8 Surprising Places to Encounter a Mimic

Tags Running Monsters Monster Manual

Mimics are one of the most entertaining monsters in Dungeons & Dragons. They're a blast for DMs who want to spring a surprise and usually good for a laugh once the player's initial panic wears off. While masquerading as a treasure chest is one of the most surefire ways for a mimic to capture its next meal, they can take on all sorts of shapes, and the new Monster Manual helps fuel your imagination with 36 different suggestions to keep your players guessing.

Today, we're going to springboard off of those suggestions and give you some ideas on where you could place a mimic in your game to achieve maximum impact—or at least maximum surprise value.

As an Item Shop Security System

Artist: Mark ZugDisguised as a vault guard, an adventurer sets his sights on the precious Ruby Diadem of Erlynn Blessedore

Imagine if you will, a beleaguered shop owner. They've invested so much time and money in their little store in this bustling Waterdeep neighborhood, only to continually have thieves and unscrupulous adventurers break in to steal their merchandise.

One day, this shopkeeper stumbles on the perfect solution: a security Mimic. They allow the creature to live in the shop, keep it relatively well-fed, and in exchange, the mimic is allowed to chow down on anyone who lets themselves in uninvited.

As an Arrow. One Single Arrow.

This would be an option for a Juvenile Mimic, found in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, as a normal Mimic can only turn into Medium or Small objects.

The players might find some arrows or crossbow bolts within an armory in a dungeon. Nine of which are normal, mundane projectiles. That other one, though? A Juvenile Mimic biding its time.

These Tiny shape-shifters aren't extremely threatening on their own with a CR of 0. But someone trying to load their bow in the heat of battle probably won't be thrilled to suddenly find their arrow taking a bite out of them.

In the Same Room as Another Mimic

Getting players with a mimic is great. Getting players with another mimic immediately after they've fallen for one? Priceless. This is something you have to do very sparingly, perhaps once a campaign, perhaps only once with a specific group.

If you lean on this idea too much, it will lose its impact, or you may create the punishment for yourself of having to wait for your players to inspect every inch of a dungeon.

But when it works? When the awareness washes over the players that they've been surprised by a mimic not once but twice in a single room? You'll chase that high forever.

As a Safe Haven

Artist: Sam KeiserWomen sit drinking tea on a porch that is slowly revealing itself to be a mimic

After a long journey through harsh terrain, the characters find a simple tavern or inn offering a place to rest. Their relief at the shelter is short-lived, which they'll realize when they enter and one of their hands adheres to the countertop.

On the other side of the size spectrum from the Juvenile Mimic, the Hoard Mimic is Huge-sized, making it perfect for when you need them to imitate a small building. Though you will have to homebrew its Shapechanger action to allow it to transform into any object, not just a hoard.

Similarly, you could achieve this effect using the mimic colony mechanics suggested in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.

You could also consider homebrewing some mechanics to make the fight feel more like it's happening inside of a mimic. That could mean swallowed creatures take Acid damage at the beginning of the mimic's turn, or it could be a simple matter of giving the mimic Advantage on Pseudopod attacks against creatures inside the mimic's space.

As a Feast

One of the suggestions for mimic shapes in the Monster Manual is an oversized cake. But dare we ask an important question: why only one cake?

Let's set the scene, shall we? The players attend an opulent ball or elegant event. An aristocrat has thrown a soiree for their cat's birthday, something like that.

Everything is going great until it comes time to serve dessert. As the guests surround a table laden with cakes, the host makes the ceremonial first cut in the largest of the confectioneries. But as the knife is just about to slice through the decorative frosting, a pseudopod juts out and teeth emerge from the buttercream. A rival has replaced the cakes with Mimics, and now the guests are about to satisfy the mimics' sweet tooth.

As a Door Frame

Mimics are a classic source of paranoia for characters—one equaled only, perhaps, by the meme-ified terror of opening literally any door.

Making a mimic into the door itself is fun, but players who spend an excessive amount of time investigating a door might feel a bit smug about a reveal that proves they were right to do so. Instead, once they've opened the door and calmly stepped through it, that is when your mimic strikes, shape-shifting from the ornate stone archway above them and instilling even more paranoia for years to come.

Everywhere

Artist: Mark ZugAn adventurer holds a torch aloft and witnesses a room full of treasure transform into a room full of Mimics

This recommendation is inspired by the artwork for the Mimic that you'll find in the Monster Manual. An explorer enters a room with a torch, sword drawn.

Unbeknownst to them, everything in the room is a mimic preparing for a meal. Describe an elaborate room full of interesting, lavish items.

Allow your players to make their way to the middle of it before revealing they've found their way into a nest of mimics. Now it's too late. The arch they entered through is rows upon rows of sharp teeth. Everything, and I mean everything, in the room is a mimic.

Nowhere

Another manipulative mind game option. Your players are in a dungeon, and they come across a room full of treasure. You ask them to make a Wisdom (Perception) check. If they roll high, you say, “Okay, this chest is definitely not a mimic.” If they roll low, you say, “You're pretty sure this chest isn't a mimic.” There are no mimics. Not any in the whole dungeon. But your players will never believe that.

As an Article on D&D Beyond

Normally, this is the part of a piece where I'd be writing my conclusion. A handful of sentences that wrap everything up for you. But I can't do that here. You see, this hasn't been an article at all. This is a Mimic. Roll for Initiative.

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Riley Silverman (rileysilverman.bsky.social) is a contributing writer to D&D Beyond, and has written for Nerdist, SYFY Wire, Star Wars, and Doctor Who. She is a professional DM and currently plays as Chase Variant on the Good Chaotic TTRPG podcast.

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