Tag: art

Monsters – Ravener


Ravener


A Ravener (rah-ven-ur) is the result of a corruption of the blood that alters the physical and mental substance of a human until they are barely recognizable.


A Ravener is typically a person who has done something they regret, but that they don’t want to feel guilty for – they hunger for validation, or they are starved for other people’s approval. When they are affected, the person will begin to feel sick when they eat regular food and drink, and their stomach will gorge, and they will no longer digest the food but simply regurgitate it. They develop a taste for flesh, first raw red meats, but they hunger most for the flesh of humans and corpses.


Their skin starts to flake, stripping off to raw skin that eventually becomes rubbery, like lizard skin, with rough scales on the elbows. The Ravener’s teeth fall out, and their bones become brittle and thin. Along their throat, muscles develop that flex when the Ravener eats, pulling the food down whole. Their stomach distends and they regurgitate large masses of hair and bone mixed with bits of skin and bile after eating.

A Ravener after their transformation, by Emily Vitori. 


Eventually, the Ravener develops small spines on the palms of their hands that help them cling to their food and to other slick surfaces. These spines also cover their tongue, which grows three times in length. Their fingers and toes lengthen, although some may break off from the thinning bone. Their eyes will burst open, revealing many dark tendrils that reach out and act as additional sensory organs, sensing the heat of the living and near dead. Raveners, due to their unsavory appearance, often retreat to live in sewers, cemeteries, or near large bodies of water, becoming somewhat amphibious over time.

Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.
Today’s art is by Emily Vitori. Thanks to Emily for her contribution to the project!


THOUGHTY LOGO © JOHN W. SHELDON 2010. USED WITH PERMISSION. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL CONTENT WITHIN THIS BLOG AND ANY OF THE ALTERNATE SITES LINKED ARE SUBJECT TO FAIR USE UNDER U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS. THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS WITHIN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT ANY CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY.

Monsters – Gremlings


Gremlings


Gremlings are small critters, about the size of a small cat. They are bipedal, with long clawed toes and fingers. Their skin is a ruddy green, lizard-like in texture.


A Gremling about to smash, by Khairul Hisham.



Gremlings are harmful helpers. They came into existence along with the innovation of computer and electric technologies, and their primary purpose is to damage and break anything that runs on electric power. They typically work in the dream world, reaching through the boundaries to press buttons, scratch screens, and gnaw on cords.

Some people manage to become infected with Gremlings. Something they have done frustrates the creatures, or perhaps they just have bad luck, but the Gremlings latch on and invade their space. Tens of little Gremlings will bash, smash, and break the pieces inside computers or telephones, blocking out communication outlets. They will stick around until they get distracted, or until there’s nothing left to break.


Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.

Today’s art is by Khairul Hisham. Thanks for contributing to the Monsters collection!



THOUGHTY LOGO © JOHN W. SHELDON 2010. USED WITH PERMISSION. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL CONTENT WITHIN THIS BLOG AND ANY OF THE ALTERNATE SITES LINKED ARE SUBJECT TO FAIR USE UNDER U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS. THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS WITHIN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT ANY CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY.

Monsters – Shadow Man


Shadow Man


The Shadow Man is a special breed of Bogeyman. As the name suggests, he lurks in the shadows, an undefined shape creeping along behind each step, hiding in every corner. The Shadow Man does no physical harm and cannot be captured by normal means.

He creeps. By Laura Hamilton.


His victims suffer no physical harm and no trauma, but are constantly plagued with self-doubt. They will become more uneasy the longer he walks behind them. Many victims of the Shadow Man will become anxious, ill at the thought of being seen, and lock themselves in their homes. By doing so, they cause themselves greater suffering, because he can surround them and overcome the light.

The Shadow Man can spread himself thin to haunt any number of people, but the more he tries to haunt, the weaker he becomes. It is always best to find him in a crowd. He fears light, and enough light will disrupt him. Even if he is disrupted, he always comes back to instill again the anxious doubt he inflicts.



Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.

Today’s art is by Laura Hamilton, finaira on Deviant Art. Thank you to Laura for her donation to the Monsters project! 


THOUGHTY LOGO © JOHN W. SHELDON 2010. USED WITH PERMISSION. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL CONTENT WITHIN THIS BLOG AND ANY OF THE ALTERNATE SITES LINKED ARE SUBJECT TO FAIR USE UNDER U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS. THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS WITHIN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT ANY CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY.

Monsters – The Magician


The Magician


Pick a card, any card, and the Magician will answer your wish. The Magician stands on the street corner, traveling city to city, offering a trick for whatever you’re willing to pay. His tricks come with a price. The Magician looks unassuming, just a lanky fellow with a pot belly standing on the corner with his table of tricks.

He doesn’t look scary at all. by Jaydot Sloane


The Magician is represented in the Tarot as a diviner – and divine he does, all of your future. He will flip a card or two and tell you what is to come. If you find that your future is unfavorable, he’ll make an offer. He’ll promise to delay your suffering – a few years, a few months, to give you time to prepare and fulfill all of your wishes. His promises, though, cost your soul.


When your time is up, your suffering will come along tenfold, and if you even survive the Magician will keep hold of your future. The moment your life ends is the moment you belong to him – an agent of bad fortune, an enforcer of bad will. The consequence of delaying your fate is no delayed gratification but his.




Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.

Today’s art is by Jaydot Sloan. Thanks to Jaydot for contributing to the Monsters collection!


THOUGHTY LOGO © JOHN W. SHELDON 2010. USED WITH PERMISSION. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL CONTENT WITHIN THIS BLOG AND ANY OF THE ALTERNATE SITES LINKED ARE SUBJECT TO FAIR USE UNDER U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS. THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS WITHIN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT ANY CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY.

Monsters – Two-Nosed Hounds


Two-Nosed Hounds


When someone is lost in time and space, there is a need for something more than just a standard search party. There is no greater expert in tracking than a Two-Nosed Hound. The hounds are intelligent beasts, but they are easily distracted, hard to control, and aggressive. They can be captured and domesticated to a degree, but once they have a master, they will trust no one else.

Nocturnal by nature, Two-Nosed Hounds only track at night, and will fight against any urging to do anything in daylight. They are able to find the scent of their targets through dimensions, in the mundane and dream worlds, and even can track people hundreds of years out of time, but their communication of the locations and time are limited to shared telepathic images. Not every species is equipped to withstand the mental strain of telepathic communication, so an untrained master of a Two-Nosed Hound may risk a stroke in trying to understand their hound.



Two-Nosed Hounds bounding through dimensional tears. Art by Laura Hamilton.


The hounds have two heads, each with a long snout and a very large nose. Their face is shaped similarly to the mundane Bloodhound. They have very long ears. The beasts are covered in a thick, matted fur. Their fur is resistant to fire, acid, and allows them to survive the most extreme cold, but they are vulnerable to parasites and they have a weak immune system, so they are always at high risk of illness. Two-Nosed Hounds have a howl that echoes beyond the mundane world, and their howl risks drawing attention from monsters in the dream world.


Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.

Today’s art is by Laura Hamilton, finaira on Deviant Art. Thank you to Laura for her donation to the Monsters project! 



THOUGHTY LOGO © JOHN W. SHELDON 2010. USED WITH PERMISSION. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL CONTENT WITHIN THIS BLOG AND ANY OF THE ALTERNATE SITES LINKED ARE SUBJECT TO FAIR USE UNDER U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS. THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS WITHIN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT ANY CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY.

Monsters – Grabber



Grabber


The world of dreams may be ruled by the Flesh King, but his enforcers and beasts of nightmare are many – and they do not always obey his instruction. One of these beasts is the Grabber. Born of hunger and greed, Grabbers climb up from the grimy muck of perverse cruelty, and live on the sustenance of humanity’s evil.


