I like the way your husband thinks.

I think.

Ahaha, thanks! He's a fun and paranoia-inducing GM ;)

Them's the best kind. XD

lol, you should see us whenever we enter a new area or meet a new NPC. One of his "tells" is he's absolutely terrible with names, so when we come across a "random" NPC and he immediately is able to provide their full names as Duke Mors Severn or Lord Kalaclese, an alarm bell immediately goes off. WHO IS THIS GUY AND HOW WILL HE PROBABLY TRY TO MURDER US IN THE FUTURE O_O

I had a DM like that once. It got to the point that every time he introduced somebody with a cool name we all said in unison, "WE IMMEDIATELY DISTRUST HIM!!! D:<"

lol, yup. I have a lot of points in Sense Motive in our current campaign, and yet somehow it's even MORE suspicious when I roll, like, 35, and he's like, "He is literally the most trustworthy person you've ever met." Uh huh, sure, it just means he's a super-powerful demon tricking me >:(

Obviously he has some kind of special magic trinket that's putting his difficulty at something astronomical! D: Know that feel, dude, know that feel...

Heh, we actually had that happen, except without the trinket :b The first questgiver we had ended up being like a level 40 malevolent being who had us sort of mind-controlled and sent us off to retrieve an artifact - we thought we were fighting evil cultists, but we were actually killing these honourable monk guys who were trying to keep the artifact safe >_>

... ain't that always the way. >.<

Pulling that off properly requires skill. I had both kinds of DMs, where one handled it poorly and it was DM deceiving player (AKA me) as to the nature of what was going on and practically using legalize speak in a ploy to show off how dastardly the villain was (I suspected illusions and used Sense Motive (I think, know it was an appropriate skill), scoring high, and was told the first row of "guards" were illusions over tied up kids, but the second row was not. After putting an arrow through the back row and finding them kids as well, the DM tried to tell me that my check only actually covered the first row and didn't apply to the second. The group as a whole was pissed.), and another where it was actually a well played in character misunderstanding of the situation crafted by the villain where I thought I was taking out bandit kidnappers upon finding the individual whom I was hired to find, guard, and guide, when they were really decent folk hired on what they thought was retrieving a runaway, a misunderstanding that worked because it was my introduction to the game to locate and serve as body guard for another PC for safe passage. I only killed one before the others surrendered, the situation being more dangerous than they signed up for, and in character, my character felt horrible at something he had felt moments before he'd been justified.

The hard part is that one needs to deceive the characters, not directly the players, and for the players to be in character enough to feel that it was the characters deceived and not them.

I both agree and disagree. I agree, in that you definitely need to approach this properly as a DM, in that it needs to be done fairly or else it will upset players. I disagree, in that I believe a DM can deceive the players without being unfair to them - it's not the players' right to know everything about what's going on behind the scenes that their character doesn't have access to, or to essentially know more than their character would know.

But yeah, it really often does come down to how exactly things are done. If a player feels they literally have no agency (ie. no chance to even attempt to respond or roll or make a save), or were misled in an OOC sort of way (ie. the DM outright lies or purposefully leaves out important information in order to mislead), then it's generally a terrible way to do things :b However, at the same time, it is perfectly possible for players to go up against things they have no chance against, and it is perfectly fair for them to fail when they try; it's only unfair if the DM doesn't give them options in how to handle the situation.

I can agree with that. Actions have consequences, and just because it's there doesn't mean you can take it on. If the players worked their way into a death trap they could have, and should have, avoided if they were thinking about it, I wouldn't have much sympathy (heck, I even got an illustration done of that very concept). There should always be a path to victory, and a reasonable way of staying on it (without railroading). Players may wander off it (or even make a fork in the road by way of feasible plan the DM hadn't anticipated), but there should always be a reasonable means of getting back on it, even if it means pushing through some rather thorny bushes. Failure should never be the only option unless the group just simply dug themselves too deep a hole by their own actions. I guess one way to look at it is that the players (with the luck of die rolls) should be the ones to fail, and the DM should not force them to fail (fail being a loose term here). Tried writing that three different ways and I still don't feel I've got it quite right.

