In a previous post, I said I was planning a bestiary entry meant to explain the huge, anachronistic sewer systems of D&D towns. After all, It Is Known that such systems tend to appear...
 |
| From Rich Burlew's Order of the Stick |
 |
| From Paizo. |
 |
| From Dungeon Magazine #11; Art by Jim Holloway. |
... and It Is Implied even when they don't; how many games have you been in where there was any indication that the streets might be of a distinctly medieval level of sanitation?
But, of course, the default setting of D&D is modeled after medieval Europe and/or Tolkien and/or pulp sword-and-sorcery books. Historically, sanitation technology did not exactly thrive in medieval Europe -- like many of the things the Romans invented, it didn't quite survive the fall of the Empire; I don't recall any mention of sewers in Tolkien; and... actually, maybe Conan or the Grey Mouser or someone did crawl around in the sewers at some point... I need to read up on my pulp fiction.
The point is, however, that this is not only anachronistic but kind of weird when you think about it; in D&D, sewers exist as, basically, urban dungeons. Adventurers are supposed to be able to wander around in them, otyughs are supposed to live in there, and they're a ready-made lair for your wererat criminal organization or what have you. So they don't just have sewers; they have HUGE sewer systems. This might be believable in a Rome-equivalent, but they seem to come standard everywhere; see rhetorical question two paragraphs up.
So who builds them? Obviously, hives of hyperparasitic, telepathic ophiuroids.
I may have skipped some steps in that argument, but regardless, here is the:
Truphane1
The Truphane -- also called the impostor-beast, the pretender-beast, the urban starfish, the hyperparasite of man, the cobblemonster, the aristocrat eater, the king's hand, and the sessile tyrant, depending on one's preferences / education / desire to appear educated -- is a hive-building creature that can influence human minds and feed on mental energy. The life cycle of the truphane is as follows:
One day, a member of the nobility or other upper-class individual comes home from a visit to another city, feverish and delirious. His staff say that he fell ill during the state visit -- a couple days after meeting some important individual in the other city, usually a monarch or equivalent. He worsens rapidly.
Truphane Sickness
Type disease (parasite), contact
Save Fortitude DC 15
Onset 1d4 days
Frequency 1/week
Effect 1 Con drain, 1d12 Wis damage
Cure 2 consecutive saves
Type disease (parasite), contact
Save Fortitude DC 15
Onset 1d4 days
Frequency 1/week
Effect 1 Con drain, 1d12 Wis damage
Cure 2 consecutive saves
If the individual infected with truphane sickness does not recover, eventually he collapses into unconsciousness, and any attendant healers will be certain that he is at death's door. Then, suddenly, he is well, if still weak. He demands that his staff take him to whatever location he makes most of his public appearances in -- for a monarch, that's probably the throne room, but obviously that varies widely. At this point, the original victim is dead; his staff have just propped up his corpse in his throne room (or whatever), and if any of them are able to make their Will save against the truphane nymph that has grown inside of him, they will see not only that he is dead, but that his dominant hand has been defleshed, and wrapped around the phalanges are five wormlike appendages attached to a pentagonal body resting in his palm.
 |
| Image by Jerry Kirkhart from Los Osos, Calif. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48245209 |
Truphane Nymph
CR 3, XP 1200
N Tiny Magical Beast
Init -1; Senses crappy sight, decent smell and vibration senses, passive telepathy, adds up to +2 Perception
Defense
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 size, +2 natural)
hp 22 (4d10+0)
Saves Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +3
Offense
Speed: 10 ft., climb 10 ft., swim 10 ft.
Melee Attack: flails ineffectually +0 (1 dmg)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: PANIC!!!!!
Statistics
Abilities Str 2, Dex 8, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +4; CMB +1; CMD 7
Feats: Iron Will, Skill Focus (stealth)
Skills: Perception +2, Stealth +4
Special Qualities: Everything is Fine
Special
Everything is Fine (Su): On first encountering the truphane nymph, everyone gets a Will save DC 22. A success means they see the truphane and its host as they truly are; a failure means that they perceive the host as alive and well, and go about their business as normal. They may also gain a slightly stronger motivation to protect the truphane and its host from danger.
