Another guess about the MitD Spoiler

[Number 6]

The problem with guessing about things like this is that, if one of the fans gets it right, the author can change it and say "I meant to do that." Strazynski (sp?) did it with Babylon 5 all the time.

Just the same, here is my guess as to what the Monster in the Darkness is:

There was a type of demon in the Manual of the Planes, I believe it was called a Goristro. It was a huge man with the head of a bison.It fits all of the facts we know about MitD:

1) It has DR high enough to thwart Belkar. (I love the word thwart. Thwart, thwart, thwart....)
2) It has a stomp attack that causes a shock wave.
3) It has hands, feet, and two eyes.
4) It's very stupid, Int 8
5) The demon roaches are not roaches, but his DEMON FLEAS! Ok, I'm reaching with that one. :smallyuk:

Now, how a demon ended up in a jungle in Start of Darkness, well, weirder things have happened in OotS. The owner probably thought he'd caught a minatuar.

The only bad part of my theory is that they are Huge, and the monster looks like it's large. Maybe it's a young one, or Rich is playing fast and loose with the scale again.

[Icewalker]

Well in response to number 5, SoD background reveals that they are what they are.


And to your 'author changing it' thing, Rich doesn't read speculation threads so he isn't tempted to do just that.

My guess is it's a homebrew creature, nothing we could already have read. That does seem to fit pretty closely though.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Here's a bit of what we know about the MitD, including a few hints from Start of Darkness.

The stomp attack, the child-like behavior, super high DR, a known beast, but out of his usual habitat, does tremendous damage even hitting "lightly." Possibly famous. Ugly, yet oddly beautiful. Very popular with children. A meat eater. I only know of one monster or monster type that fits the bill:

Godzilla. Or one of the other beasties from Monster Island, of which Minya, son of Godzilla, fits the bill best of all.

He's one monster almost everyone knows, doesn't require digging through obscure sourcebooks, and fits all the information we have so far.

I loved those movies as a kid, and the second monster, while barely a blip on the radar of the fans of the rest of the movies, left a strong memory in my 8-year-old mind when I first saw him on my grandmother's black and white TV.

And for those who haven't read SoD, please, PLEASE read it before you post, "I think the MitD is a piece of the Snarl." He's not, and though SoD doesn't say who/what the MitD is, it makes it quite clear that he is NOT the Snarl, or a piece of the Snarl.

[Oberon]

soo... Godzilla can talk and fits under a tiny umbrella now?:smallconfused:

[Number 6]

If you're right, Rich is cheating! :smallmad: Ooots is a strip about D&D. He can stretch the rules by bringing in stuff from second edition, but to bring in something from outside or a home brewed monster just "ain't right."

[Surfing HalfOrc]

soo... Godzilla can talk and fits under a tiny umbrella now?:smallconfused:

Godzilla? No. Minya? Yeah, no problem. Minya can talk just fine, and is about 8 feet tall, or a bit taller than either the hobgoblins or the OotS members.

[Oberon]

Apologies.. having only seen two or three of the classic Godzillas, I am unfamiliar with Minya.

If he is stupid, he definately fits the bill all ways around. but then we're getting into the obscure again aren't we? or am I just ignorant?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Apologies.. having only seen two or three of the classic Godzillas, I am unfamiliar with Minya.

If he is stupid, he definately fits the bill all ways around. but then we're getting into the obscure again aren't we? or am I just ignorant?

While Godzilla isn't obscure, Minya is unknown to a lot of people. Minya was the first monster movie of the series to be specifically directed at children. But Minya has a lot of Godzilla's looks, although much more "rounded" and baby or childlike in appearance.

But Minya fits the description of the MitD (or as much as possible, being hidden in shadows), and fit the story as written.

[OttotheBugbear]

The problem with guessing about things like this is that, if one of the fans gets it right, the author can change it and say "I meant to do that." Strazynski (sp?) did it with Babylon 5 all the time.

