There are endless worlds you can conjure up when playingDungeons & Dragons—places full of high-fantasy political intrigue, all the way to the endless expanse of space itself. No matter where you go, there is an enemy that any player will have heard horrible stories of.
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This is none other than the mimic. Able to take the form of inanimate objects to get the drop on unsuspecting prey, it is one of the more mischievous and deadly enemies found in the D&D universe. But, as a GM, it can be hard to think of new and despicable things to make a mimic hide as. Well, look no further than here for some new and exciting mimic disguises to make your characters paranoid with fear.
10Door
Often overlooked, the simple door is everywhere. Throne rooms, taverns, even dungeons, you probably have to open a door to get there.
Reaching out to turn the know or push it open is a simple task, but it can get terribly complicated when the door grabs a player instead. It’s a good way to dissolve tension if your party enters potentially hostile places. Especially if you make it a weaker mimic, it’s a fun surprise that will get the party working together and thinking strategy.
9A Rare Item
Loot is a powerful tool in D&D. Fromrare magic itemsand legendary swords to simple but handy bags of holding, adventurers love to find rare loot after a tough adventure.
As they enter into the looting phase, why not leave them one final surprise in the form of a mimic disguised as a shiny new item? Of course, you can have another equally (or more) valuable item after to ease the pain.
8Toilet
This one is truly devious and a plan that will get you either some wicked looks or some serious laughter from your table.
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Every adventurer needs to take time every so often to take care of nature’s call. Why not make that nearby outhouse a monster lying in wait? Especially if a character is poisoned or similarly sick and has no choice but to use the restroom from time to time. Since mimics work best when least expected, this is one of the best times to spring the trap on your party members.
7Anything In A Tavern
A classic place to start an adventure. Why not add a little chaos to the mix with a classic monster as well?
Taverns are full of objects that can become mimics at the drop of a hat. Plates of food, tankards, entire kegs, hearths, and anything else you could possibly think of. Fill it with unsuspecting patrons and watch the chaos unfold around you as your party struggles to save everyone from flesh-hungry monsters.
6Lock
Rogues love picking locks. Sure, the enchanted and booby-trapped locks are all the rage, but what about someone who wanted to safeguard their valuables with a lock mimic instead?
It would surely be a small mimic, only able to bind or nibble an unlucky adventurer’s hands, but that is more than enough to upset some stealthy plans. Add in some guards, and you’ll have the party scrambling to deal with an angry tiny creature without making too much noise and alerting the whole place.
5Chair
Taking a break after a long day of adventuring is easier with a nice cozy armchair to relax in. Your party will rethink sitting down everywhere but the ground after using this mimic even once.
A palace’s comfy chair, a typical wooden tavern chair, or anything in-between, it all can be used as a mimic. It would be an interesting grapple to get out of, too, seeing as they would be in a sitting position and with their weapons probably at their waist or back. Going this route and having their team try and rescue them would be a great way to build dynamic and trust between them.
4An Entire Building
Who says mimics have to be small? It never hurts to think big in a D&D campaign. No matter the building, it could potentially be a mimic in disguise.
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Whether this is an elder mimic or just a rare larger one is up to you, but any ruin, township, or village could be hiding one of these creatures. It would be a fun minor boss battle, too, as once the trap is sprung, the mimic will surely have to fight rather than try and escape due to its size alone. It brings a whole new take on claustrophobia.
3Bed Or Sleeping Bag
Whether it’s one they bought themselves or part of an inn or campsite they run across naturally, no one expects their own bed to fight them.
That is, until their bed grows teeth and tries to swallow them whole. Catching them with a bed mimic during downtime or even after a battle to keep your party wary is an ingenious way to make them more perceptive to the world around them. It can be a great hook for an investigation into the inn and whatever dark ideals the owners have for their customers too.
2Tree
Some people can’t see the forest for the trees; it makes it worse when some of those trees are actually mimics in disguise.
This is the perfect mimic encounter to use when your adventuring party is in the middle of a thick forest. Letting them get to the thick of it and setting up camp is even more cruel, but will make for a horror-filled night that no member will ever forget. They don’t have to be particularly deadly; the sheer potential number of enemies will keep them guessing on the wooded path.
1Mannequins
Whether at a clothing shop or dockside warehouse, running into a mannequin is an eerie experience in itself.
This is only worse when those mannequins are actually hungry mimics in disguise. You choose how many of them are simple wooden mannequins and how many are monsters. Whatever number you choose, none of your party will be able to go clothes shopping comfortably ever again from that point onward.