However, players not having full information I don't see as "deception"; that's a mutually agreed upon aspect of the game. Only the DM has full knowledge of the game universe, and the players, through their characters, need to interact with that. It's the players obligation to pursue information, not the DM's to spoon feed it to them. The DM just needs to be fair in the exchange of information, usually in the form of making it at least attainable if the players are looking in the right places. Granted, some information may be simply out of reach (like "what is the villain's secret weakness" shouldn't be something you just ask a local scholar and such about) or unattainable in the right context (sometimes there just is no way to know some things ahead of time), but for the most part, the information should at least be attainable. There is a difference between discovering information and uncovering deception. What I hate is when the DM manipulates the player, rather than the villain manipulating the hero. There is a difference, albeit a subtle one as the DM plays the villain and the players play the heroes.

Haha, no, I think we're on the same wavelength :) I think we both feel that a good DM presents a challenge to players, and several avenues that to approach (or avoid) it by. He gives suitable hints and warnings if players are getting in over their heads, yet will let players get into their own troubles or do whatever fun, crazy, irrational things they want to do. And he doesn't punish players for cleverly avoiding his traps, pitfalls, and plot twists.

I agree with the second paragraph as well - pretty sure we were just struggling over semantics ;) <3

You mentioning DMs as villains, and my mentioning DMs that punish players makes me think of a DM I had once. He wasn't as bad as he could have been, by far, but he railroaded a lot (if he had a quest or story arc in mind, he MADE it happen whether or not the players were interested or chose to follow it), and got genuinely a bit bitter if players solved his puzzles or killed his monsters too quickly. DMs should never really be playing AGAINST the players, or force them into quests and actions and arcs they don't want to - DMs should be helping the players have fun, whatever that might be :)

Nothing is safe... These mimics really know how to make you pay attention to stuff

lol, yeah. I had to include mimics and some kind of rust monster equivalent, I just had to. They're such classic "F-yous" to players!

I know that I've slashed every chest in Dark Souls 2, just to be sure

Haha, yup :b Although I can't recall, I think the mimics do have a tell in the games - something about there being a chain or not coming off the chest and a slightly different colour? Anyway, I always smack treasure chests for sure in Dark Souls; the mimics are so bloody creepy and weird. Giggling madly while ninja-leaping around before winding up to kick you in the balls o_O

I think that the metal ones don't have a padlock, but I'm not sure about the wooden ones. Still, it's really scary when a chest you just wanted to loot suddenly jumps at you and bites your head off

The metal chest mimics actually have two shiny locks on the front and the wooden chest mimics have one shiny lock, while real chests have no locks. Also, you can see their teeth if you look closely. *shivers* Those bastards... How many innocent chests have been crushed because of their devilry? Far and away my least favorite enemy xD

Hahah, but I love them for it! I just can't hate the Dark Souls mimics, they're too weird and fun. Other mimics, though? They can die :b

Well, I guess I do love the giggling and weirdness... But the first time I ran into one in Sen's Fortress after somehow missing every bonfire on the way there and being eaten instantly, I just remember being really, really cross about it and beginning the practice of striking every treasure chest I saw. Until I recognized the differences. I also do that in DnD campaigns now, too, and it really irritates my parties xD

Yeah, the bonfire is really easy to miss :S and it's a bloody annoying area, too :b Oh Dark Souls, so infuriating and wonderful at the same time XD

If I remember correctly, I only broke one. But when I checked the wiki, it had some good loot

Didn't you have to smack the chests a whole bunch in order to actually break them?

Not if it's a heavy attack with an Old Knight ultra greatsword...

...lol! Okay, you're right...

Gah, this is horrifying. It's bad enough they were only limited to chests in most RPGs.

Again, never cease to impress me with your unique design and execution of things, even something as established as a mimic is able to receive your creative spin on it and people will still be able to recognize just what they're looking at.

I also like the idea of it being a spirit that animates objects rather than an animal or something that is able to camouflage itself to look just like an object, it's more artistically liberating. Characters in the game will constantly be on the look out for ANYTHING now that could potentially be a demon. Also, the very organic, twisted anatomy of seeing it animate and become a hostile creature is a very welcome addition to this creature, rather than just opening up a chest and it has teeth instead of gold in there. It adds much more to the enigmatic mimics.

