The spongeflayer.

[nihilanthic]

So, in a really insane campaign, against really over matched forces, I had only silent image of any use to me - though, I did have my imagination and a DM with a sense of humor
(CLICK AT YOUR OWN RISK KIND OF SCARY)

Spoiler

Show

Known to people who watch youtube and google "spongebab", Splenglbharg Spplorgpants is an Eldridge horror, an unspeakable evil that is so utterly terrifying, disturbing, and WRONG to the degree that even Cthulhu would probably gasp, and made pretty much everyone in the encounter shaken, not stirred, if not run away in terror, and attack their own allies in a bid to get away from the apparition of horror.

My DM laughed so hard, he just played along with it. I was congratulated for actually using my imagination

I went on to make the image morph with concentrations - tentacles coming out of the sponge holes, turning purple, glowing diagonal slits for eyes, mouthing "HEALTHCARE REFORM" and having a tongue come out with the head of an old jewish woman at the tip like a xenomorph, etc. When we went to the enemy base after routing everyone, it took a squid-billy like visage where its a giant floating Sarah Palin's head with tentacles coming out of the neck, except made from mold and rotten meat - though the hair was perfect, the glasses were blackest obsidian while the eyes glowed through it.

So, should I go with this as a conjuration from a spell, or an actual monster you can summon or fight? Never really done homebrew before, and something that makes people die or scream from sheer terror with a really high save DC is kind of touchy.

[Strawman]

I want to use it as a playable race.

[bannable]

I want to use it as a playable race.

This.

I want this.

[Strawman]

This.

I want this.

*sigh* Yeeees mother.

[Eldan]

Hmm. Isn't that already called "Phantasmal Killer"?

[nihilanthic]

Hmm. Isn't that already called "Phantasmal Killer"?

Spengfllghithrrr Does not have to be seen differently by different people, it is the most WRONG, terrifying thing there possibly is.

Also, the DM (due to sheer hilarity) let me get away with shooting from behind the illusion, through it, and timing my concentration with a ranged attack so what the mooks saw was a tentacle coming out of it, into them at the same time the projectile hit, then pulling back. This was my counter to someone going "ITS NOT REAL! IT CAN'T BE REAL, IT JUST... IT JUST KILLED HIM!!!"


So I'm thinking it should have some massive DC (basically everyone except chuck norris after a stiff drink) to make you shaken/nauseated, a pretty easy one to be scared inside out (a hardened fighter... with a few stiff drinks), and actually be able to attack in some manner, though I'm torn between just scaring people and smacking them vs actually killing them outright every round or so, doing horrifying things to the corpse in the process. How about a percentage HP drop (not of total, of your current amount) thats big, but not too high, and can't actually kill, but does just take a big chunk out every 1d4-1 rounds? Very, very scary, which is the point, but not lethal on its own.



As a Playable race, it would start out like spongebob, weapons going through him and punches hitting him being muffled (he's a sponge) to be implemented as some kind of DR or evasion percentage effect, but as he slowly gets more and more corrupted, losing the ability to carry weapons (They turn into corrupt spongey masses that melt and turn into miasma?) or armor, with /day SLAs to just terrify people into feeling or frozen in horror. Eventually getting a fly speed innately and scaling his tentacles and gaze attacks to match with a competent but not crazy fighter class would make sense.

For a capstone, how about "The chorus"... which is like weird, except kids and a jovial captain in rain gear appear out of nowhere, start singing, and then everything ends up more and more twisted and WRONG, all of them morphing into personalized spengbabs and flying at their victims before encasing them in a save or die, then fort for half.

I don't see any PC progression true to the concept not being just intrinsically overpowered unless you face a lot of mindless enemies, or immunes. Its also hard to not make a monster version of him not be basically a chunk of Azathoth, or something.

Anyway, if the brainstorm sounds good, I guess I just have to crunch it out.

[Leeham]

That... that's beautiful

[Debihuman]

I really don't see this as a playable race but statting it out could be interesting. It's definitely an Aberration. Perhaps from the Far Realms this is what happens to Cthulhu's mind when he (it?) watches too much Nick at Night.

Debby

[Woodsman]

If you guys want a SpongeBob player race, why don't you make one?

[Lord Loss]

So, we make a Spongefolk race, a HOLY UGLY! template, and put them together? Creating... Even-Uglier-Than-Normal-Spongebob-of-DOOOM !!!

[Froogleyboy]

So, we make a Spongefolk race, a HOLY UGLY! template, and put them together? Creating... Even-Uglier-Than-Normal-Spongebob-of-DOOOM !!!

The race should get a -4 to wisdom