Turanil
First Post
I've got the True20 Bestiary, and while I am happy with it, I can't but notice that it is very poor when it comes to describe the monsters' ecologies. I am not disappointed by this, as if I really needed to know, I could still get the info in my other AD&D, D&D 3e, or even C&C monster manuals. In fact, I rather see this as the opportunity to create monsters' ecologies as I want them to be. So, with this thread I suggest that anyone post his own interpretation of some monster(s) lives and organizations for others to enjoy. Don't hesitate to post versions widely different from those who would have been already posted; or even to modify and expand on some already posted version.
I will begin with my version of orcs, goblinoids, grimlocks, and gnolls, as I want justification for having these races that are mechanically much similar and traditionally used but as wandering tribes of marauders that operate the same.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) ORCS as a Neanderthalian Race
(This tries to be a departure from the traditionnal Tolkien cliche.) Orcs are an hominid race distantly related to humans, but that didn't evolve as other humanoids did. They almost remain the primitive neanderthalians they were when other humanoids were still cavemen. Although they are often considered evil, they aren't necessarily so. Orcs are before all a primitive strain of humanoids who often live in fear and superstition, and abide by the law of the strongest in an unforgiving world.
Orcs are carnivorous hunters who gather in small tribes in the wilderness. It is their fear of the civilization, which they don't understand, that makes them so aggressive, plus their habit of taking what they need by force hasn't given them a good reputation. Orcs are not so much evil than terribly crude and instinctual. Now, from coming in contact with civilization, has let orcs understand the advantage of using manufactured weapons of steel, and out of necessity some tribes learned how to create them. But other than that orcs remain smelly brutes living in caverns. Orcs come from the northern wastes and usually prefer to live deep in forests, which accounts for their race having developped night vision and consequently being hindered by bright light.
2) GOBLINOIDS as a warlike culture
Goblinoids (as the name suggest) aren't hominids, thus goblins, hobgoblins, etc., cannot crossbreed with humanoids. It has been suggested that this warlike race isn't native from this world, having come from another plane or planet. In any case, all goblinoids come from their own kingdom, or even empire, which technological level is on par with that of most humanoids' (in case of typical medieval worlds). The only thing is that the goblinoids are tyrannical and dictatorial. Their nation is well organized and extremely militarized. For one thing goblinoids are organized in castes, with goblins being serfs if not slaves who do most of the work, and hobgoblins being the noble warriors ruling caste. Bugbears are a barbarous more primitive strain of goblinoids who live on the edge of this nation.
It should be noted that hobgoblins spend their live training in warfare and weapons and are maybe the best warriors in the world. If a hobgoblin army was to invade humans, dwarven, or elven territories, they could very well take over them easily. It is fortunate that most of their effort is wasted in internal strugglings and having to control the goblins that are much more numerous than the hobgoblins and no less treacherous. In fact there is something that most people do not realize: those wandering groups of marauding goblins or hobgoblins that are sometimes encountered in humanoid lands, are in fact outcasts from their own society. Goblins escaped a life of slavery, while hobgoblins who couldn't live up to the warrior standard of their society were banished or fled for not being able to get a place for themselves. So, people (usually adventurers) who think that hobgoblins are not that dangerous, should remember that they only encountered the incompetent ones!
3) GRIMLOCKS as a weird specie
While all humanoid (and goblinoid) races have an almost equal number of male and female individuals who mate to give birth to children, it isn't the case with the grimlock specie. Their peculiar life cycle is as follows: the males vastly outnumber the females. When a female reaches adulthood, she eventually becomes much bigger than the males, and also quickly unable to move. A female grimlock will usually a damp and secure environment (such as an underground cavern near a hot water source) where she will become to sire not babies, but tapdoles. She constantly sires a lot of tapdoles that must survive and reach adulthood on their own, while their mother do not care. Often the female feeds on the males that come to mate with her. In fact the males fear such a female, but when they smell her pheromons can't resist the urge of mating. Such males come in handy to nourish her, as nobody else brings her food, and she cannot go hunting on her own. Grimlocks are just intelligent enough to hunt in group, as they noticed it is safer and more effective; but they have few affective ties if any, and don't understand the concept of family.
