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Okay so, we have Ghouls and Ghasts which hunger for the flesh of the living, is there anything similar that devours the flesh of the nearly deceased?(or even later) I had misremembered that ghouls did. I think I confused them with their Shadowrun counterparts. Any ideas?
Essentially I have something(s) stealing the corpses from a graveyard for food. Or atleast thats the idea I have in my head.
Okay so, we have Ghouls and Ghasts which hunger for the flesh of the living, is there anything similar that devours the flesh of the nearly deceased?(or even later) I had misremembered that ghouls did. I think I confused them with their Shadowrun counterparts. Any ideas?
Essentially I have something(s) stealing the corpses from a graveyard for food. Or at least thats the idea I have in my head.
Very simple:
A) Have you thought about your friendly local necromancer that needs body parts to create his invincible army of zombies? Think Dr Herbert West from Reanimator.
B) If the necromancer is too obvious then what about a ring of thieves that steal corpses for the students of the local University of medicine or magic? You know, some of those spell components are pretty hard to get....
Actually, combining A&B would make for a good scenario with A actually being a false lead.
And finally
C)What about a Giant Carrion Crawler? Have your PC kill easily the standard carrion crawler. Then Mummy arrives and Mummy is fr*%king huge and very unhappy
A terrible hunger had awoken in him. All through the day and all through the night a fell hunger gnawed at his gut. A dreadful compulsion to dine on the flesh of the dead filled his mind, strangling all other rational thought.
On the rare nights he managed to sleep, he tossed and turned in his bed, his dreams invarriably returning to that dreadful night three moons ago. He remembered it as clearly if it had happened yesterday. He remembered the strange moaning he'd heard that evoked terror in him and his companions as he drove his carriage through the forest. He remembred the frightened neighing of the horses as the howls and moans grew closer. He remembered the horses finally refusing to go any further and his companions leaving the carriage, drawing their swords. The horses bolted as they heard something rustling in the bushes to the side of the road. He and his two friends formed a loose circle, eyes darting around the clearing.
After a moment they heard the rustling of more creatures in the shadows and then a pair of eyes glinted from behind the trunk of an ancient oak. Two pale eyes absorbing the light of the full moon.
And then at least a dozen of the things stepped out, surrounding them. The were the size of a full grown man, although horribly emaciated and hunched over with pale skin stretched grotesquely over their faces, making the gaping maws full of vicious teeth and the luminous eyes even more prominent. Feral growls and moans emerged from the creatures as they closed in.
He remembered one of his friends whimpering in terror and swinging his sword, trying to ward the things off. The other tried to run. As he reached the nearest creature it pounced, biting into him and slashing open his throat. As soon as the body hit the ground two of the things began to feed on him, messily devouring the slain man.
The others sprang into action, attacking in a fury of chomping mouths and slashing claws. He fell quickly, writhing in agony from a vicious gash across his back and soon his companion fell as well.
The things started to feed, cackling gleefully as they took bites out of legs and arms. They seemed to enjoy the screams of agony and terror their feeding elicited.
Perhaps it was minutes or perhaps it was hours later when the terrors heard something. The apparent leader cocked his head and then growled. They fled, dragging the body of the man with the ripped out throat with them.
A moment later a trio of wagons laden with goods and surrounded by frightened guards rounded the corner. He remembered seeing them rush towards him, loading him onto a wagon and hurrying him back to the village.
For many days he struggled feverishly in the chapel, his body afire with a fight against a deadly malady. Occassionally Father Abstilar would come in to perform one rite or another, trying to purge the unatural illness. Eventaully he recovered and as he was nursed back to health he learned how lucky he had been to escape the fate of his friend. His friend had been transformed into an undead flesh-eating horror like the ones that had attacked them. Yes, he was so lucky. The night he returned to his home the hunger had started. And tonight he could no longer resist the urge to feed on the flesh of the dead...
Goblins, kobolds, bugbears and ogres might all be tempted to steal corpses for food. Maybe they like pickling the rotting flesh or something.
Ooh, that would be fun! The PCs could find a room with a bunch of jars filled with pickled corpses. I imagine that the eyes would be a particular delicacy.
Perhaps in a town of monstrous humanoids there would be a deli sort of place. You know "Hey Gortog, run down ta' Torgok's and get m' a leg. Human if they got it. Ma's gonna cook up a big pot o' yer favorite stew."
Goblins, kobolds, bugbears and ogres might all be tempted to steal corpses for food. Maybe they like pickling the rotting flesh or something.Ooh, that would be fun! The PCs could find a room with a bunch of jars filled with pickled corpses. I imagine that the eyes would be a particular delicacy.
Perhaps in a town of monstrous humanoids there would be a deli sort of place. You know "Hey Gortog, run down ta' Torgok's and get m' a leg. Human if they got it. Ma's gonna cook up a big pot o' yer favorite stew."
There is the carcass eater from Libris Mortis, and a question arises here: if it's humanoid but not your own species (say human, elf, dwarf, etc) does eating a dead humanoid count as cannibalism? My impulse is maybe but less taboo than one of your own species, and remember turnabout can be fair play, so out of rations in a dungeon and you killed off a horde of kobolds? Roast 'em. Maybe tastes a bit like chicken (oh Kobold Cleaver, Arctaris I believe it's time for dinner! ;) )
If you want a more mundane solution, bears, lions, and even housecats have been documented to dig up corpses and carcasses that aren't adequately covered.
