Editing Galeb Duhr

[[File:Galeb duhr MM 2e.png|thumb|right|...oh...hey....guys.]]
'''Galeb Duhr''' are an obscure species of vaguely [[dwarf]]-like rock [[elemental]] from the worlds of [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. Described as boulders that walk, with primitive faces, they are generally described as something akin to [[treant]]s of stone; they look after rocky badlands and mountains, collecting gems and keeping their dwelling places from being wantonly destroyed. They even have the power to animate stones around them and use them as allies in combat, similar to how treants can animate trees. 

==[[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]==
[[File:Galeb duhr Monster card.jpg|thumb|right|The Galeb Duhr's first appearance.]]
Galeb duhr first appeared in 1982, as part of the 2nd set of Monster Cards, alongside the much-more-famous [[thri-kreen]]. They first saw print as an AD&D 1e monster in the [[Monster Manual]] II, and were updated to AD&D 2e in the Monstrous Compendium Volume 2, which was then reprinted in the Monstrous Manual. They also had an "Ecology of the Galeb Duhr" article in [[Dragon Magazine]] #172.

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The galeb duhr is a curious boulder-like creature with appendages that act as hands and feet. These intelligent beings are very large and slow-moving. They live in rocky or mountainous areas where they can feel the earth power and control the rocks around them.

A typical galeb duhr is from 8 to 12 feet tall. When not moving it looks like part of the terrain it lives in.

Combat: Galeb duhr are fairly solitary creatures, preferring to live with a few of their own kind, and none of any other kind, including earth elementals. When approached, a galeb duhr is liable to avoid the encounter by disappearing into the ground. If chased or otherwise irritated, however, a galeb duhr does not hesitate to fight the intruder.

Galeb duhr can cast the following spells as 20th-level mages, once per day: move earth, stone shape, passwall, transmute rock to mud, and wall of stone. They can cast stone shape at will.

They can animate 1-2 boulders within 60 yards of them (AC 0; MV 3; HD 9; Dam 4d6) as a treant controls trees. Galeb duhr suffer double damage from cold-based attacks and save with a -4 penalty against these attacks. They are not harmed by lightning or normal fire, but suffer full damage from magical fire (though they save with a +4 bonus against fire attacks).

Habitat/Society: Galeb duhr, thought to be native to the elemental plane of Earth, are sometimes encountered in small family groups in mountainous regions of the Prime Material plane. It is not known how (or whether) galeb duhr reproduce, but “young” galeb duhr have occasionally been reported — those specimens encountered being a smaller size than normal.

While galeb duhr seem to have no visible culture above ground, they are known to collect gems, which they find through their passwall ability. They sometimes have small magical items in their possession, evidently taken from those who attacked them to take their gems.

The “music” of the galeb duhr often provides the first evidence that these creatures are near — and usually the only evidence, as the unsociable galeb duhr are quick to pass into the ground when they feel the vibrations of approaching visitors.

Sitting together in groups, the galeb duhr harmonize their gravelly voices into eldritch tunes; some sages speculate that these melodies can cause or prevent earthquakes. Others argue that the low rumbling produced by these creatures is a form of warning to others in the group, but there is no conclusive evidence either way.

Ecology: Galeb duhr have no natural enemies, other than those who crave the gems they collect. Galeb duhr eat rock, preferring granite to other types, and disdaining any sedimentary type. The rocks they eat become part of the huge creatures; such a meal need take place only once every two or three months.

Besides the gems that they carry with them, galeb duhr are likely to know where many other gems are, as well as veins of precious metals, such as gold, silver, and platinum, though galeb duhr seem to have no interest in these minerals for themselves. A few powerful mages have been able to bargain with the galeb duhr for this information. This is a difficult agreement to consummate, for the galeb duhr are valiant fighters, and usually have no difficulty in escaping from any harm if they are inclined to do so. Further, the galeb duhr are territorial, and would be irritated at any attempt to make use of this knowledge in their vicinity.

In some strange way, galeb duhr feel responsible for the smaller rocks and boulders around them, in much the same way that a treant feels responsible for trees in its neighborhood. A traveler who disturbs the area near a galeb duhr does so at his own peril.

==[[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]]==
[[File:Galeb duhr 3e.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Now with arms!]]

In 3e, galeb duhr didn't appear until the [[Monster Manual]] 2, in which they were treated much the same as they had been in the previous edition: quiet, inoffensive, mountain-dwelling [[elemental]]s who look after the earth and stones around them, similarly to [[treant]]s.

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Galeb duhrs are among the oddest creatures that an adventurer can encounter, but they are seldom dangerous. They live only in the mountains and seldom, if ever, venture onto other terrain. It is not known whether galeb duhrs can reproduce on the Material Plane, or whether the ones found there have all come from the Elemental Plane of Earth.

