Those dam brains!

[Cradle]

i keep gettng zombied!! whats my best tactic against them??

i am prepared to fight

[NKF]

Easy. Stay away from them.

 

Seriously though, knowing in advance where you can find them helps a LOT. Especially in alien colonies. But keep an eye out for the occasional wandering tentaculat.

 

The top-side of a colony, for example, is simple enough. the observatory on the northern entrance holds plenty of tentaculats. The lift in the centre holds a couple along with a lot of tasoth carrying disrupter pulse launchers. These are prime locations to blow to bits with a few disrupter pulse torpedoes from the very start of the mission.

 

The inner level of a artefact site has a number of tentaculats hiding in little niches in the black chamber with the lift to the synonium device. It can be very difficult to get them because they'll be above all of the entrances into the area. Enter the room from all directions and have everyone cover each other. Or, a few disrupter pulse launchers will help.

 

But I suppose we cannot rely on the disrupter pulse launchers all the time, eh? We need some general strategies here.

 

When moving your squad remember to watch your back. These things move fast, and they could very well come up from behind. When moving in general, do not rush. You need to save up some TUs to allow for a few reaction shots, which can sometimes deter the approach of a tentaculat. This is especially important in confined spaces. It's worse out in the open because they could come from anywhere.

 

Next, know the anatomy of your foe. Use a M.C reader and probe one and have a study of it to see what it's like. My last recollection is that the tentaculat has some pretty hefty front-armour. If you're like me an have everyone carry some form of drill on their person, knowing where their armour is the weakest can help when you want to position the attacker for an attack.

 

I would've actually recommended dye grenades as a last ditch effort to mask your presence from the tentaculats, but after experimenting with UFO's more superior smoke grenade, I've lost faith in TFTD's dye grenade. Underwater, it produces a cloud that's far too small, and by the time it does make a large enough cloud, it's far too thin to hide you effectively. It's slightly better on land, but you don't normally find tentaculats on land. But don't let my comments stop you from trying it.

 

There's so much more you can do. Just keep at it. You'll eventually develop a few strategies of your own.

 

- NKF

[Tain]

Sonic pulsars...lots of sonic pulsars.

 

 

 

I feel your pain man. Those accursed Tentaculats are my #1 enemy.

[Blehm 98]

drills against Tentaculats? I can see it happening. A soldier runs up to a tentaculat to try and kill it with a brain, only to run out of time units right in front of it....

[Zombie]

Necro, I know, I know.

 

The other day I was looking at creatures from D&D and noticed one named Grell (aberration). Is it just me, or does this bear a resemblance to the Tentaculat?

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/37/Grell.JPGhttps://lomion.de/cmm/img/grelcolo.gifhttps://ufopaedia.org/images/e/eb/Tentaculat.PNG

 

- Zombie

[Nookrium]

For as many years as I've been playing D&D it's shameful I've never even heard of them. Gonna have to find me a figure now though

 

https://940ee6dce6677fa01d25-0f55c9129972ac85d6b1f4e703468e6b.r99.cf2.rackcdn.com/products/pictures/122998.jpg

[Space Voyager]

I see no resemblance... https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Smiley/blind_feeling.gif

[NoXTheRoXStaR]

Yeah, they were both inspired by H.P. Lovecraft.

[Zombie]

I should have known that. What did Lovecraft call this creature? Is there an old image of this somewhere? The only reason I ask is because the D&D image was from circa 1979 so I'm not sure if an actual rendition was ever made of it up to this point.

 

- Zombie

[NoXTheRoXStaR]

Yeah, there's artwork from the 1940's. I believe he referred to it as "Dagon".

https://www.hplovecraft.com/creation/bestiary.aspx

 

Also, the "Deep Ones" are also a nod to Lovecraft. Which you will see in the link above. They also (Deep Ones) are referenced in the game Elder Scrolls Oblivion. Where you have to save that Argonian store owners daughter. If you haven't guessed I'm a huge Lovecraft fan.

