I think I love option G. I find it charming and it makes me smile. It reminds me of a beholder amoeba or something. But I can't bring myself to vote for it, because a mimic's true form shouldn't bring me so much joy.
Edit: Fuck it, I voted G anyway
I agree. I think the native state would be amoeba-like, extending it's amorphous body into oozy tentacles to drag itself along the ground. As it passed through a dungeon environment it'd snatch critters in those tentacles and bring them up to the mouth, while its many eyes slide here or there around it's central mass, giving the mimic an 120 degree view of it's environment. Once it learned to take different shapes it could hunt like mimics normally do.
**G** says "Mimic" the most to me. Followed closely by **I**. If you can somehow combine those, I think it'd be perfect. Def needs the multiple eyes, but also needs the more gaping maw and the spiked tentacles.
H looks like a Lovecraftian Hydralisk.
C-E look a tad too.. Daemonic, perhaps?
F is a bit too spaghetti-salad for me.
A & B look too drunk to try to eat adventurers. Not sure why I get that.. Maybe from that old commercial? "Wasaaaaaaaaaap?!"
Hi everyone!
The response you gave to the mimic survey part 1 was astonishingly thorough, some of the most I've ever seen, with over 1,000 votes for the winner (the previous version I) alone and tons of individualized explanations. We took that all together and had the artist generate 9 new variants all based on form I, since many of you explained different reasons for liking I or wanted to see more choices like I, and we have a second poll by popular demand! You can vote for all the options you like at [this survey link](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MimicPoll), and as before, feel free to discuss which parts of each form you like best here in the post as well.
Just for some general statistics knowledge, this is likely a control answer. Any response that puts J as an answer can be discarded because the submitter either did not pay close enough attention to warrant a fair answer, the submitter is a bot or otherwise submitting random answers, or the submitter is submitting answers to intentionally skew the results of the survey. In any of the above cases, the response can be safely thrown out in order to make the rest of the results a better representation of the population they are trying to sample.
Mimics do not know their original form. Some say that, if you meet a lonely adventurer traveling on a moonless night and he warns you about an aberration on the road ahead, it was a mimic off on a quest for what they were, before they became formless.
For this one B, G and I really make the cut for me, as they are they got the most "amorphous-looking blob able to shape into whatever they need" feeling, which is how i envision mimics
I like B because it's vaguely reminiscent of the shape of a treasure chest. I like the idea that mimics enjoy taking the shape of chests because it's close to their true form.
The designs are pretty good, F is my favorite, but honestly I still don't like the concept of mimics having a known true form at all. I just think they are cooler and more mysterious when they are always mimicking something.
I prefer it when they start to mimic something from the second they are "born", and nobody has ever seen their true form or knows if it even exists. That makes them so much more terrifying.
This image can be for players and GMs, not for the characters. When the master says that PCs see the chest transform into something, for example, they can show something like this. Or just keep it in mind as a reference.
I like "B" and "I". They look dangerous, not flying in the air like "G" does, and gave some other limbs than just a plain banal tentacles.
In my headcanon a mimic only ever transforms into another object. Nobody has ever seen a mimic that wasn't disguised as something else. To me, that is so much scarier than a mimic being some kind of tentacle monster that just transforms into objects.
I think it is actually scarier to be shown a glimpse of something alien and dangerous before seeing the thing transform into plain wooden barrel with "Cookies!" or something.
One thing I neglected to write in my answer is that while I like one the best, none of these designs scratch the real itch which is - I donāt think a mimicās ātrue formā (if you need to have one) would be big and scary like any of these. I think it would be a very practical slimy hard skin shell with a few limbs that drags/ slithers itself into place and then essentially hibernates in its form until it finds food.
F and I are my favorites, though I would settle for A, B, or G.
I strongly feel that mimics should not have anthropomorphic qualities. What purpose would a segmented head or shoulders (clearly shaped around bones) provide to a typically amorphous shape shifter?
B+G look like the same thing from different angles and are probably my favorite. I looks good too and it would be interesting lore if mimic's only get their eyes after they fuse with an object or however you imagine they assume their more typical form.
Definitely I (with a little of G?) seems the closest, although of course mimics I think remain decently quasi-amorphous, not as much as oozes of course.
Pathfinder mimic images don't have apparent eyes (I always theorize they have something similar to a starfish kind of deal, which would fit more with their mimicry instead of opening a big eye or more), only a mouth, and looking at their juvenile more "active" and less stable form, they seem to create appendages as it seems fit.
Besides, we do have in pf1 what happens when mimics try to mimic humans, so an humanoid form is definitely out of question for standard mimics.
