Café de Nuit

Ephemera, umbral banyan [Manual of the Planes]

“I don’t know what kind of plant this was, or hell if it was a plant at all! Let me tell you this: we were in the wild jungles of Sri Raji, traveling to the ruins of an observatory where we were to look on the walls at signs for the next eclipse. It was important for this astronomer who hired us. Anyway, this huge banyan tree suddenly started moving and it attacked us while we were traveling in this jungle. Its treacherous nooses took the astronomer and strangled him while lifting him from the ground. We used fire magick, a tell tale tool against plants, but the way it collapsed in the shadows and disappeared leaved us clueless about this thing. We came back the next day but didn’t find any trace of this banyan tree, or of the astronomer. It’s like it never been there at all…”

- a druid’s tale in a Darkon tavern

Ethereal marauder [Monster Manual]

"While looking for Elisabeth’s possible hiding place in the mists, we were suddenly facing this thing. Really, I have never seen, or heard, of such a thing. It was like a worm or a lizard standing on its back legs. Strange skin colours too, all blue and grey hued. But then it opened its mouth, to show an impossibly large mouth, where all its inners were black teeth! We discussed it afterward and the consensus is that it looked like a toothed snake with legs. Edwin tried to ward him off our group by presenting its torch, but he was bitten instead. Then Geraldine hit it with her sword and the thing vanished…”

- Elisabeth Yquery vanishing case inquiry.

Golem, cadaver

While on the isle of Graben we had one exceedingly strange and unpleasant interlude; I cannot think what it might have meant, or if it was as we thought it was at all. While visiting with the leading family of that place my companion and I looked into an adjacent field and saw, as we thought, a villager plowing--but with the plow being pulled by a massive figure going on two legs and with at least two heads. Seeing our horrified expressions, the goodman of the house hurried us inside before we could make any closer examination. Jan, whose eyesight is excellent, later told me that it almost seemed that the thing was composed of at least four human corpses joined together by some horrifying magic.

An Account of the Voyage of the Endurance, Marko Tellwith

Golem, ice

I am pleased to find that the principles which were sufficient for the creation of the snow golem (see previous) are sufficient as well for the creation of the ice golem (see immediately proceeding, esp. pages 68-222). Although the transition might seem trivial to the uninitiated, the transferral of principles between even very similar elements (viz. the so-called "flesh golem" and my own recent creation, which I have styled the "cadaver golem") requires great care lest some oversight of seemingly minor details lead to great flaws in the final work.

At any rate, Ice-9 is completed, and I have placed it with the snow golems in the courtyard until a more suitable place recommends itself.

laboratory notebook of Meredoth

Nathan of the FoS wrote:At any rate, Ice-9 is completed

Beware Dark Lord Vonnegut...

John, which books have you drawn monsters from? How do you feel about recommendations for additional monsters (from other sources)?

Chris Nichols

Hag, Bog [Oriental Adventure]

Dear Rainard,

I write you in times of pain and sadness. Your dear sister is no more among us. You know I lost the only person I ever loved. I do not have a lot of time to explain the way she died, so I’ll go directly to the point.

Poor Rustine fell to a terrible creature, a wicked hag living in the Black swamp. We felt something was wrong when her behaviour suddenly changed and she asked us to sell everything we had in order to “leave this horrible place with the maximum amount of gold we could get”. We didn’t understand her sudden desire to leave the place, but nonetheless I asked around if anybody wanted to buy our modest house. After, we spent days packing our things.

While we were packing, and only a few days has passed since her change, then horror struck us.

A dog in the street bit Rustine, and suddenly, I saw the flesh on her leg ripped to shreds by the dog. I was surprised that such a small dog could make this horrible bite, but people in the street yelled and I saw Rustine trying to hide her wound. But we all saw green skin with scales under what seemed like an horrible disguise of flesh! Then the thing screamed and large talons ripped Rustine’s flesh and came out in the light! As horrible as it was, we burned the thing and we saw it for what it really was: a green hag wearing Rustine’ skin! Horrible, let me tell you.

We never found Rustine’s resting place so I assume the thing that wore her skin also ate her.

More when we meet in a month.

Julien

Hag, dune [Sandstorm]

Beware of the dune princess, travelers! If this crone ever kisses you, you will loose your head and see her as the most beautiful woman of the desert lands. Then you will follow her in the desert and you will loose your heart and never be seen again.

Har’Akir wisewoman tale

Half-farspawn [Lords of Madness]

“This vistani woman’s case is interesting as it is unique. From what I understand of what happened when she lost her marbles, she liked to gaze in the mists and peek at the travelers stuck in it. It was a good source of revenue for the tribe to “rescue” then and bring them back to solid land.

But it seems one day she saw something in the crystal ball, and that something looked back at her. She has lost her sanity since this moment and often screams about “a tentacled being with six eyes” that would be talking to her in her head. I’m puzzled for the treatment that could help her and I will write Dr Illhousen tomorrow about her case.”

Notes on patient # 423, Mordent Asylum

Half-golem, brass [Monster Manual II WE]

“I’m so relieved to see this salesman leave my inn. Not that he was violent, drinking too much, or otherwise unpleasant, mind you. This traveler was a quiet gentleman, but there was something really odd about him. You see, I saw him taking his bath. Don’t look at me oddly, it was a mistake; I thought I heard him say “enter” or something. He quickly took a towel and hid his body from me, but I had the time to see his left arm was made of metal! I swear this is true! It was bolted to his shoulder like the wheel of my cart to the shaft. I apologized, tried to look like I didn’t see anything odd, and left his room. I know you would not believe me, but this man’s arm is made of brass!”

