Actually the Gorgon as presented is from mythology, it just isn't the one everyone expects. The Bull Demon (Ghorgain(sp?)) is from Babylon and had such features as impenetrable flesh and the breath of the grave. Give me some time and I'll write up a section like the others for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by batsofchaos
The Catoblepas may be one of the prototypes for the D&D Gorgon- with the breath and the bull-like appearence.
"brazen bulls" also feature in Jason & the Argonauts- one of the tasks was to harness two of those and plough a field with them, sowing what would come up as an army of soldiers which they had to fight.
So there may be several sources for the D&D creature.
"Medusas" aren't much like the original Medusa, who was winged and feathered- only similarity in appearence is the snake-haired head.
Perhaps interesting to know are the mythological/folkloric roots of these monsters:
Stirge: strix, Roman mythology
Stone giant: stone-giant, Tolkien
Barghest: barghest, English folklore
Gargoyle: grotesque, architecture
Couatl: Quetzalcoatl, Aztec mythology
Yeth hound: yeth hound, Devon folklore
Wight: barrow-wight, Tolkien
Troglodyte: caveman, popular culture
Hydra: Lernaean hydra, Greek mythology
Annis: Black Annis, English folklore
Green hag: Jenny Greenteeth, English folklore
While most seem pretty straightforward, not all are: striges are actually vampiric owls!
More info here: http://rpg.crg4.com/origins.html
Can I put in a request for Gnolls at some point in the indefinite future? I've always had a soft spot for them and their "they prefer to eat sentient creatures because they scream more" fluff, but they really don't go anywhere. They get even less love than Goblinoids, and that's saying something!
hey, thanks! that's a cool edition! i don't have time to read up on these, but i guess i will. (vampiric owls? my oh my!)Quote:
Originally Posted by SillySymphonies
you're welcome to add your idea. i may do some work on gnolls for a future campaign (still a matter to be decided) and if so i will certainly add to this. i'm quite willing to hear ideas and thoughts for this conversion.Quote:
Originally Posted by sonofzeal
and hear i thought they got quite a bit of love, but i'm willing to give it a go if i'll have enough inspiration. i think that Pathfinder did quite a bit of work on them, though that is from hear say only.
it might take a while (got very few ideas for them yet) but i'll keep this in mind. :smallwink: thanks for the interest!
I've always found Grey Renders receive too little attention!
Thanks Kol Korran I very much like this thread, Stirge are just what I was looking for a moment ago for my "Evil pest that could kill off lesser party's" at least I don't end up going down the "Giant Spider" road once more.
I'll have a good think and maybe add a critter I think never got enough love in the MM's
Gibbering Mouther: The flesh that slides, the teeth that gnash, the horror behind the jabber... the horror
Been a looooong time since I posted last. I was requested to write a gnoll entry, but unfortunately couldn't come up with enough inspiration for it. The Gibbering mouther have been touched upon in various D&D editions, and even in one of my most favorite books- Lords of Madness. But... though they made magnificent work with the major aberrations in the book, the GM was left... a bit uninspiring.
I hope to rectify this here! :smallamused:
Gibbering mouhter, MMI, Lords of Madness
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/k...8/mouther4.jpg
Some background
SpoilerBad street rep:SpoilerWhile obviously meant for horror, the Gibbering Mouther have been left a bit hanging. There are two horrific aspects in it's description- Sprouting a new mouth and eyes while consuming a victim (Which i'll grant, is creepy) and that their gibbering can drive a person insane. That said... how do these two facts connect? What is the creature's purpose? How does it interact with it's surroundings? Does it just eat things?
I think it was mostly supposed to be a tricky combat encounter for low level parties- It has a bunch of none standard abilities, but I think most DMs don't know quite how to fit it except for "yay, another strange encounter". Yet sadly it fails in the main role of an aberration- inspiring horror.
Why do I care?SpoilerC'mon! An ooze of flesh and teeth, gibbering in many voices, speaking many tongues, driving you insane? This oozes (pardon the pun) of potential nasty roleplay goodness! :smallbiggrin: The Gibbering mouther seems like an iconic creature of RAW horror! We have the imagination, we can built it!
And now, presenting to you- The new and improved Gibbering Mouther!
