RMA: Thouls

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.

1. 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!).
2. Despite "ghoulish traits", they are not undead. This means that while a cleric's turning power is useless, Sleep or Charm spells can work. 
3. 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.

Oozy Goodness Part II: Gelatinous Cube

Ah the gelatinous cube. A slime-based entity that apparently evolved to accommodate graph paper. It's probably fair to say that the cube is an iconic D&D monster. Even if a player hasn't had to deal with one himself, chances are he knows the basic idea of the thing: It slides along corridors slurping up organic debris. They are quiet, hard to see, and dissolve people.

Gelatinous Cube (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 4*
Move: 60' (20')
Att: 1
Damage: 2d4 + special
No. App: 1 (0)
Save: F2
Morale: 12
Treasure: V
AL: N

As we can see, old blocky here shares certain traits with other slimers: It's none to fast, it's got a high morale (mindless), and isn't too hard to hit. Their strength as a foe comes largely from the fact that the are "nearly transparent" and surprise quite often (1-4).

The other big deal about the GC is of course its paralyzing attack. Similar to a Ghoul's, the effect only lasts 2d4 turns and can be removed with Cure Light Wounds. Of course, if a character fails their save and is paralyzed while the cube is busily trying to devour him, a few turns is plenty of time to finish off a victim.

Gelatinous cubes aren't horrifically tough, mind you. As long as a party member or two stays clear, they can likely finish one off in a few rounds. Interestingly, the cube is immune to electrical and cold attacks, but fire does the trick nicely. Lobbing flask of burning oil from a distance is a favorite tactic of many adventurers.

A cube has no lair, and its meager treasure type (V) reflects this somewhat. There's always a chance of some coins or gems stuck undissolved in the goo, but probably not much. Far more interesting is for a DM to deliberately place something the PCs want or need within the cube to make dealing with the creature more necessary.

DMs should play up how hard it is to spot a cube in a dark dungeon corridor as well as its chance at surprise. Once the PCs know its there, chances are the bulk of the danger is gone. Conversely, players should rely on ranged attacks (often after some poor soul has gotten paralyzed to reveal the threat) as well as flaming oil or similar.

Cubes can also be incorporated into traps and ambushes. If there is some evil lich or some such "Dungeon Boss" that has stocked his lair with creatures to keep out interlopers, cubes can be used to up the ante. Spiked pit? Yawn. Pit with a cube in the bottom? Now yer talkin'! Or perhaps the cube does the falling. Trap the PCs in a 10 x 10' stretch of hallway with portcullis traps and have the cube fall out of a ceiling panel onto them.