Ten Troglodyte Spells
Troglodytes provide a very different challenge from Sahuagin in spell design. According to the 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide, they have shamans with a maximum of 3rd level, and are thus are restricted to first and second level cleric spells. With that in mind, I have come up with a few divine spells granted by Laogzed and thus are meant to be specific to Troglodytes and other worshippers of the lizard-toad.
Troglodytes provide a very different challenge from Sahuagin in spell design. According to the 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide, they have shamans with a maximum of 3rd level, and are thus are restricted to first and second level cleric spells. With that in mind, I have come up with a few divine spells granted by Laogzed and thus are meant to be specific to Troglodytes and other worshippers of the lizard-toad.
Zombie troglodytes are not that common as most of their dead are consumed. If there is abundant food, then the shaman will animate a few zombies for their personal use. Otherwise all the undead created will be skeletons. This is otherwise identical to Animate Dead. The reason the spell is of much lower level is that it only works on dead troglodytes.
Fire Scales heat a reptilian target, making the cold blooded creature faster. They get a +2 to initiative checks and an increase of 50% to their movement rate. They also are very obvious to infravision and can be detected at triple the normal distance.
Hibernate is used to keep some of the tribe on ice when food supplies get dire. They recipient of the spell sleeps and requires no food or water until awakened. The shaman can dispel any number of castings with one round of effort though the usual method is a sharp wack with a tail- any disturbance awakens the sleeping troglodytes.
Ice Scales turn a reptilian invisible to infravision by altering their skin and scales to the background temperature. This also slows cold blooded reptiles, cutting their movement rate in half. This spell can not be combined with Fire Scales.
Spiders are the most common venomous predators in the deeps and troglodytes have to deal with them often enough that Laogzed developed this spell centuries ago. As long as the spell is active, the recipient is completely immune to all spider venom. It is a common spell when trogs raid drow enclaves. There are some rare variants that allow immunity to snake venom, centipede venom and various monster venoms. Magical monster venom require a second level spell.
The underdark can be devoid of food, a desert found deep underground. This spell allows troglodytes to find meat by scent by turning their sense of smell shark-like. Any meat, alive or dead, within a mile up wind can be smelled by the recipient of this spell.
The shaman can collect their own stench fluid and throw it like a grenade. Usually they don't bother with hitting a target, rather they aim for a group of foes and hope to hit the ground beneath their feet. The stink bomb acts as normal trog stench.
Many creatures in the underdark are blinded by bright light and this spell uses that vulnerability. It is cast upon a staff or club and remains active until the item is dropped or the spell ends. Every round, the object flashes 10 times. This forces all who see it to save versus spells or be blinded for 1d4 rounds. Those who are vulnerable to bright light, such as orcs and kobolds, save at -4 and are blinded for 3d4 rounds. The caster is immune to the spell (not that that helps the other troglodytes in the area).
Most Troglodytes are brutes with little sense of tactics, which makes this spell all the more dangerous. Intelligent shamans cast it upon sleeping foes, killing them without making much of an effort. The spell works by displacing oxygen (or the fantasy equivilent) and thus magic resistance provides no protection. Those who are within the 30' diameter cloud and are awake can make a wisdom check to determine something is wrong before they suffocate. Sleeping creatures automatically die when they run out of air using the suffocation rules.
Water can be either very abundant or very rare in the deeps depending on how fractured or porous the bedrock is. In places where water is rare, trogs use this spell to draw water from corpses (and rarely fungi). A human sized body produces enough water for two Troglodytes for one day. Shamans dislike using this spell as it makes the meat inedible- the corpses are used as fuel for fires. But it also keeps the tribe alive.
