water from the River Styx and with soul larvae, and a fire was built underneath that must be kept continually burning throughout the ceremony (often, fire mephits were used). The yugoloth was sealed within the cauldron using wax derived from larva slime. The cauldron was magically warded and the hags chanted arcane words for a full day for each alteration made; some of these chants were said to have taken a month or more to complete. They must willingly give a portion of their life force in order to empower the altraloth.[2]
After the chanting and the giving of life, the water must be kept boiling for another 6–36 months while the yugoloth absorbed the magic. At the end of this time, the cauldron exploded violently, spraying caustic larva juice, amnesiac water, and razor-sharp shards of cauldron all around the area. Emerging from the wreckage was an altraloth, a unique champion of the night hags and of the yugoloth race.[2]
The ritual was not foolproof, and many things could go wrong during the process. Minor interruptions would merely add another day. If the temperature in the cauldron ever fell below boiling, the yugoloth would die and the night hag's expenditure of effort and their own life would be for nothing. Even if all went according to plan, there was still a small chance of spontaneous abortion, ending in the same explosion but with the yugoloth dying.[2]
The resulting altraloth was bound to its night hag creators for the duration of its contract. If it attacked its mistresses, it suffered wracking pain. If one of its mistresses died for any reason before the contract was complete, the altraloth would also die, giving it strong incentive to protect its creators.[3]
Known and Rumored Altraloths[]
Anthraxus[]
Bubonix[]
- Bubonix, believed to have once been an arcanaloth.[4]
Charon[]
- Charon, also called Cerlic, once a marraenoloth and still resembled others of his kind.[5]
General of Gehenna[]
- The General of Gehenna, either an altraloth or an unenhanced ultroloth.[1]
Taba[]
- Taba's true form was unknown, because she was a master shapeshifter.[6]
Typhus[]
- Typhus, once a mere mezzoloth, but later resembled a 12-foot-high mezzoloth with a hunched back and a limp.[7]
Xengahra[]
Xengahra, also called the Death-Bringer and the Fallen One, was an altraloth that was a living personification of hopelessness. He was an outcast who lived in the barren regions of the Outlands after he slew the night hags that created him as soon as their contract expired. Physically, he resembled a regular solar except for the expression of utter despair he always wore, for he himself existing in a state of unending despair. Even if attacked, he preferred to flee than to fight. Unlike other altraloths, he was true neutral. Although lonely for most of the time, he was willing to speak with people who approached him for that purpose; members of the Bleak Cabal and the Doomguard were both known to do so. He preferred to speak with his melancholy, solar-like voice.[8]
Xengahra possessed a number of spell-like abilities, such as telepathy, which were his sole offensive and defensive gifts, for he did not use weapons or magic items, and compared to other altraloths he had poor combat skills. Of his spell-like abilities, he could command, understand any language, detect invisibility, easily dispel or read magic, enlarge or reduce creatures, cause fear, and cast dimension door, finger of death, mirror image, project image, wind walk, and word of recall, all at will. He continually sensed any active magic nearby himself. Once per day, he could use creeping doom and reverse magic. Three times each day, he could shapechange into the form of any aasimon. More defensively, Xengahra could only be injured by weapons bearing powerful enchantments, and spells had only a 10% chance of effecting him.[8]
His most dangerous ability, however, was the entropic aura that perpetually surrounded him in a 20 ft (6.1 m) radius. This aura caused nonmagical plant life to instantly wither to ash, and terrible wasting in magical plants and other creature. Just six seconds inside the aura could cost a creature 5% of their body weight, as well as health and strength, as they rapidly began wasting away. Only creatures with a natural resistance to magic had a chance of escaping the effects; even then, it was not a sure thing. Additionally, no amount of magic could heal the effects of the aura; only normal bed rest and eating could do so.[8]
Appendix[]
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Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ed Bonny (1997). “Pox of the Planes”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon Annual #2 (TSR, Inc.) (2)., p. 104.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ed Bonny (1997). “Pox of the Planes”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon Annual #2 (TSR, Inc.) (2)., p. 110.
- ↑ Ed Bonny (1997). “Pox of the Planes”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon Annual #2 (TSR, Inc.) (2)., pp. 110–111.
- ↑ Ed Bonny (1997). “Pox of the Planes”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon Annual #2 (TSR, Inc.) (2)., p. 105.
- ↑ Ed Bonny (1997). “Pox of the Planes”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon Annual #2 (TSR, Inc.) (2)., pp. 107–108.
- ↑ Ed Bonny (1997). “Pox of the Planes”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon Annual #2 (TSR, Inc.) (2)., p. 109.
- ↑ Ed Bonny (1997). “Pox of the Planes”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon Annual #2 (TSR, Inc.) (2)., p. 108.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Ed Bonny (1997). “Pox of the Planes”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon Annual #2 (TSR, Inc.) (2)., pp. 106–107.