Monday, November 7, 2016

Rumors about Froghemoths

Just thought I'd come up with some ideas for everyone's favorite giant three-eyed alien monsters. Roll a dice or whatever to find out which ones are true.


  1. Froghemoths are actually sapient on their native world, but the chemical composition of this world's atmosphere is a neurotoxin to them that gives adults brain damage and stunts the mental development of the young. No froghemoth on this world has ever died of old age, only the accumulated effects of these poisonous gases in their system, which build up over the years like heavy metal poisoning.
  2. Froghemoths neither lay eggs nor birth live young but reproduce by budding a new froghemoth at the back of their throat, which they vomit forth when it is developed enough to survive. A gravid froghemoth cannot swallow, and the process takes the better part of three years, which is why they are so ravenous the rest of the time
  3. Froghemoths are artificial life-forms, created to be piloted by gnome-sized mechanical creatures-- in essence, they are reverse mechas. Their strange and aggressive behavior is due to their AI going haywire if left on autopilot too long.
  4. Froghemoth proteins have reverse chirality to the creatures of this world-- their flesh is indigestible and provides almost no nutritional value. Roast froghemoth tentacle is a popular solution for rich adventurers and nobles trying to lose weight. This also means they are dependent on food from their own world or magically-created food.
  5. Some think that Froghemoths howl at the moon, but that's a misconception. They howl in despair and confusion at finding that this planet has three moons fewer than they expect to see in the sky.
  6. Froghemoths are to Bullywugs what Father Dagon is to the Deep Scum.
  7. Froghemoth eyes make excellent scrying devices, but all three must be used by identical triplets for them to be at their most effective.
  8. Froghemoths are actually more closely related to our horses than to our frogs.
  9. The moisture in a froghemoth's body is mostly oil rather than water-- anywhere you find one there are surely petroleum deposits nearby that it has been drinking from.
  10. Froghemoths cannot digest brains, they store them in an internal pouch that eventually links each brain to their nervous system. While this does little for their intelligence (as the brains function too fundamentally differently), it does improve their reflexes and reaction times. Illithids sometimes tame froghemoths to use as shock cavalry as humans might tame elephants, and at the end of a long career, the froghemoth will be slaughtered and the aged brains feasted upon-- most illithids consider them an acquired taste and enjoying them to be a mark of fine breeding.
  11. Froghemoths make for natural alchemical plants-- various bodily fluids, hormones, and secretions in their bodies can be distilled to form a wide variety of useful potions.
  12. Froghemoths have no bones, they're supported by a system of muscular and cartilaginous rings like the squids in The Future Is Wild-- and in fact, their skin is as fragile as rice paper; their natural armor comes almost entirely from the toughness of these rings.