4) GNOLLS as a cursed breed
Gnolls aren't a natural specie. Their origin is unclear though. Some erudites pretend they were once humanoids who were cursed by an evil deity, probably a demon prince; others believe that gnolls are the product of an evil magical experiment of crossbreeding humans and hyenas; while a few on the contrary think that gnolls are hyenas that happened on something magical that evolved them into such humanoids. In any case, gnolls have a supernatural origin and are tainted by a dark evil. These savage beast-like humanoids are always related to some unnatural master or live in desecrated or cursed areas, etc. When gnolls are encountered, usually dark sorcery is not far.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: I release the above texts under the Creative Commons License.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will begin with my version of orcs, goblinoids, grimlocks, and gnolls, as I want justification for having these races that are mechanically much similar and traditionally used but as wandering tribes of marauders that operate the same.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) ORCS as a Neanderthalian Race
(This tries to be a departure from the traditionnal Tolkien cliche.) Orcs are an hominid race distantly related to humans, but that didn't evolve as other humanoids did. They almost remain the primitive neanderthalians they were when other humanoids were still cavemen. Although they are often considered evil, they aren't necessarily so. Orcs are before all a primitive strain of humanoids who often live in fear and superstition, and abide by the law of the strongest in an unforgiving world.
Orcs are carnivorous hunters who gather in small tribes in the wilderness. It is their fear of the civilization, which they don't understand, that makes them so aggressive, plus their habit of taking what they need by force hasn't given them a good reputation. Orcs are not so much evil than terribly crude and instinctual. Now, from coming in contact with civilization, has let orcs understand the advantage of using manufactured weapons of steel, and out of necessity some tribes learned how to create them. But other than that orcs remain smelly brutes living in caverns. Orcs come from the northern wastes and usually prefer to live deep in forests, which accounts for their race having developped night vision and consequently being hindered by bright light.
2) GOBLINOIDS as a warlike culture
Goblinoids (as the name suggest) aren't hominids, thus goblins, hobgoblins, etc., cannot crossbreed with humanoids. It has been suggested that this warlike race isn't native from this world, having come from another plane or planet. In any case, all goblinoids come from their own kingdom, or even empire, which technological level is on par with that of most humanoids' (in case of typical medieval worlds). The only thing is that the goblinoids are tyrannical and dictatorial. Their nation is well organized and extremely militarized. For one thing goblinoids are organized in castes, with goblins being serfs if not slaves who do most of the work, and hobgoblins being the noble warriors ruling caste. Bugbears are a barbarous more primitive strain of goblinoids who live on the edge of this nation.
It should be noted that hobgoblins spend their live training in warfare and weapons and are maybe the best warriors in the world. If a hobgoblin army was to invade humans, dwarven, or elven territories, they could very well take over them easily. It is fortunate that most of their effort is wasted in internal strugglings and having to control the goblins that are much more numerous than the hobgoblins and no less treacherous. In fact there is something that most people do not realize: those wandering groups of marauding goblins or hobgoblins that are sometimes encountered in humanoid lands, are in fact outcasts from their own society. Goblins escaped a life of slavery, while hobgoblins who couldn't live up to the warrior standard of their society were banished or fled for not being able to get a place for themselves. So, people (usually adventurers) who think that hobgoblins are not that dangerous, should remember that they only encountered the incompetent ones!
3) GRIMLOCKS as a weird specie
While all humanoid (and goblinoid) races have an almost equal number of male and female individuals who mate to give birth to children, it isn't the case with the grimlock specie. Their peculiar life cycle is as follows: the males vastly outnumber the females. When a female reaches adulthood, she eventually becomes much bigger than the males, and also quickly unable to move. A female grimlock will usually a damp and secure environment (such as an underground cavern near a hot water source) where she will become to sire not babies, but tapdoles. She constantly sires a lot of tapdoles that must survive and reach adulthood on their own, while their mother do not care. Often the female feeds on the males that come to mate with her. In fact the males fear such a female, but when they smell her pheromons can't resist the urge of mating. Such males come in handy to nourish her, as nobody else brings her food, and she cannot go hunting on her own. Grimlocks are just intelligent enough to hunt in group, as they noticed it is safer and more effective; but they have few affective ties if any, and don't understand the concept of family.
4) GNOLLS as a cursed breed
Gnolls aren't a natural specie. Their origin is unclear though. Some erudites pretend they were once humanoids who were cursed by an evil deity, probably a demon prince; others believe that gnolls are the product of an evil magical experiment of crossbreeding humans and hyenas; while a few on the contrary think that gnolls are hyenas that happened on something magical that evolved them into such humanoids. In any case, gnolls have a supernatural origin and are tainted by a dark evil. These savage beast-like humanoids are always related to some unnatural master or live in desecrated or cursed areas, etc. When gnolls are encountered, usually dark sorcery is not far.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: I release the above texts under the Creative Commons License.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