Role and concept
SpoilerRole:SpoilerThe main use for such a creature is in horror.As such, it's horrific aspects should be amplified. The main change is by integrating the Gibbering Mouther into the very framework of horror itself, and by expanding on the concept of "the victims eaten, will be joined with the whole"... the creature as a multitude in fact. :smallconfused:
More than that, I aim to make the creature an interesting roleplay experience and a mystery experience, not just a combat encounter.A sort of... conversation with horror.
ConceptSpoilerGibbering Mouthers FEED of horror, they are attracted to it, it's echos and sometime create it. They are it's hounds, it's lap dogs. However, they are not a truly alien and incomprehensible horror, due to being made mostly out of it's victims, it has a disturbing quality upon it- it's a horror which one can somewhat relate to, somewhat understand... :smalleek: They are more common than most aberrations, but disturbing and unnerving in their own right. :smallamused:
The Gibbering mouthers are Aberrations, but they also have qualities resembling an ooze (They can split, change shape, slide and reform), and that of a multitude (acting as many creatures). They are complex creatures...
The last main change, is the place the Gibbering Mouthers hold in mysticism, cultures, and their connection to horror. The yare not just "A random strange monster", their presence in a place brings some worrying questions and relevence.
Place and interactions
SpoilerTheir place in the world:
SpoilerNo one exactly knows where these creatures came from. Some scholars theorize they came from the Far Realm, some say they were created by some mad wizards, some say they were punishment for the hubris of a long dead race or culture. It's difficult to know, since it's nearly impossible to make an informative conversation with a Mouther, and they leave little to explore behind.
Did they originate from the other aberrations such as the mind flayers or the aboleths? Both races have the power to create such beings. Yet even though the gibbering mouthers can sometime be found in their settlements, there doesn't seem to be any meaningful relationship. The more powerful aberrations seem to treat the mouthers more like stray dogs or packs of rats. Yet oddly enough, most mouthers are found far away from where other aberrations are found...
Mouthers feed on fear, they need it, crave it, and are drawn to it. And not just the simple fear, but the horrendous fear of true horror. No one knows how- but mouthers can sense occurrences of horrors from afar, and... somehow "get" there. (I'll explain this later). They dwell in places of past, current horror (Some even say at times they come to a place where FUTURE horror will happen), living up of echoes of atrocities, madness, abnormalities and transgressions linked to these places. Some old world cultures understandably see the presence of mouthers as a very, very bad omen!
Mouthers are capable voyagers, if a bit slow- few places are secure of a gibbering mouther's "visit". They are capable swimmers, they can climb walls and adhere to ceilings with their secreted adhesion, they can split to small parts and alter their forms, gaining entrance through small passages, but perhaps most disturbing at all is their ability to... "slide" or "slip" between dimensions and somehow arrive at the source of the terror they seek to feed upon.
This ability is not well understood, but a few gibbering mouthers have been witnessed to do this when a new and potent source of horror arises, and seek it out, or leave a place once it's "potential" has been exhausted. This is how you can find a gibbering mouther in the middle of a city, on a ship, or in the vaults long forgotten and sealed. They don't seem to use it at will though, almost as if the horror draws them, like fishes on hooks... Few have ever tried to follow mouthers on these "voyages", through whatver realms they travel. Would you dare to go, where gibbering mouthers slide, on the cracks of reality?
The mouthers themselves have a strange existence- they are partly one creature, partly a multitude. They can converse or act as a singular creature, (possibly one of it's many parts takes charge? Who knows?) Yet at most times they act as many creatures- some grabbing the walls, some secreting acid, some trying to eat or bite, and most of them... gibbering madly... in their torment.
How is that so? When a mouther eats a sentient enough creature, it's not just the body that gets eaten, but also part of the soul- the creature's fear, terrors, secrets and regrets. And that little part keeps living inside the mouther, over and over and over again, blabbering about them, sharing them with the world, seeking some sort of release, which makes up the endless, insane sounding jabber. Yet here and there, one might catch something they... understand. It doesn't make the experience any better! :smalleek:
A mouther, with it's odd attraction to horror, senses the secrets and fears of all it is near to, to the limited degree of it's strange alien mind. It picks up pieces of secrets, of hidden thoughts and emotions, and yell them/ whisper them/ ask questions/ challenge and more! Many who have faced a gibbering mouther are faced with their own well kept secrets/ horrible misdeeds/ horrendous crimes. Ttogether with the ingrained horror of past victims, this truly can drive a person mad!
