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 Shapeshifter, chaos-spreading race?
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Roseweave
Learned Scribe

Ireland
212 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2015 :  01:46:53  Show Profile  Visit Roseweave's Homepage Send Roseweave a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Writing a story where I'm looking for something a bit like a Malaugrym, but now i want to use a Malaugrym for another story and don't want to double up. I want one of them to be something else. Somewhat of a Loki-like figure, I suppose. Any suggestions?

Kentinal
Great Reader

4684 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2015 :  02:17:08  Show Profile Send Kentinal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Quasit might serve you well. It is a little smaller, however still a shape shifter.

"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon
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Bane of the Harpers
Seeker

Canada
53 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2015 :  03:44:20  Show Profile Send Bane of the Harpers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Some kind of slaad would be perfect....
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore

USA
1853 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2015 :  06:13:18  Show Profile  Visit xaeyruudh's Homepage Send xaeyruudh a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Do you need a whole race, or just an individual antagonist? An individual could be as simple as a spellcaster (or magic item user) of any race.

There's doppelgangers and lycanthropes, of course. There's also barghests/worghests, mimics, jackalweres and wolfweres, changelings and shifters, selkies, yochlols, pterafolk, beasts of Malar, grimalkin, at least three types of canomorph, protean scourges, uthraki, and my favorites: aranea, ghaunadans, and phasms... and perhaps the ultimate shapeshifters: hagunemnons. And then there's all the ones I missed.

Edited by - xaeyruudh on 27 Nov 2015 06:18:29
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Roseweave
Learned Scribe

Ireland
212 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2015 :  06:33:45  Show Profile  Visit Roseweave's Homepage Send Roseweave a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It's sort of a high level individual antagonist but i want it to be some variation of an existing monster.
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore

USA
1853 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2015 :  07:08:16  Show Profile  Visit xaeyruudh's Homepage Send xaeyruudh a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ah... perhaps an ethereal doppelganger, or an unusual variety of lycanthrope? Or a canomorph... I don't remember seeing any of those in novels.
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Baltas
Senior Scribe

Poland
955 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2015 :  07:46:13  Show Profile Send Baltas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well, the Batrachi, specifically a Batrachi-Doppelganger might fit. Batachi-Doppelgangers had the abilities of a Greater Doppelganger, and Batrachi are strongly implied to have been a at least somewat Chaotic society, with them being tied to Slaadi, and worshipping Ramenos.

While I don't think Batrachi were ever stated, the Batrachi-Doppelganger probably would have stats of a Greater Doppelganger, with a Slaad-like or Bullywug-like default form.

[EDIT]

Also, Wolfweres can take on any human, demi-humanor humanoid form, that's more or less their size, regardless of their own original sex/gender. Wolfweres in fact, often morph into the race of their future pray, usually of the opposite gender than their pray, in order to lure them, kill, and eat them. Wolfweres are also in fact Chaotic(Evil).
Wolfweres' in general seem to me like a very malovelent, lupine version of kitsunes...

Edited by - Baltas on 27 Nov 2015 13:37:18
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 27 Nov 2015 :  13:49:10  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
succubus? That is if a female works.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Roseweave
Learned Scribe

Ireland
212 Posts

Posted - 28 Nov 2015 :  20:00:19  Show Profile  Visit Roseweave's Homepage Send Roseweave a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Are there other monsters that tend to show up with/work with Malaugrym? They seem to be pretty isolated.
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Roseweave
Learned Scribe

Ireland
212 Posts

Posted - 29 Nov 2015 :  01:01:10  Show Profile  Visit Roseweave's Homepage Send Roseweave a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Barachi sounds interesting but finding it hard to find stuff about them. This one story is actually set in an aquatic kingdom so makes sense.
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Baltas
Senior Scribe

Poland
955 Posts

Posted - 29 Nov 2015 :  05:32:53  Show Profile Send Baltas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Haask, now part of Haask, Voice of Hargut, is an example of a Batrachi doppelganger, who still survives, and had survived in his Batrachi-doppelganger form untill relativelly recently(after the fall of Netheril, but before the ascension of the Dead Three).
Now he's something...different
Here is the full story, by the great Brian R. James:
http://archive.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/drrl/20071107a

[EDIT]

Also, what may interest you, is that Nadezhda was an empire of batrachi doppelgangers that was in the location of modern-day Maztica, according to Brian R. James. Another close batrachi country was to South, in Lopango, although it ma be a extension, or colony of Nadezhda.

Batrachi were also masters of portal making, with even Imaskari aparently reverse engineering some of batrachi magitech ad magics. It's possible the fact Toril has so many connections to Earth, and other worlds, is in a large part a work started by batrachi.

Edited by - Baltas on 29 Nov 2015 13:52:42
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader

USA
2420 Posts

Posted - 30 Nov 2015 :  02:48:04  Show Profile Send The Masked Mage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The perfect fit for what you asked for would be the Randara. You can find them in the entry for shapeshifters in the Mystara Monstrous Compendium, as well as 3 other shapeshifters. As everyone else noted, dopplegangers could work - but they have certain shapeshifting limitations that Malaugrym and Randara do not. As for the Batrachi - I find it best to leave the creator races buried in the past, or else they become less ancient legends and more hack and slash beasties.

If you lack that source, you could also choose an evilly aligned "changer savant" Irda. Irda are a race from Dragonlance that are mostly wiped out. They are rarely evil. The changer savant bit comes from their monstrous compendium entry, which states that Irda can learn to improve their ability to take the form of humanoids and demi-humans to the ability to shapechange as the spell.

There are also numerous races that use Illusion to conceal their true identities and to entrap enemies. The most common of these I would say is the Rakshasa, but many races fit this description, including the Bandalar which are also in the Mystara Monstrous Compendium.


As far as the Malaugrym working with others the answer is no. They do dominate/charm monsters and humans, but by nature they are xenophobic - they hate anyone who is not one of them. They even tend to hate other Malaugrym, but that is due to internal power struggles and not racial superiority. For more on them you should really read Ed's "Shadow" novels which involves them heavily.

Edited by - The Masked Mage on 30 Nov 2015 02:49:36
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