The Enlightening Start of Darkness
Start of Darkness is unique in how it presents the Monster in the Dark. In other books, either the Monster in the Dark does something and we are left to guess how it did it, or it refers to its own abilities so obliquely that understanding them almost requires prior knowledge of what it is.
Start of Darkness takes a different approach. Instead of leaving room for ambiguity, the Monster in the Dark and those around it sometimes provide direct statements about its nature. This makes it possible to compare its characteristics directly to its statblock, removing much of the speculation that other books necessitate.
Speech and Language
Quote:
“My God, is it talking? In Common, no less.”
Hunting Horror Trait: Hunting Horrors “rarely speak,” but they understand instructions in any language. They are also supposed to be able to project emotions at will, but the Monster in the Dark doesn’t seem to use that ability. Perhaps this is because it is one of the rare Hunting Horrors that speaks instead.
Habitat and Presence
Quote:
“Never expected to see one in this part of the world.”
Hunting Horror Trait: Its listed habitat is “Any nighttime or sunless place”, but Start of Darkness clearly dedicates an entire panel to establishing the jungle as sunny, making its presence unexpected.
Scent and Stench
Quote:
“Sorry about the smell.”
Hunting Horror Trait: For a long time, this seemed like a plot hole—why is the Monster in the Dark’s smell mentioned once and never again? If it’s a D&D monster with a strong odor, where did the smell go? And if it’s a D&D monster without a smell, where did it come from for this scene? The Hunting Horror fits the first category, with a powerful stench that causes nausea. The reveal finally resolved this by showing how the Monster in the Dark was neutralizing its scent.
Fear and Sanity
Quotes:
“Look on in awe and terror.”
“It’s horrible!”
“Almost everyone … recoils in abject horror at the sight of you.”
Hunting Horror Trait: As a Call of Cthulhu monster, the Hunting Horror forces sanity checks on those who see it. Sanity checks are designed to erode an adventurer’s mental stability over an entire campaign, but a single check—like the one the audience experiences—is relatively minor.
The circus workers are unaffected because repeated exposure to the same kind of sanity check dulls its impact over time; they become accustomed to the Hunting Horror specifically, but not other monsters.
The goblins are safe because Call of Cthulhu rules distinguish between PC races and monsters. Monsters are explicitly immune to sanity checks. This distinction between PC races and monsters might have inspired Rich’s broader exploration of that theme in Order of the Stick.
Charisma and Beauty
Quote:
“And yet… beautiful!”
Hunting Horror Trait: Hunting Horrors have a default Charisma score of 21. There’s some inconsistency in how its appearance is described—Xykon later calls it ugly—but this likely emphasizes its unsettling nature rather than strictly its physical looks. Rich may have included this line to prevent players from disqualifying candidates based on Charisma alone.
Rarity
Quote:
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Hunting Horror Trait: The character who delivers this line appears knowledgeable and well-read, likely having studied every Monster Manual, which makes their inability to identify the creature significant. However, the Hunting Horror is printed in d20 Call of Cthulhu, an official WotC product that exists entirely outside the D&D setting. While it uses the same rules system as D&D, it is designed for a fundamentally different style of play, focusing on horror and sanity mechanics. An appendix provides several options on how to integrate these elements into a standard D&D campaign, including the possibility of using the monsters as written without adapting the horror mechanics.
Hunger and Feeding
Quotes:
“Hey there, you stew-eating machine!”
“You will devour him whole and spit out that gold amulet he wears.”
Hunting Horror Trait: The Hunting Horror’s relentless hunger is central to its nature. Its Ravenous Maw attack, Swallow Whole ability, and Summon Spell all reinforce this. The spell explains that the creature devours its victims in one round, giving insight into its eating habits.
It also has an explicit Vomit attack, which is reflected when Xykon orders the Monster in the Dark to spit out Redcloak’s amulet.
Rich’s repeated use of the word “devour” appears to be influenced by the Hunting Horror’s Summon Spell, which explicitly describes the creature devouring its victims. Only the Monster in the Dark and The Snarl have the word repeatedly applied to them, other creatures see it used at most once.