The creatures take up all kind of personality traits of those consumed, changing it's own personality a bit after each "meal". Some mouthers, if fed well enough, have an odd tendency at times- they themselves, the parts making them, or something inside them, is many times curious about those it encounters, and may converse, possibly barter and more, though for it's own strange and unsettling needs. It's an... off conversation at best! Since a mouther contains parts of people consumed, it may have flashes of memories, secrets and information, though often in some way connected to horrifying experiences.
One reason mouthers attack creatures is to generate enough horror in them (Often triggered most powerfully by the gibbering and being swallowed and devoured), but also to regenerate their bodies and grow larger. The flesh of others is usually used to replenish themselves, and grow ever larger to monstrous proportions of heaving gnashing gibbering masses of flesh.
But the flesh need not stay put together- being somewhat of an ooze the gibbering mouthers can split (Either voluntarily or upon being dealt enough damage) to pieces as small as strands of flesh supporting a single eye ball and mouth. (though usually the mouther uses larger forms). This... swarm of flesh tendrils, all act in unison, and they can spread, climb, crawl, swim or tunnel their way to hidden locations to rest, if too big a threat is apparent.
In locations where a gibbering mouther has been for long, it has created a multitude of tunnels using it's acid to enable it to slide through floors, walls and ceilings, appearing as coalescing flesh from a honey combed wall.
Which brings an interesting question- how are they created? Somethink gibbering mouthers are created by a massive mouther splitting up. Others theorize they leave sort of "flesh eggs" made of but a few devoured victims.Yet others think they have some mating ritual in the space they slide too. Some think they were created, some say that if something horrific enough happens, they may coalesce out of the sheer madness, horror and suffering. Who knows?
Interactions:
SpoilerGibbering Mouthers often haunt one place or another, feeding slowly on the echoes of horrors, old and new (and future?). They do not occupy themselves solely by feeding though... Though of limited intelligence, (Some say they have the intelligence of a young, sadistic child without any scruples), a mouther have often found a place to live amongst others, in some sort of a bizarre relationship.
Some people hunt them down. others people revere them as omens from the gods, and try to appease them. For some they are trash disposals, for more they are guardians. Gibbering mouthers tend to create their own unique relationships with their neighbors. Yet here are a few special mentions
- Other Mouthers: A strange little fact- There have never been a recorded event of two independent mouthers at the same place! At times people think they fight a few, only to find out that the parts act in unison- part of a bigger mouther. Why no two mouthers are ever present at the same place, no one knows.
- Mind Flayers: As little as anyone can tell, mind flayers seem... "amused' by the mouthers at best, or indifferent at worst to the mouthers. They have been found as odd pets, or garbage disposal in Illithid settlements. As dealing with illithids usually have more pressing matters, this little oddity was never touched upon. Perhaps the illithids like to see how their "dogs" inspire horror, perhaps they like to sense the tormented fractured souls... Who knows?
- Undead: Gibbering mouthers often pray in undead heavy areas, as theare often linked to horror, or horrifying places. The undead itself can be a tale of tragedy and woe, and provide a constant "source" for the mouthers. Many intelligent undead find the gibbering mouther a handy (And unexpected!) guardian, especially against those pesky clerics!
- Constructs: Since most of these are unintelligent, and made of non living material, gibbering mouthers usually have no interest in them, and would leave them alone. Sometime a gibbering mouther will linger in the ruins of a devastated civilization, feeding on it's echoes of destruction, while proving to be an opportunistic predator, joining fights with constructs against ungainly adventurers.
- Far Realm cults: These maddened cults often revere gibbering mouthers as sort of true offsprings of Far Realms, or "prophets of the realm". Some cults have gained a way to predict where a gibbering mouther will appear, and focus their worship there. On it's part, the gibbering mouthers enjoy the worship andritual offeringsfree food.
- Primitive cultures: These sometime also revere these as omens of portents. Some tribes have created their "gibbering holes" (similar to an otyugh holes), a place to test their new warriors, and throw in captives.
