D&D (2024) Ardlings, Shifter and Hengeyokai as different variations on animal people

[Mecheon]

Totally fair if that is how you like your world. I find heaps of different races that are basically human-but-animal to be boring and lazy (Yes I'm looking at you PF2) but that is totally just my preference for my made up worlds.

I mean, we're talking D&D which had Mystara as a setting. Its downright historic this is how D&D be. Heck, folks still wanting Lupin

Ugh. Let's just make Egyptian gods from real life a playable species. No thank you. Leave the real world religions alone please.

Egyptian gods didn't actually have animal heads, it was just a visual depiction of them to represesnt they are beyond man and instead part man, part something else. Their divinity.

 

[Lojaan]

Egyptian gods didn't actually have animal heads, it was just a visual depiction of them to represesnt they are beyond man and instead part man, part something else. Their divinity.

So you are saying "Egyptian gods didnt have animal heads they were just always shown to have animal heads because they were Egyptian gods"?

That does feel like you are splitting your haregons there

 

[Incenjucar]

Yeah, this is more a reference to that art. Literal animal heads are used on deities, but it's a global thing that applies to all kinds of figures and not something owned by any one culture.

 

[Mecheon]

So you are saying "Egyptian gods didnt have animal heads they were just always shown to have animal heads because they were Egyptian gods"?

That does feel like you are splitting your haregons there

That's just one of their visual aspects, they were shown in other forms all the time . Anubis and Bast are the two big ones for just showing up as animals

But, it ties into the Guardinal thing and, while I do think we can always have more random animal-people races, does at least lower the rate for "Its a X guardianal you can now play as" from the days you needed 5 of them

 

[Lojaan]

Yeah, this is more a reference to that art. Literal animal heads are used on deities, but it's a global thing that applies to all kinds of figures and not something owned by any one culture.

No but it is owned by a lot of real world religions and cultures. Notably not Western culture. So we should think a lot about it before we just go do it.

But hey, I'm willing to give WotC a shot at it considering their new process with cultural consultants. We'll see how it turns out.

 

[Incenjucar]

No but it is owned by a lot of real world religions and cultures. Notably not Western culture. So we should think a lot about it before we just go do it.

But hey, I'm willing to give WotC a shot at it considering their new process with cultural consultants. We'll see how it turns out.

Western culture has them too, they just get interpreted in certain directions because of historical events.

 

[Lojaan]

Western culture has them too, they just get interpreted in certain directions because of historical events.

Oh? I did not know that. Like what?

 

[Incenjucar]

Oh? I did not know that. Like what?

Like the Minotaur, or some versions of St. Christopher.

The term for it is "Theriocephaly".

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Oh? I did not know that. Like what?

Most Greek/Roman gods turn into animals at some point or another or at least have "favored" animals (peacocks and cows for Hera, bulls and eagles for Zeus, owls for Athena, horses for Poseidon, leopards for Dionysus, etc). It's not the same as being drawn with animal heads, but it's pretty close.

Then there's also The Morrigan with ravens, Loki with snakes, and lots of other examples of gods/spirits from European mythologies transforming into or having strong connections with animals.

 

[Lojaan]

Like the Minotaur, or some versions of St. Christopher.

The term for it is "Theriocephaly".

The minotaur is very specifically both a monster and a curse (on the king his father) so that very much doesn't count in this respect.

I can't find anything about St Christopher with an animal head. What animal head is he portrayed with?