Mactonite
[Blame the Grindbin. It's a podcast I'm a recurring guest on, and in one of the tangents we got off on in a recent episode, the idea of Mac Tonight's head changing shape like the phases of the moon came up. And I knew I had to stat that up sooner or later. Mac Tonight is what @abominationimperatrix calls an "accidental monster": not intended to be frightening by their creators (McDonalds apparently wanted him to have "cult appeal"), but uncanny and strange nonetheless. As such, I wanted my take to be ambiguous in its ability to fit in a campaign as ally or enemy. The name was suggested by @strawberry-crocodile; pronounce it as if they were Star Trek aliens from the planet Macton.]
Mactonite CR 5 CN Fey This humanoid creature has stony gray skin and an oversized head shaped like the moon. They are dressed to the nines and carry a well made cane.
The mactonites are the descendants of a family of fey courtiers, cursed by one of the Eldest for being “as inconstant as the moon”. Their bizarre heads wax and wane over the course of a month, shrinking from being a full stony globe to being completely invisible (although the mactonite’s glittering eyes are still apparent) and back again. Each of these “phases” occurs in sequence, from full to gibbous to crescent to new and back to full, although the timing of an individual mactonite’s head shape may or may not match with the actual phases of the moon.
The inconstant nature of the mactonites is reflected in their behavior, as mactonites are obsessed with trends, fads and fashions. When a mactonite comes to town, it is because the creature is selling something, and it will do everything in its power to push that product. A mactonite is only happy when its particular wares are the talk of the town and it’s made a lot of money to boot; once the novelty wears off and the sales dwindle, it will pick up, find a new town and start the process all over again. A few mactonites get stuck on a particular fad and sell it repeatedly, whereas others are always looking to the horizon for a new opportunity to capitalize on. Mactonites usually see other members of their own kind as competition and prefer to associate with members of other species, be they humanoids or fey of industry and commerce such as brownies, bulabars and lubberkin.
Mactonites are relatively peaceful creatures; it’s hard to sell things to your blood enemies, after all. That said, they will defend themselves from dissatisfied customers and angry mobs, and a few end up taking to bigotry for their particular “fad” and become radicalized and violent. Mactonites use their insights in combat, and have an uncanny ability to strike enemies at their weakest points. As a mactonite’s head changes shape, it gains access to different spell-like abilities, and mactonites are skilled at using the resources they have at the moment to befuddle opponents and aid their allies. They rarely fight to the death and attempt to flee or bribe their enemies if they are losing a battle.
