I'm trying use monsters that follow very themes (not the four horsemen of the Apocalypse). For the most part I have most of my themes worked out, but plague and famine are stumping me and Google searches just give me a bunch of home brews. Are there any more experienced DMs that can think anything?
Carrion Crawlers would work for both plague and famine--moving in to clean up the dead bodies. Ghasts and Ghouls for the same reason, all the dead bodies lying around.
Famine specific is harder. If the famine is because of crop failure, you could maybe go with something like a scarecrow. Whatever is killing off the crops is animating the scarecrows. Or if it's drought, you could go with perverted versions of any of the 'nature' sort of animals. Imagine evil dryads and treants :) Or quickly turn a water weird into a dust weird. Dust mephits are maybe perfect for drought-caused famine.
evil dryads and treants :) Or quickly turn a water weird into a dust weird. Dust mephits are maybe perfect for drought-caused famine.
They don't have to be evil. They could just have been there first or been displaced by the real evil.
Yeah, I guess I mispoke. I was thinking more 'deranged' than evil. Which would be more interesting, because you might not want to kill them. Imagine the druid going up against deranged but dangerous treants.
A few official suggestions that have a plague or famine feel...
Rot Troll Blights Carrion Crawler Hags (always a favorite of mine to cause plagues and famine) Bodak Mouth of Grolantor (the starved hill giant) Orc Hand of Yurtrus (the orc infected with rot and disease) Corpse Flower (not directly related but anything that wanders around with corpses on it's back...) Nagpa (if you're looking for masterminds behind the destruction)
A few official suggestions that have a plague or famine feel...
Rot Troll Blights Carrion Crawler Hags (always a favorite of mine to cause plagues and famine) Bodak Mouth of Grolantor (the starved hill giant) Orc Hand of Yurtrus (the orc infected with rot and disease) Corpse Flower (not directly related but anything that wanders around with corpses on it's back...) Nagpa (if you're looking for masterminds behind the destruction)
Yes, I should have been clearer. I need mastermind monsters and the Nagpa looks great. Everyone has has given great suggestions though.
You can always have a plagued version of something that has a special ability akin to ash zombies from LMoP. Famine could be anything that is causing shortages through eating and spoiling food stores through defecation. As such, gnolls could work for both and the mastermind could be the fiend or demon responsible for the gnolls.
look at volo's...but plague and famine are two really different things. plague are human diseases....for famine, you're talking about destroyed countrysides and broken regional food chains...long-term issue with the land - drought, plant diseases that irradiate entire crops...but catoblepas comes to mind.
Blighted Territory. A catoblepas's nature as a creature of disease and decay brings out similar characteristics in the creature's swampy habitat. Such a wetland becomes gloomy, tangled, and more fetid than it was before. Beneficial qualities of the environment, such as healing herbs and clean water, diminish when a catoblepas lives nearby. Swamp gases have a hint of the catoblepas's foulness to them. Animals in the area are more aggressive and liable to be diseased. Degenerate creatures are likely to take up residence near a catoblepas's territory, as are those seeking to avoid notice.
For plague, go with anything that has diseases like the mentioned above....swarm of rot grubs are another one - gnoll can specifically carry and spread diseases.
If you don't mind going homebrew, you have the Herald of Rot.
I agree with the homebrew route. You can also re-skin monsters, or even mix and match stuff. I do it all the time. In my case I get board of the official monsters that wizards puts out and need to be dressed up. I also have several 3rd party MMs to help with this. Dont limit yourself to the official content. There is a ton of great 3rd party stuff out there as well as homebrew stuff. Or just use your imagination.
If you're still looking for monsters, try using the Nosoi from Greek mythology, or perhaps something along the lines of Liso from there as well for famine. If you're looking for a monster that is constantly hungry, either try out the Wendigo (the original version from Native American folklore), or picture the following characteristics:
Emaciated body
sharp fangs, maybe missing a few or are jagged and/or riddled with cavities.
Feral behavior, mostly due to them never being able to sate the empty pain in their bellies.
perhaps try incorporating characteristics from scavenger animals - such as pack tactics and physical scarring from hyenas for example
Quite allot of monsters are associated with plagues and famine because those things can have a myriad of causes and effects.
For example a fiend could represent some ones sin that causes a famine or plague and the results from it :
Like the nalfeshnee with its pig like appearance or the wealth associated amnizu representing greed or gluttony of a group
succubus could represent their decadence and lavish life style in the face of suffering.
A wastrilith represents corruption and could be a divine punishment or perhaps pollution
a dybbuk takes the faces of others so can represent forgotten groups. Say a dybbuk inhabits a fallen soldier and brings a weaponized magic plague back to a city
Maurezhi and it's ghoul are associated with hunger and cannibalism so can represent what people have to resort to in order to survive
Some demons like a balor can just be like a force of nature as some plagues and famine are
sibriex with its dark experiments can represent human impact on the environment or unethical research
So there's quite allot of fiends you can use it just depends how you use them. That's also not all the options and it's a similar case with undead
She is a little known figure in mythology and she is practically the embodiment of the black plague. This being takes the appearance of an ancient, ugly hag carrying either a rake or a broom. If she enters a town with a rake there will be survivors. If she enters a town holding a broom, all will perish by the plague.
Also, gnolls are supposed to be cursed with never ending hunger so they work well. Yeenoghu is the one who cursed them with never ending hunger so he also works.
Zuggtmoy is supposed to be a demon lord of fungus and mold which could easily be altered to fit disease.
Thank you for answering some one elses question and giving me the idea to use Pesta in my campaign. I even have the perfect role as the grounds keeper for he in mind to blend her in before the reveal, with a familiar Nosoi spirit from a previous post. Now how to deal with her stats, attacks, and damage her "weapons" can do?
I'm trying use monsters that follow very themes (not the four horsemen of the Apocalypse). For the most part I have most of my themes worked out, but plague and famine are stumping me and Google searches just give me a bunch of home brews. Are there any more experienced DMs that can think anything?
Swarm of Insects
Zombie
If you don't mind going homebrew, you have the Herald of Rot.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Carrion Crawlers would work for both plague and famine--moving in to clean up the dead bodies. Ghasts and Ghouls for the same reason, all the dead bodies lying around.
Famine specific is harder. If the famine is because of crop failure, you could maybe go with something like a scarecrow. Whatever is killing off the crops is animating the scarecrows. Or if it's drought, you could go with perverted versions of any of the 'nature' sort of animals. Imagine evil dryads and treants :) Or quickly turn a water weird into a dust weird. Dust mephits are maybe perfect for drought-caused famine.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
They don't have to be evil. They could just have been there first or been displaced by the real evil.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Yeah, I guess I mispoke. I was thinking more 'deranged' than evil. Which would be more interesting, because you might not want to kill them. Imagine the druid going up against deranged but dangerous treants.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
A few official suggestions that have a plague or famine feel...
Rot Troll
Blights
Carrion Crawler
Hags (always a favorite of mine to cause plagues and famine)
Bodak
Mouth of Grolantor (the starved hill giant)
Orc Hand of Yurtrus (the orc infected with rot and disease)
Corpse Flower (not directly related but anything that wanders around with corpses on it's back...)
Nagpa (if you're looking for masterminds behind the destruction)
Find me on Twitter: @OboeLauren
nobody seems to have mentioned Bulezau demons yet.
Yes, I should have been clearer. I need mastermind monsters and the Nagpa looks great. Everyone has has given great suggestions though.
You can always have a plagued version of something that has a special ability akin to ash zombies from LMoP. Famine could be anything that is causing shortages through eating and spoiling food stores through defecation. As such, gnolls could work for both and the mastermind could be the fiend or demon responsible for the gnolls.
Bulezau is a solid choice. The real question is how tough does he want this guy to be?
"Not all those who wander are lost"
At least Demilich level, but weaker than a demon Lord.
I was also searching for this (a year and a half later), found the Oinoloth from Mordenkainen's.
look at volo's...but plague and famine are two really different things. plague are human diseases....for famine, you're talking about destroyed countrysides and broken regional food chains...long-term issue with the land - drought, plant diseases that irradiate entire crops...but catoblepas comes to mind.
Blighted Territory. A catoblepas's nature as a creature of disease and decay brings out similar characteristics in the creature's swampy habitat. Such a wetland becomes gloomy, tangled, and more fetid than it was before. Beneficial qualities of the environment, such as healing herbs and clean water, diminish when a catoblepas lives nearby. Swamp gases have a hint of the catoblepas's foulness to them. Animals in the area are more aggressive and liable to be diseased. Degenerate creatures are likely to take up residence near a catoblepas's territory, as are those seeking to avoid notice.
For plague, go with anything that has diseases like the mentioned above....swarm of rot grubs are another one - gnoll can specifically carry and spread diseases.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
I agree with the homebrew route. You can also re-skin monsters, or even mix and match stuff. I do it all the time. In my case I get board of the official monsters that wizards puts out and need to be dressed up. I also have several 3rd party MMs to help with this. Dont limit yourself to the official content. There is a ton of great 3rd party stuff out there as well as homebrew stuff. Or just use your imagination.
If you're still looking for monsters, try using the Nosoi from Greek mythology, or perhaps something along the lines of Liso from there as well for famine. If you're looking for a monster that is constantly hungry, either try out the Wendigo (the original version from Native American folklore), or picture the following characteristics:
I hope this helps in future Campaigns
all of these suggestions are great! looking at possibly starting a zombie apocalypse campaign or oneshot; I'll definitely be using a lot of these.
Quite allot of monsters are associated with plagues and famine because those things can have a myriad of causes and effects.
For example a fiend could represent some ones sin that causes a famine or plague and the results from it :
So there's quite allot of fiends you can use it just depends how you use them. That's also not all the options and it's a similar case with undead
Pesta
She is a little known figure in mythology and she is practically the embodiment of the black plague. This being takes the appearance of an ancient, ugly hag carrying either a rake or a broom. If she enters a town with a rake there will be survivors. If she enters a town holding a broom, all will perish by the plague.
Also, gnolls are supposed to be cursed with never ending hunger so they work well. Yeenoghu is the one who cursed them with never ending hunger so he also works.
Zuggtmoy is supposed to be a demon lord of fungus and mold which could easily be altered to fit disease.
Thank you for answering some one elses question and giving me the idea to use Pesta in my campaign. I even have the perfect role as the grounds keeper for he in mind to blend her in before the reveal, with a familiar Nosoi spirit from a previous post. Now how to deal with her stats, attacks, and damage her "weapons" can do?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale