Making arcanaloths and nycaloths more creepy and strange

[Yora]

I've come up with a very simple cosmology for my campaign which basically consists of the material plane, the Feywild, and a single Underworld that is a mashup of Pandemonium and Gehenna.
The only fiends in the Underworld will be yugoloths, and I want to make them somewhat alien and creepy. With the ultroloth, mezzoloth, and (custom made) piscoloth and canoloth this is pretty easy. All of them are very inhuman. But the arcanaloth and nycaloth both feel rather mundane.

The nycaloth is a four armed, dog-faced gargoyle, and the aranaloth a dog-faced wizard whose fluff makes it the lawyer and accountant of the yugoloths. That's really not very alien at all.

Now the nycaloth at least has interesting abilities. It has blindsight and can cast darkness, invisibility, and mirror image at will. It also can fly and teleport and its claws cause bleeding wounds. This guy seems to be made for hit and run attacks in dark tunnels. That probably could be expanded upon. But with arcanaloths I am really at a loss. Is there any potential in them that could be turned into something inhumanly weird and alien?

[No brains]

Since you're customizing guys to some degree, do your Arcanaloths still have Disguise Self? If they can assume a human form, you can use their perceived lack of weirdness in unexpected ways. They would be like mirages of normalcy in a bizarre underworld. Maybe they speak with a bizarre subject, noun, verb order in a serious and slightly hostile tone.

If you want them to just look weird, maybe they can look kind of like yochlol or some other Lovecraftian monster associated with secret knowledge.

I'm slightly amused by the idea of a large-sized dog with four arms seeming tame. Oh the times we live in. Maybe you could arrange those traits into a Buer/ roving mauler. Maybe you could describe it as one of the stages of John Carpenter's The Thing; that had a dog face, four arms, and wasn't tame at all.

[Millstone85]

Nycaloth used to be dog-faced and four-armed?

*Google*

Okay. I wonder why they are just green gargoyles now.

[Son of A Lich!]

Creepy how? Do you want them to be clowns? I think Clowns are creepy!

But seriously... a bit of a value judgement here - I have never seen a dog headed person in my life, and if I'm not mistaken, Arcanaloths are repurposed Hound Archons of the upper planes. I could be mistaken, I don't really get games up to high level very often. That very well could be head canon I've confused for old school lore.

I recommend kill6billiondemons for inspiration of creepy, alien fiends. The author is very creative in his creature designs.

If you are looking for purely aesthetic (IE, it will be an arcanaloth in all ways but physic), I think I would look at more over arching design choices of the world and find something alien to that. For instance, if the Fey Wilds are Chaotic Backstabby, I would repurpose the Underworld as being arcane, mechanical and ruthlessly emotionally void. Kind of a clockwork hell kinda vibe.

If the Fey Wilds is all flowers and blooming beautifuls, the Underworld is dark, damp and molds or fungus.

Keep in mind, you could combine those two - Mechanical constructs that imitate fungal blooms and designs. Porous tubes with scything wires dipped in caustic fluids to carve the perfect shape out of the material it's holding, that kind of thing.

This way, it doesn't feel jarring when you have a creature that is from the "Standard" D&D aesthetic who exists in your world as well. *Nod nod*

[Yora]

Nycaloths through the editions:
http://guilesworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/nycaloth.jpg

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/f/f3/Nycaloth_and_Mezzoloth_-_Wayne_Reynolds.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070303064915

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/6/6d/Nycaloth.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20070606192949

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/b/b5/Nycaloth-5e.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/350?cb=20171010174835
Couldn't find one from first edition. But they were never that interesting as appearance goes.

The problem I have with them, and arcanaloths, is that they appear too much like a person. In a world that is full of animal faced huamanoids with humanoids minds, they don't stand out from regular people in the way that an ultroloth, piscoloth, or mezzoloth does.

what distinguishes an arcanaloth from any human wizard is the ability to use alter self without limitations, telepathy, and teleportation. Which is nice, but still stuff that a high level wizard can do with spells too. Their Planescape fluff as demonic accountants isn't working for my campaign either. Right now, I am most likely not going to use them at all, unless I get a really briliant idea how they could fit into this alien underworld.

