In the running of a tabletop RPG based in the ‘Hellboy’ universe, I’m GMing a session for halloween that’s going to end with a big bang, to wit; the dimensional barriers are breached, and something ‘from beyond’ comes out.
I often use hand-outs and visual aids in my gaming, and I’d like to have a picture of the monstrosity that has made landfall in our dimension. Unfortunately, I have some pretty jaded players. I want something that, when looked at, my players will have no idea what the heck it is or how to deal with it. I’d prefer to stay away from anything humanoid, and anything with an over-mass of tentacles, but beyond that, the more bizarre (and menacing) the better.
Thanks in advance!
(Oh, and as that’s going to be a cliffhanger moment, I don’t have a specific idea just yet of game-details for the monster, so please feel free to not have any pre-conceived notions as to what it can / can’t do.)
I’ve got a few /tg/ artdumps that you can pick from…my Epic Monsters folder should have something you can use, and there’s another few in my Monsters folder.
Drop me a PM with e-mail or AIM, I’ll zip 'em up and send them your way.
Google the names of creatures from the Cthulhu Mythos. Those creatures are sufficiently weird enough that it might even provoke a raised eyebrow from one of your players. Here’s a few names to get started on:
Cthulhu
Shub-Niggurath
Azathoth
Nyarlathotep
Yog Sothoth (my namesake!)
Shoggoth
Ghatanothoa
Elder Things
Great race of Yith
Chimi, sent you a friend request so we can exchange stuff- can’t seem to PM you otherwise.
Upon edit: Apparently you’ve opted to not receive private messages.
Go to the galleries at CGTalk.com. Both the 3D and 2D sections will have many mind-blowing examples of creatures and monsters of all sorts.
Here are a few I found that seem like they might fit: one, two (maybe too many tentacles), three, four, five, six
Odd…I can just about guarantee that I didn’t disable them…and this’d be the first board I’ve encountered that starts with them off. Of course, memory is fallible…they’re enabled now.
My issue with Cthulu Mythos critters is they get spread around a lot in RP nerd culture…Munchkin Cthulu being one example. I know most of my group would recognize most Cthulu critters right off.
Certain outside artwork might be handy—what better examples of horrifically incomprehensible sights could there be than those produced by people with brain disorders?—as well as some optical illusions you can show off in person.
If people start getting the creeps, or complain that their eyes hurt, that means it’s working.
Sadly, that’s one of the big problems with this. I need something that my players aren’t just going to say, “Oh, look, Cthulhu,” and not be at all unnerved by. There’ve been some great suggestions here thusfar, though, which is awsome!
There’s also the SCP Foundation, though at present there’s not really a way to browse through photographs and illustrations themselves. The unclassified SCPs page gives you an idea of what some of them look like.
And at the risk of being overly gross, have you considered…well, using photographs of dead things for the monster? I mean dissection/necropsy photos, rotting carcasses, primitive plastination experiments, etc? Disturbing enough, to be sure, but there’s also the Uncanny Valley aspect of seeing something that’s almost identifiable, and certainly formerly alive.
