And it's important to note that aside from utility, self-conscious attempts to be "evocative" can so often go awry.
VERY cogent and dire warning point.
The Ettercap works OK as an ally of the dark fey and the tormentor of pixies, but the "transforms into aranea-like critter" is pretty narmed.
Agreed.
I'm reminded of how they want to turn Dire Corbies into Pazuzu's minions. They seem to be operating somewhat under a monster design scheme of "Lets smash vaguely physically similar creatures together to enhance cross-pollination!" without giving much thought to the ramifications of that idea on the feel of either of those monsters. Which is cool when ettercaps are working with hags, but facepalm-inducing when ettercaps are turning into magical spider-people because they ate too much pixie dust. It's difficult to predict what will go one way and what will go the other when you're writing it.
Excellent and true.
Particularly with the dire corbie/pazuzu connect...or, rather,
disconnect. Pazuzu is the demon lord of AIR! Dire Corbies
look like birds but don't FLY! ...or even GLIDE! WHY in hells would Pazuzu want to be connected to or give two coppers about dire corbies?
Do Dire Corbies
revere Pazuzu...You could work that angle...if they're evolved/sentient enough to be societal, I could see a case that says they do...maybe Dire Corbie shaman/witch-doctors [do they
have shamans/witch-doctors?!] are granted flight and so, all Dire Corbies pay reverence to Pazuzu in hope of being gifted with flight. But Pazuzu to WANT them/have CREATED them as minions?!?! No way! They don't partake of the very element over which he/it holds sway! At best they are some failed disappointment/experiment.
The developers need to, to use an over-used 90's trite-ism, "Check themselves before they wreck themselves." Simply because you are in the position to MAKE the decisions, does not make your wandering whims
good/uber-kewz ones. Step back and think for a second before trying to present "this is how [we're thinking] it is." The game does not require that. I don't need you to tell me where/how Dire Corbies come from/were created...
...or how/what Ettercaps do in their free time...Trading with hags?! They're low intelligence monstrous eaters of all things, sentient or not? Fine. They don't have a language..but "express themselves"? Fine. Why/where did they become interested or trained in commerce?! Not fine.
Again, adding weirdness for weirdness' sake. And for as odd and off-the-wall as some of D&D's classic creatures are, and the charm thereof, that's not necessary for every-fraggin'-thing.