I’ve been trying to come up with ways a fiend or celestial (and possibly modrons and slaadi) could manifest in and affect an area without showing up tangibly with their statblock, either because they want to stay hidden or because they can only partially reach into the Material at this time.
Some examples:
1. Blights: while originally coming from a vampire, it’s easy to imagine a devil stuffing a tree with a nupperibo spirit, for instance.
2. Haunted traps: in fact other extraplanars can use the same principle less actively harmful regional effects.
3. Animated objects: give them an intelligence boost and you can say there’s a spirit inside them.
4. Possessions: mentioned in the demon write up in the MM if not emphasized, not sure if devils are ever said to do it but I don’t see why not.
5. Voices: just talk mortals into doing what they want while making them thing the thoughts are their own. Difficult to pull off for a player.
Feel free to post any methods you used or want to use.
EDIT: just realized this is in the wrong place. I have sent a report.
Yeah, animated objects and possession are a good idea. What I'd add is the idea of controlling things like swarms of insects so imagine bugs that don't normally work together like spiders become fully co-ordinated. Maybe it could even make a psuedo humanoid form with a pile of insects which is creepy.
Curses and plagues also work and that can be a spell they cast or they could "posses" some one and warp their body but not control them.
Lair actions might be a good idea. Perhaps the creature can take it's lair actions despite not being present, these would function as places of power where the entities influence is the strongest. Some of these are effects like fire bursting from the ground or the earth shaking.
Environmental effects are also a good idea. Maybe they can push their influence in an are causing crops to die or animals to become aggressive like many monsters do when they stay in an area.
Finally spells. Some spells might be able to be delivered across plains, things like, a counter spell from an invisible entity at the right time with a maniacal laugh from no where could be really atmospheric. A familiar delivering touch spells might be cool too especially if there are minions that they could be buffing and healing long distance with it.
Speaking through animals or people. Altered weather, even extreme weather like tornados, or fantastical weather like acid storms. Curses... Random objects becoming cursed, people getting cursed when they act against the being's instructions. Unnatural stillness -- nothing wants to enter an area, be it monster or wind or sound. Messages carving themselves into floorboards or inking themselves onto pages. People's hands writing messages without their input.
I’ve been trying to come up with ways a fiend or celestial (and possibly modrons and slaadi) could manifest in and affect an area without showing up tangibly with their statblock, either because they want to stay hidden or because they can only partially reach into the Material at this time.
Some examples:
1. Blights: while originally coming from a vampire, it’s easy to imagine a devil stuffing a tree with a nupperibo spirit, for instance.
2. Haunted traps: in fact other extraplanars can use the same principle less actively harmful regional effects.
3. Animated objects: give them an intelligence boost and you can say there’s a spirit inside them.
4. Possessions: mentioned in the demon write up in the MM if not emphasized, not sure if devils are ever said to do it but I don’t see why not.
5. Voices: just talk mortals into doing what they want while making them thing the thoughts are their own. Difficult to pull off for a player.
Feel free to post any methods you used or want to use.
EDIT: just realized this is in the wrong place. I have sent a report.
Yeah, animated objects and possession are a good idea. What I'd add is the idea of controlling things like swarms of insects so imagine bugs that don't normally work together like spiders become fully co-ordinated. Maybe it could even make a psuedo humanoid form with a pile of insects which is creepy.
Curses and plagues also work and that can be a spell they cast or they could "posses" some one and warp their body but not control them.
Lair actions might be a good idea. Perhaps the creature can take it's lair actions despite not being present, these would function as places of power where the entities influence is the strongest. Some of these are effects like fire bursting from the ground or the earth shaking.
Environmental effects are also a good idea. Maybe they can push their influence in an are causing crops to die or animals to become aggressive like many monsters do when they stay in an area.
Finally spells. Some spells might be able to be delivered across plains, things like, a counter spell from an invisible entity at the right time with a maniacal laugh from no where could be really atmospheric. A familiar delivering touch spells might be cool too especially if there are minions that they could be buffing and healing long distance with it.
Cool ideas, especially the swarm in humanoid shape.
Speaking through animals or people. Altered weather, even extreme weather like tornados, or fantastical weather like acid storms. Curses... Random objects becoming cursed, people getting cursed when they act against the being's instructions. Unnatural stillness -- nothing wants to enter an area, be it monster or wind or sound. Messages carving themselves into floorboards or inking themselves onto pages. People's hands writing messages without their input.
Speaking of spells cast from across the planes, living spells like in Eberron or Icewind Dale.