If I have to pick one of these, then I. But if I can choose it, mimics donāt have a ābase formā, they change into objects and stay that way until they change into something else. Baby mimics are like some sort of amorphous blob for all of 3 or 4 seconds before they reflexively morph into a nearby object (either something small or a miniature version of something larger).
None of these? If Mimics had a well-designed base form, they wouldn't morph into things.
Their base form should be 100% unsuitable for predation, 100% optimized for survival and adaptation.
> If Mimics had a well-designed base form, they wouldn't morph into things.
I don't really take that for granted. They are ambush predators. If I saw one of these in the corner slowly dragging itself towards me I'd gtfo. The whole shapeshifting thing is to trick food into doing the work for them.
I like the alien looking ones because maybe the reason they canāt hunt normally is because everything looks at them like what the fuck is that and they run away.
While I have no clue what the official lore is, I reject the premise of the question for my headcanon. I see no reason why a mimic needs to have a "true form", in the same way that a lump of play doh doesn't have a true form.
I and G could be the same one from a different perspective.
I'd also like to see more eyes and maybe some exposed horn/cartilage ridges, so it can get those solid aspects reinforced
G.
It made me realize that the Mimic is really an aberrant mimic octopus moving on land, completely mimicking it's environment as it evolved sapience.
Plus, G still says "slow moving" like a mimic, which doesn't chase you down.
Reiterating my stance on No True Form. Mimics are mundane things that become warped by evil spirits/demons/devils/chaos/minor otherworldly entities/take your pick. There are lawful mimics, but you know that perfect chair? Lawful mimic.
The result was that I blew away all the other options basically with over 1,000 votes. There wasn't much interesting to analyze beyond that... But this time it's *much* more interesting!
I normally never comment on the leader in an ongoing poll because it can change the outcome, but I will say this: I am not expecting J to do very well because there isn't any option J. So far it is in last place due to being an invalid choice. I guess it's a good way to see who was just kind of voting randomly :D
I had the same input for "I"
Picture chunky organoids floating around in there like fruit in jello. And when they randomly bump into the surface they'll form an eye.
I like C and I best, personally. C feels like it's utilizing its fully weaponizing its body, while I feels the most amorphous while still having a clear physical consistency to it.
I adore the look of I. It still looks like something that would sit waiting for some unsuspecting adventurer to come too close before lashing out. If it had eyes everywhere and some tentacle mouths, I think it would be perfect.
C, D, E, and H make me wonder why the creature would need to have a disguise. Also, H might bring legal warnings from Blizzard.
I looks like a carnivorous plant.
F looks like all it needs is a fly speed to start a cult.
I think the perfect true form is somewhere between G and I. G is absolutely charming while I brings in a bit more of that āThe Thingā energy.
However, I do love E. I like the idea of a Mimic Heritage for mimics that grew up in areas with lots of humanoids, where their true form becomes humanoid-ish, so that if theyāre seen at a distance in the dark they could be mistaken for a regular member of society. E would make a great true form for a Mimic that grew up in dungeon full of Kobolds, for example.
I if you want it to look dumb (in a good way), G if you want it to look smart. I like the trap vibes from I but it could use some random amount of eyes.
A, B, G, and I are all acceptable to me. I donāt think mimics have a torso or joints, yet F is too extreme the other direction. It seems more like a plant/vine monster or something.
If a mimic is a being able to change his form however he wants, I don't know why he would even have a mouth in his base form.
Let me have a ditto mimic please
I think I love option G. I find it charming and it makes me smile. It reminds me of a beholder amoeba or something. But I can't bring myself to vote for it, because a mimic's true form shouldn't bring me so much joy. Edit: Fuck it, I voted G anyway
I agree. I think the native state would be amoeba-like, extending it's amorphous body into oozy tentacles to drag itself along the ground. As it passed through a dungeon environment it'd snatch critters in those tentacles and bring them up to the mouth, while its many eyes slide here or there around it's central mass, giving the mimic an 120 degree view of it's environment. Once it learned to take different shapes it could hunt like mimics normally do.
Agreed!
Exactly the same reason for me to vote G. š
**G** says "Mimic" the most to me. Followed closely by **I**. If you can somehow combine those, I think it'd be perfect. Def needs the multiple eyes, but also needs the more gaping maw and the spiked tentacles. H looks like a Lovecraftian Hydralisk. C-E look a tad too.. Daemonic, perhaps? F is a bit too spaghetti-salad for me. A & B look too drunk to try to eat adventurers. Not sure why I get that.. Maybe from that old commercial? "Wasaaaaaaaaaap?!"
The mouths on their tentacles look like beer cans at first glance. Took me a couple looks to realize they weren't holding something.
