A Maljin Stalker
The Maljin are evil creatures that were locked away long ago by the ancient Utraeans. They were sealed beneath the Utraean Circle, located in the town of Hiroth, for eons, until eventually being released upon the unsuspecting citizens of the Peninsula when the Utraean Historical Society used the eight townstones to unlock the Circle's secrets.
Their return was heralded by an apocalyptic release of volcanic gas into the skies over the Peninsula, which filled the air with brimstone and burning cinders, weakening creatures who spent too much time in it, thus making them easy prey for the hungry Maljin. It spread extremely quickly, even reaching as far north as Dornek's Stone Quarry.
After they realized their terrible mistake, the adventurers who had helped gather the townstones quickly took action, and after a great deal of heavy fighting with the Maljin, placed an artifact given to them by Utraean High Priest Kavaren, known as the Tenstone, on an altar deep within the catacombs that lay beneath the Circle. This artifact released its sealed magic and instantly killed all the Maljiin before they could cause further harm to the peninsula.
Physiology[]
While appearing similar to Lava Imps, Maljin are unique in their stronger magic attacks, and that they are considerably larger. They retain features from their genetic parents, such as horns and glowing eyes, as well as tertiary features such as mummy-like bandages. Their magical abilities are changed, too.
Due to the fact that they were sealed away by the Utraeans, it is entirely possible that they were another one of the Utraeans experiments that went wrong. Rather than finding a way to revert their mistake, the Utraeans decided to seal them away where they could never harm anyone again. However, it would appear that the warning of such danger was never properly handed down from generation to generation, as by the time of the event known as the Reunification of the Townstones, it was believed by the Utraean Historical society that the vault actually held useful, powerful relics to aid in their plight, not cause further harm.
Gameplay[]
Maljin are encountered exclusively in the 'Stones of Utrae' multiplayed campaign for Dungeon Siege. They appear within the Utraean Catacombs and the Volcanic Caverns.
There are four varieties of Maljin: the Stalker, the Jolt, the Phantom, and the Assassin.
Maljin Stalkers (Lava Runner) are deadly melee opponents, especially when encountered in groups. They are swift and deal large amounts of damage. They can teleport (or run in LoA) to get away from opponents before charging back into melee range, usually bringing more nearby monsters with them.
Maljin Jolts (Lava Mage) throw small, obsidian projectiles, which do little damage on their own, but can be a serious hazard if not dealt with, especially when paired with the attacks of other, more powerful creatures.
Maljin Phantoms (Lava Horror) use bursts of magic to attack their targets, including an orange fireball, an orb of purple eldritch energy, and a cluster of green homing missiles. They are perhaps the most deadly of the Maljin, with each of their attacks dealing significant damage to even the hardiest adventurers.
Only one Maljin Assassin appears in-game, and can be found within the Inner Sanctum of the Utraean Catacombs, protecting the altar upon which the Tenstone must be placed, alongside many other Maljin. The Assassin is a more powerful version of the Maljin Stalker, with significantly more health and a stronger melee attack.
Trivia[]
- The Maljin use up-scaled versions of the models used for the various Lava Imps encountered in the game. Both types of monsters can be found together within the Volcanic Caverns of the Utraean Peninsula.
- The roles of the Maljin are changed in comparison to their imp counterparts.
- Instead of shooting two fast fireballs like a Runner, the Stalker instead is a melee-based martial arts fighter.
- The Phantom, as opposed to an easy-to-kill melee-based Horror, is instead a deadly spell-slinger.
- The Jolt is the least-changed from the Mage; as it is still ranged. However, it trades a slow, powerful fireball for quick, fast obsidian projectiles.
