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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1290 Posts |
 Posted - 22 Sep 2022 : 19:23:22
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I have been digging around and I cannot determine what a specific monster is. Here is the description:
It is bipedal. It has a large mouth with fangs. It has talons as well as horns. It is intelligent. There was no indication of any kind of drain in it's attack so I do not believe it is connected to the Negative Plane.
Based on the encounter it was in, I would say that it is a Prime creature that had the Shadow creature template applied to it. I would just like to determine which Prime creature it could be. Any suggestion would be appreciated.
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"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36968 Posts |
Posted - 22 Sep 2022 : 21:26:43
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| That's rather vague, I'm afraid... Any other specifics you could offer? Size? Coloration? Special attacks, defenses, abilities, movement types? Any kind of magic usage? |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8035 Posts |
Posted - 23 Sep 2022 : 00:05:37
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That is a little too vague. It could be anything from pit fiend to a kender.
Where was this creature shown or described, what is the original source? |
[/Ayrik] |
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1463 Posts |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4702 Posts |
Posted - 23 Sep 2022 : 00:30:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
That is a little too vague. It could be anything from pit fiend to a kender.
Where was this creature shown or described, what is the original source?
Kender have claws?
The monster might be custom, shade template is believed, so I suspect an encounter in adventure. Maybe novel as source? |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1290 Posts |
Posted - 23 Sep 2022 : 01:29:35
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It is from the prologue of Curse of the Shadowmage.
Yeah, it doesn't really have much, description-wise. I would say it is bigger than a person and there are no special abilities beyond being fast. It COULD be a monster from the Plane of Shadow but I looked at all the ones I know of and none of them match the description. That is why I was thinking it COULD be a prime creature with the shadow creature template applied (that should open things up a bit). |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8035 Posts |
Posted - 23 Sep 2022 : 06:30:21
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I think it's likely the creature was whatever it needed to be for the narrative, regardless of rules and lore.
The novel is circa 1995. So it could've drawn from 1E/2E material - or from any other inspiration outside D&D - but it predated 3E and the whole late-3E fixation on shades and shadovars.
I would guess it's a shadow - the basic undead monster. Maybe a wight. Maybe even a demi-shadow monster or other illusion.
If the prologue scene was written from the perspective of the monster's victim then the monster might've been depicted in an exaggerated fashion, more big more scary more evil, etc. |
[/Ayrik] |
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
2089 Posts |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1290 Posts |
Posted - 23 Sep 2022 : 14:12:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I think it's likely the creature was whatever it needed to be for the narrative, regardless of rules and lore.
The novel is circa 1995. So it could've drawn from 1E/2E material - or from any other inspiration outside D&D - but it predated 3E and the whole late-3E fixation on shades and shadovars.
I would guess it's a shadow - the basic undead monster. Maybe a wight. Maybe even a demi-shadow monster or other illusion.
If the prologue scene was written from the perspective of the monster's victim then the monster might've been depicted in an exaggerated fashion, more big more scary more evil, etc.
It COULD be an illusion of the demi-shadow type since someone was there "initiating" the encounter. It could also be a completely new monster created for the story. If that is the case, then I would say it is probably a variation of the Shadeling that was summoned by someone. I was just hoping the author used an existing monster that could be identified. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1290 Posts |
Posted - 23 Sep 2022 : 14:46:53
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quote:
Originally posted by ericlboyd
Are you talking about the shadevari?
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Shadevar
Polyhedron #93 and Villain's Lorebook.
I do not believe so. When I looked for a description of one in the book, it was very different than the one given for the creature at the beginning. The shadevari are completely physical with a surface texture. What was seen at the beginning of the book was more like an animated shadow.
Hmmm, now that I said that and given who is doing the animating, I think I have a better idea of what is happening.
Background: This is for research to give the Shadowstar a major power that fits in with what was seen in the novels and could exist logically outside of the story narrative and within the rules of the game. My initial thought is that is a summoning given the shadevari were summoned/released. Now, I believe it is Caldorien's shadow control abilities being "supercharged" by the curse.
Given that line of reasoning, I am now of the opinion that the Shadowstar magnifies the wielder's ability to control shadows to allow them to cause real, physical damage snd the range at which that can happen. Imagine someone sending an army against him when every shadow within 5 miles of him suddenly animates and starts attacking those forces. Unless you had a very good understanding of his powers, you may not be able to understand or counter that. It could also be why it had to be someone with the same ability (and understanding of how it works) to defeat a fully-transformed Shadowking.
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"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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HighOne
Learned Scribe
242 Posts |
Posted - 23 Sep 2022 : 15:04:29
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That description is vague enough to apply to any number of demons and devils, including the Balor.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16797-balor
That said, I agree with Ayrik: the monster was most likely invented by the author. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12194 Posts |
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Need help identifying a monster
