icky things part I-IV
Formerly known as BBQ Man, until I can get back into my old account, I will use this old one.
The following is a compiled and resorted list of five posts I made in rapid succession, it looks better this way.
ok, ideas pour forth, sorry that they are just ideas and not fully statted creatures.
1. How about small ghoulish undead slimy leeches.
I don't have the stats worked up on these things yet, but they should basically be the easiest things to 'kill', as they are only 1/2 inch to and inch long, but come in mass quantities. Give them the ability to suck Con, but only if more than 4 or 5 'grab on', and only after a few rounds, otherwise they do no damage. They should have a form of topical numbing slime on them, so the PCs can't feal the individual leeches. You could have them explode in-mass (40 or so) from large mushrooms/fungi, or used as 'traps', or living in water that the PCs have to wade through.
I like the bursting mushroom caps the best though. Nothin' like leech land mines to freak out a party. I definately wouldn't have the PCs find out immediately that they are covered in leaches. they are hard to notice.
Let's say that a medium sized mushroom cap explodes near them, make them think that they are only covered in bits of mushroom cap, the leaches shouldn;t be any larger than an inch each, so they won't cause much notice initially, have a group of ghouls waiting in ambush when the PCs strip down to get rid of all the leaches (most likely they will find a better solution to get rid of them though)
2. The usage of an alarm system.
Ever play Black & White? Every time a villager died, a creepy voice whispered "Deeeeaaaaatttthhhh", this turned out to be so creepy, and most people didn't know what caused it, that a patch was put out that removed that 'feature'.
How about undead children heads as a form of alarm system then, possibly magically 'preserved' so no decay happens, possibly not, the heads placed in the tunnels and caverns, the eyes normally closed, but when they detect intruders the heads rotate to face the intruders, the eyes open... and a childs' mouth whispers "Deeeeaaaaatttthhhh" the sound magically carrying/reverberating through the tunnels.
Up to you on the powers of the magical alarm system, what it can and cannot detect, 'darkvision' definately, detect invisible, maybe tremor sense?
I could see though ghoulish child heads, just make sure that you keep the "heads turning/eyes opening" thing, so that the PCs can gaze upon milky white cataract type orbs, with maybe carrion grubs crawling through and around the skin.
I think the non decaying version is the sicker of the two options, and I'd recommend detailing the visual of seeing the eyes open, and what the eyes look like/what emotion they seem to carry... (hatred?, pity? or fear? or worse yet, "please make the pain end mommy?")
3. Let's not forget the children...
Children, true ghouls, with illusions to make them seam not-undead, carrying small stuffed animals into battle....
AND/OR
Someone mentioned using an undead Bard, and PirateCat, you seem to have implied that you are already using one. How about using one like this?
Undead Bard PC commands a smallish group (around 40-50) of small children. Think evil pied piper. children age should be around 7-14, and 30% are still alive and under some controlling and delusion spells. The other 70% should be true ghouls in varying forms of decay with smallish group 'freshly dead' and looking somewhat still healthy. All should be singing various nursery rhymes in concert, this should give huge circumstantial bonuses to the Bards singing abilities as well.
They should all have some form of extremely magically strong, sticky, contact poison on their hands and mouths, like they have been into some chocolate or something (which is of course the going to cause them to die, if they weren't made into true ghouls before then, but the PCs don't know that right away). see part 4 on the 'poison'
The bard could think of itself as the 'mommy' and so could the children, just depends on how creapy you want to get.
4. Back to the poison...
The substance is extemely sticky, not water soluable, isn't really a poison, it is a substance that reacts to air and living tissue to create a posion, so when the PCs get it on them, a neutralize poison spell will only get rid of 'that batch' and the sticky substance remains making more, a few rounds later and they are taking poison damage again.-- this is similar to the way onions make you cry, upon cutting two different chemicals that are normally seperated from each other inside the onion, mix, creating a vapor, this vapor then chemically reacts to your tears to form sulphuric acid. (or another kind of acid, my memory is somewhat sketchy on which one).
If you don't like the 'chemistry' angle, or can't make it believable as 'alchemy' then 'magic' should work.
You could have the poison/substance be a secretion of a larger aboleth type monster that is undead and the PCs come across it later, along with the 'nursery'... but that might be going too far, describing all the child ghouls clamoring around this huge monster eager for a lick off of its' slimy hide...
Or
A vapor that fills the tunnels causing the victims tears to become the poison. The vapor/gas could be odorless, invisible, or both, only registering on a 'detect magic' (if it is of magic origin). maybe it works on saliva instead? the poisons physical effect I will leave up to you, but the delivery method I think is rather interesting.
is this abit too sick?
--- more to come, but I think the direction here (see above posts) is more toward making the paladins (and others) really pissed off/sickened, trying to get them to lose their temper. The controlling forces of the 'white kingdom' should try and use their undead 'disgustingness' and lack of a repect for life, to full extent knowing that it may cause the heroes to do something brash and not fully thought through.
Formerly known as BBQ Man, until I can get back into my old account, I will use this old one.
The following is a compiled and resorted list of five posts I made in rapid succession, it looks better this way.
ok, ideas pour forth, sorry that they are just ideas and not fully statted creatures.
1. How about small ghoulish undead slimy leeches.
I don't have the stats worked up on these things yet, but they should basically be the easiest things to 'kill', as they are only 1/2 inch to and inch long, but come in mass quantities. Give them the ability to suck Con, but only if more than 4 or 5 'grab on', and only after a few rounds, otherwise they do no damage. They should have a form of topical numbing slime on them, so the PCs can't feal the individual leeches. You could have them explode in-mass (40 or so) from large mushrooms/fungi, or used as 'traps', or living in water that the PCs have to wade through.
I like the bursting mushroom caps the best though. Nothin' like leech land mines to freak out a party. I definately wouldn't have the PCs find out immediately that they are covered in leaches. they are hard to notice.
Let's say that a medium sized mushroom cap explodes near them, make them think that they are only covered in bits of mushroom cap, the leaches shouldn;t be any larger than an inch each, so they won't cause much notice initially, have a group of ghouls waiting in ambush when the PCs strip down to get rid of all the leaches (most likely they will find a better solution to get rid of them though)
2. The usage of an alarm system.
Ever play Black & White? Every time a villager died, a creepy voice whispered "Deeeeaaaaatttthhhh", this turned out to be so creepy, and most people didn't know what caused it, that a patch was put out that removed that 'feature'.
How about undead children heads as a form of alarm system then, possibly magically 'preserved' so no decay happens, possibly not, the heads placed in the tunnels and caverns, the eyes normally closed, but when they detect intruders the heads rotate to face the intruders, the eyes open... and a childs' mouth whispers "Deeeeaaaaatttthhhh" the sound magically carrying/reverberating through the tunnels.
Up to you on the powers of the magical alarm system, what it can and cannot detect, 'darkvision' definately, detect invisible, maybe tremor sense?
I could see though ghoulish child heads, just make sure that you keep the "heads turning/eyes opening" thing, so that the PCs can gaze upon milky white cataract type orbs, with maybe carrion grubs crawling through and around the skin.
I think the non decaying version is the sicker of the two options, and I'd recommend detailing the visual of seeing the eyes open, and what the eyes look like/what emotion they seem to carry... (hatred?, pity? or fear? or worse yet, "please make the pain end mommy?")
3. Let's not forget the children...
Children, true ghouls, with illusions to make them seam not-undead, carrying small stuffed animals into battle....
AND/OR
Someone mentioned using an undead Bard, and PirateCat, you seem to have implied that you are already using one. How about using one like this?
Undead Bard PC commands a smallish group (around 40-50) of small children. Think evil pied piper. children age should be around 7-14, and 30% are still alive and under some controlling and delusion spells. The other 70% should be true ghouls in varying forms of decay with smallish group 'freshly dead' and looking somewhat still healthy. All should be singing various nursery rhymes in concert, this should give huge circumstantial bonuses to the Bards singing abilities as well.
They should all have some form of extremely magically strong, sticky, contact poison on their hands and mouths, like they have been into some chocolate or something (which is of course the going to cause them to die, if they weren't made into true ghouls before then, but the PCs don't know that right away). see part 4 on the 'poison'
The bard could think of itself as the 'mommy' and so could the children, just depends on how creapy you want to get.
4. Back to the poison...
The substance is extemely sticky, not water soluable, isn't really a poison, it is a substance that reacts to air and living tissue to create a posion, so when the PCs get it on them, a neutralize poison spell will only get rid of 'that batch' and the sticky substance remains making more, a few rounds later and they are taking poison damage again.-- this is similar to the way onions make you cry, upon cutting two different chemicals that are normally seperated from each other inside the onion, mix, creating a vapor, this vapor then chemically reacts to your tears to form sulphuric acid. (or another kind of acid, my memory is somewhat sketchy on which one).
If you don't like the 'chemistry' angle, or can't make it believable as 'alchemy' then 'magic' should work.
You could have the poison/substance be a secretion of a larger aboleth type monster that is undead and the PCs come across it later, along with the 'nursery'... but that might be going too far, describing all the child ghouls clamoring around this huge monster eager for a lick off of its' slimy hide...
Or
A vapor that fills the tunnels causing the victims tears to become the poison. The vapor/gas could be odorless, invisible, or both, only registering on a 'detect magic' (if it is of magic origin). maybe it works on saliva instead? the poisons physical effect I will leave up to you, but the delivery method I think is rather interesting.
is this abit too sick?
--- more to come, but I think the direction here (see above posts) is more toward making the paladins (and others) really pissed off/sickened, trying to get them to lose their temper. The controlling forces of the 'white kingdom' should try and use their undead 'disgustingness' and lack of a repect for life, to full extent knowing that it may cause the heroes to do something brash and not fully thought through.
Last edited:
