Difference between revisions of "Creep"

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The Creep is a semi-sentient, living gelatinous substance that exists mainly in [[the Wastes]]. It devours any living thing it touches as it spreads. Smaller blobs of Creep (often called Creeplings or Creepers) have been known to inhabit caves and other dark, dank places.
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Perhaps one of the greatest mysteries that has entered our world exists in the Creep. A gelatinous, living substance like slime, the Creep is an unnatural thing that devours all life it touches. The Creep can only exist in shadow and generally makes its home in dark places, spreading outward. Anything caught in its grasp will be engulfed at a rapid rate. Due to its inability to be understood, it is likely an entity [[Demon|demonic]] in some fashion, perhaps related to the sins of Gluttony, or conversely Famine, or even Madness.
  
==Nature and Origin==
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Much of this article is from ''[[Caudex Daemonum]]'', by Grigore Summers, including his speculation on its potentially demonic nature.
The exact origin of the Creep is unknown, but since it is mostly found in the Blasted Wastes, it's assumed to be an unintentional creation of the magical blast that eradicated that area. Since then, some of it has spread to other places, including the [[Underworld]], where great lakes of it are said to thrive, since it loves the darkness.
 
 
 
The Creep is a gelatinous substance that slowly spreads outward, devouring plants and animals caught in its grasp, until it has engulfed all life in an area. Its color ranges from dark red to green to purple, depending on its habitat and diet, usually reverting to a dull grey when it enters its dormant state. The Creep becomes dormant whenever it goes for too long without feeding, usually when it can find no other living things to eat. Dormant Creep can be reawakened by the slightest touch of a living thing, which it will then try to devour. The Creep can form tendrils of its mass to grab objects like tentacles, but like the rest of its bulk, these tendrils are slow-moving and easily avoided by most animals and people... unless they have nowhere to run. If they are devoured, they often become Creeplings.
 
  
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==Appearance and Behavior==
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The Creep has been described as a sickly grey-purple in hue, or grey if it has entered a dormant state, during which it becomes like stone. In this shape it conceals itself until something alive touches it. Then it will immediately awaken to devour life again. In its bid to absorb all living things, the Creep can extend tendrils from its mass to snatch its prey. Some mages say the Creep is the sweetest substance known to man, and if one were to eat it, one would experience bliss almost alike to eating ambrosia, the food of the gods, just before one’s mind becomes consumed by the creature.
 
==Creeplings==
 
==Creeplings==
The Creep eats as slowly as it moves. When it engulfs a person or animal, it sometimes takes control of their body as it is digesting it, using the creature's form in order to move about more quickly. It also seems to become more intelligent depending on the intelligence of the creature it devours. Eventually, as its prey is digested, it begins to lose its form again, until it is reduced to a simple blob of mobile Creep. These Creeplings continue to rove about, seeking out new victims with their still-enhanced speed and intelligence. If they fail to find any, they will eventually enter the dormant state.
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Smaller, mobile beings exist separate from the Creep, called Creeplings. These creatures are the result of living things that have been touched by the Creep. As the Creep digests the form of the living creature, it may possess it, using that creature’s body to move about. However, as the prey is digested over time, it will become misshapen until it returns to the same formless slime as the rest of the Creep.
 
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==Lairs==
==Powers==
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Masses of Creep have been discovered only in the most secluded of regions. It is thought to have originated from the [[Blasted Wastes]] far beyond the southern lands, where it was created, or perhaps summoned, due to the [[Mage Wars of Sinkarya]]. The Wastes remain its greatest home in this realm.
Some Creep pools or blobs may have different colors and abilities depending on their environment and diet. The "normal" color of living, non-dormant creep seems to be a greyish purple. Most subterranean pools or blobs of Creep are this color, as are most found in the Wastes. Creep living in areas of volcanic activity is often red, and may absorb volcanic gasses and use them to belch out streams of fire. The most common color of Creep found in the mortal realm is green, from eating lots of plant matter. Green Creep is more likely to form tentacles for attack, and may even be toxic or acidic to the touch.
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==Other Information==
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This entry on the Creep comprises one of Summers’ best descriptions of an unnatural or monstrous creature. So little is known of the Creep that his writings can scarcely be offered addition.
  
