Miniature Advice for representation of deities

[TheFirstStraw]

I want to find miniatures to represent a lawful archdeity (good, evil, and neutral at the same time) and a miniature to represent chaos in the same way. If you are familiar with the YouTube campaign Threshold at all, I ripped the idea from there--the fates Nara and Dica.

I guess, for simplicity's sake, that just makes them neutral, but I wanted to mention that technicality.

I bought this mini of a sphinx (http://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/Bones/sku-down/77576) that could serve well as the lawful "avatar" being a lawful neutral monster, but the only chaotic neutral counterpart I could come up with was a Slaad (https://www.miniaturemarket.com/wzk73353.html). Thematically it isn't as solid, and the minis just don't look good next to each other.

I realize it is a big ask, but does anybody have any suggestions?

[CantigThimble]

Get a set of scales, put a paladin on one side and a devil on the other. Have them speak in unison.

[TheFirstStraw]

Get a set of scales, put a paladin on one side and a devil on the other. Have them speak in unison.

All that combined could be the lawful side I guess, but I wanted something a little simpler that I could put out quickly.

For more context, it is actually going to be a piece for a game-within-the-game kind of situation. Like a chess piece that the player would manipulate representing their character manipulating it.

[Tiadoppler]

Chaos should also be represented by the same mini of a Sphinx. At the same time.


"But that's confusing!"


Yep.


How about a random mini that changes each time (including each time the piece is moved in the game-within-the-game).

[TheFirstStraw]

Chaos should also be represented by the same mini of a Sphinx. At the same time.


"But that's confusing!"


Yep.


How about a random mini that changes each time (including each time the piece is moved in the game-within-the-game).

If it were a creature they were fighting, I'd say that's awesome, but I worry it would slow down the in-game game too much.

[TheFirstStraw]

I might go Froghemoth (https://www.gtsdistribution.com/MINIATURES/DUNGEONS-AND-DRAGONS-COLLECTORS-SERIES-FROGHEMOTH.asp).

[Laserlight]

On the principle that Chaos shouldn't have a firm shape .... I'd go with a dark cloud, which I suppose I'd make buy letting cotton balls soak up some black and grey ink and them fluffing them out.

[GreyBlack]

Get the biggest D20 or D100 you can find. Use that to represent Chaos.

Or, better yet, just take a photograph of your gaming group.

[TheFirstStraw]

Get the biggest D20 or D100 you can find. Use that to represent Chaos.

Or, better yet, just take a photograph of your gaming group.


Actually, that's pretty great. Thanks!

[thoroughlyS]

Firstly, I'd like to say that the sphinx was an inspired choice. Being lawful neutral was a good place to start, but being a real folkloric creature is a nice bonus, and the description in the monster manual has plenty of reasons why it would be recognizable in-universe.

After reviewing several avenues for a contrasting piece, I can see why you had some difficulty. The list of CN monsters in 5e is disappointingly scarce, with the best option there being the cloaker. Iconic, sure – but not like a sphinx.

Widening the scope to any chaotic monsters, I came across the morkoth (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Morkoth) in Volo's Guide. They have a lot of parallels to the sphinx:

sphinxes spontaneously spawn from belief and serve gods, morkoths spawned all at once from the remnants of a dead god
sphinxes guard a single location from the unworthy, morkoths dwell in their own hoard which drifts about
sphinxes are avian, mammalian, and humanoid, morkoths are squid-like and alien
And you have options for a figure if you go with the morkoth. You could follow the lead of 5e and go with something squid-like (https://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/squid/sku-down/77343), or lean into their previous depictions (https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/e/ee/Morkoth2e.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150411172246) and go with something a little more menacing (https://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/tentacles/sku-down/80040). I think it would set the tone better if your players also vaguely understood a morkoth like they would a sphinx.

Looking at other editions for inspiration I found the phane (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Phane), which has a certain appeal to it. Chaotic neutral, cool time powers, looks awesome, it's even loosely based in Greek mythology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanes)... The only problem is I had trouble even searching for an appropriate figure. The best thing I found were some Lion Centaur (http://ironwindmetals.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=8088) figures. If you can get something together, I think it would leave the best impact on the players.

[GreyBlack]

Firstly, I'd like to say that the sphinx was an inspired choice. Being lawful neutral was a good place to start, but being a real folkloric creature is a nice bonus, and the description in the monster manual has plenty of reasons why it would be recognizable in universe.

After reviewing several avenues for a contrasting piece, I can see why you had some difficulty. The list of CN monsters in 5e is disappointingly scarce, with the best option there being the cloaker. Iconic, sure – but not like a sphinx.

Widening the scope to any chaotic monsters, I came across the morkoth (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Morkoth) in Volo's Guide. They have a lot of parallels to the sphinx:

sphinxes spontaneously spawn from belief and serve gods, morkoths spawned all at once from the remnants of a dead god
sphinxes guard a single location from the unworthy, morkoths dwell in their own hoard which drifts about
sphinxes are avian, mammalian, and humanoid, morkoths are squid-like and alien
And you have options for a figure if you go with the morkoth. You could follow the lead of 5e and go with something squid-like (https://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/squid/sku-down/77343), or lean into their previous depictions (https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/e/ee/Morkoth2e.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150411172246) and go with something a little more menacing (https://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/tentacles/sku-down/80040).

Looking at other editions for inspiration I found the phane (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Phane), which has a certain appeal to it. Chaotic neutral, cool time powers, looks awesome, it's even loosely based in Greek mythology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanes)... The only problem is I had trouble even searching for an appropriate figure. If you can get something together, I think it would leave the best impact on the players.

Leaping off from here, you could go with a creature like in the Cthulu Mythos related to the elder gods.

https://goo.gl/images/yf5Amr

[thoroughlyS]

Leaping off from here, you could go with a creature like in the Cthulu Mythos related to the elder gods.
I advise against this, because it's the easy and lazy answer. A sphinx and an Elder God have no symmetry with one another. Nothing to juxstapose. Just because a morkoth has tentacles doesn't mean you should go all Lovecraftian. I honestly think the phane fits best, but the lack of figure makes it difficult to use.

[hamishspence]

Looking at other editions for inspiration I found the phane (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Phane), which has a certain appeal to it. Chaotic neutral, cool time powers, looks awesome, it's even loosely based in Greek mythology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanes)...

They might have been Unaligned in 4e (I don't have the book near to hand right now) but they were Evil in 3e:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/abomination.htm#phane

[thoroughlyS]

They might have been Unaligned in 4e (I don't have the book near to hand right now) but they were Evil in 3e
I guess that's what I get for finding them on the Forgotten Realms wiki. You're right, phanes were chaotic evil in 3e/3.5 (interestingly there are some disparities between the linked statblock and the Epic Level Handbook) and unaligned in 4e. I think chaotic neutral fits them better, given their description as "hunters" who "trap prey" to "feed". They are described as working with fiends and undead, but also fey so it doesn't seem like they are evil. They also still make the best contrast with a sphinx.