 

I'm sure if you google "original LoveCraft creatures" or something to that extent you'll find em.

 

-NoX

[silencer_pl]

Speaking of LoveCraft and Cthulhu. Kikoskia on his channel, periodically throws sessions that he did with his friends.

 

I've checked the Dagon, and all images in google mostly would suggest that Tasoth has more resemblance to Dagon than Tentaculat.

[NoXTheRoXStaR]

Thanks for doing the legwork. You have first pick silencer. Google "legwork". lol

 

It's fun either way. Find things out about things you wouldn't normally.

[NoXTheRoXStaR]

Speaking of LoveCraft and Cthulhu. Kikoskia on his channel, periodically throws sessions that he did with his friends.

 

I've checked the Dagon, and all images in google mostly would suggest that Tasoth has more resemblance to Dagon than Tentaculat.

 

It's possible it was Cthulhu, not sure. All I know is it mentions "Scaly Arms", but it doesn't mentions tentacles.

[Zombie]

Yeah, my google search with Dagon and H.P. Lovecraft turned up images which looked more like Tasoths.

 

- Zombie

[NKF]

The Dagons will be the original 'Deep Ones'. Just as a brief aside since we're finding the social references, does this dapper chap look familiar to you in any way?

 

 

Here's a full body shot:

It's a retro action figure of a Spawn of Cthulhu.The Aquatoid and the embossed face on the tomb in T'Leth owe some of their features to this creature. Just no bat wings and pointed devil tail. I got this in anticipation of making a new avatar - as it is about time to retire Lego™ Sectoid.

 

From my minimal knowledge of AD&D, being the various Infinity Engine CRPG's, I think it adopts these, or similar creatures, as the Mind Flayers?

 

- NKF

 

 

edit: I'm not sure what's happened to the attached photos, they seem to have shrunk.

[Zombie]

X-COM in D&D, yup, this just about sums it up:

 

I was playing X-COM and then it popped in my head–how cool would it be to pit some D&D players against the aliens of X-COM? Honestly, the adventure almost wrote itself. I started with the most basic of ideas–a flying saucer and alien abductions.

 

For example, a Muton stats card:

 

https://i1.wp.com/geekdad.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Muton-Stats.png

 

Read more about it here.

 

- Zombie

[magic9mushroom]

There is one thing not yet mentioned that's worth its weight in gold against Tentaculats.

 

Displacers.

 

They can't be zombified, and they have enough armour and melee resistance to shrug off Tentaculat attacks. On Beginner through Veteran they're totally immune; on Superhuman the Tentaculat's rolling 49-148 vs. 130 armour, which works out to usually 30+ hits to wear down a Displacer.

 

If you've got a Displacer, dealing with Tentaculats gets much easier. You put it on point and have it do most of your scouting. If you see Tentaculats, you snipe them. If Tentaculats see you, they'll "ambush" your Displacer, and then you snipe them. That allows you to disarm the infamous tower-room ambush in Artefact Sites quite reliably, and makes pyramid hunting much safer. You can also use them to help clear out the exterior of Alien Colonies, though they're unable to navigate the interior very well.

 

They're not a hard counter the way Flying Suits are against Chryssalids, and Tentaculats remain the stuff of nightmares. But they help a lot.

Necro, I know, I know.

 

The other day I was looking at creatures from D&D and noticed one named Grell (aberration). Is it just me, or does this bear a resemblance to the Tentaculat?

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/37/Grell.JPGhttps://lomion.de/cmm/img/grelcolo.gifhttps://ufopaedia.org/images/e/eb/Tentaculat.PNG

 

- Zombie

I see no resemblance... https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Smiley/blind_feeling.gif

It's been noted before, although how close the resemblance is depends on whether you interpret the organ on the front of a Tentaculat as a beak or an eye (the images we get are low-quality enough that it's hard to tell). Grell definitely have a beak.

