Aberrations

Aberrations are utterly alien beings. Many of them have innate magical abilities drawn from the creature’s alien mind rather than the mystical forces of the world.

All Aberrations

Aberrations cover a wide range of weird things that just don’t fit any other category: chaos beasts, floating eyes, tentacled horrors, and so on. Since each encounter with these creatures is unique, they present a special opportunity to keep the PCs off balance and confused about the proper approach in dealing with them. Adding bizarre details to your description can do a lot to create the proper atmosphere.

Torrid noises might make casting spells difficult. Disgusting odors can force Constitution checks versus nausea. Acid or fungus can increase damage to those who contact it.

With these unusual foes, it’s critical to hide their abilities and resist the urge to name them directly. Mix it up by borrowing abilities from other creatures to give your well-read and expert players a new and unexpected thrill.

You might place a pair of cloakers in a wardrobe: one appearing as a luxurious fur-lined robe, and another a drab canvas cloak, utilitarian and unremarkable. The characters may be surprised when the fancy cloak attacks, but doubly so when attacked by its plainclothes companion. There is little better than the old one-two punch to put players on their heels.

Aberrations have bizarre abilities, and you should use them to their greatest effect. They might have alien minds, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have understandable motivations as well. If an eye tyrant has existed for centuries or even millennia, it understands its abilities and has honed them to deadly precision.

It knows how to debilitate that front-line fighter with charm effects.

  • Spellcasters are going to get special attention with that paralyzation ray.
  • Rogues make an excellent target for telekinesis since it robs them of mobility and positioning for maximum effect.
  • Should these tactics prove too weak just layer more on as a special ability usable once per encounter.

Aberrations tip every assumption on its head. Feel free to add extra creepiness and descriptively warp your aberrations beyond what the players might recognize.

The Horror of Aberrations

One aspect of making aberration horrific and creepy is to withhold what creature the players are actually facing. As bizarre and alien creatures, you can feel free to add extra creep factors and warp your aberrations beyond what the players might recognize.

Allow terror to seep into the minds of the players by adding grotesque details to their lairs. Have them make bizarre threats if they are capable of speech. You’ll quickly see how the players’ tactics change when they don’t know for certain what they are facing. They’ll keep guessing, but with only trial and error to guide their attacks, they will be stumbling around cluelessly.

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