A homebrew artist tackled the worst nemesis of MeinMMO editor Caro to make it even more terrifying. However, she was so convinced by her concept that she can’t help but love it. The idea is so strong that it can even be used as a basis for an entire setting in your campaigns.
While browsing the Dungeons & Dragons community regularly, I came across an illustration sheet from the artist Crevetta. It directly gave me chills, just like when I first had to witness in Baldur’s Gate 3 how a mind flayer larva infects a host through the eye.
It is the concept of “Mind Echo Earrings,” which house mimics that can do far more than just wait silently in dungeons for loot. Mimics are primarily known for their shape of the famous chest that suddenly reveals a hungry maw when opened to devour its victims. However, there are various types of mimics that cause intense paranoia among players (and even me). I have been ambushed by various mimics so often that I have declared them my personal nemesis as a warlock.
And the mind echo mimic by Crevetta is an example of how to make a mimic truly nightmarish material.
The sheet shows and describes in detail how the mimic acts as a parasite, and it is so horrifying that I can’t help but love it:
The mimic lives in the form of a lavish earring, as would typically be worn by nobility. The eponymous imitation form of the mimic is the gemstone embedded in the jewelry.
When the mimic is in a resting state, it looks like a generic fancy, perhaps slightly kitschy piece of jewelry. However, when it becomes active and wants to take over its host, the jewelry opens, and the body travels in the form of small tentacle-like sensory organs into the ear, through the ear canal, until it reaches the brain and anchors itself there.
Just the thought of how the mimic has to work through the eardrum and the subsequent auditory organs is absolutely dreadful. A true masterpiece of a nightmare that I simply have to respect.
The community detests the concept but can’t help but appreciate it for that very reason
Under the Reddit post from the artist, which embeds the concept of her parasite mimic into the brains of the D&D community just as effectively and doesn’t let go, many users express a reaction similar to mine:
“Disgusting. I love and hate it at the same time!” writes Ghabewhiskey. And the user AudioBob24 also appreciates the same horror that came to my mind: “As I work in the field of audiology: Does it mean it drills through the eardrum, breaks the ossicles, and pierces the cochlea to latch onto that cranial nerve? Because that is an absolute nightmare that would render any victim deaf and potentially cause dizziness in the ear that got punctured.”
In the comments, many other D&D fans question how the mimic takeover affects its host, whether they can remain conscious or are completely controlled, and what the mimic aims to achieve with this.
The artist has left the possibilities open so that every player and game master can do with her concept what they please. The mimic offers a background for a campaign that would be unavoidably perfect.
A nasty creature that can serve as a basis for an exciting setting
In the thread, a concept for a complete setting develops through the exchange of multiple users that goes beyond mere monster and body horror. Since the mimic only appears in the most noble jewelry, which is especially popular among the nobility, noble personalities of high rank and status would be the most common victims of a mind echo mimic.
The triggering idea that sets the entire setting in motion comes from the user Square_bubblyty: “I imagine a whole court of nobles secretly being controlled by these little creatures.”
Thus, the concept of the mind echo mimic could serve as a foundation for a story full of political intrigue, swarming intelligence takeover, or a secret organization.
Even though the mimic is one of my bitterest nemeses, I find Crevetta’s concept very creative and so nastily executed that my love for horror outweighs the disgust. Perhaps it could also fit into your campaigns!
If you love nasty monsters and horror in your campaigns just like I do, we have a strong selection of candidates in this list that can create particularly terrifying moments in your story: The 7 scariest monsters in DnD that all players fear
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