So, I'm stuck on even the first part - even thinking of what to call this thing in the first place.
Phiadx here is like a sleep paralysis cryptid thing, but what would you call it besides that nightmare of a name?
It's a lanky being that stands on the tips of its toes at all times, standing at about 20 feet tall at maximum, but is squatting most of the time as it's more comfortable that way, its arms are long - going down to the knees when it stands up fully - and it has large, clawed hands. Its head is that of a deer skull mixed with god knows what else and it has the ability to breathe smoke out of the front of its "mouth" if you want to call it that? Its torso is an emaciated hunk of flesh that looks like a messed-up doll body, as its legs appear to be on a ball joint of sorts. Its eyes are hollow sockets with a glowing pupil inside that dances with red and white. It is notorious for simply lurking and staring, not moving an inch as it just observes those around it. It is a primarily nocturnal beast that doesn't exactly like showing itself in the light, so it sticks to the shadows as much as it can. When provoked, it will lash out with its large appendages, usually focusing on crushing and cleaving its opponent. Though, it has shown some ability to hypnotize those around it, but only when needed. It doesn't really speak, per say, but rather makes low, bellowing noises ( somewhat like an alligator's bellow ) mixed with a deep, low hissing - somewhat like an angered snake, except lower in pitch, smoke escaping from the front of the skull with each bellow, increasing the amount of smoke the longer it is "speaking". Overall, it's a terrifying creature that probably shouldn't be encountered, but if allied it'd be extremely strong. It can understand common and undercommon / abyssal / infernal, but can't really speak, only draw out what it is trying to convey - usually drawing in the dirt or whatever surfaces can be scrawled on / carved into crudely with its claws because it is the easiest option for those giant hands.
Here is what it looks like :
.
But what do y'all think of it? I know it'd probably be better as a monster, but I'd really want to play it as a character, I rarely play things with imposing presences like this, but also I want it to make a big steppy.
To be honest, I didn’t thoroughly read that solid block of text because my eyes kept trying not to look at it. (That’s why paragraphs were invented, to make stuff like that easier to read.) But from the skim I did, I honestly cannot tell if it’s supposed to be a Race or a Monster.
Honestly, I read the text and I thought "damn, this is some creepy stuff". I'm imagining people seeing these glowing eyes in the dark, and then them getting dragged screaming into the smoky darkness. Then I looked at the images and I have to say, I had something of a different image in mind. The heads in the image are more dragon skull (horns < antlers for creepiness, IMHO) and I was expecting the arms & hands to be somewhat more skeletal.
I was expecting more like this:
It being a 20ft tall monster who breathes smoke and can't speak, I don't think it's really a good idea to play as a race. It's got massive "horror in the dark" vibes, which will be lost completely when it's used as a PC!
No idea for the name, but I would suggest working out how powerful you want this to be (is it a semi-common enemy in the night, or is it the-one-and-only high danger legendary creature) and then take it from there - find a creature which vaguely resembles yours from that challenge rating, lift the health and AC from them, adjust the stats to match yours, and then add it's attacks.
I suppose it could be possible to shrink it down, but it's really only that tall when it's standing fully up, which it rarely does, so it moreover squats down to about 7-9 feet tall, and half of that is due to its big ol' toes propping it up. I suppose you're right, it does kinda break the PC skeleton, but at the same time, it would find it easier to discover prey if traveling with a party, as it could feed off of whatever the party massacres kills. I think that's wishful thinking though.
But if it was a monster, I'd think it'd be a decently high-danger creature, but I can't exactly decide, as it is a cryptid-sleep paralysis demon thing idk anymore what it is, I'll mull it over and see if I can both make it PC-able and a monster. Perhaps if it's a PC, it has to always be squatting and isn't allowed to stand up fully ( Unless for intimidation purposes, but even then, it'd be a little hunched over )
On the topic of the skull as well, I originally was sketching out a deer skull when drawing it, but it just turned into that so I guess maybe it's a hybrid of the two?
Perhaps with it being a demonic entity, you could have its size & power dependent on the power of the wizard that summoned it. Then say that their hunger is proportional to their size, and as such the larger they are the more beast-like and terrifying they are, whilst the smaller runts operate more like conventional humanoids and so have limited communication (perhaps mimicking voices like a Kenku... I am now imagining some terrifying giant demon creature in the dark calling out "help me, please help me" in the voice of a child, and it's chilling me...). Perhaps the least stable ones are created by wizards who can't control the ritual, making monsters, and the PC types are made by controlled wizards and are loyal and decent.
I can't take credit for the art, I just googled "Wendigo"!
Ooo, that idea sounds good! The mimicking voices should be perhaps limited to larger, older ones. But probably when they do it, it'd have a low hiss to it as well. I dig the idea of the PC ones being made by wizards - or maybe even druids ( totally cryptid conspiracy theorist ones that are deadset on finding Bigfoot jkjk ) that managed to find and tame a wild one! That sounds like the perfect way to have it be loyal to a party and people in general.
It's still an amazing piece! I'm weak for body horror XD
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So, I'm stuck on even the first part - even thinking of what to call this thing in the first place.
