This article was originally written in 2000-01. It has never been published. It is a companion piece to Monstrous Tactics: Mimics.

The mimic has long been the bane of adventurers. Their penchant for using their natural shapechanging abilities to disguise themselves as desirable objects – most commonly, treasure chests – often serves as the lure which has led many to their doom. Tough, strong, tenacious, and crafty, the best way to beat a mimic is to simply keep your distance.

HELPFUL TIPS

• Find the mimic before it finds you
• Keep your distance
• Use ranged attacks to wear it down
• Don’t be afraid to bargain

PREPARATION

GRAPPLE: Mimics are coated in a thick, poweful adhesive which they will use to every possible advantage. If they succeed in hitting you with one of their pseudopods, you’ll quickly find yourself stuck fast in a slimy grapple. So if you know you’re entering the lair of a mage who loved his mimics, you’d better be prepared for grappling: This means spells with casting times less than 1 action, light weapons, and so forth. The Escape Artist skill is particularly invaluable.

SPELLS: Freedom of movement will help you free anyone who gets caught by the mimic. You’re also going to want to prep ranged attacks, while avoiding attack spells which require you to touch the mimic – shocking grasp becomes a serious liability when you’re dealing with the fantasy equivalent of a tar baby.

EQUIPMENT: Strong alcohol breaks down the mimic’s adhesive, so you might want to bring a couple of bottles along. If you don’t end up using them, you can always use them for the victory celebration afterwards, after all.

SKILLS: The best way to defeat a mimic is to detect their presence before they can surprise you. This means you’re going to need sharp eyes, and a high Spot skill.

TACTICS

USE THE ROGUE, LUC: As noted above, your best bet against a mimic is early detection with your Spot skill. Not only is this a class skill of the rogue, but the mimic’s preference for assuming the shape of a treasure chest makes it likely that you’ll be sending the rogue in to check for traps, anyway. The rest of the party should consider the rogue to be their first line of defense against a mimic – and the rogue himself should always make sure to run Spot checks on suspicious objects before closing in to detect the traps: It does you no good to know that the chest is really a mimic, if the mimic is already sitting three inches in front of your face.

BARGAIN: Mimics are more intelligent than many adventurers give them credit for, and are actually able to speak Common. If things are going badly – or if you just aren’t interested in facing off against a mimic at the moment – don’t be afraid to bargain with them. Most mimics are more than willing to let you walk away with your lives… in return for some food or treasure, of course.

KEEP YOUR DISTANCE: Mimics are at their most dangerous when they have you within reach – at a distance, their threat is negligible. Another factor to your advantage is the mimic’s relatively slow speed (about one third that of a human). Spread out, keep your distance, try to avoid or escape tight quarters, and pepper the mimic with ranged attacks.

AVOID SWORDS: The mimic is coated in a strong adhesive – if you hit it, your weapon will most likely become stuck fast. Instead, as has been said, you should keep your distance – peppering it with disposable range weapons (such as arrows) and spells. (Note that the adhesive will dissolve once the mimic is dead – allowing you to retrieve your ranged armament without any problems.)

This article was originally written in 2000-01. It has never been published.

The most basic of all mimic encounters (the mimic disguised as a treasure chest) is the ultimate moral message: Don’t be greedy. Used properly, though, mimics can be a constant and pervasive threat – and a DM who knows how to use them well will always have his players just a little bit unsure of whether or not what they see is truly what they see.

ORGANIZATION

Mimics were supposedly created by a wizard long ago with the sole purpose of guarding treasure. Although their creator is long dead, they live on – a solitary species, whose natural predilection for things precious have led them into many unusual circumstances. Mimics can be found anywhere and everywhere, as anything – literally.

PREPARATION

BASICS: A mimic’s basic tactics are simple enough: Assume a shape which will attract attention, wait for their target to draw near, ensnare them with adhesive pseudopods, and then pummel them to death. The most common shape for them to assume when adventurers are in the area is that of a treasure chest – coming to life when someone attempts to open them. Mimics are at a severe disadvantage in ranged combat, so they will typically prefer to lair in enclosed spaces.

GUARDS: Mimics were created to guard treasure, and many of them continue to fulfill that role even today. Mimics can be found watching over the lich’s foul tomes of magic (disguised as a book or even an entire bookshelf), the king’s treasure (as one chest among many), or the weapon’s of an orc tribe (as a spear, perhaps). Mimics typically fall into this line of work as an effective way of earning “room and board”. Other mimics have been known to let their protective desires become covetous – amassing their own hordes, which they guard preciously s extensions of their own personality.

THE THREAT WITHIN: Once your PCs are familiar with mimics, you can begin throwing some curves at them. One of the simplest is a dislocation of the danger: Instead of having the mimic imitate the form of a chest, have the mimic place itself inside the chest – disguised as some ordinary object, or merely lying in wait for the first unfortunate to open their lair. Some of these chests have been known to have false bottoms – allowing the mimic to enter and leave the chest without disturbing the surrounding environs.

FALSE LURES: PCs are who see a treasure chest sitting unguarded in the middle of an empty room are instantly suspicious. Mimics, however, are aware that the unusually easy access to the wealth they promise sets many on their guard. Some mimics have taken to setting up false lures to set their prey at easy. For example, setting out actual chests in the middle of empty rooms – so that they are, again, merely one among many.

THE UNEXPECTED THREAT: While some mimics attempt to make their unusual appearance in plain sight merely seem like one unusual occurrence among many, other mimics choose to hide in plain sight without arousing suspicion: For example, it is relatively easy for a mimic to assume the form of the walls or floor. Let the PCs enter a small room, and then have the floor come to life beneath their feet!

NATURAL WONDER: Because they prefer enclosed spaces, mimics are typically found underground. However, some mimics have learned to enjoy the outdoors. Some go to the forests and disguise themselves as trees (waiting for prey to pass beneath their boughs before ensnaring them). Others will slip into farmer’s fields, disguise themselves as part of the crop, and wait to trap the farmer as he passes near them.

IT’S HUGE!: It is easy to forget that larger mimics exist. If the PCs can be surprised by a treasure chest coming to life, imagine their horror when the fifteen foot tall golden idol comes to life and flows towards them!

TACTICS

Mimics have a limited tactical repertoire – with their primary advantages as combatants coming in the preparation they put into their attack.

LURE THEM IN: The mimic’s primary tactic is to wait for someone or something to draw near, and then come to life – ensnaring them in their pseudopods. Mimics will attempt to time their assault so that they can trap as many of their foes as possible.

BARGAIN: If things are going badly for the mimic, it will not hesitate to bargain – often doing so while it can still maintain the appearance of superiority. If the bargaining fails it will attempt to escape.

NEXT: vs. the Mimic