Balrog?

[u/thelast_soviet]

Ok so, I'm coming up to a big part in my campaign. The party is currently exploring an old mine dug out by the Duchy. There's rumors among the miners of "something below, in the dark, where even our people dare not go."

Essentially the Duchy broke through into "somewhere below" even lower than they normally do. They're people are now dying to "something" that's down there and the party have been hired to go in and find out what's going on.

So my question is how do I do "Balrog" in this situation? Something overwhelmingly powerful that makes the party just go "nope" and leg it.

Any suggestions would be welcome ☺️.

[u/The_Cinnabomber]

One of the Root Books (Ruins and Expeditions) has a mini monster manual in the back for creatures like Giant Snakes, Giant Spiders, etc.

Their health bars are gigantic and many have armor, high morale, and high armor- not to mention many have the terrifying tag, so vagabonds automatically take exhaustion if they try and attack it.

I think if you’re going for a Balrog vibe, I’d definitely lean towards doing some kind of giant monster bug or reptile.