Thornling
Select Subtype:
Description:
Thornlings are believed to be creatures grown by the fae from some enchanted form of the bloodthorn vine; their sinuous twisting limbs are covered with thorns and they become more dangerous and more powerful the more they kill. Thornlings usually only appear in large numbers, swarming out of fae controlled lands to wreak havoc before more organized forces are deployed.
Special:
Thornlings are immune to poison and disease, but take +50% damage from flame based attacks.
Variants:
Individual thornlings are not much of a threat to seasoned adventurers, but in numbers they can be extremely dangerous. They do not fight in an organized fashion, but the various synergies among their different types can make them surprisingly effective. A typical distribution of thornlings would be 8 swarmers, 2 tanglers and two standard thornlings in each dozen.
Swarmer
Thornling swarmers are smaller, lighter and weaker than other thornlings, but they are more aggressive and will fight as berserkers with paired axes allowing them to quickly overwealm lightly armed or less experienced opponents. In large groups, their swarm attacks can wear down the defenses of even experienced, hardened enemy forces.
Tangler
Thornling tanglers use spears and nets to disrupt opponents, keeping them down and/or entangled and making them significantly more vulnerable to being overwhelmed by swarmers or finished off by standard thornlings.