Haha, thanks a lot! My favourite part is the creepy angel statue :b

I'm very honoured you think so <3 I can't do it with everything, obviously, and not everything necessarily calls for a "special snowflake" twist, but I try to do it where it seems appropriate or inspiration hits.

Yeah, I agree. I wanted a creature that would be really versatile as a monster, as a tool for GMs, and could be used in a variety of ways. I feel like it would be unlikely to wake up one morning to find your toilet is suddenly now a mimic, that the possession process probably takes some time and maybe has warning signs and whatnot in order to make the creature balanced and more fair to players. But yeah, I like that it's basically up to the GM's imagination how it might be used and as what :)

Anyway, thank you again, it's very appreciated :) <3

Of course, not a problem! Thank you for sharing your work and the process in creating these creatures. Makes me very excited to try the game myself.

That does sound like a good idea for GM's, the monster can be utilized in tons of different ways and make some very fun scenarios. And I like how you would implement their balancing so that not everyone has to be completely paranoid of every little object, also I assume investing in the equivalent of a "perception/awareness" stat would be very fortunate when dealing with these things, lol.

Perception is always a good skill to put points in o_o

I should have one of those when someone tries to rob me, he'll pretty much be taking that and lose a hand.

*chuckles* Perhaps you could strike a deal with a mimic, but they seem a bit too on the "chaotic evil" side to be able to trust :b Even if you kept it really well fed (which would probably be rather evil to do yourself), it would probably betray you some day and want your soul, as well :b

Hey, if it mean not being rob and showing people it's bad to rob people I don't mind.

Should tell you about the guy who carried around a demon cursed "Deck Of Many Things" just for this reason. According to the story, every card in the deck brought about something highly detrimental to the drawer. The character in question just carried it around and never used it, though he also never took measures to protect it from thieves, and even managed to somehow temporarily swap decks with a villain who's sorceries relied heavily on card based Astral Projection.

Oooh look, a bag of HOLLY SH!T!!!

"As you pick up the magic staff, tenticals erupt from the haft, ensnaring your arms and chest, and a gaping maw opens on the top and stretches towards your head"


Just nasty, I've always hated possessed items.

*chuckles* Reminds me of oldschool cursed items, where once you put them on, you can't take them off by yourself :b

Frikkin' mimics! DX There have been FAR too many times I've encountered these jerks!

That said, I'll just sit here and have a sip from this beautiful bottle of wiAUGHHH!

Ahaha, that sucks. They're always a bloody nuisance, and a lot of times, actually pretty tough :b To be honest, though, I've never encountered them in any PnPs... yet :b

My first exposure was waaaaaaay back in the day, with Ultima... 4? I think? Gah, it's been something like thirty years. D:

The bottle of wine latches onto your face, and pours itself down your throat, devouring your essence as it goes. It will now spend the next month incubating inside your soul-less body, comatose but still breathing, before bursting forth with a clutch of young mimics, ready to devour other hapless adventurers.

Haha, yeah, it's a great idea ;) In fact, it sounds a bit like the monster I'm working on right now...

Oh dear god. D: Nightmare fuel!!!

Can others use this concept for Rp? I adore this style of mimic xD

Provided its for non-commercial purposes, go for it :)

Of course XD

And just like that, you've lost me xP Nah, I kid. I've lost so many promising heroes to spite kills by mimics who are just exceptionally convincing and have the absurdly high DC to prove it. *shivers* So many men...

But a very cool take on the classic monster! The angel statue is very eerie...

*chuckles* I've been fortunate enough to not have come across any mimics in my time playing PnPs :b At least, not yet!