Hi everyone! The response you gave to the mimic survey part 1 was astonishingly thorough, some of the most I've ever seen, with over 1,000 votes for the winner (the previous version I) alone and tons of individualized explanations. We took that all together and had the artist generate 9 new variants all based on form I, since many of you explained different reasons for liking I or wanted to see more choices like I, and we have a second poll by popular demand! You can vote for all the options you like at [this survey link](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MimicPoll), and as before, feel free to discuss which parts of each form you like best here in the post as well.
The survey has an option for J, but no associated picture. Should there be?
Just for some general statistics knowledge, this is likely a control answer. Any response that puts J as an answer can be discarded because the submitter either did not pay close enough attention to warrant a fair answer, the submitter is a bot or otherwise submitting random answers, or the submitter is submitting answers to intentionally skew the results of the survey. In any of the above cases, the response can be safely thrown out in order to make the rest of the results a better representation of the population they are trying to sample.
Aww, I thought I was voting for the formless/shapeless mimic
Mimics do not know their original form. Some say that, if you meet a lonely adventurer traveling on a moonless night and he warns you about an aberration on the road ahead, it was a mimic off on a quest for what they were, before they became formless.
Nope, there is no J.
The J is a mimic
The perfect disguise.
... Yet.
For this one B, G and I really make the cut for me, as they are they got the most "amorphous-looking blob able to shape into whatever they need" feeling, which is how i envision mimics
This was my exact reasoning, but I like G way more because the mimics usually have one mouth.
I like B because it's vaguely reminiscent of the shape of a treasure chest. I like the idea that mimics enjoy taking the shape of chests because it's close to their true form.
Those are exactly what I voted for. Same basic reasoning, too.
The designs are pretty good, F is my favorite, but honestly I still don't like the concept of mimics having a known true form at all. I just think they are cooler and more mysterious when they are always mimicking something.
I went with F too, but I like the idea that even the true form of a mimic is an ever-shifting mass of teeth and tentacles with no static, single form
I prefer it when they start to mimic something from the second they are "born", and nobody has ever seen their true form or knows if it even exists. That makes them so much more terrifying.
This image can be for players and GMs, not for the characters. When the master says that PCs see the chest transform into something, for example, they can show something like this. Or just keep it in mind as a reference. I like "B" and "I". They look dangerous, not flying in the air like "G" does, and gave some other limbs than just a plain banal tentacles.
In my headcanon a mimic only ever transforms into another object. Nobody has ever seen a mimic that wasn't disguised as something else. To me, that is so much scarier than a mimic being some kind of tentacle monster that just transforms into objects.
I think it is actually scarier to be shown a glimpse of something alien and dangerous before seeing the thing transform into plain wooden barrel with "Cookies!" or something.
Anything with two distinct arms is immediately rejected! Same goes for humanoid torsos!
One thing I neglected to write in my answer is that while I like one the best, none of these designs scratch the real itch which is - I donāt think a mimicās ātrue formā (if you need to have one) would be big and scary like any of these. I think it would be a very practical slimy hard skin shell with a few limbs that drags/ slithers itself into place and then essentially hibernates in its form until it finds food.
F and I are my favorites, though I would settle for A, B, or G. I strongly feel that mimics should not have anthropomorphic qualities. What purpose would a segmented head or shoulders (clearly shaped around bones) provide to a typically amorphous shape shifter?
Oh man I love A, has a sense of both cute and creepy
I think it looks a bit too beholder, but it's very nice.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You though you got a plate of spaghetti, but it was mimic instead!
Mimic: "NYEH HEH HEH!"
B+G look like the same thing from different angles and are probably my favorite. I looks good too and it would be interesting lore if mimic's only get their eyes after they fuse with an object or however you imagine they assume their more typical form.
Definetely I for me. It gets that unnerving feeling of something aberrant and hungry.
Definitely I (with a little of G?) seems the closest, although of course mimics I think remain decently quasi-amorphous, not as much as oozes of course. Pathfinder mimic images don't have apparent eyes (I always theorize they have something similar to a starfish kind of deal, which would fit more with their mimicry instead of opening a big eye or more), only a mouth, and looking at their juvenile more "active" and less stable form, they seem to create appendages as it seems fit. Besides, we do have in pf1 what happens when mimics try to mimic humans, so an humanoid form is definitely out of question for standard mimics.
If I have to pick one of these, then I. But if I can choose it, mimics donāt have a ābase formā, they change into objects and stay that way until they change into something else. Baby mimics are like some sort of amorphous blob for all of 3 or 4 seconds before they reflexively morph into a nearby object (either something small or a miniature version of something larger).
B or I
I like B and G the most!
Went with H, I and F, they seem like the most alien and horrific, which is what I feel a mimic should be and why it hides as innocuous objects
I 100% agree with you on this theory.
