D&D Basic Monsters: Nothic

 

The Nothic is a fairly new addition to the D&D monster roster, debuting in the 2003 Miniatures Handbook for edition 3.5 (alongside the Kruthic that's also stuck with the game since then), getting a star billing in 5th edition, not only appearing in the Monter Manual, but also the Starter Set adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver. The Nothic doesn't seem to be based on any mythical creature, though the single central eye is a staple of many D&D aberrations, usually those related to beholders. Alternatively, the Pixar movie Monsters Inc. was released the year prior to the Nothic making its appearance, so maybe maybe it's really based on Mike Wazowski ?

None of the descriptions given of the Nothic ever specify which colour it has, so various artists have chosen various colours. Depending on where you look, you can get your Nothic in green, blue, purple, pink and red. The original Nothic was however a pale greenish yellow, so that's what we've chosen here (plus, choosing a greenish tint makes it look more like said Mike Wazowski, which is always fun - now "put that thing back where it came from, or so help me....")