PANIC!!!!! (Su): If the truphane feels like it is in immediate danger, it sends out a panic signal. Anyone who has previously failed their Will save against its Everything is Fine ability will have a sudden, intense feeling that the truphane's host is in mortal danger. They will react according to their perceived relation with said host / who they are as a person.
Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: Whatever the host was wearing when they died. Might be some nice jewelry.
CR 3, XP 1200
N Tiny Magical Beast
Init -1; Senses crappy sight, decent smell and vibration senses, passive telepathy, adds up to +2 Perception
Defense
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 size, +2 natural)
hp 22 (4d10+0)
Saves Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +3
Offense
Speed: 10 ft., climb 10 ft., swim 10 ft.
Melee Attack: flails ineffectually +0 (1 dmg)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: PANIC!!!!!
Statistics
Abilities Str 2, Dex 8, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +4; CMB +1; CMD 7
Feats: Iron Will, Skill Focus (stealth)
Skills: Perception +2, Stealth +4
Special Qualities: Everything is Fine
Special
Everything is Fine (Su): On first encountering the truphane nymph, everyone gets a Will save DC 22. A success means they see the truphane and its host as they truly are; a failure means that they perceive the host as alive and well, and go about their business as normal. They may also gain a slightly stronger motivation to protect the truphane and its host from danger.
PANIC!!!!! (Su): If the truphane feels like it is in immediate danger, it sends out a panic signal. Anyone who has previously failed their Will save against its Everything is Fine ability will have a sudden, intense feeling that the truphane's host is in mortal danger. They will react according to their perceived relation with said host / who they are as a person.
Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: Whatever the host was wearing when they died. Might be some nice jewelry.
This is the stage of the life cycle where the truphane is most vulnerable, and is most often discovered. As a result, many partially-informed sages and adventurers do not describe the truphane beyond this point, leading to a number of bestiaries making the truphane out to be far less of a threat than it truly is. The appearance of the truphane in this state, and therefore in the majority of available bestiary illustrations PCs might find in their research, is similar to a brittle star or basket star with pebble-like scales over its body, wrapped around a skeletal hand.
In its nymph stage -- note that this is “nymph" like the stage in an insect's life cycle2, not like the dangerous fey -- the truphane can do little other than feed and project thoughts into the minds of those around it. A truphane is not intelligent, so it cannot modulate these thoughts very well; it instinctively tries to convince those around it of the following things and cannot do anything beyond that:
- The truphane's host is alive, healthy, and behaving normally. Anyone who might be suspicious about the fact that they never see the host anywhere except that one spot will be given false memories of seeing them wherever they would normally expect to see them.
- In any situation where people would expect to hear something from the host -- speeches, conversations, decrees, what have you -- the truphane just blends together the expectations of everyone present into something plausible. It always says whatever its audience expects it to say. This means that, if its underlings ask it for instructions, they're essentially using the rubber-duck problem-solving method but hallucinating that the duck is talking back.
- Weirdly, this rarely makes any impact on policy when the truphane replaces an important noble or monarch; everyone just keeps doing whatever they think the monarch would tell them to do. The aristocracy tends to discourage anyone from talking or thinking about the implications of this too much.
- The truphane's host has dangerous enemies, and the building in which he is located must be defended at all times. The host is happy to receive visitors as normal, but if said visitors are behaving oddly -- like, for instance, insisting that the host is just a corpse -- it is because they are the aforementioned dangerous enemies, and possibly criminally insane. They should be dealt with swiftly and violently.
The second item is because the truphane itself is relatively defenseless if someone sees it and tries to kill it; as the truphane becomes more established, its lair will become better-defended. Any truphane that has been active for more than a month or so will have around-the-clock guard shifts.
 |
| From René Kœhler's Echinodermata Ophiuroidea, published 1922 |
Before we go any further, it is necessary to describe the feeding habits of the truphane. They do not eat physical food, but feed directly on the minds of those around them. This is why the truphane will continue to receive visitors as long as it is protected; it wants to get its hooks into as many minds as possible. Every day, one of the people the truphane is feeding on -- i.e. a randomly-selected person who has failed their Will save against it -- takes 1d6 Wis damage; this is the truphane taking a bite out of their minds. People suffering from truphane-related Wisdom damage acquire unusually-strong beliefs that include one or more of the following:
- Foreigners are plotting against their city / town / nation / home. Intense xenophobia, suspicion of anyone from outside town.
