Whence the Tsochari?

[Palanan]

The tsochari are hands-down one of my favorite creatures, for the strong dose of creepy with extra squick on the side. And I'm wondering: are they based on something from a literary source, or were they designed specifically for Lords of Madness?

[Psyren]

Aren't they just body snatchers? That's been a sci-fi staple for many years.

[hamishspence]

True - but they have some things more distinctive to them. Being a colony organism consisting of many separate "strands" rather than one lifeform, may be derived from such creatures as the Portuguese Man o'War, but they're not usual to body-snatchers.

[Extra Anchovies]

I know that I have from time to time encountered, in literature and/or other forms of fiction (but thankfully not in real life :smalltongue: ), creatures of some sort or another that enter someone's body, take over their mind, and can access their mental abilities. The Yeerks from Animorphs spring to mind, but I cannot recall any other names at the moment.

Physical (as opposed to purely mental/spiritual) possession can be a great concept to explore in horror, so I think that rather than having some fictional source to adapt, the designers of the Tsochar (who happen to be my favorite part of Lords of Madness) took the archetype and made into something absolutely creepy and filled with body horror. The chapter is titled "The Wearers of Flesh", after all.