Creepy Monster concept : body hoppers

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Joël of the FoS
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Creepy Monster concept : body hoppers

Post by Joël of the FoS »

Creepy Monster concept : body hoppers

I just finished reading the comic sequel to I am Legion (Je suis Légion (3 books) in French, by Fabien Nury) - very recommended, with its prequels Chronicles of Legion (Chroniques de Légion) (4 books).

In it, there is a very cool creature concept, which is kind of immortal. It reminded me of the infectious Toben the Many in some ways, but not as zombies. More like blood control.

Over the centuries, it hops from a human body to another when mingling its blood with that of the vessel (or when the vessel tastes the creature's blood). So it escapes death by choosing a younger corpse, and leaves the younger corpse's mind in the old body. Usually, the creature destroys the older body after hoping in a new one, so the person doesn't talk. The only sign of the creature is a red mark on the neck, in the lower back of the skull.

When caught, it's extremely useful to escape prison, by having a rat taste its blood and then escape, leaving a mindless body behind (with the rat's mind).

So it can put its blood (and mind) into anything that has blood: human of either sex, animal, etc.

Another thing it does is controlling creatures again by having them taste its blood, or by having its blood eerily flowing in the air around the unwilling creature and entering inside the chosen target. The creature becomes totally under the control of the monster, who has access to the creature's memory (useful to learn secrets). The monster controls the creature from a distance, making it move as normal. They become fierce controlled fighting machine, ignoring wounds until totally destroyed. The monster can release control at will.

From the book - At one point, a crime boss annoys one of these creature, who is under the guise of a very wealthy landlord, Lord Byron Cavendish. It tries extortion over a secret Byron Cavendish has. It can make a cool scene where a lower thug returns to its master "to deliver a message from Cavendish" to its crime boss, but kills it swiftly instead, then puts the crime boss's lair (a tavern/brothel) to fire while staying in the flames and shouting creepy menaces while he burns like "this is a message to anyone else daring to annoy Lord Cavendish!" until its burned throat no longer produce sounds...

Chronicles of Legion shows there are two brothers like this, and they hate each other, and that is the purpose of their life: making pawns and trying to kill the other.

I see many RL gaming opportunities here!
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Re: Creepy Monster concept : body hoppers

Post by Epically »

So how do you kill it?
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Re: Creepy Monster concept : body hoppers

Post by Joël of the FoS »

Epically wrote:So how do you kill it?
Good question. How do you kill Toben the Many? :) If these guys play their card well, they could be nearly immortal. Or could there be a weakness the PCs could use?
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Re: Creepy Monster concept : body hoppers

Post by Dark Angel »

So there are only two (as per the comics) and they can transfer their consciousness into others OR mentally dominate them? I understand this is via a transfer of blood, but can they control several minions at once and then shift themselves into one of them at will (i.e. without further contact). Or does that require a separate fluid transfer as well?
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Re: Creepy Monster concept : body hoppers

Post by Epically »

How much control do they have over someone who has a disease that is transferred by blood/bodily fluid?
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Re: Creepy Monster concept : body hoppers

Post by High Priest Mikhal »

Sounds a bit like some real life parasites. Sans the sapience but not the control of the host.

As for how you kill Toben the Many, that's like "killing" a disease. Contain the disease (prevent Toben's bodies from moving out of an area), quarantine any and all potential hosts (hallow to prevent any new bodies from being raised), and "vaccinate" the infected to destroy the agent at its source (kill the bodies Toben inhabits). Or trick Toben's majority of bodies into entering Darkon and let Azalin handle him. Either way works.
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