Grabbers smell, at first, like an overpowering cologne, until they move nearer and it turns to the acrid smell of sweat and rot. Most people are struck with fear or pure revulsion upon seeing the creature scrambling towards them. If a target manages to resist this fear, the Grabbers will become uninterested, and crawl away to find a more frightened meal.

A Grabber about to latch on to it’s victim, by Jaydot Sloan.


Grabbers are shaped like a human, but instead of a body, they are a mass of outstretched arms. Each arm has a hand with a gaping mouth in the center of the palm, with small spiny teeth that jut outwards. Grabbers have no difficulty moving on any terrain, and in the world of dreams this is especially valuable. Killing a grabber is very difficult. Once they grab hold of their target, they will not release. They will suck their prey dry of all bodily fluids, the spiny teeth gnawing and shredding through any tissue.




Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.


Today’s art is by Jaydot Sloan. Thank you to Jaydot for this donation to the Monsters project! 









THOUGHTY LOGO © JOHN W. SHELDON 2010. USED WITH PERMISSION. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL CONTENT WITHIN THIS BLOG AND ANY OF THE ALTERNATE SITES LINKED ARE SUBJECT TO FAIR USE UNDER U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS. THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS WITHIN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT ANY CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY.

Monsters – Scavengers

Scavengers

Scavengers are the offal eaters of the earth – the carrion crows. They eat whatever bits of meat and rotted flesh they can find, no matter what beast it comes from, man or animal. When they see smaller animals eating the wastes of the dead, they will stay hidden, and raise a screeching sound that makes hair stand on end to frighten away the others. They typically move to stay downwind of any other creatures, because they are surrounded by a nauseating smell of death.

If the Scavengers are unable to find food of their own, they will creep closer to areas inhabited by humans, and steal away small children. They are able to mimic human voices, and will stalk their prey to learn the voices of their parents. When the children wander near, following the calls of the Scavengers, the monsters will exhale a breath of vile gas that results in instant death and rapid decomposition. 
Scavengers and the remains of a doe; by Laura Hamilton (finaira).




These bird-like creatures are taller than the average human, and hulking in shape. Their bodies are made up of hundreds of wings, all folded close to their fatted form. They cannot fly – they only skitter on the ground on two feet, like rodents. Their bones are brittle, but protected by their thick skin and layers of fat. They have massive black beaks that they tuck close to their stomachs, and they can swallow creatures up to the size of a large dog. The only evidence they typically leave is feathers like a crow, and rolled up masses of bone, grit, and cartilage that they regurgitate.



Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.


Today’s art is by Laura Hamilton, finaira on Deviant Art. Thank you to Laura for her donation to the Monsters project!







THOUGHTY LOGO © JOHN W. SHELDON 2010. USED WITH PERMISSION. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL CONTENT WITHIN THIS BLOG AND ANY OF THE ALTERNATE SITES LINKED ARE SUBJECT TO FAIR USE UNDER U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS. THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS WITHIN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT ANY CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY.

Monsters – Hanging Men

Hanging Men

In a tarot deck, one may often find the Hanged Man on a tree upside down, one leg crossed over the other. The readers of the cards will tell any number of interpretations of divinity, suspension of life, martyrdom, but none will speak of the true meaning of the card. The card represents the Hanging Men, those who are between sleep and waking, on the edge of life and death.


by John W. Sheldon


The Hanging Men are the ghosts of men who died destitute and shamed for their cruel actions in life, and they hang from unseen trees. All of the Hanging Men appear to have been at least partially flayed, their bodies less the pound of flesh they paid for their sins.

Hanging Men can only be seen in peripheral vision, on the brink of death, or in dreaming sleep. They will target a person based on some imagined slight, still bitter and vindictive from their past life, and tease them, creeping into their minds and burning in thoughts of self-hatred, visions of pain and horrific torture, and leave the person with a damaged psyche as their revenge.

