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Endless Realms bestiary - Sarcokleft
Bestiary artwork for Endless Realms, a D&D-like "pen and paper" fantasy RPG I'm working for.
It's not their appearance that matters, really - it's what's INSIDE that counts...
These intelligent, body-snatching beasts invade healthy humanoid forms, killing the host and leaving their corporeal vessel completely vulnerable to the sarcokleft's insidious control. The creatures can walk around in the skin of its victim for a surprising duration before telltale signs of death and decay begin to set in, along with the signature elongation of digits into twisted, claw-like protrusions, which develops the longer the sarcokleft has possessed the victim's body. At this point, its ability to move amongst its prey hidden is lost, and it must find a new host, bursting violently from the flesh of its previous victim, usually from the mouth.
An undead body-snatcher monster I designed. I love the idea of parasitic/viral/fungal creatures taking over the bodies of victims and repurposing them for their own use, so I thought it would be a bit more interesting than the usual zombie. I also love monsters that have the potential to be NPCs in disguise - nothing breeds paranoia in campaigns quite like when you know anybody could potentially hide a monster within...
Concept & Artwork © 2014-2017 Lunar Games Inc.
Endless Realms FAQ: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5774483/
It's not their appearance that matters, really - it's what's INSIDE that counts...
These intelligent, body-snatching beasts invade healthy humanoid forms, killing the host and leaving their corporeal vessel completely vulnerable to the sarcokleft's insidious control. The creatures can walk around in the skin of its victim for a surprising duration before telltale signs of death and decay begin to set in, along with the signature elongation of digits into twisted, claw-like protrusions, which develops the longer the sarcokleft has possessed the victim's body. At this point, its ability to move amongst its prey hidden is lost, and it must find a new host, bursting violently from the flesh of its previous victim, usually from the mouth.
An undead body-snatcher monster I designed. I love the idea of parasitic/viral/fungal creatures taking over the bodies of victims and repurposing them for their own use, so I thought it would be a bit more interesting than the usual zombie. I also love monsters that have the potential to be NPCs in disguise - nothing breeds paranoia in campaigns quite like when you know anybody could potentially hide a monster within...
Concept & Artwork © 2014-2017 Lunar Games Inc.
Endless Realms FAQ: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5774483/
Category Artwork (Digital) / Fantasy
Species Human
Size 800 x 800px
File Size 739 kB
Before reading the description, I thought, "Oh cool, that's nifty and creepy zombie. I wonder why its fingers are so long. Wait, what the hell is in its mouth?!"
I, too, love the monster-in-npc's-clothing monsters. My first campaign DMing centered around the players investigating a cult in a village that, unbeknownst to them, was entirely populated by such monsters, who were toying with them. If my monsters were these guys, it would have been a pretty terrifying climax, as everyone around them started twisting horribly and growing long, claw-like fingers...
I like this one a lot. I think, when I play, I'll get a lot of use out of them...
I, too, love the monster-in-npc's-clothing monsters. My first campaign DMing centered around the players investigating a cult in a village that, unbeknownst to them, was entirely populated by such monsters, who were toying with them. If my monsters were these guys, it would have been a pretty terrifying climax, as everyone around them started twisting horribly and growing long, claw-like fingers...
I like this one a lot. I think, when I play, I'll get a lot of use out of them...
Heh, glad you noticed those details :) The challenge with this monster was telling its "story" while still being subtle (what with being a subtle monster) - it needs to look undead to convey the idea of an animated corpse, but it needs to hint at the creature inside that's doing the animating! So just different enough to make you curious as to why those details are there.
Thanks! Haha, awesome, I'm glad to hear it! <3
Thanks! Haha, awesome, I'm glad to hear it! <3
Heh, I wasn't actually certain what their "natural" form would look like. A pouncing insect with burrowing claws and maybe tentacly bits for invading/taking over the host's nervous system? A miniature skeletal clawed impish beast that forces itself down your throat and then goes around wearing different skins? I'll leave it up to the writers to figure that one out :b
So, when someone gets infected do the die instantly, or is there a slow and painful period of infection before the creature reaches its full size and the host dies?
It seems like killing the host instantly would be BETTER for these things, because if there were any telltale symptoms before takeover, it'd become obvious as to who's infected and they could be killed right away like people who've been bitten by zombies. If the host went straight from "perfectly fine" to "dead and controlled" with nothing between, the creature could be much more tricky and subtle.
It seems like killing the host instantly would be BETTER for these things, because if there were any telltale symptoms before takeover, it'd become obvious as to who's infected and they could be killed right away like people who've been bitten by zombies. If the host went straight from "perfectly fine" to "dead and controlled" with nothing between, the creature could be much more tricky and subtle.
I'm not 100% certain - my idea was that either there's only a "mature" version, where the sarcokleft goes from one body to the next, more or less instantly killing the host immediately with a violent transfer, or that there's also a "spore" version, where the mature sarcokleft in its disguised host body can spread itself in immature forms to other people, which would take a while to develop and grow into a "mature" version, similar to alien chest-bursters :b
But yeah, the host DOES die, but the body remains intact (although they might suffer some external wounds, like blood around the mouth and claw marks) for a while, letting the sarcoklept walk amongst the living for a time before the host body begins to deteriorate.
But yeah, the host DOES die, but the body remains intact (although they might suffer some external wounds, like blood around the mouth and claw marks) for a while, letting the sarcoklept walk amongst the living for a time before the host body begins to deteriorate.
Heh, it's not quite the same concept, but... http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17158744/ Who says it can't take over a corpse?
Or combine the vampire woman with it.
Since a vampire is the living dead, the mimic may not be able to kill them.
Just make them look more gaunt from sapping their energy like a parasite, the vampire having to feed more often.
And give her the windigo's hair, hehe. ^..^
Since a vampire is the living dead, the mimic may not be able to kill them.
Just make them look more gaunt from sapping their energy like a parasite, the vampire having to feed more often.
And give her the windigo's hair, hehe. ^..^
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