Mimics

Sliding your blade out of the last goblin that had been dwelling in this cave system,

you spot a wooden chest on the far side of the cavern.

Assuming that the chest holds the goblin's collection of treasure, you saunter over to grab it.

As you lift open the lid, you feel some hard petrusions lining the interior of the lid,

and suddenly the chest finishes opening on its own,

revealing an extensive set of teeth, a massive tongue, and no treasure.

Before you can react, the tongue lashes against you,

and you struggle to break free as it pulls you towards the sharp mouthful of teeth.

This is a mimic, one of the most iconic monsters in Dungeons and Dragons, and easily one of its most unique and obnoxious as well.

The concept of a monster masquerading as a normal object has extended past D&D,

notably appearing in a wide variety of video games from the Dragon Quest series to the Dark Soul series to the video game Prey.

We'll be specifically looking at the mimic in D&D, as well as some of its more interesting variants.

The mimic was first introduced in the Monster Manual for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition in 1977, describing them as subterranean creatures that can perfectly mimic stone or wood, and generally pose as stonework, doors, chess, or any other similar items.

It also mentions that there are two breeds, one which is more feral that attacks anything nearby,

and one that is more intelligent, is friendly if offered food, and can even speak common and their own mimic language.

The mimic returns in the second volume of the Monstrous Compendium for second edition AD&D,

and then would make an appearance in the first Monster Manual for 3rd and 3.5 edition.

Curiously, the 4th edition would wait for the third monster manual before introducing mimics,

but they would appear in the regular monster manual for 5th edition.

Different variants of mimics would appear in various supplements over the years,

and the 75th issue of Dragon magazine would feature an article titled

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