A victim may never escape the Hanging Men. If they are fortunate, they may find a blessing that hides them from the view of these spectres, and if they are less fortunate, they may meet someone in their dreams who will offer them a way out. In either case, by the time an option is found to leave, most people will take whatever option they can to get away from the endless scenes of terror that play in their minds.



Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.



THOUGHTY LOGO © JOHN W. SHELDON 2010. USED WITH PERMISSION. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL CONTENT WITHIN THIS BLOG AND ANY OF THE ALTERNATE SITES LINKED ARE SUBJECT TO FAIR USE UNDER U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS. THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS WITHIN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT ANY CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY.

Monsters – Underskin

THE UNDERSKIN


The Underskin is a stealthy creature that is incredibly dangerous. When outside of a host, the Underskin is nearly invisible – it just looks like a very thin sheen of oil and water on any surface, not even more than a drop of water thick. The Underskin is not really one entity, but instead millions of microscopic bacteria.

The Underskin takes its victims while they sleep by sliding over the surface of their body, like condensation or sweat, and seeping in through their skin. Once inside, they spread just beneath the skin over the muscles, thickening into a transparent membrane, but attaching, immovable, on the muscle bodies, and around the brain.

The victims will often wake up with blurry eyes and in a cold sweat, with a fine oily sheen on their face and body. After they have been taken by an Underskin, most people will see no difference, except their bodies will heal at a more rapid rate than normal. However, when the victims sleep, the Underskin will take over their bodies, and use them to complete tasks – eating whatever food they can to sate their hunger first, and then following on to often more devious tasks like stealing goods to hide in dank, dark sewers where the Underskin breed, or killing people who endanger their brood. 

An Underskin preparing to leave its host. by John W. Sheldon


The Underskin has one priority: protect their collective. They cannot be killed while in a host, and only leave their host after they have accomplished their tasks. When they leave the body of their host, it’s a violent and painful experience for both the victim and the Underskin as the creatures stretch and rip away from the muscles and brain. Normally the victim will get sick, with a headache and symptoms like that of typical influenza, and it can take weeks to recover. Many people have been accused of crimes they have no memory of committing during the times when they were controlled by the Underskin.

—

Thanks to +John Sheldon for his art contribution!
Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.
THOUGHTY LOGO © JOHN W. SHELDON 2010. USED WITH PERMISSION. UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL CONTENT WITHIN THIS BLOG AND ANY OF THE ALTERNATE SITES LINKED ARE SUBJECT TO FAIR USE UNDER U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS. THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS WITHIN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT ANY CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY.

Monsters – Grey Ones

I’m starting an ongoing Monsters feature based on the monsters from my nightmares. First up is the Grey Ones.

THE GREY ONES




I had another monster from a nightmare the other night that I’m calling a Grey One for the time being. I included my quick and dirty sketch (above) with this description.

Grey Ones are scavengers. They travel in groups, and typically spend their time in places where many people die – battlefields, hospitals, and they lurk during plagues. They live off the last moments of life of dying things – people and animals alike. When someone is a breath away from death, they will come to them and lay their hands on them, to take away the little bits of pain that remain and absorb the dying energy. 


Grey Ones are slightly smaller than human size, and emaciated. They appear, at a glance, like a woman in a veil, but up close, they are instead a nearly skeletal creature with skin stretched tight over their bones. Their head is a skull dome with a wide bone ridge, and their thin grey skin is pulled taut over the dome and the ridge to stretch down to their collarbone. When Grey Ones feed, a gland that circles the edge of their bone ridge drips tears. 

The skin is semi-transparent over their head and chest, and you can see their spine, ribs, and their skull, which has no jaw, eye sockets, or nasal structure. Their frail arms have very thick flesh over them, and they have three long fingers and opposable thumbs, with no fingernails. Their legs are hidden beneath a skirt of loose skin that drops from their hipbones to the ground, and the edges of the skin are often rubbed raw from brushing on the ground.

Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I’d like to see how they work out.