A Inn owner gossip

Half-illithid [Fiend Folio]

“Yes, Van Richten, the brain eaters love to craft flesh and create new aberrations at their image. The creatures you just read about are indeed real. The illithids play god with their so called science, but I call it perversion of what was meant to be and what wasn’t. We were once in this terrible storm blasted land called Bluetspur, and we saw these things. They were half like these brain eaters, and half elves, ogres, calibans and we even saw one with lycanthropic traits. Who knows what else their demented brilliant mind created?”

From a discussion with Van Richten

Helmed horror [Monsters of Faerûn]

“I have finished deciphering the ancient scrolls about the tomb of Pharaoh Arrtemut. This tomb is said to be protected by a very ancient being in armor, possibly an ancient dead that worshiped this Pharaoh, or a construct, I’m not sure from what I read. Those texts are not always easy to understand. It is said this thing is able to walk on thin air and jump into chasms without arm. This thing is also wielding the Sword of the Moon; it’s like a fire sword but made of “the pure cold flames of a frozen hell layer”. Do we really need to get to this place?”

Heard while planning the looting of Pharaoh Arrtemut’s tomb

I'm back from a couple of weeks on the river, so here's the updated list:

D is for Dreaded
Done! Dharculus* [Planar Handbook]
Done! Dread warrior [Monsters of Faerûn]\r
Done! Dustblight [Sandstorm]

E is for Eerie
Done! Elemental grue [Complete Arcane]
Done! Elemental monolith, air [Complete Arcane]
Done! Elementite swarm [Planar Handbook]
Done! Ephemera, dusk beast* [Manual of the Planes]
Done! Ephemera, ecalypse* [Manual of the Planes]

F is for Frightening
Done! Fiendish symbiont [Fiend Folio]

G is for Ghastly
Gaki, jiki-ketsu-gaki [Oriental Adventures]
Gaki, jiki-tuku-gaki [Oriental Adventures]
Gaki, shinen-gaki [Oriental Adventures]
Glaistig [Monster Manual III]
Goblin, dread, forestkith goblin* [Monster Manual III]
Done! Golem, alchemical* [Monster Manual III]
Done! Golem, brass* [Monster Manual II]
Done! Golem, mud* [Monster Manual III]
Done! Golem, lesser, maggot* [Requiem, Dragon 339]
Grimweird [Monster Manual III]
Grisgol [Monster Manual III]

H is for Horrible
Done! Hag, spectral* [Denizens of Dread]
Done! Hannya [Oriental Adventures]
Done! Hopping vampire [Oriental Adventures]
Done! Huecuva [Fiend Folio]

Hopping vampire [Oriental Adventures]

“Dear Ezra, what was this?”, asked Laurie, panting.

“I don’t know, but it seemed like a vampire to me”, said Xavier while looking at the corpse now slowly dissolving on the ground.

“Have you noticed its fury and near insane fierceness?”, said Laurie while looking at Xavier, “it didn’t care that I was in its back, it just wanted to get to your throat!”

“And the way it was constantly sniffing around, that was really unusual. Did this thing needed to breathe?”, concluded Xavier.

Huecuva [Fiend Folio]

“Dear journal. I again questioned Bishop Terejk about the fate of my brother, and again felt he didn’t say everything he knew. He was reluctant to speak of him. I know my brother was influenced by this wicked spirit and did a great wrong to the church, but I still feel he deserves a decent sepulchre nonetheless.”

“I again had this strange vision of my brother last night, where he was roaming this abandoned evil cult chapel in the woods, two days north of here, so I decided to travel there tomorrow and see for myself if there are truths behind this vision of my poor misguided brother.”

“Quiet travel so far. I use the travel hours to pray for guidance.”

(scribbled: ) “It’s much worse than I thought. Ezra, save me!”

Last entries of a novice’s journal found in a grotto

ChrisNichols wrote:John, which books have you drawn monsters from?

Book of Sacrifices, Book of Vile Darkness, Champions of Darkness, Circle of Darkness, Complete Psionic, Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends, Denizens of Dread, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Fiend Folio, Frostburn, Heroes of Battle, Heroes of Horror, Howls in the Night, Libris Mortis, Lords of Madness, Monsters of Faerûn, Monster Manual, Monster Manual II, Monster Manual III, The Nightmare Lands, Oriental Adventures, Planar Handbook, Races of Stone, Ravenloft Campaign Setting, Ravenloft Gazetteer I, Ravenloft Gazetteer II, Ravenloft Gazetteer IV, Ravenloft Gazetteer V, Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium I, Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III, Sandstorm, Stormwrack, Tome of Exalted Deeds, Van Richten’s Arsenal, Van Richten’s Guide to the Shadow Fey, and Van Richten’s Guide to the Walking Dead, plus a smattering of creatures from Dragon Magazine.

ChrisNichols wrote:How do you feel about recommendations for additional monsters (from other sources)?

I'm fine with people adding blurbs, though I'd like to keep focus on the ones actually in my collection..