[Tsathoggua]

Its a beak, for certain. Heres why I think so:

 

Human visual spectrum at least, is no use down there whatsoever, bar detecting bioluminescence from fish.

No UV spectrum radiation so terrestrial insect-like vision modality is out, UV simply does not penetrate to the depths of the ocean in any meaningful way. Although that said, trilobites had eyes, and indeed very advanced ones, and not just for a bug either.

Marine life other than pinnipeds and cetaceans are ectotherms very often, and would be unlikely to show up on anything but the most efficient thermal imaging amplification, other than via differential analysis, I'd think animal IR sensing would be absolute, and nowhere near as sensitive as electronics can provide, such as a pit viper, or snake would easily be able to detect prey, but wouldn;t for instance, be able to detect weather the creature targeted was comfortable, or sweating a bit. At least I don't think so.

No idea what the result of pointing a thermal imaging camera at a poikilothermic species would be (variable to a degree depending upon environment, but capable of some thermal selfregulation.

 

A combination of chemical senses, maybe IR maybe not. Active IR would give away a hunter (where a thermal camera is used with an IR light source, although there is a difference between thermal imaging and simple IR. Passive/active IR is the greyscale-looking type of night vision, whilst the other is what you'd see in the 'predator' films, the alien's heat vision mode.)

 

Other things would be the pressure and movement like taste, such as our earth analogue, would be found in reptiles, the jacobson's , organ of snakes, and chemosensation can be very, very VERY sensitive, moth antennae are capable of detecting a few molecules of pheromone from the opposite sex from miles away with their antennae, as hormones in other species too are released in small quantities to bear action upon sites distinct from that of release, generally you don't need much at all. Diffusion will be slower in water but nevertheless chemotactic signalling must work in an aquatic environment, unless solitary creatures like octopi come together to breed using instinct, but if not then they must have some way of signalling others of their species over long distances and vast quantities of water, so diffusion of chemical signals is the logical choice, unless a creature is capable of generating something like electrical pulses (torpedo ray, or in fresh water, the electric eel or electrophorus, it wouldn't surprise me if the hunting type discharge isn't the equivalent of a bomb going off, seeing as how something like a large torpedo ray can put a person flat on their arse. I'd think the limit is the size of the creature and if it can shield itself from its own jolt or not, always wondered how simple stacked cells like the discharge system of electric fish doesn't result in a bilateral transmission back through the cells via conduction in what is basically a bag of electrolyte-saturates water with some squishy bits in it (I.e the cytoskeletal architecture of cell membranes and their contents, the result is conductive all over..so I don't get how such creatures avoid shocking themselves) although I don't think either actually signal to others using their discharge, but given the sensitivity of some creatures to EM emissions then if your sensitive to electric or magnetic fields the shock-discharge would be deafeningly loud at a fair distance . the lateral line of fish, plus electroception, possibly gravity and magnetic.

On the ufopaedia (website, not game) the wound left by a tentaculat is described as hickey-like with a central slit, isn't it?

 

 

They are described as finding their way with the ability to target even in complete darkness too.

making me thing they navigate by means other than visual.

 

Sounds like a octopus bite to me. Never been bitten by an octopus, but I've seen the beak close up. VERY close up, since I was scuba diving in turkey around 2001-2002, and after picking up a large snail shell to examine it, found there wasn't a snail in there but a baby octopus, about the size of my clenched fist in the body, excluding tentacles. The little devil promptly shot out, and clamped itself on my face, right over my mask. Although no harm done, it wasn't aggressive in the least, and once gently detached from my face, by the diving instructor/guide then it was content to just investigate me, scooting around more or less where it felt like, was quite playful seeming even, which isn't particularly surprising given the intelligence of many cephalopods. I'd have thought it would have squirted ink if it had felt as though it were threatened. I haven't eaten octopus since actually, because of that. Kinda liked the 'lil guy. I still eat squid though. squid won't win mastermind any time soon thats for sure. Big ones like giant and colossal squid possibly, but small ones really are thick. Stupid enough you don't even need bait on hooks for squid, they'll often just throw themselves on a bare hook. Theres one of Attenborough's sea life (blue planet series I think) docu's, where squid fishing like that is shown, using multiply hooked lines, with no bait whatsoever, and the swarming squid absolutely zerg rush the bare hooks and catch themselves en masse. I kind of object to killing something quite so intelligent as octopi out of hand, when there is a far less intelligent alternative. Although I'd still sooner they not have to suffer, I still need to eat, and I'd not make it two hours as a vegetarian let alone a lifetime, since I don't eat vegetables, I'd go very, very hungry. But squid certainly won't be winning any prizes for their intellect any time in the forseeable; If they did, then they'd stop tasting so good as calamari:P