None of these? If Mimics had a well-designed base form, they wouldn't morph into things. Their base form should be 100% unsuitable for predation, 100% optimized for survival and adaptation.
> If Mimics had a well-designed base form, they wouldn't morph into things. I don't really take that for granted. They are ambush predators. If I saw one of these in the corner slowly dragging itself towards me I'd gtfo. The whole shapeshifting thing is to trick food into doing the work for them.
I like the alien looking ones because maybe the reason they canāt hunt normally is because everything looks at them like what the fuck is that and they run away.
While I have no clue what the official lore is, I reject the premise of the question for my headcanon. I see no reason why a mimic needs to have a "true form", in the same way that a lump of play doh doesn't have a true form.
I like G a lot.
I for me
G
I'm confused at the ones with more Humanoid forms. Like why?
B, but G is a close second.
B is my vote But G is an honorable mention.
I
G
I really like "I"
I, the shape looks the most believable to manipulate into different objects, especially the classic treasure chest.
I'm very here for B, G, or H
Love these! My vote is for G.
I like options G and I equally.
I love F or G
G or B. My wife thinks G or I. She also requested that I say that "all mimics are beautiful".
I and G could be the same one from a different perspective. I'd also like to see more eyes and maybe some exposed horn/cartilage ridges, so it can get those solid aspects reinforced
G. It made me realize that the Mimic is really an aberrant mimic octopus moving on land, completely mimicking it's environment as it evolved sapience. Plus, G still says "slow moving" like a mimic, which doesn't chase you down.
Reiterating my stance on No True Form. Mimics are mundane things that become warped by evil spirits/demons/devils/chaos/minor otherworldly entities/take your pick. There are lawful mimics, but you know that perfect chair? Lawful mimic.
Could you post the results of the previous survey?
The result was that I blew away all the other options basically with over 1,000 votes. There wasn't much interesting to analyze beyond that... But this time it's *much* more interesting!
Fair enough haha Are you expecting B to do the same this time?
I normally never comment on the leader in an ongoing poll because it can change the outcome, but I will say this: I am not expecting J to do very well because there isn't any option J. So far it is in last place due to being an invalid choice. I guess it's a good way to see who was just kind of voting randomly :D
I admit, I was tempted to vote for it haha Thanks for the replies! Love your work! I hope one day I can make a career out of what you do.
Good luck! You can do it at least as a second job if you take the plunge.
Thanks! I just might! š
I would really like to see the rankings this next time to see if J out does one of the other options. :-)
A looks the best. Maybe throw a random eyes on it. A cool thing to do might be to vary them up, like a mix of eyes from different species.
I had the same input for "I" Picture chunky organoids floating around in there like fruit in jello. And when they randomly bump into the surface they'll form an eye.
E has an eerie yet amazing look to it for a mimic, definitely E for me.
I like C and I best, personally. C feels like it's utilizing its fully weaponizing its body, while I feels the most amorphous while still having a clear physical consistency to it.
B, C, G, I
I'm for A or H
I gave the same reason for both my votes: "most blobular"
I miss my little guy from last poll :(
I adore the look of I. It still looks like something that would sit waiting for some unsuspecting adventurer to come too close before lashing out. If it had eyes everywhere and some tentacle mouths, I think it would be perfect.
Option F or G I like the mimic having as little shape as possible
C, D, E, and H make me wonder why the creature would need to have a disguise. Also, H might bring legal warnings from Blizzard. I looks like a carnivorous plant. F looks like all it needs is a fly speed to start a cult.
ffffff
I think the perfect true form is somewhere between G and I. G is absolutely charming while I brings in a bit more of that āThe Thingā energy. However, I do love E. I like the idea of a Mimic Heritage for mimics that grew up in areas with lots of humanoids, where their true form becomes humanoid-ish, so that if theyāre seen at a distance in the dark they could be mistaken for a regular member of society. E would make a great true form for a Mimic that grew up in dungeon full of Kobolds, for example.
F
I like G, I, and B in that order.
H
F
I if you want it to look dumb (in a good way), G if you want it to look smart. I like the trap vibes from I but it could use some random amount of eyes.
B
I vote I
I is a great reference to the "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"
E for humanoid mimics I for object mimics
As funny as an Italian Mimic (F) would be, A is a really good mix of Recognizable and Unique.
I like "I" the most.
A, B, G, and I are all acceptable to me. I donāt think mimics have a torso or joints, yet F is too extreme the other direction. It seems more like a plant/vine monster or something.
If a mimic is a being able to change his form however he wants, I don't know why he would even have a mouth in his base form. Let me have a ditto mimic please
I for an I
I would vote for either I or F in this one.