Carrionettes were malicious tiny constructs, simple toys, animated to be parasitic creatures, living off of humans, humanoid, and monstrous humanoid societies.[3][2][4]
Description[]
An unassuming-looking carrionette.
Typical carrionettes were wooden, clay, ceramic, or straw-stuffed poppets, puppets, marionettes, or other tiny dolls or toys, usually between 2 feet (0.61 meters) and 6 inches (0.15 meters) tall. They were usually painted and clothed in a manner typical for children's toys, resembling knights, jesters, simple folk, or even farm animals. They had jointed limbs, giving them a full array of movement, and sometimes, their bodies were attached to puppeteer strings. The animated toys spoke in a hollow, shrill voice,[3][1] which they seldomly used.[2]
Behavior[]
Unlike many other constructs, carrionettes had free will and were not obliged to obey their creators. Once a carrionette was animated, its creator could negotiate with the creature, offering it a humanoid body to possess in exchange for service, like replacing an individual or as a form of assassination.[2]
Abilities[]
Carrionettes were proficient climbers, able to scale any surface with an expert thief's skill. Additionally, they had the ability to use ventriloquism spell at will. As constructs, they were immune to being frightened, all poisons, electricity, and cold magic and effects, while such spells as warp wood destroyed them immediately.[3][1] They possessed darkvision that allowed them to see in darkness as far as 60 feet (18 meters).[4]
Destroying a carrionette's toy body destroyed its essence, even if the creature possessed a humanoid, trapping the victim's essence in the toy; as such, a carrionette never destroyed the toy it once inhabited, keeping it safe. Destroying a carrionette's toy body while it housed a possessed victim's essence destroyed the carrionette and the victim.[3]
To reverse possession, a carrionette needed to punch its silver needle into the possessed humanoid's body while a short silver string or wire connected the carrionette and the victim. This process of transposession took an hour.[3]
Combat[]
Adventurers in the Domains of Dread and a swarm of carrionettes.
Carrionettes were always armed with tiny piercing weapons, like knives, stilettos, or razors. In addition to miniature weapons, carrionettes carried a quiver full of ten silver needles with thread that the animates threw like spears at the distance of 15 feet (4.6 meters). Each needle's thread was a magic cord attached to the carrionette's hand, and once the needle pierced its target, it partially paralyzed them. Each needle could paralyze a single part of the body, and the magic cord turned invisible once the paralysis took hold. Carrionettes attempted to fully paralyze their victims with several needles and could attack sleeping individuals as easy prey. The last needle plunged into the victim's base of the neck, allowing the carrionette to possess the humanoid victim. Once the carrionette possessed their victim, they gained full control of the humanoid body within a single minute. They immediately removed all silver needles from their bodies, whilst their victim's essence was placed within the marionette that hosted the creature before. The victim was stuck within the toy, but unlike a carrionette, the toy was not animated.[3][1][4]
Ecology[]
Living as parasites, carrionettes were found in settlements where they hid amongst children's toys or theater marionettes to remain hidden. They pretended to be inanimate toys for as long as they needed to locate a desired victim they could possess – the creature's desperate and only goal in existence. They often were either solitary beings or orderless packs of two to eight carrionettes. Once a carrionette successfully possessed a humanoid body, they abandoned their packs and did not interact with others of their kind; however, they still could feel other carrionettes nearby.[3][2]
Many carrionette creations were accidental, conjured by individuals searching to animate their favorite toys.[1] One could craft a carrionette body with a month of labor, and the process of animating a prepared vessel was identical to the process used in the animation of golems.[3] The rituals of animation involved casting of the detect magic, slow, and magic jar spells.[2]
History[]
It was believed that the very first carrionette was created by Guiseppe, a toymaker from the Domain of Dread known as Odiare, who sought to animate his favorite marionette to act as his child. The carrionette, Maligno, ended up creating more of its kind and becoming the realm's Darklord.[4][1]
Appendix[]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Video Games
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 F. Wesley Schneider, et al. (May 2021). Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. Edited by Judy Bauer, Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 231. ISBN 978-0-7869-6725-4.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Sean K. Reynolds (January 2006). “Creature Catalog IV: Campaign Classics”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #339 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 48–49.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 David Wise ed. (December 1994). Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One. (TSR, Inc), p. 20. ISBN 156076838X.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Template:Cite book/Denizens of Darkness