Game mechanics
SpoilerHere are a few ideas of how to change the basic Mouther, so as to support it's role in horror, and also make him a more interesting and varied combat encounter. I quite suck at CR and such, this is more conceptual. Feel free to make the numbers that fit you.
Size and splitting
- A gibbering mouther has some semblance to oozes and a swarms. A gibbering mouther can "split off" portions of itself (Each with an appropriate chunk of hp). 2 small mouthers equal 1 medium. 4 medium are equal 1 large. 4 large are one huge, and so on...
- However, a gibbering mouther can split itself to as many small part he wants, till each one has 1 hp. (For example. split a tiny part of it, to spy on the party from a tiny hole). All the parts act on the same initiative, and they must remain 120 feet from all other segments or die within 10 minutes. Each part can move and act individually, though they share their combined senses.
Movement
- The gibbering mouther has 20ft climb, 20 ft swim, and is considered to be under the "Spider climb" effect the whole time.
- The mouther can burrow at 5ft, due to an acid it produces. The size of the tunnels depends on the segment creating the tunnel, and is often shifting, twisting, and impossible to follow by anyone not having an amorphous form.
- "Sliding"/ "slipping": A mouther can use this power in two ways. First as a full round action the mouther can transport itself up to 60 feet, but must end it's movement 30 ft or less from a creature of at least 3 intelligence. This ability can be used once every 2d6 rounds only.
Secondly it can be used as a plot device- the mouther can travel a great distance through some means (Sliding between cracks in reality or such) to a site of existing or potential horror. This effect is equal to teleport without error, but the mouther loses half it's hit points, and then is usually hungry.
Feeding
- For every 1 point of con damage the mouther drains (Through devouring), it regenerates 5 hp. These hp CAN go over the hp limit, when they become temp hp. After the time passes, 1d10 of such hit points remain permanent hit point increase. Upon reaching enough hp (I'll leave that to you) the mouther increases in size and HD. This is how mouthers grow.
- Every creature eaten by the mouther is devoured, and part of it's soul/ essence is trapped within the mouther. Raising/ reincarnating such creatures forces an insanity check (as the spell) upon the raised creature (Or you can go with wisdom drain? Possibly cannot be restored by restoration?). Only full restoration avoids this. If the mouther is killed a special ceremony can be done to release the spirit, and prevent the needed insanity check.
Madness
- The first round failing the gibbering does bring madness, (As in the description) but further failures bring wis damage. (I suggest playing this by either maddening music, or telling the PCs horrific secrets/ transgressions and the like)
- Revealing hidden knowledge: The mouther can sense secrets, fear and such horrors that afflict you, and will shout/ speak/ whisper them to you... and perhaps others. Mechanics wise, this is an always active "read thoughts/ emotions" ability, and treated as if the mother concentrated maximum rounds. It is free and always active in an aura around it. this can be prevented by a fairly high Will save. (good for character growth? :smalltongue:)
Gibbering Mouther, continued
Mysteries and Unkonwn
SpoilerThough the mouthers seem fairly straightforward, there is still quite a bit that is unknown about them. Most think of them as simple, if unorthodox predators, but there are some clues that say things are not as they seem...
First of all, where do they "slip" to? Most assume it's some sort of planar travel, but no one has ever seen a gibbering mouther on any plane- astral, ether, shadow... there have been a few mages who have tried to follow them magically, but most were never seen again. the few who did return? w=Well, they weren't exactly in a good state of mind... Could they have a direct link to the far realm? Perhaps. Would you dare explore?
Another mystery comes from strange depictions in old civilizations.While most primitive cultures who worshiped them, did so out of fear and savagery, some of the more sophisticated cultures have revered them as well, yet as sort of... messengers? Prophets? Of angels or deities? Might the gibbering mouthers have been something different in bygone ages?
And if you delve deeper, there are more disturbing findings- ancient texts speaks of "The many mouths, many eyes, one flesh of the eater of whole" (or some such translations). They seem to speak of the mouthers (or creatures very much like them) as being one whole organic being, split a long way off. That might explain why no two mouthers exist in the same place, but... what does it mean? Who is this "Eater of the whole"? What does it want? Why is it in such a strange form?
The last mystery, but perhaps the one most disturbing to those who encounter a mouther, concerns some of the voices and speakers of the gibbering. People who spent long enough trapped in a gibbering pit have told that the mouther speaks in some rare times in the voices of alien creatures, of strange beings, definitely not from the region where they were encountered. It seemed that though most of the voices belong to past victims from these times, some belong to... something... or someone... else?.
Playing at a D&D table near you!
Spoiler"Pit of the eater":
Either the party has been captured by primitives, or they are required to prove their courage in a test. They are lowered/ thrown down to a dark pit, whose ceilings, floors and walls all have many small holes.
They are required to survive 5 days in the pit (or as you wish). The pit has many rats and possibly some other animals (Which the mouther sometime consumes in order to regenerate) and walls upon which are scribbled frightened rantings of past victims.
The mouther here has made a deal with the tribe above- they provide scaring tales of the pit, and sometime throw people who'se fear he can feed upon, and it tests (and nourishes from ) the young warriors who seek to become full warriors of the tribe. The idea is to play this as a prolonged, yet time set horror encounter. Can they survive their time with the mouther? Some ideas:
- At first, the party may see the rantings of past victims/ warriors trapped in the pit. These should look insane, mad, fearful.
- At times, have flesh dripping from the ceilings, coming from the floors. These may be time segments (Up to 1-3 hit points), of the mouther looking upon the new arrivals. The tiny tendrils of flesh, with an eye or two, mouth or two, should start building up the anxiety.
- As the gibbering starts, feel free to some creepy disconcerting music such as this! :smallamused: :smalleek:
- At times, the gibbering will include fears and secrets, either random, or of NPCs the party may have been looking for, and of the PCs themselves!
- The mouther seeks to invoke fear. At start he attacks the party by small segments, only a little, and then melts and receds into the many crevices, possibly gibbering "later, when meat is tender".
- Harass them. It won't enable them to sleep, constantly interrupting (Or even chattering in their sleep giving nightmares)
- Once it sensed enough of the PCs fears and secrets, it starts jabbering about them, in front of the other PCs, in front of them, exposing their hidden thoughts, desires, shame and more...
- In following attacks it uses more of it's powers, and uses greater segments of itself. Remember it can swim, climb, melt, and even teleport short distances. Put in the pit some places of "supposed safety", only to have the Mouther access them still (Building up hope, then crushing it! :smallwink: )
- Even if the party damages it, it can recede to a safe place where the tribe may sacrifice to eat some meat to devour and regenerate.
- It is VERY hard to track down, since it's very hard to follow it, through it's tunnels.
- Near the end of their alloted time, the mouther attacks more in earnest, seeking mostly to engulf a single PC and devour it. It may use parts of it to "run interference". If it DOES devour a PC, have part of it's jabbering reflect the trapped tormented soul, when next they meet...
The cleaner/ t|The bargain:
A gibbering mouther acts as a "slithering garbage disposal" of a dungeon. Noticing the PCs it is curious and strikes a conversation. It is willing to bargain- info (pass words, secret doors, key vulnerabilities of someone) for... whatever you think gibbering mouther wants (Perhaps new flesh or minds to taste? Invoking some terror in a specific individual? Something else?)
The idea is to make this a very disturbing bargaining, with an alien mind/ alien minds, which are... just really really, REALLY not ok. I suggest switching up your voice, your manner of speaking, and whom you're talking to every 5-6 10 seconds or so, or at times mimic a chorus of different voices. ("Yes we shall! No, don't! Why the tasty meat speak? It's been so long, so long! Listen, do you hear? I told her, but she wouldn't listen!") and also be very weird in what you ask, make the party doubtful if they want to make the bargain. I ran this sort of encounter with my party, and they were squirming by the time it ended.
An unexpected murderer:
The PCs are requested to investigate some murders in the city/ big manor/ whatever. In the course of investigations they find that the connecting link between all the people is someone who was related to all of the victims disappeared long ago has gone missing/ been away.
The person was eaten by a gibbering mouther, and now with parts of the person's memories, it used it's ability to slip to the city (it might move to places through sewers or whatever), and is trying to inflict horror and a weird sort of punishment, upon people whom this person was connected to. The problem is finding and tracking this unconventional killer (That can get almost anywhere, and might leave only strange marks... (Bit of flesh? Odd bite mark?).
An interesting twist may be that the people killed were pretty horrendous themselves, and as the party investigates/ faces the mouther at times, or potential future victims, the party comes to realize this, and that the consumed memories of the eaten person seeks to "punish" them. Who's more horrific? The victims? Or the victimized killer? What punishment is too much?
"You're not coming back alive! Well, not coming back sane that is."
Some far realm or death or assasin cults have taken special precautions to make sure their victims don't get back, or at least not as they were. They feed them to a big gibbering mouther, since those who ARE raised/ resurrected and such come back babbling insane or heavily wis damaged.
But what if these initial killings have been just experiments? Now some high profile/ very important person has been killed and fed to the mouther. As the PCs find this out, they fight the cult just as they send the mouther to another location, to ensure the consumed soul isn't available. (They might go to great lengths such as creating a significant horror somewhere distant, or any other means) Can the PCs reach the same location, and locate the mouther? Or will they even find a way to slip where it does, and track it through that realm?
The coming of terror:
Gibbering mouthers are the markers of things gone terribly wrong. suddenly, in a local/ country/ more they start appearing, more and more and more...
You can play them off as an early warning sign, trying to hunt clues from gibbering mouthers, figure out who they killed, or you can take it further- the gibbering mouthers are part of a greater calamity- they are the messengers/ fore front/ hounds of some abomination from the far realm, a terror force from mind flayers, or something strange altogether.
The eater of the whole:
As suggested in the mysteries section- what if the mouthers are but parts of a greater being? this could be in continuation with the former idea, or on it's own.
The mouthers are doing something bizarre- they are joining up, and increasing in power. Some cults might aid them, and they may now seek very specific kinds of creatures to devour, or any other peculiar change in behavior. This could be an idea for a campaign, at it's end the mouthers are supposed to form some great horrific being- Possibly an elder evil or such, "The Eater of the Whole", Which in essence seeks to devour all creation, or "at least" create a never ending horror to draw it, and to feed it's massive appetite...
Bonus section! Reactions with the other monsters in the compendium!
Spoiler- Stirges: Mouthers often compete with them. Stirges rarely stay in the same place.
- Stone giants: Some more primitive stone giants revere big gibbering mouthers or create gibbering holes. Most giants however consider them abominations and hunt them.
- Barghest: Barghest and Gibbering Mouthers live very well together, usually as creator of terror and added guard. They often come to complex agreements about who get what kills, and this might be a source of tension. Also, a stronger Barghest's path of destruction is often followed (Or alluded to) by the appearance of gibbering mouthers.
- Yeth Hounds: One of the gibbering mouthers' most favorite neighbors. The two, living of fear, complement each other's abilities greatly. The rarity of both makes them a rare occasion to join forces.
- Gargoyles: Similar to constructs the two races have little to deal with one another, though the mouther is at times an opportunistic predator at old and ruined temples, jumping in after the gargoyles finished.
- Wights: Mouthers follow a wight plague very closely, at times coming even before it occurred, the echos of terror reaching back to the present. Mouthers for some reasons cannot be turned into wights, though some wights try fiercely, the many specks of life in the mouther making it a target.
- Troglodytes: no idea here.
- h\Hydras: A hydra often inspires terror in it's place, and at times mouthers follow them, or make bargains with the more intelligent ones. Most hydras find the gibbering odd, but useful. The two work best as guard and patron, or predator and opportunist.
- Araneas: No special relationship
- Hags: Hags have been known to sometime care for mouthers, converse with them and deal with them. Hags are crafty creatures- they'll find a way to deal with anyone... It seems some of the hags, with their long memories, may know quite a bit about the mouthers, though getting them to share their insight will be a costly feat indeed.
But long memories hold their perils as well- for mouthers are some time drawn to lifetimes filled with shady secrets, untold suffering and great travesties. Not once has a great hag been hunted and confronted by a great gibbering mouther who wanted to taste what a mind filled with the memories, secrets and schemes of centuries or even millennia feels like!
I hope you all enjoyed this. Please tell me your own Gibbering tale, if you've had a good one! :smallwink: