Abberations that eat other abberations

[Quietus]

Are there any? I was just reading the thread about the Far Realm, and I'm starting to wonder.. while it may not be Good vs Evil, it does strike me as being likely that some creatures from the far realm would have an interest in preventing the ones we perceive as Evil from getting there.. and stopping them via chowing down. Is there anything like this that I'm forgetting?

[Yora]

I think the only aberration with a specific diet are illithids. And they actually really need humanoids only for procreation, as food the brains of other creatures should do as well.
I guess almost every other aberration would eat pretty much everything it can kill.

[DiBastet]

Beholder don't mind, and even like, to eat their young and other beholders who don't look like them.

[Urpriest]

Neothelids will probably chow down on illithids if given the chance.

In terms of good aberrations to oppose the evil ones (if not necessarily through eating), Flumphs and Silithar are both examples.

[Tebryn]

Neothelids will probably chow down on illithids if given the chance.

In terms of good aberrations to oppose the evil ones (if not necessarily through eating), Flumphs and Silithar are both examples.

And probably the only two really.

[Urpriest]

And probably the only two really.

Some naga, but they really shouldn't be aberrations.

[Chilingsworth]

Some naga, but they really shouldn't be aberrations.

What should they be, then?

(Not to be confrontational, just currious what creature type you think nagas should be.)

[Urpriest]

What should they be, then?

(Not to be confrontational, just currious what creature type you think nagas should be.)

I'm partial to Magical Beast or Monstrous Humanoid. Sphinxes are Magical Beasts, and they're a similar concept: hyper-intelligent magical humanoid head on an animalistic body.

[Darthteej]

The thing is, as a lot of people have observed, magical beasts and abberations are very similar. With the exception that abberations are ugly. If you think of it like this, then there are a lot of creatures that would count(blink dogs come to mind).

[Arbane]

Aren't Elan (the race, not the bard) abberations? I don't think they eat, though.

[dsmiles]

Aren't Elan (the race, not the bard) abberations? I don't think they eat, though.

Correct, on both counts. Flumphs and Silthilar are both too small to eat other aberrations, but I think that one in LoM...the electric one...eats pretty much anything? I can't remember.

[Mixt]

Can't think of anything like that in D&D no.
If you look outside of D&D however i might be able to think of a few examples.

Pretty sure the Nimmys are abberations, and those things eat pretty much anything as long as it's made of flesh.
I don't think they would have a problem with nomming on Far Realm horrors, provided those horrors are corporeal so the Nimmys can actually hit them, and made of flesh, no nomming if the creature is made of metal or some inorganic substance.
It's not worth the trouble of killing if it's not food, exceptions made if it proves to be a threat to the Nimmy's well-being.

The Deep Ones wouldn't have a chance against these things. Omnomnom.
Even Cthulhu might be in trouble if there's a large enough number of them ganging up on him.
Because, you know, a fully grown Nimmy is pretty close to a Cthulhu/Godzilla hybrid, so having a few hundred of them in one place might be...problematic for any other creatures in the area.
As in, "You are going to get eaten, and there's nothing you can do" problematic.

The babies are a lot more manageble though...provided you remembered to bring heavy weaponry, blasting them in the head with a shotgun at point-blank range has proven insufficent to kill them, as a whole lot of people found out when the things got right back up after being shot and proceeded to rip their throats out.
Fire is also out, dang things are fireproof you see.
Electrical shocks don't work either, they just end up absorbing it and sending it right back at you.
Don't even think about trying to engage them in the water, they are bad enough on land, in water they are ten times worse.

And remember, if you manage to kill one, destroy the body or it will just regenerate, ressurect, and then come after you again.
No life signs, no pulse, no breathing.
A few hours later it's back up and killing people again.
Total dismemberment is reccomended if you manage to kill one of those things.

...And now i'm having evil ideas for an E6 campaign.
Invasion of the Nimmys, can the low level characters fend them off? Or will everyone be eaten?

Then there's the Heartless.
Anything capable of feeling any kind of emotion has a heart, and as such is a target.
If it has feelings, it's going down.
And there are a lot of abberations that are capable of emotion.
Probably don't want to resort to those though, they have a nasty habit of destroying entire worlds and nearly plunging the whole universe into everlasting darkness.

[Steward]

Neogi eat their young, I believe, and for some reason when they get old they shift from aberrations to vermin.

[kamikasei]

Aren't Elan (the race, not the bard) abberations? I don't think they eat, though.