- Stone, especially cobblestones and anything else that resembles a truphane's pebbled scales, is beautiful; plants and growing things are ugly.
- Economic gain is all-important; personal relationships are distractions.
- Romance is only valuable when it leads to children.
- Nationalism accompanied with a willingness / weird desire to die in the defense of their town.
- Everything is futile and pointless; nothing means anything; might as well make as much money as possible, spend that money on more money, then spend that money on hedonism.
- The rulers of their society rule by divine right and can do no wrong.
- Their town should grow and spread; it is their manifest destiny to expand their borders as much as possible -- preferably through economic means rather than military.
- All crimes are treason; disobeying the laws means disrespecting the divine right of the ruling class; this is a betrayal on the highest order, therefore treason, therefore string 'em up in the town square.
- Money buys happiness. There is no other way to become happy.
- Reverence for their monarch or other leadership replaces any previously-held religious beliefs.
- Intense distrust of magic, greater appreciation of technological progress.
- Any time spent not working is stealing from the economy of their town and the pockets of their rulers.
- Everyone should know their place. (Everyone's place is below the ruling class; the place of all foreigners is at the bottom of the ladder; any outsiders that are perceived to be acting uppity risk violent response.)
- Everything is normal and nothing has changed, or should change. Everything is the same. Today is exactly like yesterday and tomorrow will be exactly like today.
- Anyone who questions any of these beliefs is part of the vast foreign conspiracy against them.
 |
| From Die Gartenlaube https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Die_Gartenlaube_(1865)_b_710_1.jpg |
- If there is no truphane hive in the town already:
- The truphane's host is seen to die of natural causes, and a funeral is swiftly arranged. Nobody seems to notice the advanced rate of decay. The host is buried, and the truphane Nymph extracts itself from the corpse. It then burrows into the ground and develops into a truphane queen.
- In exceptionally large cities (population 10,000+) this might happen even if there is already a truphane hive, as there is enough food to sustain multiple hives. That is, the town is literally big enough for the both of them.
- If there is already an established truphane hive:
- As above, but after burial, rather than becoming a queen, the truphane nymph splits into five segments, each of which regenerates into a truphane drone. The drones join the existing hive, telepathically inserting themselves into the organization.
- Nymphs that were born from the town's already-established hive take this option by default, regardless of how big the town is. The only exception is if someone has recently killed the hive's queen, in which case the next nymph to mature will take over whatever remains of the hive.
 |
| Image by Charles Wyville Thomson in Depths of the Sea, published 1873 |
Truphane Queen
CR 10, XP 9600
N Large Magical Beast
Init +0; Senses passive telepathy, tremorsense 30ft: +4 Perception
Space 5ft Reach 20ft
Defense
AC 23, touch 9, flat-footed 23 (-1 size, +14 natural)
hp 123 (13d10+39)
Saves Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +6
Offense
Speed: 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee Attack: 6 arms +15 (1d4+2)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: Summon Aid
Statistics
Abilities Str 14, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 18
Base Atk +13; CMB +16; CMD 26
Feats: Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Skill Focus (stealth), Toughness
Skills: Climb +4, Perception +4, Stealth+8, Swim +4
Special Qualities: This is Normal, Hive Mind, Tremorsense 30ft
Special
Hive Mind (Su): The save DC for the telepathic abilities of all members of the truphane hive, within the area covered by said hive, is the same as the queen's. The hive is treated as one truphane for purposes of determining who has failed against their abilities before. In addition, the queen knows everything the other members of her hive know; though truphanes are not smart enough to make complex plans, they are smart enough to get nervous when someone starts taking them out.
Summon Aid (Su): If the queen is directly threatened, all soldier truphanes in the hive will drop what they are doing and head to her chamber to defend her.
This is Normal (Su): Upon first entering the range of the truphane hive, one must make a Will save DC 24. On a failure, the victim is unable to recognize any of the effects caused by the presence of a truphane hive as abnormal, and will even invent explanations if needed.
Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: incidental; mostly stuff that's been dropped into the sewer and wound up in the queen's nest by chance.
CR 10, XP 9600
N Large Magical Beast
Init +0; Senses passive telepathy, tremorsense 30ft: +4 Perception
Space 5ft Reach 20ft
Defense
AC 23, touch 9, flat-footed 23 (-1 size, +14 natural)
hp 123 (13d10+39)
Saves Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +6
Offense
Speed: 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee Attack: 6 arms +15 (1d4+2)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: Summon Aid
Statistics
Abilities Str 14, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 18
Base Atk +13; CMB +16; CMD 26
Feats: Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Skill Focus (stealth), Toughness
Skills: Climb +4, Perception +4, Stealth+8, Swim +4
Special Qualities: This is Normal, Hive Mind, Tremorsense 30ft
Special
Hive Mind (Su): The save DC for the telepathic abilities of all members of the truphane hive, within the area covered by said hive, is the same as the queen's. The hive is treated as one truphane for purposes of determining who has failed against their abilities before. In addition, the queen knows everything the other members of her hive know; though truphanes are not smart enough to make complex plans, they are smart enough to get nervous when someone starts taking them out.
Summon Aid (Su): If the queen is directly threatened, all soldier truphanes in the hive will drop what they are doing and head to her chamber to defend her.
This is Normal (Su): Upon first entering the range of the truphane hive, one must make a Will save DC 24. On a failure, the victim is unable to recognize any of the effects caused by the presence of a truphane hive as abnormal, and will even invent explanations if needed.
Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: incidental; mostly stuff that's been dropped into the sewer and wound up in the queen's nest by chance.
As a queen, the truphane begins by digging out a subterranean chamber in which it can grow. It feeds more intensely as it becomes larger, affecting more people. As a nymph, it only fed on one person each day; as a growing queen, it adds one to that number each month -- once it is feeding on ten random people each month, it stabilizes, and the queen is considered full-grown. A full-grown truphane queen resembles a basket star about fifty feet across from armtip to armtip, covered in a thick scaly covering with an eerie resemblance to cobblestones.
The queen sheds one of her arms at this point, and it grows into the hive's first truphane drone. Drones are larger, stronger versions of the nymphs; their jobs are to maintain the nest and aid in reproduction. The drones fertilize the queen3, and then deliver the resultant packages of microscopic eggs; they also add tunnels to the queen's underground chamber that lead up to homes and streets on the surface in an ever-widening network.
It is this network that is the town's “sewer system". It starts as burrows under the town, but the drones' instinct to connect it to as many street-level exits and wealthy homes as possible means it does actually follow roughly the same structural pattern as a sewer system. The drones also make a basic effort to have the “sewer" openings blend in, so they will crudely cover the parts near the surface in paving stones so it looks like part of the town's infrastructure. The queen's This is Normal ability convinces the population that the burrow openings they see are just part of the sewer system, which has always been there. As a hive becomes established, the local government will often start hiring people to help maintain the sewer system, based on false memories of commissioning its creation and administering its maintenance. In this fashion, the truphane burrows will actually become a sewer system, as the new workers will do the necessary retrofitting and put down proper paving-stones under the belief that this is standard maintenance. At this stage, drones will often use their telepathic abilities to camouflage themselves as sewer workers, or even infiltrate the group of humans maintaining the sewer and influence them to build their tunnels in ways the truphanes find convenient.
In addition to convincing the population that everything is normal and the burrows have always been there, the truphane queen will influence the society above her in ways that benefit the hive. The truphane “wants" the town's population to grow so the hive can feed on it, and for the town to be well-defended against anyone who might disrupt the status quo. (The queen is still animal-level intelligence and doesn't consciously make these plans, but the suggestions she instinctively puts out are all geared towards those goals.) A town that harbors a truphane queen will find the citizenry holding the following beliefs:
A drone carrying larvae will exit the sewer under the cover of night, and seek out a wealthy and powerful individual. The drone does not understand these concepts, of course, but they do their reconnaissance in the telepathic landscape, not the physical; they look for people who are well-protected and well-provided-for, by following certain thoughts and emotions in potential targets and the people around them. These are the people who make the best hosts for truphane nymphs -- someone who can conceivably spend all of their time sitting in one place while being heavily guarded. The drone finds someone in town who meets the criteria, and who is preferably asleep and alone, and exits from the burrow opening nearest them. They creep along the street, camouflaged against the cobbles, then slip into their target's sleeping chambers. There, they gently lay one of their arms across the target's sleeping body, allowing the larvae to transfer from the drone to the new host. Their target must save against catching Truphane Sickness, and may be the host for a new truphane nymph. If the target awakens during this process, the drone's Nothing to See Here ability will attempt to convince the target that this is just a dream, then make them forget about it in the morning.
The drones will also make regular visits to any nymphs the hive has produced. They will transfer larvae to the corpse on which the nymph lives, so that anyone who meets with the nymph's host risks catching Truphane Sickness. For this reason, whenever the nymph is visited by someone who it perceives as a good potential host, that person will be influenced to come into contact with the corpse. Usually this takes the form of the victim believing that they are meant to kiss the host's ring, shake the host's hand, or something similar -- at which point the nymph that is living on the host's hand will attempt to transfer as many larvae as possible to the victim.
Over time, the truphane queen and her hive will grow larger and more powerful. If the hive is successful in evading discovery, and gets all the mental energy it needs to feed, the growth follows a geometrical progression:
The soldiers take up positions defending the nymphs and the queen. Those around the nymphs appear, to people who have failed their Will saves, to be an organization of special bodyguards -- often the “royal guard" or something similar. The others will station themselves near the largest openings to the “sewer" -- often, the drones will even influence local builders to construct a guardhouse there to house them -- so that they can defend against anyone who might enter and threaten the hive. The populace usually believes them to be some sub-set of the city watch, often something mildly sinister like “the secret police".
If anyone sees the soldiers for what they are, the soldiers respond with violence -- their passive telepathy lets them know when the Definitely a Human ability fails on someone -- and then drag the body into the sewer. Witnesses will generally see this event as something along the lines of the secret police making an arrest and then dragging the criminal back to the guardhouse. There are exceptions to this violent response; the soldiers are able to read intention, and if someone identifies them but doesn't care or doesn't intend to raise the alarm, the soldiers will often leave them alone.
The queen sheds one of her arms at this point, and it grows into the hive's first truphane drone. Drones are larger, stronger versions of the nymphs; their jobs are to maintain the nest and aid in reproduction. The drones fertilize the queen3, and then deliver the resultant packages of microscopic eggs; they also add tunnels to the queen's underground chamber that lead up to homes and streets on the surface in an ever-widening network.
It is this network that is the town's “sewer system". It starts as burrows under the town, but the drones' instinct to connect it to as many street-level exits and wealthy homes as possible means it does actually follow roughly the same structural pattern as a sewer system. The drones also make a basic effort to have the “sewer" openings blend in, so they will crudely cover the parts near the surface in paving stones so it looks like part of the town's infrastructure. The queen's This is Normal ability convinces the population that the burrow openings they see are just part of the sewer system, which has always been there. As a hive becomes established, the local government will often start hiring people to help maintain the sewer system, based on false memories of commissioning its creation and administering its maintenance. In this fashion, the truphane burrows will actually become a sewer system, as the new workers will do the necessary retrofitting and put down proper paving-stones under the belief that this is standard maintenance. At this stage, drones will often use their telepathic abilities to camouflage themselves as sewer workers, or even infiltrate the group of humans maintaining the sewer and influence them to build their tunnels in ways the truphanes find convenient.
 |
| Brittle stars on coral -- NOAA photo library https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5277868344/ |
- There are many, many threats outside and the town must be well-defended. Walls should be built, and bodyguards assigned to the ruling class.
- Anyone questioning the townsfolk's behavior or saying strange things about starfish in the sewers is a threat. They're probably an outsider trying to undermine the town's way of life, or a traitor, or a spy, or just crazy.
- The town should grow. All citizens should have as many children as possible, and the town should sprawl outwards across the countryside.
