Developing Cultures - The Grell in Grayharrow.

Grell illustration (Fiend Folio)

Avremier is not my only campaign setting. Grayharrow is the name of another RPG project. There's a free preview posted on DriveThruRPG. What follows is a peek at the development of the grell as a "major player" monster race for Grayharrow.

Why the grell? I mean, it came from the Fiend Folio, so it's gotta suck. Well, popular opinion has never been terribly popular with me, and maybe I'll craft another entry regarding my own opinion of the Fiend Folio (spoiler: I like it) - but, for today, we're doing the grell.

Why the grell? Because a main focus of the Grayharrow setting is psionics. *sound of needle skipping and dragging off the record* Psionics?! But - I hate psionics! Good for you on calling me out for that. Spot-on. I do hate psionics - in a traditional fantasy setting. I hate psionics as an option that I would be forced to include in my game just because one or more players think they're kewl. In its proper place, psionics can be super-kewl. Grayharrow is such a place.

So, why the grell? Well, its a big floating brain with tentacles. Grayharrow has kind-of a Mythos thing going on, so tentacles fit right in...so to speak - I mean, they do fit right in, but...ew.

Anyway...

Intellect Devourer (Monster Manual)

Mi-Go (Deities and Demigods)

I've always thought the grell had massive creep-factor potential. Floating creatures are always fun - so sneaky. Plus - brains and tentacles. Speaking of brains, our grell is related to the intellect devourer - another major player in the Grayharrow setting, for obvious reasons. While we're at it, let's add the "brain collector" to the family tree. Brraaaiiins. Oh - how about the Mi-Go?

Brain Collector (Module X2 - Castle Amber)

Getting cluttered now. Where is this all leading, anyway? In a way, its leading to the Mind Flay-um - can't say that, can we? Someone owns that. But its, like, the ultimate psionic monster. In that case, we re-purpose the grell. We incorporate aspects of the brain collector and the mi-go. We make the grell psionic in much the same way as the Mind Flay-um...the Illithid? We give them similar tentacle attacks and habits. Maybe the beak needs to go. Maybe modify a couple of the tentacles to let the grell get to a victim's brain. Using variants, the grell can effectively replace the brain collector, mi-go, and illithid. The mi-go variant will be that which travels through interstellar space and inhabits other worlds. The more standard grell will be the terrestrial version, adapted to the campaign world. And, there's no reason why either couldn't store the brains taken from victims. So, now we just need to make some modifications.

The grell becomes psionic (akashic) - definitely. Now, it not only resembles a brain, but it also seeks to gather them. For what purpose? Food? Trophies? Knowledge? All three? Whatever suits the campaign. They have a mass of tentacles and it won't be hard to give them a couple designed to extract brains from living victims. Some appendages adapted to surgical work and finer manipulation. Getting rid of the beak allows us to create other orifices for various purposes. They can be hidden until needed. Giving them links to the intellect devourer and the mi-go, the grell can receive a bit of an armor upgrade in the form of a coral-like outer growth, or a chitinous exoskeleton (respectively). Not that their AC of 4 (same as the intellect devourer AND the mi-go) is anything to sneeze at.

For the Grayharrow setting, the grell needs to be fearsome, alien, and challenging. The original suits a dungeon setting well. Other systems and supplements have given us options for the species - just not exactly what I would like. The grell of Grayharrow will have physical aspects of coral, and of fungus. They will be able to handle a wide range of environments. You'll be able to find grell underwater, or in the void of space. They will be more intelligent, and organized. More dangerous. Functionally, the same creature as that found in the 1981 Fiend Folio, but now employed as the foundation for a more ambitious project.