Deep Dive - The Nothic
So the last Deep Dive on the beholder almost broke us. It was a huge undertaking and quite honestly, we didn’t realize what we had gotten ourselves into. So we’d like to thank everyone that voted on our Patreon and decided to take it easy on us with this Deep Dive selection, the Nothic. These fun and underrated creatures have only been around since 3.5e, but are worth taking a look at… even if they are a bit horrifying to interact with.
3e/3.5e - Nothic
Medium Aberration
Hit Dice: 5d8+20 (42)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 ft.
Armor Class: 15 (+1 Dex, +4 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+7
Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d4+4)
Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d4+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Flesh-rotting gaze
Special Qualities: Darkvision 120 ft., see invisibility
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +7
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 12, Con 19, Int 9, Wis 13, Cha 8
Skills: Spot +13
Feats: Improved Initiative, Iron Will
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually evil (any)
Advancement: 6-8 HD (Medium; 9-15 HD (large))
Level Adjustment: +3
Miniatures Handbook, 2003 WotC
So we start with very little information about the Nothic, which is introduced in the Miniatures Handbook (2003). This hardcover is a reference book we had not explored yet and had such creatures as the aspect, mad slasher, and the walking wall. Never heard of the strange monsters lurking in the shadows? That’s because out of the twenty plus monsters that appear in this book, only the Nothic and the kruthik survived to make it all the way to 5th edition. Not to shabby for a hunchback, one-eyed cave dweller.
Described as a bloated and a misshaped creature, our buddy the Nothic has some truly bizarre features. One large eye takes up most of its face and it’s mouth is filled with razor sharp teeth. They are hunched over, as if they are unable to stretch their back into an upright position, and it’s arms and legs are thin but wiry, giving them a surprising strength one wouldn’t think possible. The arms extend past the length of its body, dragging along the ground. Don’t sleep on these ridiculously long appendages, as they end in weak but extremely fast claws. Our poor Nothic doesn’t walk, but moves via a sad little hop.
As we stated above, the claws, which is their only method of melee attack, do not do much damage while the giant eye is probably why these creatures were pushed into the dark caves and the underground lands where everything else horrifying is forced to reside. The eye comes complete with two abilities, the first being its Flesh-Rotting Gaze. For such a cool attack name, it is disappointing to find out that it only does 1d6 necrotic damage and has a limited range of 30 feet. It feels like, with a name like that, there would be some sort of Constitution save, with failure resulting in disease that ends with your your skin falling off with damage every round. Alas, we can only dream of such horrifying abilities and save it for a rainy day. The other ability the giant eyeball brings to the table is the power to see all invisible and ethereal creatures. Not bad, but I’m not sure any character would feel the need to be invisible to sneak up on these sad little monsters. With that said, they are pretty bulky with their 42 hit points seeing as how they are supposed to be a decent challenge for a party of four level 3 adventurers, other monsters typically only have 20 to 30 hit points.
4e - Nothic
Nothic Cackler
Medium aberrant humanoid / XP 1,200
Initiative +11 / Senses Perception +9; darkvision, trueesight 10
HP 116; Bloodied 58
AC 27; Fortitude 28, Reflex29, Will 25
Speed 6
Claw (standard; at-will)
+21 vs. AC; 1d6+5 damage
Mind Rot (standard; at will) ✦ Charm, Psychic
Ranged 10; +20 vs Will; 2d6+3 psychic damage, and the nothic cackler slides the target 6 squares. the target then makes a basic melee attack against a creature of the nothhic’s choice.
Rotting Gaze (standard; at will) ✦ Necrotic
Ranged 10; targets one, two, or three enemies; +18 vs. Fortitude; 2d6+5 necrotic damage, and the target take a -2 penalty to all defenses (save ends).
Maddening Cackle (standard; recharge) ✦ Fear, Psychic
Close burst 2; targets enemies; +18 vas. Will; 2d8+6 psychic damage, and the nothic cackler pushes the target 2 squares. At the start of the next turn, the cackler slides the target 2 squares.
Distorted Visage
When the nothic cackler moves at least 4 squares during its turn, it gains a +2 bonus to AC and Reflex until the end of its next turn.
Alignment Unaligned / Languages Deep Speech
Skills Stealth +16
Str 19(+11) | Dex 19 (+11) | Wis 14 (+9) | Con 20 (+12) | Int 9 (+6) | Cha 10 (+7)
Monster Manual 2, 2009 WotC
Thankfully for the Nothic, 4th Edition expands on them with their release in the Monster Manual 2 (2009), these guys are just moving on up. No longer consigned to a random book, but now in an official Monster Manual! There are three types of Nothics listed and even the lowly Cackler is a much more fearsome creature that the 3rd edition Nothic. The other two, the Nothic Mindblight and Nothic Eye of Vecna are not creatures that you want to encounter alone, and it's not just because any creature that has the name Vecna in it can’t be good.
Nothics are not native to the planes, where they orginated from is not known, but many believe that they arrived here by hitching a ride on pieces of the Far Realm, floating aimlessly until finding their way to the Planes and the Material World. Vague but interesting backstory, we wish this was expanded upon, but alas this is the only tidbit we receive about the origins of these twisted creatures.
Physically, the Nothic remains a pathetic creature, with long, dangling arms and a giant, bulging eye that takes up a majority of its head. They don’t hop now but walk with a strange uneven gait. We aren’t sure that is better or worse, but it adds to the general creepiness to the creature for sure. Mentally, the Nothic has a loose grip on reality and is borderline insane, as floating around the Far Realms would probably drive anyone out of their minds, but the assumption is that the Nothics were already mad before then.
