Hordling

Hordlings are the uncounted hordes of the Gray Wastes. They form the majority of the population of that plane. They vary widely in size and appearance. Some are large, some small; some humanoid, some animal-like, some amorphous; some have wings or tentacles. No two look exactly alike, and they have no standard means of communication.

Combat: Choose each hordling’s characteristics as the situation requires. These tables present traits that pertain to combat and flight. Other tables (below) give the appearance of individual hordlings. Choose AC, movement rate, Hit Dice, magic resistance, and size from this table, or roll ld4 for each characteristic:

Choose physical attributes as desired; the lists below suggest typical attributes. Some attributes enhance combat ability, and are labeled with a parenthetical lower case letter, further explained in the Combat section.

Hordlings with hands, tentacles, or prehensile toes or tail can use weapons.

Having created a hordling, assign its attacks according to its mouth, arm, tail, and leg attributes. The following table provides examples.

For example, a hordling with two claws, crushing teeth, and a strength of 18/00 would attack at +3 and do 2-5+6/2-5+6/3-6+6.

A hordling may also have special attacks (10%, chance) or defenses (20% chance). These tables list the abilities; roll randomly or choose:

Hordlings have infravision to 120’. Treat hordlings as having 5 Hit Dice for purposes of clerical turning of undead.

Habitat/Society: There are an infinite number of hordlings on the infinite layers of the Abyss. They have no purpose or organization.

Hordlings are petty and vile. They roam the Gray Waste, attacking those weaker than themselves. They sometimes serve under strong leaders, but few leaders maintain hordlings for long, for they are unruly, untrustworthy, and chaotic.

Occasionally, evil mages summon hordlings to do their bidding. Normal summonings always produce a single hordling. The only known way to summon more than a single hordling into the Prime Material Plane is the Bringer of doom, a strange device created by arcane magic during the Age of Doom.

Ecology: Hordlings devour whatever they destroy, usually other hordlings. That there is otherwise no readily available food supply on the Lower Planes makes the endless, relatively weak hordlings common prey for more powerful beings.

The physical appearance of a hordling may become important in play. The following list offers typical features, but many others are possible.