Nothics were one-eyed, twisted aberrations that were extremely erratic and malevolent.[1][2]
Description[]
Nothics resembled hunched, misshapen humanoids with an awkward gait. Their most distinctive feature was the large, single eye that dominated their face.[1][2][3]
Behavior[]
Nothics were utterly insane and almost as evil, capering and gibbering in and out of combat for no apparent reason.[1][2]
Abilities[]
Nothics' main magical gifts were focused in their eyes: they possessed both darkvision and truesight, and their gaze could rot the flesh of other creatures. Some nothics could unleash other necrotic or psychic attacks to damage foes, and certain individuals could mentally dominate a target as well. Yet other nothics could magically learn a secret about a target via some weird insight.[1][2][3]
Combat[]
Nothics could attack with their claws, but were not particularly adept at doing so, prefering to rely on their strange magical abilities to disable opponents before killing them.[3]
Ecology[]
Nothic's eye, harvested for alchemical use.
Nothics were aberrant creatures variously said to have drifted into the Material plane from the Far Realm, or to have been created from wizards who, in their research of arcane secrets, stumbled across a curse left by Vecna (a curse later also used by the lich Acererak[4]). If the latter was true, then nothics retained no awareness of their former selves but were nonetheless driven by half-remembered memories and desires they no longer understood.[1][2]
They were known to live in underground ruins and caverns as solitary predators, or to serve more powerful creatures that found their erratic behavior amusing. Such behavior generally made them seem more like a pet than the torturer-jester they were normally "employed" as, but their lack of sanity meant they would perform functions that other creatures refused to consider. Nothics were also sometimes found in cults of Vecna; it was said that such nothics had a strong psychic connection to the deity they served and that he could, if he focused, see through their eyes.[2][3]
Nothics were also known to be drawn to places of magical learning, infiltrating and lurking inside such places. Their insanity gave them a strange understanding of forbidden lore and secrets, and they coveted magic items. It was said they were drawn to such places out of a half-understood obsession with reversing their condition- and that some understood the obsession as a false hope and a lesson for their folly.[1]
Nothic eyes were valued for their alchemical use. They could be distilled into a suspension, that could be mixed with a certain type of alchemical vitriol to form an elixir of see invisibility.[5]
History[]
Some of the few Netherese spellcasters that survived the destruction Ythryn became afflicted with a malady known as the arcane blight. These unfortunate souls were transformed into nothics, running rampant across the frozen necropolis for centuries.[6]
In the Year of the Scarlet Witch, 1491 DR,[note 1] a nothic inhabited a crevasse within a hideout occupied by the Redbrands in Phandalin, lured to the location by an emanation of magic. The creature had struck a deal with the Redbrands to guard the location in exchange for food and treasure.[7]
In the late 15th century DR, groups of nothics wandered the surroundings of Neverlight Grove, attracted by the growing influence of Zuggtmoy in the region.[8]
Notable Nothics[]
- Wyx, a nothic who served the Cult of the Eternal Flame.[9]
- Acererak's devotees, a group of wizards who became nothics after trying to decipher their master's secrets.[4]
Appendix[]
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Notes[]
- ↑ Pages 30‒31 of Lost Mine of Phandelver describe the eruption of Mount Hotenow (1451 DR) as occurring "30 years ago", which would place the adventure in 1481 DR. When the adventure was later remade into Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, this 30 year time frame was kept (pages 50 & 53). However, pages 103 and 179 of Acquisitions Incorporated, a source published after the former, state that the events described in the adventure happen five years after both Lost Mine of Phandelver and Princes of the Apocalypse. Since the latter is explicitly set in 1491 DR, and considering this answer by Ed Greenwood about dating the adventure, this wiki will use 1491 DR for events related to both versions of the adventure.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Adventures
Video Games
Baldur's Gate III
Board Games
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 236. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Rob Heinsoo, Stephen Schubert (May 19, 2009). Monster Manual 2 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 169. ISBN 0786995101.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Mike Donais, Skaff Elias, Rob Heinsoo, and Jonathan Tweet (October 2003). Miniatures Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 65. ISBN 0-7869-3281-3.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 187. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
- ↑ Larian Studios (October 2020). Designed by Swen Vincke, et al. Baldur's Gate III. Larian Studios.
- ↑ Christopher Perkins (September 2020). Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 232. ISBN 978-0786966981.
- ↑ Wizards RPG Team (July 2014). “Lost Mine of Phandelver”. Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set (Wizards of the Coast), p. 23. ISBN 978-0-7869-6559-5.
- ↑ Christopher Perkins, Adam Lee, Richard Whitters (September 1, 2015). Out of the Abyss. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7869-6581-6.
- ↑ Richard Baker, et al. (April 2015). Princes of the Apocalypse. Edited by Michele Carter, Stacy Janssen. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 120. ISBN 978-0-7869-6578-6.