Kami, Totoro
"Totoro_Night" © deviantArt user MabeNK00, accessed at her gallery here.
[Sponsored by @tanukutie. The idea of doing Totoro as a monster took me back a bit, because My Neighbor Totoro is famously a movie with very little conflict. The closest thing to combat is a scene where a little girl is startled by a goat. But rewatching My Neighbor Totoro for this entry crystallized things in my mind. Totoro lives in a camphor tree, and camphor was one of the resources coveted by the Imperial Japanese war machine. To Western eyes, the original double feature of My Neighbor Totoro/Grave of the Fireflies seems like a cruel joke, but the significance would have been apparent to Japanese audiences. This family gets to live in peace following the war by living their life in an old fashioned way close to nature. The other family doesn't. The plot of My Neighbor Totoro is about the virtue of patience and rest; the plot is about two children waiting for their sick mother to come home from the hospital. And Totoro himself spends a lot of time just chilling.
A monster themed around patience and rest is tricky to do in a combat focused game, but not impossible, and I quite enjoyed the challenge. I don't foresee a lot of parties having to fight a totoro unless they're hella evil, but one could be used to add some whimsy to forest adventuring and provide a useful ally.
My Neighbor Totoro really resonated for me now as someone who is resting (from the trauma of being driven out of my last job for being a trans woman) and waiting (to get a new job). If you would like to help me during my recovery period, please consider joining the Creature Codex Patreon here.]
Kami, Totoro CR 7 CG Outsider (native) This rotund creature is something like a bear, something like an owl, something like a cat and something like a rabbit. It has gray fur, long ears, a stumpy tail and a large mouth with human like teeth. Its eyes are wide-set and round.
Kodamas are the kami of trees as a whole, but special trees may possess special kami. Ancient camphor trees, for example, may be guarded by a totoro. Totoros are peaceful creatures that sleep by day and play and tend to the forest by night. They are typically shy and secretive around humanoids and rarely speak to them, leading those that catch a glimpse of one often thinking they just saw a strange animal. They are more favorably disposed to small children and pleasant fey creatures. These may be invited to play with them and assist them in their duties of ensuring that seeds grow and trees are healthy, especially if they do the totoro a kindness. Totoros often live with several shikigami who act as apprentices, who assume totoro-like appearances and develop into full totoros when another camphor tree in their forest grows old enough.
As camphor trees are very long lived and their wood contains medicinal chemicals, totoros embody the virtues of patience and rest. Totoros live a slow life and encourage others to do the same, and they protect those they are friendly with while they sleep. Those who share in a totoro’s magical dreams heal faster and are guarded against hostile creatures. This is a very useful boon to adventurers traveling through a totoro’s forest, but a party of armed adults is unlikely to learn of a totoro’s presence, let alone befriend one.
Camphor trees make good lumber, and the camphor they produce can be used to make alchemical explosives as well as medicine. Totoros will fight to defend their trees from logging or to protect children under their care, and are extremely distrustful of anyone using alchemist’s fire or gunpowder. A totoro’s claws are typically used for climbing and scratching itches, but they can inflict terrible wounds if necessary. Totoros can also use their strong lungs to push enemies away with powerful sneezes, or magically amplify their shouting to the point of dealing damage. Totoros fight to defend and not to kill, and will not pursue enemies that flee them. When defending their camphor trees, totoros fight to the death.
Although they do not need to eat, totoros enjoy eating, particularly acorns and mushrooms. Many totoros play the ocarina.