Thanks a lot! Haha, yeah, the angel statue is my favourite. It makes me think of something out of Resident Evil :b

So THAT'S where Hagred got the "biting books"

lol

Btw this is definitely going to be my meanest comment probably... sry... but here:
The more I think about it, the better the concept sounds :D the pic kinda reminds me a bit of the evil harry potter books or Soul Calibur or nightmare's mega (?) soul calibur sword from SC2 (or one of his swords anyways), but you can be really creative with what items are evil, it doesn't have to be just a treasure chest which is pretty cool, like the sword art is really cooland.... I wouldn't want to be in the middle of a really powerful Mimic XD though... there's 2 things that would of been pretty cool to put in the picture... (I personally think) 1. so those bead loops coming out of the treasure chest and that drool loop, I feel like it would be pretty funny if the 2nd bead loop and the drool loop overlapped because it would show the transformation of the treasure chest and incorporate the bead loops a bit more in a fun way. Also, 2ndly, I was a little sad to not see an evil sac of gold in the back of the pic :/ though I guess it kind of shows your cool concept a bit more I guess of how it just takes over certain objects till it grows larger then it will take over... though I do like the decision that you chose to show that these things are in a corner. (Sometimes its hard to explain myself, I know people prefer explanations to no explanations, but... well this is what my mind thinks and sometimes its hard to explain it :P)

Haha, aww, it wasn't mean! I appreciate the feedback :)

*nods* The loop of beads hanging down was supposed to "mimic" the loop of drool, so that was purposeful. I just didn't bother drawing it in mid literal transformation because I was lazy XD

Yeah, I thought about making everything in the picture a little bit "evil", but I wanted to show that the mimic could be there, hidden amongst normal things - maybe one of them is a mimic, maybe all of them, or maybe none. It would have been easy to make the bag turn into another evil mouth, but I didn't think it was really necessary :)

Anyway, thanks!

cool cool :J and I was just saying just have the drool overlap with the second bead loop like the first one does with the second... :P

but now that I think about the "everything can be a little bit evil without looking evil" It'd be horrendous to see what was inside the bag... like, we don't know that its gold or not :P (that'll satisfy my wanting an evil bag... >:J)

You can never go wrong with a mimic.

Haha, glad you think so ;)

Gee, thanks. I only recently stopped having nightmares about the mimics in Dark Souls 2. X3

Ahaha, you're welcome :D ((I love the Dark Souls mimics :b))

Mimics are one of my top fav monsters~<3

For good reason!

I really like the take on this rpg classic. No one would want to deal with a mimic of any short. let alone one that has taken over an entire room. The idea of a comfy bed coming a live would be a lot of fun.

I just had a fun idea for a fun NPC or if someone is good at playing an evil character. Have a group of adventures go into what they thought to be an abandoned home. The first creature that you come across is a ghost and a mimic controlled set of stairs. After that you'd have the one person left in the house start making everything look like a mimic since they are a Dancer class and makes everyone else believe that the house is one massive house filled of mimics. Each room having either a real mimic or a false illusion of a mimic being there.

Just going to toss a fun idea out there. Mimic controlled books ^^

Glad to hear it! And yeah, my hope with this one is to really inspire GMs in all the different, wonderful, horrible ways they could use it XD Thanks again for the awesome comment <3

FUCK MIMICS THEY ARE THE BANE OF ALL MMO PLAYERS! Cough...I mean great job! XD Seriously you produced the fair and pain the butt that is this damn monster! lmfao! xD

XD Forget MMOs, all RPGs, really! Haha, thanks ;)

THOSE TO! XD -hugs- lol

Reminds me of the scene where Ash tries to get the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis

That movie is great <3

If he makes another sequel or reboots Evil Dead, this should be on the soundtrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX_vADIJts0

Actually they are making a sequel...of the original series, not the reboot. Bruce Campell plays an older Ash and Sam Raimi is directing.

It's going to be a television miniseries rather than a feature film though~

Oh yes, now I remember seeing a trailer for that

Practically it's a murderous onryo (japanese yokai or henge ) c.c

*nods* It was more inspired by Asian mythology, which is almost always about spirits it seems :b Good spirits, malevolent spirits, animal spirits, nature spirits...

Ah the art is really wonderful! Those mimics, first ran into them they ended up giving me a nightmare for a good few days aha!

Thank you :)

Am I the only one who noticed the evil outhouse in the description?

I can barely imagine anything more horrible!

XD There's actually at least one real life mythological creature that is sort of exactly that, from Japan, I think. Also, having done a quick Google, there's a bunch of them 8D

http://listverse.com/2014/04/27/10-.....und-the-world/

But yeah, you're hard-pressed to find an everyday instance where people feel quite so vulnerable as when they're doing their business :b