These have come up recently in a few online forums and groups, so now they are on my mind.
A memorable take on the creature by the late, great Steve Zieser!
Thouls are pretty well known among a certain segment of the old-school D&D crowd. They are definitely one of the weirder creations within the BX books. The theory behind their creation that I subscribe to is that some DM was trying to fake their players out with something that looked like a normal humanoid, but had weird abilities.
Despite the fact that they have an almost iconic status. I have rarely seen them used outside of a written encounter in the module B10: Night's Dark Terror.
Thoul (from Moldvay):
AC: 6
HD: 3**
Move: 120' (40')
Att: 2 Claws or weapon
Damage: 1d3/1d3 or weapon
No. App: 1d6 (1d10)
Save: F3
Morale: 10
Treasure: C
AL: C
Thouls are described in Moldvay as "a magical combination of a ghoul, a hobgoblin, and a troll." What this means in practice is that they look like a hobgoblin, but can paralyze you and they regenerate. They do appear as a level three wandering monster. With two potentially paralyzing attacks per round, 1d6+ of these creatures could give a low-level party a very bad time indeed. There are a couple of points to clarify, though.
- They do not look exactly like hobgoblins. At close range, there are visible differences. A party might be able to spot them and prepare accordingly (or flee!).
- Despite "ghoulish traits", they are not undead. This means that while a cleric's turning power is useless, Sleep or Charm spells can work.
- Their regeneration is only 1hp/round. While it is (apparently) not stopped by fire or acid damage, it will not revive a killed thoul.
I imagine thouls as a sort of sub-race to the hobgoblins. The description says they might be found guarding a hobgoblin king. Perhaps they are viewed as useful freaks? Who knows? As a DM, I think I would likely use them mixed in with the normal hobbos, so as the PCs work their way through the foe, there are a few nasty surprises waiting in the mix. Even though a Sleep spell can work on them, if they are among a bunch of 1+1 HD hobgoblins, the lower HD critters will take the brunt of the spell's effect. Their regeneration also means a bit more book-keeping in running them, but adds tot he scariness of the encounter.
The Thoul is also found as a wandering monster in B4 - The Lost City and an encounter in the first level of the dungeon of the castle in B5 - Horror on the Hill.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I own, but haven't run or played, those two modules. B10 is the only one I've run that had a thoul encounter written into it.
DeleteHey there! Just found your blog and I am perusing your posts. I am a big fan of ‘81 B/X D&D so I am enjoying your insights on the topic.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Thouls: I recently ran Keep on the Borderlands for some friends at work and had the Evil Priest from Shrine of Evil Chaos as the ringleader behind the Caves of Chaos Monster Condo. He was organizing the various tribes in preparation to take over the keep. And he was building an army of undead. One thing he did was take the was bodies that the adventurers left behind and reanimate them as undead minions. So the party had the pleasure of fighting the same enemy twice. He also demanded tribute from the monsters so he took several hobgoblins and made them into Thouls to serve as his bodyguards. Invoking the powers of evil chaos and performing a ritual involving troll blood he made himself four ghouls which traveled with him and enforced his evil will.
So I guess I found a niche that Thouls can fit into.