A Question on old myths

DarkCrisis · Jan 25, 2002

I was reading the Tale of the Jaberwocky and I was curious as to if it is ever told what a Jaberwocky and a Bandersnatch is.. have they ever been to paper as in D&D? If so what kind of creatures where they? Description and stats etc...

Also is this where the famous Vorpal sword came from?

Thanks!
-Crisis

Maerdwyn · Jan 25, 2002

here's Ral Partha's interpretation of the Jabberwock

http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/ralpartha/J4.jpg
based on the original engraving from the first edtion of Through the Looking Glass:
http://www2.ijs.si/~brane/carroll/jabberwock.html

I believe that Lewis Carroll did indeed come up with all of these on his own, including the word "vorpal," and all the seemingly nonsense words of the poem. He also, in that poem, coined the word "chortle" which has become a "real" word now.

MythandLore · Jan 25, 2002

Maerdwyn said:
I believe that Lewis Carroll did indeed come up with all of these on his own, including the word "vorpal," and all the seemingly nonsense words of the poem. He also, in that poem, coined the word "chortle" which has become a "real" word now.

Yep, it's not a myth, it was just a poem Lewis Carroll came up with in his INSANE mind.

drowdude · Jan 25, 2002

The 2e Monstrous Compendium Annual #3 (I think it's that one at least) has stats for the Jabberwock.

Shadowdancer · Jan 25, 2002

There are some people who think the whole Jabberwocky poem is really a secret message hidden in anagrams.

Here's a link: Jabberwocky

And has anyone seen the movie "Jabberwocky?" It came out in the 70s, shortly after "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Some of the Python troupe are in it, but it wasn't their project. It's set in the Dark Ages, in a city besieged by the Jabberwocky. It is hilarious. If you haven't seen it, try to find a copy on video and watch it.

NiTessine · Jan 25, 2002

In Larry Niven's novel Ringworld, a species named bandersnatch was referred to several times. They even found the skeleton of one. Not much details given, though.

Kid Charlemagne · Jan 25, 2002

Shadowdancer said:
There are some people who think the whole Jabberwocky poem is really a secret message hidden in anagrams.

There was an article about this in some magazine (possibly New Yorker, but I can't recall - a fairly literate mag) in which the author claimed that an anagram of one of Lewis Carrol's poem's proved Lewis Carrol was Jack the Ripper.

A letter in the next issue took the first paragraph of that article and did an anagram of it to show the author had killed Nicole Brown Simpson and framed OJ.

To give you an idea of how useful anagrams are as "proof" of anything!

Pielorinho · Jan 25, 2002

For more information about Mr. Anagram, check out http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a970307a.html

Carnifex · Jan 25, 2002

While the Jabberwock has indeed been statted up in 2e (And I think has been converted to 3e by someone as well), I don't think the bandersnatch ever recieved such treatment.

A2Z · Jan 25, 2002

Carnifex said:
While the Jabberwock has indeed been statted up in 2e (And I think has been converted to 3e by someone as well), I don't think the bandersnatch ever recieved such treatment.

Didn't it first appear in 1E?