 

Also, eyes are only of use down there if they either operate on an entirely different spectrum than ours, and many fish eyes. The only light down there is that generated by bioluminescent organisms, of which there are many in the depths, both used for predation and evasion thereof (such as angler fish)

 

 

 

Never forgot that incdent, and I doubt I'll forget either, its one of about three incidents in my life that I think I'll probably remember right until I'm either old and decrepit enough that I shoot myself to avoid dementia (assuming its incurable by the time I reach old age, if I reach it at all), or die of old age. The other two being when I was much much younger, having the gas maintenance guy come in, because my family and I could all detect a , gutwrenching, godsawful putrescent, stygian reek of domestic gas supply, and assumed a gas leak. Guy didn't find a thing, spent ages well nigh tearing his hair out in frustration, and eventually left, stench or no stench because he just couldn't find a leak anywhere.

 

Turned out their wasn't one at all, but in the warmth behind the pump of the fridge/freezer, somehow the spores of one Phallus impudicus (well more than one, there was a luxuriant clump of the things, and a big cluster of nearly-sprouted witch-eggs too)

All growing like a miniature forest of severed, shit-covered penises, straight out of the carpet.

There must I presume have either been some sort of organic debris there to feed off and germinate, or maybe the carpet was natural fiber I don't know.

 

Thankfully I didn't get the blame, despite being the most likely suspect, because my dad would come with me, taking me hiking when I was really too young to go out on my own, let alone get public transport to forests too far to walk to, and I taught him quite a bit of what I know, as I was learning it, in the field of mycology (first picked up a copy of Phillips' when I was 3, which is the age I learned to read, in fact used that book to teach myself to read a lot better, as kids books don't cover technical terminology if intended for that age, and as such, were completely unsatisfying (so I'm told, I actually refused to read them, in school, for that reason, that they were beneath me, and apparently I saw them as patronizing and got really pissed off at attempts to force the prechewed, predigested garbage type kids books down my throat when I had my OWN books, that I WANTED to read and which were far better for teaching me anyway, for the reason of actually holding material to be learned, as opposed to simply repeating the words, parrot-fashion.)

 

So he shared in the suspicion as to who tracked those spores back into the house haha. ONE of us at least, was the one to have done it, but neither of us has a clue which one, and we never will. We have laughed our arses off for years about that. Wasn't quite so funny while we still couldn't find the source, because it truly was abominable, you can detect a single stinkhorn from hundreds of yards away, the stench goes an awful long way, emphasis on the 'awful' part

 

(if you haven't seen one walking in the woods some time, then to give some idea how bad the compounds that cause that smell are, I've experimentally managed to contaminate an open area the size of a football pitch with a mere few drops of mercaptans (where sulfur replaces an oxygen in an alcohol or phenol, the modern term is thiol, mercaptan comes from the latin 'mercurium captans', meaning to capture mercury, as sulfur, and in paticular thiol groups have a great affinity for Hg, in fact heavy metals often exert a lot of their toxicity via the means of binding reactive -SH groups in such aminoacids as cysteine for example, and by depleting glutathione thereby inducing reactive free radical species formation. The low-weight thiols are awful for the most part, although some are small enough to be volatile yet still pleasant smelling, grapefruits produce some such substances for instance. And once, had an unfortunate accident that caused some such horrid thiol and alkyl sulfide products derived from a modified vitamin B1 I'd ingested, as metabolic degradation products.

