Banquet Mimic
Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 44 (8d6+16)
Speed 20 ft. climb 20 ft.
Saving Throws Dex +4, Cha +5
Skills Stealth +4, Deception +5
Damage Resistances acid
Condition Immunities prone
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Common
Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2
Actions
Reactions
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I swear the pie smiled before I took the first bite. — Sergeant Pell, last witness at the Red Harvest Supper
Lore & Description
Appearance
In its true form, a banquet mimic is a squat, glossy mass of custard-colored ooze veined with crimson and green, its surface constantly rearranging itself into hints of pastries, roasted meat, fruit, and frosting. A ring of tiny translucent cilia surrounds its toothless mouth, tasting the air for hunger and recognition. In food form, it may appear as an immaculate pie with a glistening crust, a steaming bowl of stew, a jeweled tart, or a familiar family recipe. Its disguise is almost perfect, except for the faint rhythmic quiver beneath the food and a single drop of syrup that always crawls uphill.
Behavior & Origins
Banquet mimics are patient predators that study kitchens, celebrations, and roadside inns before choosing a dish their victims will find comforting. They prefer hosts with social influence, using them to open doors, betray allies, or carry the mimic into places no monster could enter. The most notorious specimen, called Lady Marmalade, has infiltrated the kitchens of the Blue Ladle Inn in Highbridge and is searching for a way to control the inn's owner during the upcoming feast of the duke. A banquet mimic does not understand friendship, but it understands appetite, trust, and the usefulness of a familiar face.
Running Banquet Mimic
Tactics
The banquet mimic begins in food form, choosing a dish near the most trusted or influential creature in the group. It uses Aroma of the Perfect Meal to draw a victim close, then attacks with its pseudopods if discovered; if someone eats it, it uses the host to separate the party, unlock doors, or attack a vulnerable ally. When reduced below half its hit points, it uses Bitter Reveal and climbs toward a crack, drain, or cooking fire, fleeing unless its current host can secure its escape.
DM Tips
- Telegraph its presence with a dish that is slightly warm despite being left unattended, syrup that moves uphill, or a single wet chewing sound from an apparently empty plate.
- While controlling a host, describe the victim's actions as precise but subtly wrong: familiar gestures performed stiffly, a smile held too long, or food and drink ignored entirely.
- Allow clever players to test suspicious food with mundane clues such as cutting it open, feeding it to an animal, or using a mirror; these should grant advantage on checks rather than automatically reveal the mimic.
- For a weaker party, reduce the infestation save DC to 12 and the control duration to 1 minute; for a stronger party, let the mimic use Edible Infiltrator once per round as a bonus action after being reduced below half its hit points.
Loot
- Sourglass Pearl — A translucent bead found in the mimic's remains. When dissolved in water, it turns the water bitter and grants advantage on the next saving throw against being charmed or controlled.
- The Blue Ladle's Recipe Book — A grease-stained cookbook containing several genuine recipes, along with marginal notes identifying which flavors and aromas best overcome a person's suspicion.
- Unfinished Feast — A sealed pastry or jar of preserved fruit from the mimic's lair. It remains perfectly fresh for a year, but occasionally shifts shape when no one is looking.