To all appearances a galeb duhr is a living boulder with two dark, brooding eyes, a mouth, and rough-hewn appendages that serve as hands and feet. The typical galeb duhr stands about 4 feet tall, though advanced versions can reach heights of up to 16 feet.

When sitting perfectly still (an activity that occupies much of its time), a galeb duhr is nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding stone—so much so that many travelers walk right past one without realizing it. Galeb duhrs do love to sing, however, and occasionally their deep, resonant, slow, and often palpably sad songs reveal their presence. The frequency of much of their singing falls below the range of human hearing, but the subsonic tones can be felt through the ground for many miles and tend to make horses nervous.

As one might imagine, galeb duhrs are slow-moving, slow to anger, slow to action, and always take the long view. They have no known enemies except time. Now and then reckless monsters or adventurers attack them, hoping to acquire either gems or information about where to find rich veins of gold or other precious ore. Such attempts are generally doomed before they even begin. Galeb duhrs do know all there is to know about their mountain homes, both aboveground and below, but forcing them to give up those details is difficult in the extreme.

To further complicate matters, galeb duhrs are quite territorial, even to the point of feeling protective about rocks and boulders, in much the same way that a treant feels responsible for the forest in which it lives. Anyone damaging, destroying, or even mining the mountains near a galeb duhr’s home often discovers some very staunch opposition.

==[[Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition]]==
[[File:Galeb duhr 4e.png|thumb|right|300px]]

4th edition turned the galeb duhr's fate around, debuting them in the very first [[Monster Manual]] of the edition. Perhaps inspired by the surprisingly humanoid artwork given to them in the previous edition, 4e changed galeb duhr into an offshoot branch of the [[dwarf]] race; similarly to [[azer]]s, galeb duhr were now envisioned as the descendants of dwarf clans that had been enslaved by the rockier breeds of [[giant]] for so long that they had transformed into a race of lesser elementals in turn. Despite this, most galeb duhr have fought their way into freedom; whilst they are most common in the [[Elemental Chaos]], they are also found throughout the mortal world, and some have even made it to the [[Astral Sea]], where they have been welcomed into the portions of [[Celestia]] controlled by [[Moradin]].

The Monster Manual contains stats for two galeb duhr variants; the Earthbreaker and the Rockcaller. [[Dungeon Magazine]] #198 would add two more versions in the form of the Rockbreaker and the Rockspawn.

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==[[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]]==
[[File:Galeb duhr 5e.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]

Finally, galeb duhr returned to 5e in the [[Monster Manual]], having resumed their old fluff as small earth elementals with a [[treant]]-esque mentality.

{{NotFunny Sourcebook}}
The galeb duhr is a boulder-like creature with stumpy appendages that act as arms and legs. It has the ability to animate the rocks and boulders around it, and is thus usually encountered in rocky terrain.

Powerful magic allows a spellcaster to summon a galeb duhr from the Plane of Earth. Some galeb duhr also form naturally in places touched by that plane. The galeb duhr is imbued with greater intelligence than most elementals, allowing it to better assess threats and to communicate with creatures entering its guarded area.

A galeb duhr doesn't age or require sustenance, making it an excellent sentinel. A powerful druid might charge a galeb duhr with protecting a stone circle or sacred hilltop. Another galeb duhr might be created to guard an underground tomb or a wizard's tower. When it chooses to, the galeb duhr can make itself look like an ordinary boulder, remaining perfectly still for years at a time.

A galeb duhr is permanently bound to the Material Plane, so that when it dies, it doesn't return to the Plane of Earth. It has an excellent memory and is more than happy to share information regarding its environment with creatures it doesn't regard as threats.

A galeb duhr can become one with the earth around it, allowing it to imbue nearby rocks and boulders with a semblance of life. The galeb duhr uses its animated boulders to frighten away interlopers and defend whatever it has been charged to protect. When it needs to move close to those intruders, it presses its limbs tight to its body and rolls forward at a furious pace.

==Related Species==
The dridge are a race of rock-like creatures who once lived beneath the surface of the world of Lukkum in Shadowspace in the Spelljammer adventure Heart of the Enemy (1992).

The faerie phiz from Dragon #191 (March 1993) is described as a mystical entity similar in nature to a galeb duhr.

The Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix (1994) notes that the shell-dwellers known as the [[geonid]]s may be related to the galeb duhr.

The demigod-like dharum suhn from Planescape Monstrous Compendium III is also related to the galeb duhr.

The City of Ravens Bluff (1998) details the dragger, a slightly weaker but more aggressive cousin of the galeb duhr.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Galeb duhr 1e.jpg|1e Monster Manual 2
Galeb duhr MCV2.jpg|2e Monstrous Compendium Vol. 2
</gallery>

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category: Monsters]]