While these are not the traits most people want in their pets, people of great power have been known to keep a Nothic around, if for nothing other their own amusement. Even more appealing to their masters is that the Nothic is loyal to a fault. If their master is attacked, they will launch themselves at the enemy with a fury that is matched only by its insanity. One of the great things about being insane is that you never know what you are going to do next, and this applies doubly to the Nothic. Whether laughing like a manic at nothing at all or running full speed into a stone wall, the Nothic’s unpredictable actions make it a form of twisted entertainment. It’s a strange choice for a court jester, but the cruel and evil find them amusing.
When it comes to fighting the Nothic, 4th edition makes the scenario much more interesting. New abilities and stronger attacks make them a creature that can no longer be dismissed as a minor nuisance. While their physical attacks may not be any stronger than their 3rd edition counterparts, they gain new abilities that make them much harder to subdue. The Cackler Nothic has four new abilities, three of which originate from their giant middle eye. Mind Rot and Maddening Cackle are attacks that can push their enemies away or a charm effect that causes the target to attack a creature of the Nothic’s choice. Rotting Gaze gives us the bump up in strength that we wished for the Flesh-Rotting Gaze in 3e, doing necrotic damage along with weakening the target so that they take a penalty to all their defenses. The last ability is Distorted Visage, a small buff ability that increases its AC.
The Nothic Mindblight is considered the laziest of the Nothics, but that doesn’t make it a slouch at all, instead, it uses its eye effects to hunt at prey that is far away and only gets closer when the target is weakened enough for it to munch down without much of a fight. It gets three of its own special abilities, the Eye of Insanity, Necrotic Eye and Mesmerizing Visage. Psychic damage is still the name of the game for the Nothic, but its abilities now include charm and fear effects. Each one of these abilities is is stronger than its Cackler’s counterpart. Add onto that a higher AC and more hit points and this droll and lazy Nothic should not be underestimated.
With the name Eye of Vecna, you know this creature is not going to be a pushover. While these creatures are still reduced to being the insanely loyal court jester, they do so for those who worship Vecna. They are connected to Vecna because the maimed god has granted them abilities beyond those of the Cackler and Mindblight. In turn, Vecna can see through the eye of anyone of these Nothics, making them invaluable to the god of secrets. Its eye abilities are limited to just one, Eye Rot, which when the Nothic hits a creature with it, the Nothic becomes invisible to the target. This directly plays into its invisible advantage ability. When the Nothic is invisible to a creature and hits them, it grants an attack of opportunity to an ally to hit the same creature, which feels a bit mean. Despite the new powers given to them by Vecna, they are still the babbling idiots that the other Nothics are, and they often talk to other Nothics and people in incoherent languages.
5e - Nothic
Medium aberration, neutral evil
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 45 (6d8+18)
Speed 30 ft.
Str 14 (+2) | Dex 16 (+3) | Con 16 (+3) | Int 13 (+1) | Wis 10 (+0) | Cha 8 (-1)
Skills Arcana +3, Insight +4, Perception +2, Stealth +5
Senses Truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Uncommon
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Keen Sight. The nothic has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Multiattack. The nothic make two claw attacks.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) slashing damage.
Rotting Gaze. The nothic targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must save on a DC12 Constitution saving throw against this magic or take 10 (3d6) necrotic damage.
Weird Insight. The nothic targets one creature tat it can see within 30 feet of it, The target must connect its Charisma (Deception) check against the nothic’s Wisdom (Insight) check. If the nothic wins it magically learns on fact or secret about the target. the target automatically wins if it immune to being charmed.
Monster Manual, 2014 WotC
The Nothic is in the big leagues and someone must like them as they are found in the Monster Manual (2014). Based on their past performances, it seems strange for them to get here already, but the Nothic is shown a little more love, building on its lore and reputation. Unfortunately, they are nerfed back into being a small and pathetic creature that lurks in the shadows, preferring to watch, not fight. They still have the giant eye and sharp claws, but their abilities pale in comparison to those in 4th edition.
It is alluded to in the description that Nothics are former wizards whose attempts to become a Lich went horribly wrong. Nothing like spending your entire life in the pursuit of the knowledge to obtain immortality, only to be transformed into a hideously deformed creature. The transformation is said to be the result of a curse put in place by none other than Vecna. We guess the god of secrets didn’t want anyone else to become a god and took the appropriate measure to ensure that wouldn’t happen. A Nothic remembers nothing of what they were before it transformed, though they remain attracted to magic for reasons they cannot understand. Many an adventurer has found a Nothic hiding in a magical library or in a forgotten dungeon, while others have been known to break into schools of magic within the city walls, searching for secrets and answers to questions they don’t know to ask.
While they are cursed to always be seeking magic and answers, Nothics were granted unique abilities to allow them to see into a person’s mind and obtain knowledge many of us would rather not be known. They draw out this information by using their eye and some strange magic allows them to see truth or secrets that the other creature holds. What the Nothic does with this secret is unknown, but many Nothics will trade secrets they learned for magical items or even more secrets.
The Nothic is also shown a little bit of love in this edition, as it is included in the Starter Set adventure The Lost Mines of Phandelver (2014) and later they appear in the Out of the Abyss (2015) and the Tomb of Annihilation (2017) adventures. While they only have minor roles in those adventures, at least they still exist, unlike many of the other creatures from the Miniatures Handbook.
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