Elans do eat, they can just use psionics to go without for a while. (The rate is low enough that an elan could fairly easily go without ever needing to eat, unless it needs its power points for other things, but can avoid the need to eat is not the same as doesn't or can't eat.

[Yora]

Neogi eat their young, I believe, and for some reason when they get old they shift from aberrations to vermin.

Neogi look like they would eat almost everything they can kill.

[Steward]

Neogi look like they would eat almost everything they can kill.

True. They do fit the generic template of ("ugly insect/arachnid" + tentacles + repulsive personality = brand new monster in ten seconds flat). Aberrations probably have the least diversity (in terms of alignment, general attractiveness, eating habits, and society) of all the MM types. A lot of them are pretty cool though, but you definitely don't get the same variety that you can find in Outsiders or even Monstrous Humanoids. (Although I guess they do have Constructs beat in that department -- but then again who doesn't?)

[Nachtritter]

Personally, I'm of the mind that aberrations (being unholy chaos-spawned creatures infused with the twisted magics of places not meant for man to walk) will eat pretty much anything, up to and including each other if nothing else is available - or, conversely, nothing at all, because they come from a land where physics doesn't quite work the same way, and thus may not necessarily require physical nourishment to live*.

Remember, aberrations are weird, alien creatures that don't necessarily conform to the rules of natural law present in the "normal" world of DnD.


* Which begs the question why they have teeth and mouths, I know, but hey, that just adds to the mystery.

[Cerlis]

I think you should take a creature that exists and refluff it or give it a purpose. you dont even have to work hard.

Imagine some beastlike abberation who lives on the astral plane. Do to the nature of their creation millenia ago, they have to either lay their eggs in the Physical plane, or use physical plane hosts to stabilize their embryos. You could modify Slaaids or whatever those creatures are that look like Xenomorphs, or even ethereal spiders (or whatever they are called). Anyways so what you have is a race of horrific monster that either

A)Are able to come to the physical plane but not for long (perhaps they decay if they stay there longer than a few minutes, which would be a good mechanic for the players to use should they have to fight them)
B) are able to come here but choose not to, mostly ignoring the physical plane except when breeding or desperate for easy game.

and these monsters either
A)Lay their eggs in secret in caves, forests, under the ground. THis keeps them safe from the physical residents but since there is billions of these creatures living in the astral plane surrounding the planet , their planet is full of eggs. Thus creating basically a giant nest (the heros planet) surrounded by monsters from another dimension who act as guard dogs.

B) Abduct and ambush creatures from the physical plane and lay their eggs in them. They need an actual physical body for their eggs to grow in to stabilize their embryos. once the babies hatch and become a few weeks old they develop into their plane shifting selves. Sort of like a earth creature that grows up in water and would suffocate on land, but turns into a creature that would suffocate in water. it has to evolve/develop into its adult self. Or perhaps it could be fully amphibious and not have any harm for staying on the physical plane to long. This would make them less hidden monsters, and more like a Boogie man, possibly fulfilling the role of Demons and Monsters in the Locals horror stories, but still acting as guard dogs for the planet/plane. Since the world is not their nest so much as a source of hosts they would be less vicious to visitors but hostile once their hosts start disappearing.

C) unlike with A or B you could have it where the eggs dont develop independantly on their own (like how some reptiles can lay their eggs then leave forever) but the Monsters are of the type mentioned where they cannot stay on this plane for long. THis version would probably be quite intelligent. They would intimidate and protect villagers, taking the role (in the eyes of the villagers) as Daemon spirits you summon to protect you. In service of their guardian spirits the villagers would take care of the eggs of their patron spirits, keeping them warm and safe, and getting Substantial food when they hatch and are able to return to the astral plane.This would be opportunity to have each village tied to a specific Pack of these creatures. The creatures would have less reason to defend the planet as a group and focus more on their Villagers (kinda like how a species of ant protects its herd of caterpillars). They would come to the physical plane often to protect them and lay eggs, and since the villagers see them as dangerous protective spirits, they might even mark them with paint.


Thus you have a Dangerous, vicious, animalistic race that "defends" the physical world or its residents out of a need to defend their food, breeding material, or cattle, from other monsters that would destroy it.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Correct, on both counts. Flumphs and Silthilar are both too small to eat other aberrations, but I think that one in LoM...the electric one...eats pretty much anything? I can't remember.

Grells. Unfortunately for the op they eat pretty much anything they can catch too.