Just the same, here is my guess as to what the Monster in the Darkness is:

There was a type of demon in the Manual of the Planes, I believe it was called a Bulezau, but I can't find my Manual to check. It was a huge man with the head of a bull or ram, depending on which edition off D&D. It fits all of the facts we know about MitD:

1) It has DR high enough to thwart Belkar. (I love the word thwart. Thwart, thwart, thwart....)
2) It has a stomp attack that causes a shock wave.
3) It has hands, feet, and two eyes.
4) It's very stupid, Int 8
5) The demon roaches are not roaches, but his DEMON FLEAS! Ok, I'm reaching with that one. :smallyuk:

Now, how a demon ended up in a jungle in Start of Darkness, well, weirder things have happened in OotS. The owner probably thought he'd caught a minatuar.

Is that monster you're thinking about Open Game Content? If not, I doubt that's what he'll use. Think back to the mind flayer strip.

[BobTheDog]

Is that monster you're thinking about Open Game Content? If not, I doubt that's what he'll use. Think back to the mind flayer strip.

Think back to the Eye of Fear and Flame, Death Knight and Huecuva, too. :smalltongue:

[Number 6]

I found my Manual of the Planes, and I had the wrong name. I think MitD is a Goristro . And yes, this creature is from an official Wizards of the Coast publication, so it's canon. I'm not stupid enough (quite) to pull out a Mongoose pub and use it for OotS. :smalltongue:

I don't even know where the Death Knight and the Eye of Flame came from. Which book were they written up in?

[Cousinbj13]

Fiend Folio.

[Kaelaroth]

Truly, MitD is a Powerpuff Girl. Or possibly Erythnul. :smallcool:

[bluish_wolf]

The MitD is a Plot Device. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/plotDevice.htm)

[Nightgaunt]

I have seen worse guesses. Though the fact that the monster is Huge makes it rather unlikely for it to fit under the umbrella. A Huge creature would need to be 16'-32' tall. Even if it was the min. that still makes it 16' tall, which it clearly is not.

I suppose the argument could be made that it is a Child, that may explain the small size..

Although if it starts blowing radioactive smoke rings, problem solved.

[Rare Pink Leech]

1) It has DR high enough to thwart Belkar. (I love the word thwart. Thwart, thwart, thwart....)
2) It has a stomp attack that causes a shock wave.
3) It has hands, feet, and two eyes.
4) It's very stupid, Int 8
5) The demon roaches are not roaches, but his DEMON FLEAS! Ok, I'm reaching with that one. :smallyuk:

The only bad part of my theory is that they are Huge, and the monster looks like it's large. Maybe it's a young one, or Rich is playing fast and loose with the scale again. [/spoiler]

Interesting theory, but I'm not entirely sure. A few observations:

1) While we have seen Belkar fight similarly-leveled characters (Miko, the two kobolds), most of his killing seems to be directed at low-level monsters, so we're not really sure how high the damage he inflicts is. Even agains the high level characters, I doubt any of them had DR, so he didn't need to inflict a whole lot of damage per attack - his danger comes from the sheer number of attacks from two-weapon fighting.

3) We dont' really know that the MitD has hands and feet. While I agree that he probably has feet (since he did perform a stomp), for all we know it could be a tenticle holding the umbrella.

4) I wouldn't really consider Int 8 to be really stupid. Below average intelligence, yes, but a -1 modifier isn't that stupid.

However, I don't consider MitD's apparent lack of size to be a deterrent. We all know Rich isn't a slave to D&D rules, especially when art and artistic license come into play (which is a good thing).

[TheAlmightyOne]

his danger comes from the sheer number of attacks from two-weapon fighting.

Or if he uses his rage ability from the level in barbarian.

[holywhippet]

Does it really have high DR though? When it lunched down on the message that Miko had been carrying, it got a paper cut. That's from ordinary, unenchanted paper. To me it suggests it's outer body is covered in something really hard and tough but it's inside is soft. As such, it has a really high AC, not a high DR.

[Kaelaroth]

Ummm... Hello?

DR99999999999/Normal Un-Enchanted Paper.


Obvious. :smallcool: