Design a monster.

[JFSOCC]

I had wanted to edit the Misandrist Madam a little, but I was called away. Small addition:

 

During her time, she's managed to convince/manipulate three women into joining her cause, Each of these women has her own reason to follow the Misandrist Madam. Each of them have suffered abuse at the hands of men.

 

It is they who have been shielding her from persecution and investigation. It is they who scout out locations rich in targets, and it is they who will participate in the ruse to lure men away to her.

These three women are unknown, but they fight for the MM, whom they've come to fear and worship.

 

Whenever they "save" a woman, they will attempt to make them join their cause. Initiation requires a woman to cut off the genitals of a man.

[BruceVC]

I had wanted to edit the Misandrist Madam a little, but I was called away. Small addition:

 

During her time, she's managed to convince/manipulate three women into joining her cause, Each of these women has her own reason to follow the Misandrist Madam. Each of them have suffered abuse at the hands of men.

 

It is they who have been shielding her from persecution and investigation. It is they who scout out locations rich in targets, and it is they who will participate in the ruse to lure men away to her.

These three women are unknown, but they fight for the MM, whom they've come to fear and worship.

 

Whenever they "save" a woman, they will attempt to make them join their cause. Initiation requires a woman to cut off the genitals of a man.

 

That's a good idea for a monster

[aluminiumtrioxid]

Misandrist madam.

 

(...)

 

Cheap shot.

Edited August 15, 2013 by aluminiumtrioxid

[Failion]

I really liked the lore behind the antagonists in the xcom series the ethereal. http://xcom.wikia.com/wiki/Ethereal

 

My take on a project eternity version of them. In the untouched places of the world linger wraith like forgotten souls that occasionally materialize when they sense a power presence. Said to be the remnants of a ancient sect of psions who tried to separate themselves from the ways of the universe. These Souls believe themselves to be incredibly wise and feel like they are helping other souls in some way but in reality are broken, unnatural monster stricken with a vampiric self indulging madness of sorts due to reasons unknown. They look for powerful psions to feed on to sustain themselves but what would gladly feed on any other souls they encounter. Using extremely powerful psionic powers they prefer to enslave their victims for mindless experimentation rather then kill them. Despite being practically separated from reality from their madness and psionic potential they have a psionic collective they can use to communicate with one and other. Very little communication happens however to to how delirious every wraith is. But they will communicate if they encounter a anomaly like souls with great potential or death. How exactly would the collective react to souls that strikes their curiosity is a mystery.

[Nonek]

The Fallen.

 

Some warriors never leave the battlefield, the siege, the warcamp. Even when their bodies fall to the earth and rot into dust, they still fight on with the same rage and glee. Trapped by the glut of emotions and souls being released, their own souls continue to struggle, glorying in and refining their hatred and scorn to the fineness of a razors edge.

 

They love the slaughter of their enemies or even innocents. The breaking of the siege when they gorge themselves on rape, the ecstasy of gold and the maniacal joy of senseless destruction. The comradery of standing shoulder to shoulder with their brothers, facing and surviving seemingly impossible odds. But all these feelings are now muted, dull and lacking in satisfaction, without flesh and blood they cannot enjoy their passions.

 

So they haunt their places of rest, tearing apart any spirits that intrude there, and wait for war to come once again. And when it does they strike, infesting the soldiers of the line and lurking in the back of their minds, fanning the flames of heroism, courage, hatred, scorn and bloody release until the unknowingly possessed are overcome with a berserk rage and bloodlust. The bounds of morality and conduct are swept aside in an instant, and replaced with rabid viciousness. Often they are struck down by their own people, who sense the wrongness and unfettered rage that has a hold of them, and look into eyes of blank disdain.

 

Animancers are said to have died trying to bind these souls, futilely trying to control a spirit that cannot control itself, but there are rumours that weapons exist wherein many such souls howl and gibber. Blades of sinister terror, that ache to whet themselves on the fragile shells of mortality, to enjoy the iron tainted scent of pain and suffering once more.

 

Strangely enough some Glenfathans do not seem to be affected by these raging echoes.

[Tsuga C]

The Fallen.

Reminds me a great deal of the Planescape Sword Spirit, Monstrous Compendium II.

[IndiraLightfoot]

Slitherjaw:

 

A Frankenfish of sorts. It crawls on land for days on end searching for prey. It's quick, ugly and delivers a nasty bite.

 

 

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/08/07/huge-frankenfish-hooked-in-virginia-sets-world-record/

 

[ViolentManatee]

I'd love to come across a parasite type of monster, or better said, parasite infected hosts ( affecting their behavior in a certain way ). I imagine it'd be counterproductive to allow player to get infected but I could see a village completely inhabited by infected NPCs ( either aggressive or not towards the player ) - could be a part of a quest or something similar. Or not. It's their fault they got infected after all, they better learn to live with it 

[JFSOCC]

Blubbermen.

 

Blubbermen are artificially created creatures. They are small creatures filled with a viscous material which smells slightly mouldy, which is known as their blubber.

 

Blubbermen hone in on blood, or, if trained properly, anyone attacking their master. They have little health, but that does not matter, as their purpose is to die.

 

The Blubbermen can only harm injured creatures. touching wounds and putrefying it, dealing poison damage and draining stamina. The bigger the wounds, the stronger the poison effect.

If killed (usually with one or two strikes) they explode their blubber in a small Area of effect. Anyone caught in the AOE of the blubber will suffer its effects, dizzyness, sluggishness, poison effects if they are injured, and weakness. A critical hit will drain 50% base stamina, and all stamina regeneration is blocked until rest. (when the players get to clean themselves up) The blubber explosion ignores armour, but not other Damage threshold effects.

 

Blubbermen are designed to weaken enemy parties, especially those who rely on melee combatants, and fighters in particular will suffer from the stamina draining effects. The alchemists who created them place them in corridors to strike in heavily trapped areas. As they are only engaged by blood, and getting killed by traps doesn't negate their abilities, they make for an excellent addition to cause fear an terror in a party.

 

Alchemists expecting to fight the player's party might also keep a few around to weaken a zealous party aimed at their destruction.

--

 

Shadow blubbermen.

This upgraded blubberman can think and act on its own, rather than follow some base instincts. The shadow blubberman is identical to normal blubbermen, which the following notable exceptions

1. It has the blubber grenade ability. Once in combat it can throw a blubber grenade at any injured party member, the AOE is much smaller, but otherwise has the same effect as the suicidal blubber explosion.

2. The shadow blubberman can and does use stealth, striking unexpectedly at isolated injured party members. This gives an increased chance at a critical hit.

3. The shadow blubberman can self-detonate, even if undamaged. It will do so if it closes the distance to one of your party members and at least three members are within range of the suicidal AOE.

4. Shadow blubbermen poison effect blocks one combat ability at random for the duration of the effect.

 

Shadow blubbermen are not unique, but they are significantly rarer. They are constructed creatures, and do not procreate. The can follow simple instructions from their creators.

[IndiraLightfoot]

I love those blubbermen. They are like meaty strategic melee pawns and mirror images rolled into one. It would be horrific and confusing encountering them, as they would easily confuse entire parties. making them miss even worse opponents. They have clearly many fiendish uses.

[okkoko]

imaging the monster being the dungeon you traversing

[IndiraLightfoot]

Often, real life outshines the horrific creatures of fantasy.

Meet the Slavemaker!

 

The polyergus ant female is an assassin that specializes in enslaving ant colonies. 

Her mandibles are so sharp that she can't even feed herself.

Those sickle-shaped mouthparts are designed for a single purpose: murder.

 

It all started innocent enough; a female with a taste for power has no chance of rising within her own colony,

the queen won't tolerate rivals. So the slave-making female left with her unhatched eggs to start a family of her own.

But instead of building an empire she steals one.

 

Her target: a colony of 600 Formica worker ants.

She may be outnumbered, but the slave-making princess has a trick up her sleeve:

a specialized gland called a dufour gland releases a pheromone that pacifies the formica workers.

 

The intoxicated defenders lay down their weapons and allow the slave-maker to pass.

Now her mission is to assassinate the formica queen and steal her identity.   The colony Queen is caught off guard.   She doesn't stand a chance against the intruder's serrated daggers.  After twenty minutes of torture the dethroned queen waits for the sweet release of death.

Now this nightmare takes an even more disturbing turn.

The slave-making princess licks the wounds of the fallen queen, taking on her scent.

 

The Formica guards surround the intruder.

They move their antennae over the new queen's body.

Feeling for hydro carbons along her abdomen identity markers that help distinguish friend from foe.

 

 

By covering herself in the spilled fluids of her victim. 

The intruder has convinced the colony that she is and always has been their queen.

 

Six hundred Formica ants are now her loyal slaves. They'll feed, clean and raise her Polyergus brood.

But as the workers die out, the slave-making queen must replenish her army.

So she sends her entranced minions on a raid.

Nearly two thousand ants on a military operation to pillage and enslave.

 

The slave-making raiders stream into the formica nest.

But it's not the soldiers that the army is after.

Their target is the nursery.

The kidnappers steal up to 600 unborn Formica young. Carrying each larvae 40 m back to their Polyergus nest.

 It’s the equivalent of a man walking 24 kilometres, carrying a piano!

 

In 3 weeks, these Formica young will be born into slavery,

ready for a life of grooming, feeding and protecting their cruel slave-making queen.

 

You gotta love ants.

Edited November 7, 2013 by IndiraLightfoot

[JFSOCC]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Orthoptera#p012zjwh

 

If you can't load it, it's BBC's Africa episode 1, 27 minutes in. Scary stuff

[JFSOCC]

Banshee haunter.

 

The Banshee haunter is a terrifying foe. The tortured soul of an unjustly slain person, dying defending their home.

Banshees appear in abandoned places where there are many restless dead. Banshees have two conflicting motivations which guide their tortured existence.

1. They refuse to give up the place that they lived in during life. It is theirs and any intruder is unwelcome

2. They long to be alive, to be amongst the living, like all undead spirits they will clamp on to the nearest living intelligent soul.

 

Banshee haunters have a few benefits in combat.

Banshee haunters are ethereal, meaning they cannot be seen unless somehow made visible, they can fly through walls and doors as if they weren't there, and their attacks ignore armour. Furthermore it takes enhanced weapons to strike at them. they have damage immunity for most normal types of damage. (soul powered skills and abilities will still deal damage)

 

Banshee haunters do not do much damage, but half of all damage that they deal is converted to stamina, and a quarter of the damage that they deal is converted to health (up to their maximum health)

Typically a Banshee haunter will attack during a quiet moment, starting with a banshee wail. A long thrumming howl which causes fear and drains stamina, and cannot be defended against if it crits (like a sneak attack). Any attack on a panicked enemy deals double damage and increases their panic duration by another 2 seconds. The Banshee Wail also alerts all nearby enemies to the party's presence.

 

Banshees dart in and out of combat like guerilla fighters. Meaning after each attack it is likely to retreat for a time before it attacks a party when it is off guard again.

 

Banshees avoid buffed party members unless cornered.

 

Banshee haunters are easily held off by warding spells, but will remain in the area forever until defeated.

 

Once the Banshee haunter is defeated it spawns a Haunter (and drops some interesting crafting materials)

-----

 

Haunter

 

Haunters haunt the creature which killed their previous incarnation, the Banshee haunter. They will keep moving on to new victims however if their current victim dies. Any victim which dies while affected by a haunter will turn into a haunter upon death. Because of this, there are Haunters in the world which didn't find their genesis with the Banshee Haunter.

 

Haunters are ethereal creatures which deal no damage, but distract, harass, and are general nuisances. They take no damage and are generally only destroyed or removed by cleansing or warding spells or 72 hours of uninterrupted bright light. There are other ways to get rid of haunters, but none of them involve dealing damage.

 

As long as a pc is haunted by a Haunter, that player suffers from: lowered willpower, lowered perception, lowered skill(everything).

Rest provides no recovery. There is a small chance during combat that a player who hasn't slept for more than 2 days becomes insane. (So you'd have exhaustion, insanity, lowered willpower/perception/skill. How's that for a mid range threat?)

[JayDGee]

Magic is a truly useful tool in the right hands it can create wonders.

in the hands of a sick and deranged mind it destroys and creates true monsters.

But what of the mind that is deeply unwell but has no want of malice?

Some create items that work rather strange, others make friends that appall us.

 

Doll - Once a loving gift given to a daughter, a last gift as her father never came home. It was the focus of her anger, her grief and her love. It became the home for her mothers soul.

 

With one Doll that walked and cheered up the girl soon there would have to be others, her uncle the teddy missing an ear. Her cousins now little wood soldiers.

Eventually the girl became a woman, her mind never recovered.

Her whole village now a collection of dolls. Her death freed them, they now live among us.

Simple children's toys of creatures of malice, we can never be sure.

They don't want their souls trapped in a doll. They seek to trade.

 

 

Werebadgers - I don't think that needs explained

[rjshae]

Parasitic Animat

 

Not quite a life form, this is a suit of unfinished animat armor that was used as a punishment for enemy prisoners. The suit would draw upon the soul energy of the captives to animate itself and control the functions of the body. The benefit of this approach were that it was relatively easier to implement compared to the sacrifice required for a fully animated animat armor. The drawbacks are that the host body must be maintained through sustenance and rest, and the host could resist the actions to some degree, limiting the capabilities in combat. Once properly motivated, though, the combined suit and prisoner could make for an exceptional warrior.

 

Obviously the wearers of such suits have long since died. However, on occasion a foolish treasure hunter happens upon a suit and boldly decides to try it on. Lacking a suitable master, the armor proceeds to fulfill its last orders... whatever they might be. This can make for an interesting dilemma should a party of adventurers come upon an imprisoned victim.

[Silent Winter]

Haven't read through the whole thread so apologies if a similar idea's been given:

 

"The Trap"

 

think 'venus fly trap' but it lies, mouth open, on the dungeon floor, looking like the background (either chameleon style or just because it looks like the other dead plant-life).

When a party member walks over it, it snaps shut - continually draining the stamina/health of the, now immobilized, party member until either defeated or the food-source dies.

As an added bonus - the stamina it drains is added to its own stamina (maybe at a 1/4 rate or whatever's balanced).

 

Could be tricky for a solo-run - maybe the trapped party member could get a saving throw each round based on strength *shrug*

[Nonek]

The Avowed.

 

A century or so ago at the height of the Broken Stones War the Glanfathan's passions rode high, they saw themselves as the guardians of the Engwithan ruins and had vowed to preserve them from the ignorant farmers and raucous settlers of the Dyrwood. So a group of these heroic Glanfathan's came together at Twin Elms, Berseks, Mind Hunters, Druids, the finest and fiercest foemen that the free Palatinate faced. Here they stood in a great circle of Adra and reinforced their vows to the land and the quest, that vow sank through their flesh and seeped into their very souls and those men and women became the stuff of nightmares for the settlers of the Dyrwoood.

 

Many times in the war they were slain or ambushed only to rise again, their wounds glowing with the fire of the vow that sustained them. Flesh had become nothing to them, all the pleasures of it were denied, only the vow and their task brought them joy and contentment. Eventually they put aside all matter, and emerged in their true forms, glowing wraiths whose ancient armour was yet scribed with runes of Waking, Warding and Wrath. Freezing cold soul fire burned in place of their bones, and their flaming eyes were madness to behold.

 

In the course of the War a few were destroyed by the prayers and invocations of Holy Ones, but they were terrible foes and faith falters in the face of such fearsome opposition, many more priests and clerics fell to their fiery swords and frozen touch, gods forgotten in the heat of battle.

 

The War ended however as all do and the Avowed were left without an enemy. In relief they thought that their task had been done, that they would be granted respite and allowed to return to the great wheel of birth, death and rebirth. It was not to be so. The Vow could not be undone, it coiled around their souls, passionate and powerful and thirsted for more blood and carnage. The Avowed knew despair then, even their fellow warriors looked on them askance, as monsters and abominations, albeit ones that warranted great respect and honour.

 

They were cursed, and the curse was of their own making so it could not be broken, for who can escape what he accepted and desired? In quiet sorrow they ordered death barrows built, and within layed out the treasures and tokens of their life, for they were dead now and should not appear amongst the living. Grim ghosts of war that would frighten the children they had born and raised. In silence they went into their barrows and closed the great stone doors, and sat on their thrones in the dark, living ancestors waiting for the call to war.

 

They wait still, eyes burning in the darkness with the fiery passion of a vow that will never end.

[Luridis]

I have a monster in my head... One perfectly fit to the theme of an RPG... Unfortunately, it's description is really a short story and too large to fit here. In a game itself it would need to be a quest due to its complexity.

[JFSOCC]

I have a monster in my head... One perfectly fit to the theme of an RPG... Unfortunately, it's description is really a short story and too large to fit here. In a game itself it would need to be a quest due to its complexity.

by all means share! No-one will care if your post approaches the topic from a different direction, and all contributions are appreciated.

[IndiraLightfoot]

Indestruct

 

Seemingly, just a normal person in whatever clothing. But nothing could be farther from the horrific truth. An Indestruct is the successful outcome of a mad scientist's experiments. After several years, the scientist managed to turn an ordinary human into a seemingly indestructible guardian. Two major things were accomplished. For starters, metabolism was put on hold, cell regeneration was made intrinsic to the system, and synapsis drugs locked a certain network or path in the brain, as if it were set on eternal repeat. This path has only one instruction: "Attack whatever creature bigger than a coin that enters the perimeter of the premises." The other thing was the alteration of the body of the subject. It was made virtually indestructible through a complex grafting of a new set of nervous system that distributes massive doses of pluripotent stem cells throughout the body very quickly. So, whatever damage the Indestruct sustains - fire, blunt trauma, maiming - new cells get regenerated in an instant. Even beheading an Indestruct would do no good, as a new head will pop up almost instantly, complete with the same monotonous synaptic path as before. This is a very tough opponent, and defeating involves disintegration or total annihilation, as their dozens of mini-brains in its body that sends out signals to rebuild that "attack-brain" over and over, like a ****roach, with all of its brains. It's almost like an organic/biological version of that fluidic metal terminator in Terminator 2.

[Dark Elf]

Indestruct

 

Even beheading an Indestruct would do no good, as a new head will pop up almost instantly, complete with the same monotonous synaptic path as before. 

 

... wouldn't this lead to a new body growing out below the decapitated head as well?

[IndiraLightfoot]

 

Indestruct

 

Even beheading an Indestruct would do no good, as a new head will pop up almost instantly, complete with the same monotonous synaptic path as before. 

 

... wouldn't this lead to a new body growing out below the decapitated head as well?

 

Dark Elf: That is so cool. Didn't think of that!

 

This make the Indestruct an even worse enemy. Chop the wrong bits off and it multiplies. Gasp!

[rjshae]

You could overrun the planet with a mincing machine.
Program them to attack each other, making even more copies....

 

 

Personally I'd like to see a more "practical" limitation. Like it can only fully replicate itself by absorbing the soul of a creature it has slain.

[Pipyui]

Sorry if this is a rerun, I haven't yet read through this thread.  Anyway,

 

Much like the traditional quest of old to discover immortality through alchemy, what happens when someone too ambitious tries to refine, reinforce, and shape their own soul in attempt to ascend into godhood (or something like) ... and fails?  The godlike provide good proof-of-concept to incite an attempt: if something of the divine soul can be passed down to mortal flesh - and with sciences available providing the tools for manipulation - why not reshape and raise an existing soul into divinity?

 

But much like in gemcrafting, cutting and polishing a soul is a delicate process.  Sometimes, even when one is careful - CRACK

And in a gem so refined, one crack can be the difference between perfection and madness.

 

The resultant being might be seraphim-esque in aspect, beautiful, but for scarring reflective of its cracked soul and mind - a monsterous arm, perhaps; or melded flesh and bone where legs should be.  Perhaps its nature is similar: almost perfect, above and detached, but irrational and quick to violent madness.  Perhaps instead the shattering takes a heavier toll, and the being's self is lost entirely.

 

 

I like to imagine a being - once a person - androgynous, pale or unnaturally dark (I can't help but address racist undertones), hairless, and beautiful but for a monsterous deformity belying its nature.  It floats and glows faintly, and is completely stoic, even while attacking your party with magic.  If there are more "damaged" ones, maybe their facades aren't so complete, and they are both more monsterous in appearance and more vicious and personal in combat.

Edited January 10, 2014 by Pipyui