A featureless black globe, five feet across, drifting slowly through the stone wall. The stone does not crumble or crack — it simply is not there anymore. The blackball continues at its unhurried pace. It has no opinion about you.
This Is Not a Monster #
The Blackball is categorized as a Planar Monster but it does not function as one. It has no HD, no attack roll, no saving throw, no alignment, no intelligence, and no treasure. It cannot be harmed, bargained with, driven off, controlled by mortals, or affected by any mortal magic or force. It is an environmental hazard that moves.
The RC explicitly states: “It is not known what these curious beings are, or even if they are living creatures.”
For mechanical purposes in the Skills-Based BECMI framework:
- The Blackball cannot be fought — there is no HR to roll against, no HP to reduce
- The Blackball cannot be stopped — there is no FD to overcome, no barrier that holds it
- The Blackball cannot be reasoned with — INT 0 and no alignment means social resolution is impossible
- The Blackball can only be redirected or removed — via Gate (to another plane) or a carefully-worded Wish
- Immortal control is the only authority it recognizes
CR 30 is assigned not because it can be defeated at that challenge level but to communicate to the DM that there is no challenge level at which a mortal party can address this creature conventionally. CR 30 means “this is an Immortal-tier problem.”
Core Statistics #
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Hit Dice | None (cannot be damaged by any mortal means) |
| AC | 29 (notional — see note) |
| AV | 0 |
| HR | N/A (touch is automatic — no attack roll required) |
| FR | N/A |
| FD | N/A |
| Move | 30 ft (10 ft encounter) — random drift, with intelligent-creature tracking at range |
| Attacks | 1 touch — automatic disintegration, no attack roll, no saving throw |
| Save As | N/A (nothing affects it to save against) |
| Morale | 12 (never checks — it has no fear response, no cognition) |
| Treasure | Nil |
| Alignment | None |
| Intelligence | None (INT 0) |
| XP | 7,500 |
AC 29 — Notional Only: The RC gives AC 9 (descending) = Ascending AC 11 for a creature of its size. However, AC as a targeting difficulty is meaningless for the Blackball — it cannot be damaged by attacks that would need to overcome AC. The AC 29 listed above represents the conceptual difficulty of “affecting” the Blackball through mortal means, expressed in the framework’s terms, purely to communicate to players that conventional attack is not the answer. The DM should simply state: the Blackball cannot be harmed by mortal weapons or spells.
The Disintegration Touch — Complete Mechanics #
How It Works #
Whatever the Blackball touches disintegrates. Completely. Instantly. No attack roll is made by the Blackball — contact is the only requirement. No saving throw is permitted for the target.
The contact resolution:
- The Blackball moves toward the nearest intelligent creature within 60 ft
- If no intelligent creature is within 60 ft, it moves randomly
- When it enters the same 5-ft space as any object or creature, that object or creature is disintegrated
- The Blackball continues moving — it passes through the space where the thing was, now empty
Disintegration is total. The RC’s Disintegrate spell description is the closest reference: the target is reduced to fine powder. For living creatures, this means:
- No body remains — no Raise Dead possible, no resurrection possible from the remains
- All equipment carried is also disintegrated — magic items, artifacts, and all
- The character is simply gone
This is not a save-or-die effect — it is a contact effect. Save-or-die effects allow a saving throw. The Blackball permits none. If the Blackball touches a character, that character is gone.
What the Blackball Disintegrates #
Living creatures: Any living creature touched is disintegrated. No HD minimum, no maximum. A commoner or an ancient dragon — the result is the same.
Objects: Any object touched is disintegrated — stone, metal, wood, magical materials, artifacts. The Blackball moves through stone walls by disintegrating them as it passes. There is no material it cannot affect.
Magic items: Magical items are disintegrated along with everything else. The RC does not provide a saving throw for magical items. For artifacts and relics (which have their own destruction conditions in the RC), the DM must adjudicate — a strict reading of the RC suggests even artifacts are disintegrated, but some DMs may rule that artifacts of sufficient power resist. This ruling should be made before the encounter arises.
Immortal-created barriers and effects: Immortal-level magic specifically resists the Blackball — the only form of control it accepts is Immortal control. A Sphere of Annihilation (a mortal magic item) would interact with the Blackball at DM discretion, but standard mortal barriers do not.
What the Blackball does NOT disintegrate: The RC does not list any exception for material types. Stone, air, water, magical force effects — all are disintegrated on contact. The Blackball does not accumulate mass from what it disintegrates — it passes through the space cleanly.
Movement and Targeting Behavior #
Random Movement (Default) #
When no intelligent creature is within 60 ft, the Blackball moves randomly. The DM may roll 1d8 for direction each round (8 cardinal/diagonal directions) or simply drift it in the direction that creates the most interesting encounter development. It moves at 30 ft (10 ft encounter) — very slow by any combat standard.
Through walls and floors: The Blackball passes through any material without difficulty. A stone wall in its path is disintegrated as it moves through. It does not slow down for walls. It cannot be contained by any physical barrier.
Intelligent Creature Tracking (Within 60 ft) #
When an intelligent creature enters within 60 ft, the Blackball moves toward the nearest one. This is not pursuit — it does not accelerate, does not change its speed, and does not avoid obstacles (it disintegrates them). It simply reorients toward the nearest intelligent creature and moves in that direction at its standard 30 ft speed.
What counts as “intelligent” for tracking purposes:
- Creatures with INT 3 or higher (Low intelligence minimum)
- Spell effects that simulate intelligent beings (a Magic Mouth does not count; a summoned creature does)
- Animal intelligence creatures (INT 2) — the RC does not specify; DM judgment. A strict reading of “intelligent creature” suggests INT 3+ only
What the Blackball ignores for movement purposes:
- Non-intelligent creatures (animals, plants, unintelligent undead, constructs)
- Objects (including treasure)
- Other Blackballs (theoretically — the RC implies there is only ever 1)
The 60-ft detection radius: The Blackball detects intelligent creatures within 60 ft through some mechanism the RC does not explain. This detection is not sight-based (it has no visible eyes) — presumably it is some form of life-energy or mind-energy detection. Invisibility, Darkness, and concealment do not prevent detection. A hidden character within 60 ft still attracts the Blackball.
What Mortals Can Do #
There are exactly three things a mortal party can do about a Blackball:
1. Run #
The Blackball moves at 30 ft (10 ft encounter). Most characters move at 120 ft (40 ft encounter). Simply staying more than 60 ft from the Blackball means it ignores the party (random movement) and presents a navigation problem rather than a combat problem. Moving away from a Blackball at standard movement speed is trivially achievable.
The complication: The Blackball passes through walls. A party running from a Blackball in a dungeon cannot seal a door behind them and feel safe — the Blackball will disintegrate the door and the wall and continue. The party must stay far enough ahead that the Blackball’s 30 ft random drift never closes to within 60 ft.
Encumbered characters: A heavily encumbered character with 60 ft move (20 ft encounter) is at risk of being overtaken if the Blackball gets within 60 ft and begins directed movement. A character with 30 ft move speed is exactly at parity with the Blackball — any obstacle in the runner’s path (that does not exist for the Blackball) is potentially fatal.
2. Gate to Another Plane #
A Gate spell can send the Blackball to another plane. This requires:
- A Magic-User of sufficient level to cast Gate (9th level spell)
- The Blackball must be within range of the Gate at the moment of casting
- The destination plane receives the Blackball — it becomes that plane’s problem
The tactical problem: Casting Gate requires the caster to be within range of the Blackball (30 ft for Gate in standard BECMI). Within 30 ft of the Blackball means within its detection range (60 ft) — it is already moving toward the caster. The caster must remain stationary for the casting round while the Blackball approaches. If the Blackball reaches the caster before the spell completes, the caster is disintegrated.
Possible execution: A party member distracts the Blackball (moves within 60 ft from a different direction, becoming the nearest intelligent creature) while the caster maintains distance. The caster then moves within Gate range from behind and casts while the Blackball is oriented toward the distractor. This is a two-person coordination problem with instant death as the failure condition.
3. A Carefully Worded Wish #
The RC specifically qualifies the Wish as “carefully worded” — implying that an imprecise wish may not resolve the situation or may resolve it in an unintended way. A Wish to destroy the Blackball might fail (it may not be destroyable by mortal means). A Wish to send it away might partially work. A precisely worded Wish to “return this Blackball to the plane from which it came and prevent it from returning to this plane” might be the most reliable formulation.
Who has Wish: A Magic-User of 9th level can cast Wish (9th level spell). At the level required, the party presumably has resources to execute this. The challenge is the “carefully worded” qualifier — the DM should take this seriously and require the player to actually phrase the Wish precisely. The Blackball’s unknown nature (is it alive? can it be destroyed? does it have an origin plane?) makes the wording genuinely challenging.
Immortal Control #
The RC states an Immortal can command a Blackball. This is the only form of control that works.
