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unseenmage
Seeker
65 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Jan 2017 : 18:48:42
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I've asked about this elsewhere but now am curious if the Realms have any precedent in the lore or books.
What does a mimic look like when it is knocked unconcious or mind controlled and commanded to reveal its true form?
What does a newborn mimic look like? (Are mimics born?!)
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Flying monkeys will eat your eyes. |
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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1155 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2017 : 19:02:56
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| According to Ed Greenwood's Ecology of the Mimic article in Dragon Magazine #75, a mimic's natural form is that of an amorphous gray blob. |
When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.
Head admin of the FR wiki:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/ |
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unseenmage
Seeker
65 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2017 : 19:36:09
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Wow. Well, that was fast. Thank you greatly.
Said article doesn't have anything to say n the topic of whether Mimics are born or hatched or whatever would it? |
Flying monkeys will eat your eyes. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36964 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2017 : 19:51:10
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| There's a third-party book called Darkness Without Form - Secrets of the Mimic that puts a nice spin on mimics, and gives a lot of variant ones. It's written for Pathfinder. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2017 : 20:19:59
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quote:
Originally posted by unseenmage
Wow. Well, that was fast. Thank you greatly.
Said article doesn't have anything to say n the topic of whether Mimics are born or hatched or whatever would it?
Nope.
Sadly, nothing about its reproductive cycle is covered. This article was an early ecology article of Ed's, and thus generic and very brief. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3290 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2017 : 20:45:55
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| You could always ask ED HERE. |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
Edited by - Brimstone on 05 Jan 2017 20:46:15 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36964 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2017 : 21:13:51
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I don't recall reading about mimic reproduction; that book I referenced is one I've not read in a long time.
Me, I'd say that mimics grow larger and larger, and eventually bud off a smaller mimic.
Or... You could instead say that mimics lay "eggs", but those eggs -- like the "mama" mimic -- look identical to regular objects. Going that route, I'd have the eggs stay unhatched for a long period of time (years, maybe) before suddenly turning into a regular (maybe with fewer hit points/hit dice) mimic. And then they are undistinguishable from regular mimics, except maybe for being smaller.
The mimic could scatter its eggs, or it could hold them inside itself and refrain from attacking until the eggs are removed... So a mimic could turn into a treasure chest, and its eggs would be large gemstones. Party 1 of adventurers comes along, opens the chest, takes the treasure inside, and leaves. Party 2 comes along sometime months later, opens the chest, and it attacks... Meanwhile, the rogue in Party 1 is one day reaching into his purse for a gemstone to use as payment for something, and that fist-sized emerald suddenly sprouts tentacles and fangs and bites off his fingers. 
At least, those are my thoughts.  |
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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 05 Jan 2017 21:14:34 |
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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1155 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2017 : 21:19:27
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quote:
Originally posted by unseenmage
Wow. Well, that was fast. Thank you greatly.
Said article doesn't have anything to say n the topic of whether Mimics are born or hatched or whatever would it?
Unfortunately not. It has an unusual amount of detail on HOW they change form and colour, but not how/if they procreate.
I'd generally agree with Wooly's hypothesis about budding, but the article does state that they kind of slough off a lot of dead skin layers and that isn't generally conducive to that kind of reproduction.
Maybe if they contain an internal egg sac (mimics apparently have lots of internal sacs) and an egg is ejected along with one of its castoff bits of skin... |
When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.
Head admin of the FR wiki:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/ |
Edited by - hashimashadoo on 05 Jan 2017 21:26:27 |
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AuldDragon
Senior Scribe
USA
578 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jan 2017 : 00:42:27
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The 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendium entry on the Mimic says:
"They reproduce by fission and grow to full size in several years."
In fission, the "offspring" are two equally sized creatures, whereas budding splits a new smaller creature off from the parent.
Jeff |
My 2nd Edition blog: http://blog.aulddragon.com/
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"That sums it up in a nutshell, AuldDragon. You make a more convincing argument. But he's right and you're not." |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2510 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2017 : 13:02:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Or... You could instead say that mimics lay "eggs", but those eggs -- like the "mama" mimic -- look identical to regular objects. Going that route, I'd have the eggs stay unhatched for a long period of time (years, maybe) before suddenly turning into a regular (maybe with fewer hit points/hit dice) mimic. And then they are undistinguishable from regular mimics, except maybe for being smaller.
The mimic could scatter its eggs, or it could hold them inside itself and refrain from attacking until the eggs are removed... So a mimic could turn into a treasure chest, and its eggs would be large gemstones.
Mimic eggs, you say? |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2017 : 05:21:46
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| I've got to second Darkness Without Form by Sean K. Reynolds Games. Extremely well written and cheap to boot. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2017 : 12:30:17
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quote:
Originally posted by AuldDragon
The 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendium entry on the Mimic says:
"They reproduce by fission and grow to full size in several years."
In fission, the "offspring" are two equally sized creatures, whereas budding splits a new smaller creature off from the parent.
Jeff
This would have been my guess. Reminds me of the Movie Evolution
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Sturma
Acolyte
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2017 : 13:14:26
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There's also a parallel between mimics and the player character race from Star Frontiers known as the Dralasites. They're essentially shapeshifting blobs whose default form is short and vaguely humanoid. Their reproductive characteristics are hermaphroditic and budding.
From the Alpha Dawn Expanded Rulebook:
"All Dralasites go through male, female and neutral stages during their lives (these phases can be controlled with medicines). Males release spores into the air, which drift until they become attached to a female. A young Dralasite then sprouts from its mother, eventually maturing and dropping off." |
In Ferro Veritas |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12189 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2017 : 13:55:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Sturma
There's also a parallel between mimics and the player character race from Star Frontiers known as the Dralasites. They're essentially shapeshifting blobs whose default form is short and vaguely humanoid. Their reproductive characteristics are hermaphroditic and budding.
From the Alpha Dawn Expanded Rulebook:
"All Dralasites go through male, female and neutral stages during their lives (these phases can be controlled with medicines). Males release spores into the air, which drift until they become attached to a female. A young Dralasite then sprouts from its mother, eventually maturing and dropping off."
Wow, now that brings back old memories. Had the books, but never played it. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Sturma
Acolyte
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2017 : 14:52:12
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quote:
Wow, now that brings back old memories. Had the books, but never played it.
That game was a blast to play. It had the same optimistic spirit of high adventure that made me fall in love with the Realms. |
In Ferro Veritas |
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Topic |
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What is a Mimic's true form?