Play your cards right, and the players might never even think of such a thing. I can easily imagine a scenario in which they chase all over town fighting ghouls, hunting down necromancers, investigating clerics of death deities, snooping around evil wizards' towers, and whatnot only to discover local stray dogs aren't getting enough to eat.
Goblins, kobolds, bugbears and ogres might all be tempted to steal corpses for food. Maybe they like pickling the rotting flesh or something.Ooh, that would be fun! The PCs could find a room with a bunch of jars filled with pickled corpses. I imagine that the eyes would be a particular delicacy.
Perhaps in a town of monstrous humanoids there would be a deli sort of place. You know "Hey Gortog, run down ta' Torgok's and get m' a leg. Human if they got it. Ma's gonna cook up a big pot o' yer favorite stew."There is the carcass eater from Libris Mortis, and a question arises here: if it's humanoid but not your own species (say human, elf, dwarf, etc) does eating a dead humanoid count as cannibalism? My impulse is maybe but less taboo than one of your own species, and remember turnabout can be fair play, so out of rations in a dungeon and you killed off a horde of kobolds? Roast 'em. Maybe tastes a bit like chicken (oh Kobold Cleaver, Arctaris I believe it's time for dinner! ;) )
Sta stay back! Or I'll...I'll stab yo with my little 1d3 dagger!
Have you considered using a Lamia? I know they normally prey upon the living, but what if this particular Lamia was crippled or cursed in some way that hinders its ability to hunt and it has resorted to eating the flesh of the newly dead to survive? This could be quite a twist that could surprise your party since it isn't what they're probably expecting (i.e., it's not an undead creature). I think this could make for a memorable session when you do the Big Reveal.
Or, you could write up Aberzombie. I think he might fit your criteria. I don't think your PCs could take him, though. He'd probably eat your party, too, so Raise Dead won't work for them...
I know how it is. I'm forever painting myself into corners while gaming and having to scheme frantically later to patch in the holes.
I was mulling over your situation and thought rot reavers (MM3) with be a nice fix. They're a favorite of mine, hairless lumpen humanoids with twin tongues that can animate the dead, which is the food they like best--undead meat.
Granted there's still some slight descrepency, since the greatest joy of a rot reaver is said to be killing a creature and then raising and devouring it. It doesn't SAY they're scavengers of the dead, but it certainly makes a lot of sense. Besides, rot reavers are just so flavorful and seem like exactly what you're looking for. It should work, I mean I just can't imagine they'd turn down a perfectly juicy dead body if they came across one. Seems like a free lunch.
So yeah. Hope it helps. I love these guys and it'd be nice to see them get used more.
You know, Swirler, when you started the "flesh golem-like" Thread a couple weeks ago I didn't think much about it.
Now I'm like, really interested into what you're doing.
Is this for a PC or NPC concept?
-W. E. Ray
it's an npc plot
okay Ive started a new campaign, first level, small town, the pc are all from an orphanage. Most everyone picked non-standard races so I thought "hey why would they be together?" I know it's kind of a stretch bu trust me when I say that there are overarching plot points that make it make sense.anywho. long story short. the small town the players live in has a contract with a nearby city to deal with their garbage and the dead of their poorer citizens. The local priests and clerics still treat the bodies with respect. The first game a bunch of the bodies were just gone. The players decide to try and track down where they were taken. I knew I was going to have it be kobolds that were doing the thefts but why? I didnt want to do the "for a necromancer" thing, because I knew that would be their first guess. I then thought of the "what if something is controlling the kobolds to steal corpses because they need them to eat?" Someone mentioned pickling the parts,a nd I have decided some of the kobolds have started doing that for some body parts, and then some of the "too far gone" parts are being fed to carrion crawlers and the like. The majority of the bodies however are now instead being used as a farm. The kobolds are using them inside a cave area to grow mushrooms that can be made into various chemicals for drugs or poisons. They are being contracted by kenku from a nearby city.
It isn't quite the same as a slavering carrion eating humanoid but I like it, now that I have it.
[i]A terrible hunger had awoken in him. All through the day and all through the night a fell hunger gnawed at his gut. A dreadful compulsion to dine on the flesh of the dead filled his mind, strangling all other rational thought.
On the rare nights he managed to sleep, he tossed and turned in his bed, his dreams invarriably returning to that dreadful night three moons ago. He remembered it as clearly if it had happened yesterday. He remembered the strange moaning he'd heard that evoked terror in him and his companions as he drove his carriage through the forest. He remembred the frightened neighing of the horses as the howls and moans grew closer. He remembered the horses finally refusing to go any further and his companions leaving the carriage, drawing their swords. The horses bolted as they heard something rustling in the bushes to the side of the road. He and his two friends formed a loose circle, eyes darting around the clearing.
After a moment they heard the rustling of more creatures in the shadows and then a pair of eyes glinted from behind the trunk of an ancient oak. Two pale eyes absorbing the light of the full moon.
And then at least a dozen of the things stepped out, surrounding them. The were the size of a full grown man, although horribly emaciated and hunched over with pale skin stretched grotesquely over their faces, making the gaping maws full of vicious teeth and the luminous eyes even more prominent. Feral growls and moans emerged from the creatures as they closed in.
He remembered one of his friends whimpering in terror and swinging his sword, trying to ward the things off. The other tried to run. As he reached the nearest creature it pounced, biting into him and slashing open his throat. As soon as the body hit the ground two of the things began to feed on him, messily devouring the slain man.
The others sprang into action, attacking in a fury of chomping mouths and slashing claws. He fell quickly, writhing in agony from a vicious gash across his back and soon his...
That...was....AWESOME!
Do you write like this often? I was really getting into it! :)