What this means for the campaign:
- If a party encounters a Blackball, there is a nonzero chance it was sent by an Immortal
- An Immortal who wishes to deploy a Blackball as a weapon does so by directing it toward a specific target — the Blackball then homes on the nearest intelligent creature, which the Immortal has arranged to be the target
- A party being stalked by a Blackball may have attracted an Immortal’s hostile attention
- Conversely, an Immortal ally might command a Blackball away from the party — this is the most accessible resolution if the party has established relationships with Immortal-tier NPCs
Detecting Immortal involvement: A Cleric of sufficient level who casts Commune and asks whether the Blackball was sent by an Immortal will receive an accurate yes/no answer. Identifying which Immortal requires more specific knowledge. A party with a friendly Immortal patron may petition that Immortal to deal with the Blackball — this is a valid use of divine patronage.
Unknown Nature — The RC’s Explicit Uncertainty #
The RC states: “It is not known what these curious beings are, or even if they are living creatures.”
This is not evasion — it is a genuine design statement. The Blackball is intentionally undefined. Some possibilities that the DM might explore:
A natural phenomenon: The Blackball is not a creature at all but a region of spatial abnormality — a point where the fabric of reality has a gap, and anything that contacts the gap ceases to exist. Its “movement” is the gap slowly wandering. Its “tracking” of intelligent creatures is some property of reality gaps being attracted to concentrated life-energy.
A constructed weapon: An ancient or Immortal-created device for planetary-scale destruction or targeted assassination. Its Immortal-control property suggests deliberate design rather than natural origin. Some campaign context might identify the civilization or entity that created Blackballs and why.
A being from outside normal existence: A creature from a plane or dimension where the rules of existence are different — one where contact with material-plane matter causes the matter to cease, not because the Blackball is destructive but because its very nature is incompatible with normal matter.
A fragment of un-creation: In BECMI cosmology, the Outer Planes represent different aspects of cosmic alignment. A Blackball might be a fragment of some absolute negative state — not Chaotic evil but simply the negation of existence itself.
The DM should not explain the Blackball. Its unknown nature is a feature. A party that survives an encounter with one should be left wondering what it was.
Saving Throw Note #
The RC states “Save As: See below” and then provides no further specification. This is intentional — nothing that mortals can do requires the Blackball to save. The Blackball does not save against spells (spells do not affect it). It does not save against physical attacks (physical attacks do not affect it). “Save As” is meaningless for this entity.
For the XP award: The 7,500 XP is awarded if the party successfully deals with the Blackball — through Gate, Wish, or Immortal intervention. It is not awarded for running away (the Blackball was not “defeated”) but the DM may award partial XP for a clever escape that removed the Blackball as an immediate threat.
Encounter Notes #
The encounter is a puzzle, not a combat: The party’s first instinct (attack) fails immediately — attacks have no effect. Their second instinct (flee) works, but puts them in a position of “we cannot stay in this dungeon while this thing is here.” The real encounter is: how do we resolve this so we can continue? The answer is Gate, Wish, or finding an Immortal-level resource.
Pacing the encounter: The Blackball’s 30 ft move speed means even directed movement is slow. A party that understands the threat and stays mobile is safe. The genuine danger is:
- A party member who becomes cornered (against a wall the Blackball disintegrates, removing the barrier and continuing)
- A party member who is separated and becomes the nearest intelligent creature
- A party member who does not know what a Blackball is and tries to attack it (wasting spells and actions, possibly attracting the Blackball toward themselves)
The knowledge check: A Bard’s Lore check or a Knowledge (General Skill, INT-based) check at difficulty –4 (extremely rare, obscure creature) reveals the creature’s nature and the two solutions (Gate and Wish). A Cleric with Knowledge Arcana or Planar Geography has a better baseline. Without this knowledge the party must reason from observation: attacks have no effect, it disintegrates everything it touches, it moves toward them.
The first round of contact: The party should understand what happens when the Blackball first disintegrates something. If the party enters a room and sees the Blackball approach a rat, a table, or a wall segment — the disintegration of that object (no dust, no crumble, simply gone) is the most important information they will receive. A party that witnesses this before it touches a character knows what they are dealing with. A party that does not see the first disintegration learns when the Blackball touches a character.
Treasure: The Blackball carries no treasure and disintegrates all treasure it contacts. Any dungeon area the Blackball has been drifting through has had its non-stone contents destroyed. This is an encounter with negative treasure yield — the party may find an otherwise-rich room stripped bare by a Blackball’s passage.