But with nycaloths, I think they actually just need a little visual makeover to make them not look like a regular gargoyle anymore. My plan for ultroloths is to leave them mechanically and flavor-wise unchanged, but simply describe them as more shadowy and somewhat hazy and insubstetial in appearance. Something similar should also be possible with nycaloths. Though as they are know, they could use a little fluff upgrading as well. They don't really have much in the way of motivations.

[Tvtyrant]

Keep them green and four armed, move the dog heads to where hands would be and the face is a hand with an eye on each finger tip? The dog heads are actually dog like and do stuff like groom it, snarl at squirrels and whine while the hand-face is urbane and reprimands them.

[JoeJ]

Have them look like they're made out of smoke, with their shapes constantly changing as the smoke drifts around.

[Millstone85]

You could ignore the arcanaloths in favor of the yagnoloths.

Their defining feature, having one arm bigger than the other, is pretty comical, but it is a step up from yet another anthropomorphic animal.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sfery/images/5/56/636595794008453242.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20180526191610

[BreaktheStatue]

You could ignore the arcanaloths in favor of the yagnoloths.

Their defining feature, having one arm bigger than the other, is pretty comical, but it is a step up from yet another anthropomorphic animal.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sfery/images/5/56/636595794008453242.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20180526191610

Wow, there is no way my table would be able to keep its composure if I introduced that guy, especially if we'd been drinking.

It'd just be variations on "Yeah, I watch stuff on the Internet sometimes," for the rest of the night.

[Segev]

Make Arcanoloths based on displaced beasts crossed with Anubis. They keep displacement up all the time and move erratically and seemingly teleporting short distances at random, moving slow the fast in a blur, or overshooting and fuzzing backwards.

Have their arcane sight or detect magic work by scenting auras rather than seeing them. Play up the sniff as a drawn-out, creepy sound that lets you know they sense something.

Play them like devils with intricate contracts and rules and arcane social customs they insist others follow. But have them gaslight people with them. Not totally at random, but subtly changing the rules so people are always slightly in the wrong, in danger of violating contract, and only not offending because the arcanoloth is making exceptions and being generous.


Nycoloths seem as small as arcanoloths when draped in their wings like the robes the canine mages favor. But they expand when target reveal themselves.

They move deceptively fast. They always seem to be moving at a stately and unhurried pace, confident they can rip you apart at their leisure. But somehow, they always close he distance (really moving their actual speed and making it look casual). Some even claim that they suddenly close distance when you blink.

Vain creatures, they create or commission statues of themselves with which they litter areas they plan to fight in. It’s like fighting gargoyles in a gothic church.

They also keep dogs that resemble their faces as pets, and strew them about similarly.

Nycoloths are particularly fond of waiting for foes to become used to it being “just a statue” or “just a dog” before attacking. Though they’re not above hit and run, Batman in Arkham City style tactics, either.

[Yora]

"Batman" is actually a really good suggestion. I like that.

After having thought about it some more, I think I found a really cool idea for what arcanaloths could behave like. I had planned to create a new custom demon by statting one of my favorite aliens, but they could work great as arcanaloth fluff.

I am talking about these guys:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/Babylon_5_-_Shadows.jpg

I hope many of the older people are nodding along now approvingly. For those who didn't have the pleasure of watching Babylon 5, here's how that would look like for arcanaloths. (Spoilers, I guess?)

They are offering the services of their soldiers as mercenaries, but they are not into it for the money. In fact, their assistance comes surprisingly cheap. You just have to tell them what you need destroyed and your own soldiers can't do, and they will take care of it. But as everyone in the information industry should know, when you are not the customer, then you are the product. They don't approach supreme leaders with their offers but instead target the lower ranking ones that show the most promise and ambition. "Tell your boss it will be taken care of, and it will be done. We don't need the glory, it can be all yours." And pretty soon, the other leaders will come to him first when they need something done. This gives him status and power, but he can't deliver without his demonic allies. And that's when they start asking for things in return for their services. If their new minion refuses, one of the other leaders will be overjoyed to take over his new position of power and fame.
They never deal directly with the people they target and always do so through a mortal servant who does all the talking for them. But they are always nearby, either disguised by illusions or invisible, and using their telepathy to tell their servant what to say. And if needed, they use their extensive powers to make sure that no harm comes to him. The servant is the only face their victims know and they probably wouldn't be that open to the offers if they had to talk with one of the masters directly. Even with an illusion, they are far too alien creatures to have a conversation with.

