The Good Boy

The GOOD Boy

A horror monster

You cannot believe. Here, of all places, is your pal. Your childhood pet and best friend for almost a decade. It's tail wags, just as it used to. But, something is off... Its movements lie just within the uncanny valley. A stench of rotting meat and blood emanates from it. And, are those strings?

This monster is not meant for any particular game, rather it is just a drawing I made and an idea. So, in place of stats, I will present ideas for what its stats should be on par with. I believe that your monster's stats do not matter too much in the grand scheme of things. It's not the HP or attacks that players remember.

The good boy is a cruel monster indeed. Its a puppet for those that wish to spread betrayal and horror through the world. A shapeshifter, of a sort. It takes the form of whatever childhood pet you hold most dear. A dog, cat, perhaps even a doll. Multiple people might see different pets. Which can quickly give away the ploy. Thus, the good boy prefers to hunt lone people. The trick to killing this thing is to ignore the body, attacking it is useless. Rather, the strings must be cut.

Mechanically, I suggest a 3 or 4 HD monster, with a free attack against any who try to pet it. Attacking the body is useless. It's the strings you want to aim for. Though, these strings are not a simple thread. Almost steel-like wires make them hard to actually cut. Blunt weapons are practically useless (though half damage perhaps.), and piercing weapons are near impossible. This gives them a high AC. At least on par with plate, though perhaps not plat and shield. Its attacks take the form of whatever the pet has, but will also deal long-sword damage.

The monster once revealed for being nothing but a puppet, can fly and leap about, as though dragged by the strings. The top of the strings fade into nothingness, so it needs not worry about a ceiling. Clever players might wrap it in its own thread, however.

Now, how to use this monster. There are a lot of possibilities. Perhaps, a character repeatably sees glimpses of their pet. Perhaps it followed them from home, or maybe its a sign from the gods. Over the course of a few sessions, the player might realize something odd is happening. So, when the good boy finally reveals itself to attack, the player might willingly approach just to find out what is going on. Another use of this is to use it as a random encounter, but it could lack the build-up. The good boy could be a result of tampering with the dead. When resurrecting a party member, perhaps that party member's "pet" comes back as well. It could be conjured by a wizard to hunt a player, for whatever reason. A lot of potential here.