Phiadx here is like a sleep paralysis cryptid thing, but what would you call it besides that nightmare of a name?
It's a lanky being that stands on the tips of its toes at all times, standing at about 20 feet tall at maximum, but is squatting most of the time as it's more comfortable that way, its arms are long - going down to the knees when it stands up fully - and it has large, clawed hands. Its head is that of a deer skull mixed with god knows what else and it has the ability to breathe smoke out of the front of its "mouth" if you want to call it that? Its torso is an emaciated hunk of flesh that looks like a messed-up doll body, as its legs appear to be on a ball joint of sorts. Its eyes are hollow sockets with a glowing pupil inside that dances with red and white. It is notorious for simply lurking and staring, not moving an inch as it just observes those around it. It is a primarily nocturnal beast that doesn't exactly like showing itself in the light, so it sticks to the shadows as much as it can. When provoked, it will lash out with its large appendages, usually focusing on crushing and cleaving its opponent. Though, it has shown some ability to hypnotize those around it, but only when needed. It doesn't really speak, per say, but rather makes low, bellowing noises ( somewhat like an alligator's bellow ) mixed with a deep, low hissing - somewhat like an angered snake, except lower in pitch, smoke escaping from the front of the skull with each bellow, increasing the amount of smoke the longer it is "speaking". Overall, it's a terrifying creature that probably shouldn't be encountered, but if allied it'd be extremely strong. It can understand common and undercommon / abyssal / infernal, but can't really speak, only draw out what it is trying to convey - usually drawing in the dirt or whatever surfaces can be scrawled on / carved into crudely with its claws because it is the easiest option for those giant hands.
Here is what it looks like :
.


But what do y'all think of it? I know it'd probably be better as a monster, but I'd really want to play it as a character, I rarely play things with imposing presences like this, but also I want it to make a big steppy.
To be honest, I didn’t thoroughly read that solid block of text because my eyes kept trying not to look at it. (That’s why paragraphs were invented, to make stuff like that easier to read.) But from the skim I did, I honestly cannot tell if it’s supposed to be a Race or a Monster.
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Honestly, I read the text and I thought "damn, this is some creepy stuff". I'm imagining people seeing these glowing eyes in the dark, and then them getting dragged screaming into the smoky darkness. Then I looked at the images and I have to say, I had something of a different image in mind. The heads in the image are more dragon skull (horns < antlers for creepiness, IMHO) and I was expecting the arms & hands to be somewhat more skeletal.
I was expecting more like this:
It being a 20ft tall monster who breathes smoke and can't speak, I don't think it's really a good idea to play as a race. It's got massive "horror in the dark" vibes, which will be lost completely when it's used as a PC!
No idea for the name, but I would suggest working out how powerful you want this to be (is it a semi-common enemy in the night, or is it the-one-and-only high danger legendary creature) and then take it from there - find a creature which vaguely resembles yours from that challenge rating, lift the health and AC from them, adjust the stats to match yours, and then add it's attacks.
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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I suppose it could be possible to shrink it down, but it's really only that tall when it's standing fully up, which it rarely does, so it moreover squats down to about 7-9 feet tall, and half of that is due to its big ol' toes propping it up. I suppose you're right, it does kinda break the PC skeleton, but at the same time, it would find it easier to discover prey if traveling with a party, as it could feed off of whatever the party
massacreskills. I think that's wishful thinking though.But if it was a monster, I'd think it'd be a decently high-danger creature, but I can't exactly decide, as it is a cryptid-sleep paralysis demon thing
idk anymore what it is, I'll mull it over and see if I can both make it PC-able and a monster. Perhaps if it's a PC, it has to always be squatting and isn't allowed to stand up fully ( Unless for intimidation purposes, but even then, it'd be a little hunched over )On the topic of the skull as well, I originally was sketching out a deer skull when drawing it, but it just turned into that so I guess maybe it's a hybrid of the two?
Also, that art is so amazing, I adore it ;w;
Perhaps with it being a demonic entity, you could have its size & power dependent on the power of the wizard that summoned it. Then say that their hunger is proportional to their size, and as such the larger they are the more beast-like and terrifying they are, whilst the smaller runts operate more like conventional humanoids and so have limited communication (perhaps mimicking voices like a Kenku... I am now imagining some terrifying giant demon creature in the dark calling out "help me, please help me" in the voice of a child, and it's chilling me...). Perhaps the least stable ones are created by wizards who can't control the ritual, making monsters, and the PC types are made by controlled wizards and are loyal and decent.
I can't take credit for the art, I just googled "Wendigo"!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
Ooo, that idea sounds good! The mimicking voices should be perhaps limited to larger, older ones. But probably when they do it, it'd have a low hiss to it as well. I dig the idea of the PC ones being made by wizards - or maybe even druids ( totally cryptid conspiracy theorist ones that are deadset on finding Bigfoot jkjk ) that managed to find and tame a wild one! That sounds like the perfect way to have it be loyal to a party and people in general.
It's still an amazing piece! I'm weak for body horror XD