==Weaknesses==
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Dear reader, should you have the great misfortune of encountering any Creep or especially Creeplings, do your best to avoid it entirely. Anything it touches will become tightly lodged and drawn into its mass to be devoured and possessed. Physical attacks are all but useless against this abomination, though some [[Venatori]] report severing the limbs of Creeplings still with form enough to have limbs. Even this still could not stop their advance, but it at least slowed them enough to provide escape. As with most any monster, only the Venatori have even a chance of battling, much less truly destroying, any form of Creep.
The Creep is weak to certain elemental attacks. It is immune to heat, to the point that it can actually float on a lake of lava, but it hates cold, which can freeze it solid and force it into its dormant state. Exposure to bright light also weakens it and will eventually force it into dormancy, which is why it usually lives in dark places. Lightning is the only thing known to kill Creep permanently, for reasons that are not fully understood. A blob of Creep struck by lightning turns into a brittle, dead material that will easily break into dust.
 
  
The best way to fight the Creep is simply to avoid it, since it is slow-moving. Anything it touches usually becomes tightly lodged in the substance, taking great strength to pull free. Creeplings grab things less easily than do larger pools of Creep, but physical attacks are just as useless against them. The fastest Creeplings are those possessing a humanoid form, but the limbs of these humanoid Creeplings can be severed or smashed, reducing them to their slower blob-like state for easier escape. But the attacker must take care not to become ensnared as the blob's next victim.
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We are incredibly lucky that the Creep has spread so little in the mortal realm and that the holy light of the sun, and even the moon, can usually keep it at bay and prevent it from engulfing all life.
  
 
[[Category:Monsters]]
 
[[Category:Monsters]]

Latest revision as of 15:45, 12 August 2022

Perhaps one of the greatest mysteries that has entered our world exists in the Creep. A gelatinous, living substance like slime, the Creep is an unnatural thing that devours all life it touches. The Creep can only exist in shadow and generally makes its home in dark places, spreading outward. Anything caught in its grasp will be engulfed at a rapid rate. Due to its inability to be understood, it is likely an entity demonic in some fashion, perhaps related to the sins of Gluttony, or conversely Famine, or even Madness.

Much of this article is from Caudex Daemonum, by Grigore Summers, including his speculation on its potentially demonic nature.

Appearance and Behavior

The Creep has been described as a sickly grey-purple in hue, or grey if it has entered a dormant state, during which it becomes like stone. In this shape it conceals itself until something alive touches it. Then it will immediately awaken to devour life again. In its bid to absorb all living things, the Creep can extend tendrils from its mass to snatch its prey. Some mages say the Creep is the sweetest substance known to man, and if one were to eat it, one would experience bliss almost alike to eating ambrosia, the food of the gods, just before one’s mind becomes consumed by the creature.

Creeplings

Smaller, mobile beings exist separate from the Creep, called Creeplings. These creatures are the result of living things that have been touched by the Creep. As the Creep digests the form of the living creature, it may possess it, using that creature’s body to move about. However, as the prey is digested over time, it will become misshapen until it returns to the same formless slime as the rest of the Creep.

Lairs

Masses of Creep have been discovered only in the most secluded of regions. It is thought to have originated from the Blasted Wastes far beyond the southern lands, where it was created, or perhaps summoned, due to the Mage Wars of Sinkarya. The Wastes remain its greatest home in this realm.

Other Information

This entry on the Creep comprises one of Summers’ best descriptions of an unnatural or monstrous creature. So little is known of the Creep that his writings can scarcely be offered addition.

Dear reader, should you have the great misfortune of encountering any Creep or especially Creeplings, do your best to avoid it entirely. Anything it touches will become tightly lodged and drawn into its mass to be devoured and possessed. Physical attacks are all but useless against this abomination, though some Venatori report severing the limbs of Creeplings still with form enough to have limbs. Even this still could not stop their advance, but it at least slowed them enough to provide escape. As with most any monster, only the Venatori have even a chance of battling, much less truly destroying, any form of Creep.

We are incredibly lucky that the Creep has spread so little in the mortal realm and that the holy light of the sun, and even the moon, can usually keep it at bay and prevent it from engulfing all life.