- In some cases, truphane drones will infiltrate organizations of masons & other relevant craftspeople, implanting false memories of commissions they have been given, encouraging the continuing expansion of the town. The usual result is a proliferation of walls, guard towers, and low-quality housing on the town's outskirts, with some mild confusion about who decided these buildings were needed.
- Economic growth is very important. The town must trade and produce so it can grow. This is very important -- like, willing-to-die-for-it important.
- Streets should be paved and new buildings made of stone. There should be no green patches in town, and, if possible, no plain dirt. Everything should be cobblestones.
- Note: a truphane drone (or nymph or queen, but that rarely comes up) gets a +4 bonus on all Stealth checks when on cobblestones (or anything that has a similar appearance) due to the camouflage provided by its stone-like scales.
 |
| By Ernst Haeckel, in Kunstformen der Natur, published 1904 |
Truphane Drone
CR 5, XP 1600
N Small Magical Beast
Init +3; Senses passive telepathy, +4 Perception
Defense
AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+1 size, +3 dex, +5 natural)
hp 21 (6d10-12)
Saves Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +4
Offense
Speed: 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee Attack: panicked flailing +3 (1d6-3, disease)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: Disease
Statistics
Abilities Str 4, Dex 16, Con 6, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +6; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats: Iron Will, Nimble Moves, Skill Focus (stealth)
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +10
Special Qualities: Nothing to See Here
Special
Disease (Ex): Direct contact with a truphane drone prompts a Fortitude save DC 15 to avoid catching Truphane Sickness as some of the larvae transfer from it to you.
Nothing to See Here (Su): Anyone who makes the necessary Perception check to spot a drone sneaking around must follow that with a Will save DC 22. Failure means that they don't recognize that they're seeing anything unusual, and that they forget about it as soon as the drone is out of sight.
Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: none
The truphane queen will lay huge clutches of eggs in her chamber on a regular basis. These will hatch into microscopic, plankton-like larvae that swim around in the “sewer" eating algae and whatnot. Eventually -- their population heavily culled -- they mature into drones and soldiers; current theory has it that the queen is able to telepathically influence which they become based on an instinctual desire to maintain a certain ratio within the hive. The larvae also instinctively cling to the spines of the drones whenever they're not actively feeding. When there appears to be a surplus of larvae, drones will begin transporting them out of the sewer to try and make some into truphane nymphs.CR 5, XP 1600
N Small Magical Beast
Init +3; Senses passive telepathy, +4 Perception
Defense
AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+1 size, +3 dex, +5 natural)
hp 21 (6d10-12)
Saves Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +4
Offense
Speed: 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee Attack: panicked flailing +3 (1d6-3, disease)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: Disease
Statistics
Abilities Str 4, Dex 16, Con 6, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +6; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats: Iron Will, Nimble Moves, Skill Focus (stealth)
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +10
Special Qualities: Nothing to See Here
Special
Disease (Ex): Direct contact with a truphane drone prompts a Fortitude save DC 15 to avoid catching Truphane Sickness as some of the larvae transfer from it to you.
Nothing to See Here (Su): Anyone who makes the necessary Perception check to spot a drone sneaking around must follow that with a Will save DC 22. Failure means that they don't recognize that they're seeing anything unusual, and that they forget about it as soon as the drone is out of sight.
Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: none
A drone carrying larvae will exit the sewer under the cover of night, and seek out a wealthy and powerful individual. The drone does not understand these concepts, of course, but they do their reconnaissance in the telepathic landscape, not the physical; they look for people who are well-protected and well-provided-for, by following certain thoughts and emotions in potential targets and the people around them. These are the people who make the best hosts for truphane nymphs -- someone who can conceivably spend all of their time sitting in one place while being heavily guarded. The drone finds someone in town who meets the criteria, and who is preferably asleep and alone, and exits from the burrow opening nearest them. They creep along the street, camouflaged against the cobbles, then slip into their target's sleeping chambers. There, they gently lay one of their arms across the target's sleeping body, allowing the larvae to transfer from the drone to the new host. Their target must save against catching Truphane Sickness, and may be the host for a new truphane nymph. If the target awakens during this process, the drone's Nothing to See Here ability will attempt to convince the target that this is just a dream, then make them forget about it in the morning.
