The doorknob is pretty durable. Hitting AND damaging it would be a problem, as it is theoretically invulnerable.

This trap requires out-of-the-box ideas. Like breaking down a wall. Go to Comment

The doorknob is like a tiny, fast, and nearly invulnerable shield for the door. Try to kick the door, you will hurt your foot on the knob. The damn thing has the reaction time of a paranoid fruit fly. Go to Comment

I like it! It's simple, tricky, unexpected, and easy to insert into just about any adventure. It also has a nicely quirky, sort of "Alice in Wonderland" feel to it. Go to Comment

I do have one question: Will the door open only when the knob is in its regular position? If someone manages to catch the knob, can the person turn it immediately to open the door, or do they have to wrestle it back into position first? Go to Comment

Mourn, have you ever seen the movie "Monster House"? That's pretty much literally the case there. Go to Comment

These things scare the hell out of me (IC). The speed in which they devour is devastatingly horrible. If they are known in the world there would be some kind of protective guild that sprung up that would know how to ward individual books and/or entire libraries. If they kept the knowledge secret, their guild would soon be incredibly rich and have access to previously hidden caches of special knowledge. Book collectors, of magical and normal sorts, would not be able to keep their secret hidden from them if they wished it to survive a Niyott infestation.

Additionally, my thoughts only scratched the surface of the need for some to make friends, somehow, with these things in order to find some destroyed bits of knowledge. If the Niyotts are indeed intelligent, they could quickly find themselves able to demand any price to reveal knowledge they devoured.

Scribe Niyotts?

Wonder if they have a central way to find a certain piece of information contained in a random Niyotts.

Me after paying a large sum of gold: "I am looking for the serum for the bite of an Aligonstonorous of the the 5th age."
Niyott: "You much search out Gribble Niyott of the Ternage Clan. He was last seen headed towards the Cornin Library. He holds the knowledge you seek."

Great creature that has my mind churning!! Go to Comment

Apply a couple of these in combination with the Braggu, and you can pretty much destroy any civilization...


Great little beasties! Go to Comment

Very good, Bly. Very fun idea that I hope to use some day. Keep up the good work, I just wish there was a larger audience for you. Go to Comment

Actually, the Braggu would deem the Niyott to be greedy midgets, for sure! Go to Comment

Also, Ink Drinkers and Niyott would compete for the same finite resource, not? Go to Comment

Can they be reasoned with? 5/5 I would hate for even one of these to discover my bedroom.That tail could badly hurt me. Go to Comment

*imagines if one disguised itself as an imp to serve a wizard, only to eat his books and scrolls as soon as the chance presented itself* Go to Comment

Good idea, good execution. I am a bit bothered by the lack of bold on the headers, but that is just my opinion and does not affect my vote.

Good job!

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What Strolen said. Awesomeness. Mind churning. Nyotts and Ink-Drinkers!! Welcome aboard Blydden. Great stuff. Go to Comment

I love it! These things are just threatening enough to pose an actual threat, without just being another baddie to send the part against. The idea for encounters could play through a whole range, and each could be different. Good job, Bly!

Also, I think that the Niyott should find The Ink Drinkers. Go to Comment

Really cool little fellows. Quite useful as a threat and as a plot device.

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Brilliant post!, that I've only just found. 

If these guys were a problem though, I'd imagine that people would have quickly moved to non-comestible stores of knowledge. Clay tablets would probably be my first choice, as they're cheap, easy to use and once baked, fairly durable. (bar the clumsy apprentice.)

If you have cheap metalurgy, you could also use sheet metal embossing to defend yourself from the niyotts. 

I can totally imagine how a wizard's wealth and prestige could be measured by the instruments he uses to record his knowledge, with paper at the bottom of the ladder and magical crystals at the top, with clay and metal in between. Rich wizards could scorn poorer ones over their crude tools, while the gift of a crystal, or a sheet metal book, could be a right of passage in a magical academy. 

Great post, that stimulates ideas and makes me want to roleplay an encounter with them. 

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Fascinating sub, (thanks to Kassy for pointing it out to me) and can make for a nice change of pace when used in an adventure, and a group of these is sure to be a mage or bards greatest nemesis.

I do feel the history portion fothe sub is a bit lacking however, why did this wizard create the Niyotts and send them forth to devour knowledge? Did he lose control of them or were they set free to run amok from the beginning?

Still great stuff, I can see these making an apperance in one of my fantasy campaigns someday.

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Awesome!

5/5 and my HoH!

Now I need to read the Ink Drinkers sub as well out of sheer curiosity.

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Only voted Go to Comment