#morkoth

[twilightofthesandwiches]

Which Edition of D&D had the best design/artwork of a Morkoth?

First Edition

Second Edition

Third Edition

Fifth Edition

Voting ended onMar 22

[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

WHICH IS MORE SMASHABLE?

The Lost

Morkoth

Voting ended onJul 31, 2024

On the left, The Lost is an interesting one. It's a person turned into a manifestation of the fear/anxiety of being lost. They're DESPARATE for a hug to try and calm down. Only issue is they cause anyone they're hugging to become just as panicked and starts shredding thier mind in fear. This one doesn't actually want to hurt you though, so if you can dodge the arm spikes and have a way to ignore psychic damage you're actually good.

On the right is the Morkoth. In 5e, these are 6 ft (1.8 m) octopus-like creatures, born from the corpse of a god of greed and strife shattering on impact with a bit of celestial landmass. These greedy hoarders creatures can hypnotize, create darkness, teleport, and grapple with thier many tentacles. They live on thier own dreamscape islands, the temperature perfectly warm and floating through every plane imaginable. So cool backdrop too!

[criticalrolo]

colors have been kicking my ass lately so to shake up my brain here’s my players Wrecking my Sea Monster while i Wrecked Their Boat last night <3

[thecreaturecodex]

Morkoth

Image by Christopher Burdett, © Wizards of the Coast. Accessed at the artist’s blog here

[The morkoth is one of those monsters that has been around since the First Edition Monster Manual, but got very little fleshing out until 5e. In previous editions, there was no origin or explanation of the morkoth except “it eats people”, when it’s a very strange monster with a very particular MO. So the fact that Volo’s Guide to Monsters gives it an actual backstory, and ways to build a whole adventure around it, is very heartening.

If you’re not a fan of the 5e version of the morkoth, but want to use something closer to the original in your games, @thecreaturechronicle​ has a version here. It borrows the look and backstory from a @bogleech​ article, but its power level is much more like the 1e version.]

Morkoth CR 11 CE Aberration This grotesque creature looks like a hybrid of various marine life, with a prominent beak set in a leering, fishy face. Several small clawed hands protrude over its array of tentacles, and an array of detritus, ranging from gleaming treasures to broken junk, cover its mantle like a protective shell.

Morkoths are peripatetic collectors, who roam the planets and planes searching for the one thing that will fulfill their eternal emptiness. The first morkoths were created upon the death of a god of greed and strife, whose corpse was cast into the Astral Plane and fragmented into nacreous shards. Each of these shards served as the nucleus for a magical island, and the morkoths were created to be their stewards and protectors. Some scholars believe that what morkoths are truly searching for is a means to restore a god to life and therefore resurrect their progenitor.

A morkoth island can be found practically anywhere, from floating in the sky to the bottom of the ocean, even in the most hostile of the planes. These islands are typically warm, wet and tropical in character, even if surrounded by frozen wastelands. The morkoth itself lives in a network of flooded tunnels beneath the island, where it obsesses over its ever-increasing horde. Morkoths collect lives as readily as they do inanimate objects, and so a morkoth’s island may be home to rare or extinct species, members of lost cultures or experts in obscure fields. Some of these are kept in place through magical means, but over the ages some tribes know of no other home, and may worship the morkoth as a god or protective spirit.

A morkoth is a predator, and hunts through ambush. They can cloud the minds of creatures and force them to walk straight into the morkoth’s lair and offer themselves as a meal—some creatures so affected do not even blink as the morkoth eats them alive. If they meet with resistance, morkoths prefer to use their magical powers to fight rather than scrap in melee. All morkoths are wizards of some skill, although they often have less of a single spellbook and more of a hoarder’s pile of notes, engravings and scrolls, typically waterproofed and kept in airy pockets for safekeeping.

Morkoths can theoretically be negotiated with, trading one object or life for another. The prices they demand are high, and few morkoths would hesitate to betray a deal if they find something else that they want. Some morkoths are specialists and have very particular treasures that they prefer, whereas others simply want as much as possible, as soon as possible. A morkoth cannot die except through violence, so some of them have access to items that are very old indeed. How morkoths reproduce, if they can reproduce, is unknown. 

Morkoth                   CR 11 XP 12,800 CE Medium aberration (aquatic) Init +6; Senses blindsense 30 ft., darkvision 120 ft., Perception +23 Defense AC 24, touch 13, flat-footed 21 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +7 natural, +4 armor) hp 150 (20d8+60) Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +14 DR 15/magic; SR 22 Defensive Abilities debris armor, reflect magic Offense Speed 20 ft., swim 50 ft. Melee bite +17 (1d10+2), 2 tentacles +15 (1d8+1 plus grab) Special Attacks constrict (2d8+3), hypnosis Spells CL 11th, concentration +16 (+20 casting defensively) 6th—chain lightning (DC 21) 5th—hold monster (DC 21), mind fog (DC 21), waves of fatigue 4th—charm monster (DC 20), dimension door, stone shape, wall of ice 3rd—clairaudience/clairvoyance, dispel magic, fireball (DC 18), heroism, protection from energy 2nd—bull’s strength, detect thoughts (DC 17), scorching ray, see invisibility, touch of idiocy 1st—comprehend languages, identify, magic missile (x2), ray of enfeeblement (DC 16), shield 0th—arcane mark, detect magic, message, read magic Statistics Str 14, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 15, Cha 13 Base Atk +15; CMB +17 (+21 grapple); CMD 30 (42 vs. trip) Feats Arcane Strike, Blind-fight, Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Spell Focus (enchantment), Toughness Skills Appraise +23, Escape Artist +23, Knowledge (arcana) +26, Knowledge (history, planes) +23, Perception +23, Spellcraft +26, Stealth +23, Swim +23, Use Magic Device +19 Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common, telepathy 100 ft. SQ amphibious, demesne, planar acclimation Ecology Environment any Organization solitary Treasure triple standard Special Abilities Debris Armor (Ex) A morkoth’s collection of junk gives it a +4 armor bonus to its AC without an armor check penalty, maximum Dexterity bonus or spell failure chance. Demesne (Su) A morkoth lairs on a supernatural island 1 square mile or less in area. On this island, the morkoth can use clairaudience/clairvoyance at any distance. The morkoth may create up to six tunnels, each up to 120 feet long, which radiate its hypnosis ability to all creatures that pass within 20 feet of the entrance so long as the morkoth is within 120 feet of that tunnel entrance.  The island is protected from any harmful effects of the plane it is on. The morkoth can transport the entire island, and all creatures and object on it, as per a greater teleport or plane shift effect by concentrating for 1 hour. Any unwilling creatures may resist this ability with a DC 21 Will save—if they succeed, they are left behind when the island moves (which may have harmful consequences in itself). The save DC is Charisma based. Hypnosis (Su) As a standard action, a morkoth may project mental energy in a 30 foot cone. All creatures caught in that cone must succeed a DC 21 Will save or move towards the morkoth. When they are adjacent to it, they can take no actions and do not resist its attacks (treat as dazed). A creature that is attacked by a morkoth when hypnotized may attempt an additional Will save to break the effect; otherwise it remains passive. This effect lasts for 10 minutes or until a save is made. A creature that successfully saves against this ability is immune to that morkoth’s hypnosis for the next 24 hours. This is a mind-influencing compulsion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Planar Acclimation (Ex) A morkoth is never treated as having the extraplanar subtype. Reflect Magic (Su) Any spell that fails to overcome a morkoth’s spell resistance affects the caster of that spell as if they were its original target or was in the spell’s area. A successful dispel magic made against a DC equal to the morkoth’s spell resistance suppresses this ability for 1d4+1 rounds. Spells A morkoth casts spells as if it were an 11th level wizard. It does not gain the benefits of a school specialization, or any of the other abilities of the wizard class, unless it takes wizard levels.

[ravennowithtea]

Continuing my RP Jester Sketchbook series.

Please enjoy these spreads which span content from eps 102-103!

[ziocorvid]

avocado guacamole

[critrolestats]

Monster Analysis: Vokodo the Morkoth

Thanks to @mareighcastle​ for this art piece!

First Appearance: 2-102 Ghosts, Dinosaurs, and Stuff

Encounter Appearance: 2-105 Rumble at Rumblecusp

Armor Class 17

Speed 25 ft, 50 ft swimming

Blindsight 30 ft, Darkvision 120 ft, Passive 20

Resistant to cold and nonmagical physical damage

Immune to fire damage

Standard Morkoth Suggested, Max HP: 130, 200

426 total damage taken, 72 HDYWTDT by Caleb

After gaming out and exhausting nearly every possibility available to them on Rumblecusp, The Mighty Nein finally faced off against the being that has held Rumblecusp hostage for decades.

Read more at critrolestats.com

[desertdruidcrafts]

Another batch of new minis, this time including creatures from my pirate mini-campaign, Seas of Misfortune.

An easy to download .zip folder is available to all on the Patreon and features a few extra goodies, like finhead kobolds and webfoot halflings. Click here to check it out!