One of the coolest manga I have read recently was Dungeon Meshi, or “Delicious in Dungeon”, a story about a traditional fantasy universe centering around a party of adventurers exploring the depths of a self-replenishing megadungeon… and finding out how to cook and eat the monsters on the way down.
In honor of that, one of my “pay to see it now, will be free eventually” posts on my Patreon revolved around converting one of my favorite of the early monsters in the series to Pathfinder, the Mimics of Dungeon Meshi, or as I refer to them here “mimic hermits”
Now, fantasy RPGs, jRPGs in particular, all have their own interpretations of the classic mimic as a monster, ranging from being a shapeshifter just like the original, to being a bizarre creature that folds up to look like a treasure chest, to the disturbingly sexy gams on the Mimicuties from Kid Icarus: Uprising, but today’s subject falls into the category of mimics that find a chest or other container and just live in it, ambushing prey that goes poking around inside.
Indeed, the mimic hermit really is just a giant hermit crab that lives on land and hides out in various containers, switching out for new ones as they grow bigger much like their mundane counterparts. Such a combination of real-world animal behavior and classic RPG tropes was incredibly endearing to me, (and the idea of some hot crab meat elicited my hunger response), so I decided to write them up!
Ambush Strike (Ex): A mimic hermit that is currently retracted into its shell container may as an immediate action make two claw attacks against a creature that opens, looks into, or otherwise interacts with its container. This causes the mimic hermit to automatically extend its limbs, as described in the shell container ability., constrict (1d3+6), grab (medium)
Shell Container(Ex): A mimic hermit inhabits a container roughly the same size as itself, which provides it with protection and a place to hide. Regardless of its composition, the container provides a +2 armor bonus to AC. The shell can be sundered and damaged like normal armor, using the hardness and hp of an object of its type. Additionally, a mimic hermit can retract its limbs into its container as a full-round action. In this case its armor bonus increased to +8, it’s speed drops to 0, it gains the freeze universal monster ability to pretend to be an ordinary container, and it cannot attack except with its ambush strike special attack. Extending its limbs again is a standard action. A mimic hermit can also be pulled out of its container with an opposed strength check which the mimic hermit gains a +4 bonus to. A mimic hermit whose container has been removed or destroyed loses its armor bonus to AC and cannot retract its limbs.
Mimic hermits are unusually large hermit crab-like creatures that favor a subterranean lifestyle. Like their mundane kin, they protect their softer rear carapace by wearing protection. In the untamed caverns, these usually take the form of the shells of giant gastropods, but those that find their way into settled subterranean complexes or dungeons are what give these creatures their name. Such mimic hermits often make shells out of containers that they find in such complexes, such as treasure chests, ornate vases, and more.
Mimic hermits are predators, and their preferred method of hunting is to hide within their container shells to ambush prey, and have a knack for remembering exactly how the container was positioned prior to them moving in, helping them keep up the façade. With such a sedentary lifestyle, they can go a very long time without eating, but eventually, they must move on, carrying their shell with them if they can, which is usually the case, as even nailed-down containers can be uprooted by the creature’s surprising strength.
To be honest, I think the intersection of her mixed heritage, being raised among humans, and how the fetishization of elves in some communities combine to give rise to her thoughts on gender expression