The drones will also make regular visits to any nymphs the hive has produced. They will transfer larvae to the corpse on which the nymph lives, so that anyone who meets with the nymph's host risks catching Truphane Sickness. For this reason, whenever the nymph is visited by someone who it perceives as a good potential host, that person will be influenced to come into contact with the corpse. Usually this takes the form of the victim believing that they are meant to kiss the host's ring, shake the host's hand, or something similar -- at which point the nymph that is living on the host's hand will attempt to transfer as many larvae as possible to the victim.
 |
| From Comparative Zoology, Structural and Systematic, published 1883 |
- In the first decade of the hive's lifespan, the hive contains 2d6 drones and 2d4 soldiers.
- Each decade after that, the population of drones & soldiers doubles, as the birth rate outpaces the death rate; the queen may adjust the ratio of drones to soldiers being born back and forth as the situation demands.
- In the second decade of the hive's lifespan, they have likely produced 1d12 nymphs, either in this town or in visitors who have carried them elsewhere.
- This number will also double every decade.
- A queen in her first decade of life is as depicted in the stats above.
- For every decade she has to grow, the save DC against the queen's This is Normal power increases by one.
- Every 25 years, the queen should be advanced one HD.
- Queens can live for a few centuries.
- If the queen dies a natural death, around the end of her lifespan, the hive will already be passing over to a newly-maturing nymph.
- If the queen dies an abrupt death, the hive freaks out and falls into total disorganization until a nymph matures in the area and takes over.
- In the first decade of the hive's lifespan, the maximum area covered by the tunnel system is about half a mile.
- This also doubles every decade.
- The tunnel system never reaches outside the city walls, though.
- It might extend further downward if needed.
- The queen feeds on ten people a day -- i.e., she deals 1d6 Wisdom damage over a telepathic link.
- Add one person to that number for every decade the queen ages.
- Nymphs, drones, and soldiers also need to eat.
- Each nymph, drone, and soldier deals 1d6 Wisdom damage to a random target under the hive's influence each day.
A town under the control of a mature truphane hive is incredibly depressing. At first glance, it can seem normal: cobbled streets, fine; lots of merchants, fine; big families, fine; guards everywhere, fine -- but the longer you spend there without getting pulled in by the queen's This is Normal ability, the more it becomes clear that something is off. The citizenry just don't do things that don't lead to increased wealth, increased population, or a safer city. For instance, if you go into a tavern, as adventurers are wont to do, you will see a normal scene, but... not quite. If there's music, it's uninspired and the musician will be weirdly aggressive about tips. The bartender will shamelessly charge outsiders the most outrageous prices he can get away with. The patrons will all be fairly obviously engaged in attempts to get laid, complicated by everyone being hyper-Darwinian in their selection processes and trying to find partners who will produce many strong children, while openly ignoring anyone who is the least bit sickly-looking. Nobody is having fun. Everyone looks at you with suspicion. In short, there isn't anything that you can point to as “that -- that is not normal," but all the expected human behavior is warped and joyless.
Truphane Soldier
CR 8, XP 4800
N Medium Magical Beast
Init +0; Senses passive telepathy, tremorsense 30ft: +7 Perception
Defense
AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (+10 natural)
hp 45 (10d10-10)
Saves Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +5
Offense
Speed: 15 ft., climb 15 ft., swim 15 ft.
Melee Attack: 2 spiny tentacles +13 (3d6+3) (reach)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: n/a
Statistics
Abilities Str 16, Dex 10, Con 8, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +10; CMB +13; CMD 23
Feats: Diehard, Endurance, Iron Will, Lunge, Power Attack
Skills: Climb +5, Perception +7
Special Qualities: Definitely a Human
Special
Definitely a Human (Su): Upon encountering a truphane soldier, one must pass a DC 22 Will save in order to recognize that it is not human. Anyone who fails that save will perceive it to be a guard of some sort, and if they see it in battle with someone, they will assume that person to be a criminal being subdued by local law enforcement.
Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: none
Truphane soldiers appear notably different from the drones. In addition to being larger and stronger, their scales are thicker, smoother, and resemble dull metal instead of cobblestones -- and the spines on their arms, rather than being small and flexible, are tough and sharp. They also have a unique gait, wherein they draw their arms up beneath themselves and lift their central body off the ground as high as possible, with the goal of taking up the same amount of space as a humanoid. This is because their Definitely a Human ability tends to cause problems if they're spread out on the ground like other truphanes -- people trip over their arms, there's cognitive dissonance, it's a mess.CR 8, XP 4800
N Medium Magical Beast
Init +0; Senses passive telepathy, tremorsense 30ft: +7 Perception
Defense
AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (+10 natural)
hp 45 (10d10-10)
Saves Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +5
Offense
Speed: 15 ft., climb 15 ft., swim 15 ft.
Melee Attack: 2 spiny tentacles +13 (3d6+3) (reach)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: n/a
Statistics
Abilities Str 16, Dex 10, Con 8, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +10; CMB +13; CMD 23
Feats: Diehard, Endurance, Iron Will, Lunge, Power Attack
Skills: Climb +5, Perception +7
Special Qualities: Definitely a Human
Special
Definitely a Human (Su): Upon encountering a truphane soldier, one must pass a DC 22 Will save in order to recognize that it is not human. Anyone who fails that save will perceive it to be a guard of some sort, and if they see it in battle with someone, they will assume that person to be a criminal being subdued by local law enforcement.
Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: none
 |
| It's kind of like the villain from Monsters vs. Aliens, but without the humanoid torso. |
The soldiers take up positions defending the nymphs and the queen. Those around the nymphs appear, to people who have failed their Will saves, to be an organization of special bodyguards -- often the “royal guard" or something similar. The others will station themselves near the largest openings to the “sewer" -- often, the drones will even influence local builders to construct a guardhouse there to house them -- so that they can defend against anyone who might enter and threaten the hive. The populace usually believes them to be some sub-set of the city watch, often something mildly sinister like “the secret police".
If anyone sees the soldiers for what they are, the soldiers respond with violence -- their passive telepathy lets them know when the Definitely a Human ability fails on someone -- and then drag the body into the sewer. Witnesses will generally see this event as something along the lines of the secret police making an arrest and then dragging the criminal back to the guardhouse. There are exceptions to this violent response; the soldiers are able to read intention, and if someone identifies them but doesn't care or doesn't intend to raise the alarm, the soldiers will often leave them alone.
 |
| By Ernst Haeckel, in Kunstformen der Natur, published 1904 |
Mutualism
While the truphane's purpose is entirely selfish -- to ensure a constant supply of food from the minds of the town's population -- other organisms have come to take advantage of the environment created by a truphane hive.
Otyughs, who enjoy living in sewers, will often flourish in truphane-infested towns. Some less scrupulous otyughs4 will even intentionally transport maturing nymphs to uninfested towns, so that a sewer system will construct itself in a couple years. Truphanes, in turn, tolerate otyughs and even exclude them from their various telepathic abilities; the otyughs keep the hive clean and even serve as an extra line of defense in some cases.
There is also a noticeable trend that people who have been particularly badly affected by the truphane's feeding habits -- the ones who can no longer pass as a functional member of society -- seem to vanish abruptly, with no explanation. Certain sages on the intellectual fringe theorize that there is a mutualistic relationship with some as-yet-unidentified monster who feeds on the deranged, but no proof is available.
There is also a noticeable trend that people who have been particularly badly affected by the truphane's feeding habits -- the ones who can no longer pass as a functional member of society -- seem to vanish abruptly, with no explanation. Certain sages on the intellectual fringe theorize that there is a mutualistic relationship with some as-yet-unidentified monster who feeds on the deranged, but no proof is available.
1 According to the OED, this is an obscure word meaning a deceiver or imposter, probably from Old French truf(f)ant ‘deceiver'. They list exactly one attestation, dating to 16th century Scotland, so I don't feel too bad about just stealing the word.↩
2 Yes, it only applies to insects. I couldn't find a good equivalent terminology for echinoderms. So sue me.↩
3 This is why foreign truphane nymphs will join the hive as drones, giving themselves a chance to spread genetic material. ↩
No comments:
Post a Comment