[Millstone85]

Wow, there is no way my table would be able to keep its composure if I introduced that guy, especially if we'd been drinking.

It'd just be variations on "Yeah, I watch stuff on the Internet sometimes," for the rest of the night.Damn it!


They never deal directly with the people they target and always do so through a mortal servant who does all the talking for them. But they are always nearby, either disguised by illusions or invisible, and using their telepathy to tell their servant what to say.Rather than invisibility and illusions, which aren't all that reliable in 5e, I would suggest using the Ethereal. Or an ethereal condition, if that plane isn't part of your cosmology.

[Segev]

Rather than invisibility and illusions, which aren't all that reliable in 5e, I would suggest using the Ethereal. Or an ethereal condition, if that plane isn't part of your cosmology.

Arcanoloths-as-Shadows is an intersting take. If you're worried that invisibility/illusion will be pierced, you can also give them levels of Fiend of Possession (from Fiend Folio), which lets them hop into items their "faces" carry around. They can pop out to "help" if needs be, should the face get in trouble. Meanwhile, they are in range for all the Telepathy shenanigans they like.

[Yora]

A first level cleric can cast detect evil and will realize that the servant is accompanied by a fiend, whether disguised or invisible.
Any first level caster can cast detect magic to know that his silent companion is disguised by an illusion.
A third level wizard can cast see invisibility and would see that the servant is accompanied by an invisible or etheral person.

Then what do you do with that information? "Sir, I believe you are being followed by an invisible/disguised fiend." "Yes, I know. It's my imp familiar. You certainly would agree that it's best to keep his presence hidden."

And would you be really that concerned that the men who can make fleets disappear at sea, slaughter full castles without survivors, and kill enemy leaders in their chambers without the guards hearing a thing is being accompanied by an imp or succubus?

A fifth level caster can cast dispel magic to remove the invisibility or illusion, but that would be very rude and not make your extremely valuable allies happy.

If you reveal the true form of his companion, or cast true seeing as an 11th level spellcaster, you see that it's really.... a humanoid figure in a robe and a golden dog mask!

This is all really suspicious, but it doesn't prove anything. And those guys have been literally shifty as hell from the start.

And also, what would be the fun of the servant being followed by an undetectable supervisor? Things only get interesting once the players know there's something odd going on. :smallamused:

[Mith]

A first level cleric can cast detect evil and will realize that the servant is accompanied by a fiend, whether disguised or invisible.
Any first level caster can cast detect magic to know that his silent companion is disguised by an illusion.
A third level wizard can cast see invisibility and would see that the servant is accompanied by an invisible or etheral person.

Then what do you do with that information? "Sir, I believe you are being followed by an invisible/disguised fiend." "Yes, I know. It's my imp familiar. You certainly would agree that it's best to keep his presence hidden."

And would you be really that concerned that the men who can make fleets disappear at sea, slaughter full castles without survivors, and kill enemy leaders in their chambers without the guards hearing a thing is being accompanied by an imp or succubus?

A fifth level caster can cast dispel magic to remove the invisibility or illusion, but that would be very rude and not make your extremely valuable allies happy.

If you reveal the true form of his companion, or cast true seeing as an 11th level spellcaster, you see that it's really.... a humanoid figure in a robe and a golden dog mask!

This is all really suspicious, but it doesn't prove anything. And those guys have been literally shifty as hell from the start.

And also, what would be the fun of the servant being followed by an undetectable supervisor? Things only get interesting once the players know there's something odd going on. :smallamused:

Could you use ""communication stones" of the face, disguised as the means of recording a contract. However, instead of the Lawful perfect recall, the Daemon keeps a few base elements of the contract "true" and slowly modifies the rest.

From a table based perspective, I would have any PC based contract to be verbal, with the PC unable to write down anything but a very basic summary. They don't get to rules lawyer it like an Infernal contract.