Had to wear the same set of clothing until it dissipated, spent HOURS in the shower and it couldn't be touched. Burnt nearly everything but my shoes after, although some could go in the outside bin, bagged up. People actually crossed to the other side of the street while on my way up to an unavoidable doctor appointment (had to, since I have to take strong pain meds for a knee injury, screwed up hips too, the knee at least, isn't going away, and blowed if I'm willing to sit there and endure the withdrawals from suddenly stopping solely to save a few people some very, very offended nostrils. And besides, suddenly dropping my anticonvulsant med, as it has dual purposes, also a potent sedative/hypnotic, not a benzodiazepine or barbiturate, but it works at the same GABAaR allosteric binding site that the barbs do, so a sudden withdrawal would have been and would still be damned unpleasant at best, although I don't take a high enough dose to result in a fatality, I'd about as soon french-kiss a chryssalid, or apply for a biodrone organ-donor card.

[Tsathoggua]

As for the grell...its obvious, TFTD programmers just pinched the creature, renamed it. Every trait is present, paralytic ability, tentacles, the rim of what look like some sort of sensory hairs below the beak, above the tentacles. I think its safe to assume its a beak anyway, even without the above logical analysis.

[sp1ke]

As for the grell...its obvious, TFTD programmers just pinched the creature, renamed it. Every trait is present, paralytic ability, tentacles, the rim of what look like some sort of sensory hairs below the beak, above the tentacles. I think its safe to assume its a beak anyway, even without the above logical analysis.

Except I'm not convinced that the Grell existed in the D&D mythos at the time TFTD was written, so it could easily be the other way round.

 

OK Wikipedia says first appearance 1979 in White Dwarf, then 1981 in Fiend Folio. So fair enough, TFTD swiped it. :-)

[Tsathoggua]

Mea culpa, I hold my hands up to that-I should have looked and checked the date at which it was. introduced to D&D. However I plead mitigation, in that I am not in any way a D&D fan in any major sense of the term. Closest I have been to that is playing the ancient and venerable 'nethack'...which must be the lowest-resource requirement of any videogame I have ever downloaded and also, the most primitive. Yet oddly somehow one of the most replayable and strangely reinforcing.

 

Like the X-com series in the second two clauses' case, although in that instance, it is at least plainly bloody obvious that it kicks arse. Well UFO-enemy unknown,TFTD, apocalypse are, and to a degree, interceptor although I lost my copy of that due to some light-fingered scrotumsucking little weasel several years back, that sadly made themselves scarce before I could lay hold of them and introduce their face to a brick wall. Bastard, if it was who I think it almost surely was, also got off with my copy of 'kingpin' (gangbanger thug shooter sim thing) although that at least I managed to find a copy of going for 50p-£1 in a charity shop for special ed kids (I go to that sort before any other) whilst searching for another leather jacket to add to whats now become a quasi-collection of sorts ) got at least six, probably seven and maybe as many as 8 of all sorts of different styles and sizes, from very long heavy trenchcoats to a couple of really REALLY tight small ones that I have to wriggle in to with my arms held high above my head up in the air to possibly get into (I like the constrictive feeling for a sort of sensory input modulatory purpose)

 

 

Haven't had much exposure to D&D though, a couple of tabletop games of warhammer 40K in my second spesh secondary school on days out into the nearest city center (still not all that near, place was miles away from anywhere other than, maybe, the anal sphincter of nowhere, if that counts), and when I venture into fictional reading material, which I do, occasionally, warhammer fiction.

 

Wouldn't be the first critter lifted for TFTD, there are the deep ones of course. Although I prefer to think of them as an homage to the late, great H.P.Lovecraft (big fan here)