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PDFThis is a continuation of yesterday’s post about the ettins who add humanoid heads to their bodies. I really do intend to get back to the elves, really I do.
Hoss has six extra heads arranged about his waist like a belt. One is a fifth level mage the others call Stinky. Farmer Gloran and washlady Isolde were husband and wife. Their heads are close enough to touch and they can barely kiss, but Hoss smacks them if they try when he is awake. Piker was a thief, eighth level, who foolishly insulted the creature when he should have been running. No one lets him forget that if he starts to complain about being “round back.” Â Mugg was a goblin and knows the mountains nearby like the palm of the hand he no longer has. Millicent was a child and still thinks this is a dream. Although the heads quarrel a lot, Hoss runs a tight ship and affords his heads no leeway. When they get outta hand, they get a black eye or bloody lip. He’s thinking about adding to his collection up near the chest, but is being rather pickier about heads now.
The Gang is stupid even for an ettin. When he finally overtook a gang of bandits after years of failure, he added all eight of them to his body at once. By the end of the second night, they had wrested control of the body from him and taken over. The bandit heads still follow the old pecking order of their previous lives, being lead by Old Johnny, an eighth level thief. There is much talk about finding some female heads.
Flock made the mistake of claiming the head of a strong-willed and charismatic cleric, who has converted Flock’s five other plague-eaten heads to his faith. The ettin head itself is starting to wonder about the things his preachin’ head says and has found himself haunting the woods outside pilgrimage destinations, sneaking into chapels at night to pray. Flock’s ettin head is starting to see himself as an abomination and it’s probably just a matter of time before he sets himself afire in the middle of a revival tent.
The Ship is an ettin who followed a party of adventurers and picked them off one-by-one as they pursued their great quest. Ship never lost total control, but he cannot maintain the peace among his argumentative victims:
- Four third level halflings
- a level 8 ranger
- a level 6 warrior
- a level 5 dwarf
- a level 5 elf archer
- a level 13 mage
- and a tiny half-sized troglodyte all the others hate
make him a formidable foe with a tremendous headache.
Related posts:
- Rethinking the Ettin An ettin has multiple heads, but only one it was born with. Ettins sometimes remove the heads of their defeated...
- Small Hydra The Small Hydra is born from the head of a Lesser Hydra that has been severed. When the head is...
- Great Hydra Previously I posted some thoughts on the hydra in old school D&D. I’m trying to get it closer to its...
After reading the examples you provided, something struck me. So I looked back at your re-think post and discovered that you’ve either intentionally left something out there, or didn’t take the idea to a terribly interesting place here. In that vein I will offer the following followup questions:
Do the native capabilities of the heads provide benefits not original to the ettin? For example, if the head is of a creature that can breathe underwater natively, does that ability get absorbed into the ettin? Could an ettin, by nature of the heads it has attached, breathe both on land as well as underwater?
And tied to this question is the actual precursor query:
Can the head be non-humanoid? Could an ettin, by some bizarre stroke of luck, defeat (or find a dying) creature that isn’t humanoid but is arguably much more powerful (say a dragon) and sever its head for attachment?
Imagine the terror such a creature could unleash.
Hey Kevin.
Thanks for the feedback.
I’d say the special abilities question is up you when you build it. Maybe the head of an invisible stalker would give it invisibility!
If I was doing an ettin with a water elf head, I’d say the gills wouldn’t absorb enough oxygen for the whole creature, but maybe it would extend how long the creature can stay underwater by a turn.
For a dragon, if it was me as dm, I’d say that the head would be able to spit a weak jet of fire, but only if all the other heads closed their mouths. Lung capacity is the issue. I guess it depends on where you think the breath weapon is produced and what nutrients are needed to generate it.
I had thought about an ettin with one of my greater hydra heads stuck on it. Maybe later tonight.
Feel free to post you own here or point to your blog.
Ok, here’s ny attempt at an ettin under this premise.
Fisher is an ettin who, by some stroke of ill luck managed to collect a couple of mermaid heads to add to his body. How he managed this feat is unknown but not likely a well received hearth-tale.
Though the mermaid heads have gone hopelessly insane, Fisher has retained some conscious control over them. However, deep inside he knows that unless he can tip the scales, he will find himslef trying to swim to the bottom of “the big lake.” And Fisher already knows that he cannot swim.
In an attempt to counter the problems of the strange thoughts of the girly-fish heads, Fisher has as been raiding a goblin enclave repeatedly in the hopes of capturing some weaker minded critters with a fondness for torment. Unfortunately for him, the goblins have been crafty enough to evade capture and each of Fisher’s attempts has left him tired and frustrated. It is this frustration and tiredness that the mermaids have seized upon in an attempt to wrest control and return to the waters.
Locals to the area often tell tales of mourn-filled large creature that, as the moon rises over the waves, sounds a horrible and heart-wrenching cry at the edge of the waters near Hamble’s Point. They caution travelers to avoid the shallows during the evening hours and never camp near the water’s edge.
Fisher often wakes to find himself making another of his nightly sojourns to the edge of “the big lake” to wade deep into the waves. Fortunately for Fisher, who cannot swim, the water always wakes him from his slumbering jaunt.
Nice. Very evocative.
Thanks Chris.
I’ve got to admit that once I started, the idea it kind of just generated itself. I might have to find a way of introducing some players to ol’ Fisher and see what they make of him.
Genius.