Dungeons & Dragons Monsters — Fear The Mighty Morphing Mimic

June 20, 2014

Dungeons & Dragons/ Monsters/ Roleplaying

In this edition of Dungeons and Dragons Monsters I’d like to talk to you about Mimics. There are many ambush creatures in the various books of monsters, but there is a surprising lack of info in this very useful and deadly creature: The Mimic.

Now many of you have probably touched a statue holding a large gem or a massive treasure chest and got stuck. You then had a battle that either your friends had to fight for you, because you were stuck or you assisted in the battle and probably were victorious and then spent the next three sessions being super careful checking every lever, door, chest, and bizarre object so it does not happen again.

Boring! This is the easy way of using the mimic, but fails to make it a memorable encounter in a positive manner.

Little is known about the classic mimic other than it likes to eat bodies, speaks common, and potentially was created long ago by some unknown wizard. As a GM it is up to us to push those boundaries and see how spectacular that this dungeons and dragons monster can be.

So here is where you take your setting and give this species: the mimic; an origin story and make them stand out. They could be an ancient race long forgotten that have been cursed. They could be created by wild magic animating some object with latent magic. Or any other story that fits for your setting.

But that is just the beginning for these dungeons and dragons monsters.

Now that you have the origin story, now you need to focus on why this particular mimic is at the location of your encounter.

Now I know what you might be saying. Planning an adventure and encounter is enough work, now I am asking you to make it take longer and be more work, all for what end. Well that is a good question.

Having a reason for an encounter that is beyond here just fight this, is what role-playing games are all about. Here is your setup. What ever your back story, whatever your origin you have a Mimic that wants to eat and knows that people go toward treasure so you have one who has chosen to lie in wait in a pile of treasure.

After the player character gets stuck have the mimic start a conversation with the players. Make threats about eating the person that is stuck. Mimic speak common so everyone should be able to talk to one.

I have heard stories of adventurers of carrying one around as a treasure guard and as waste disposal for all the bodies they kill. This second part is great for avoiding detection if you are being followed. It would be a great way for you to dispose of bodies for any reason.

Now 3.5 and pathfinder rules say that they are a low level encounter level 5 or less. Easy peasy, right? Well with Templates and monster advancement you could do a whole lot more with this great dungeons and dragons monster.

Dungeons and Dragons Monsters| Watch Out For The Mighty Morphing Mimic

Low levels – up to level 6: – you can use it as encounter strait out of the book.

Midland level 7-10: Here you could have a mystery as guards have gone missing around the palace. It would seem that a large family of mimcs have snuck into the palace and are eating their fill. No bodies are being found so it is going to be challenging for them to piece it all together. I feel sorry for them if they split up.

The upper levels 11-20: This is where it gets crazy you can use them as mountains, caves, or buildings. How many people just walk right into an open cave without thinking about it. Imagine the treasure trove lying inside. Alternatively instead of a surprise make a legend about a living, fill in the blank, and have the adventures seek this legendary mimic out. It could be a massive combat or role-playing scene or heck, both!