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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7470446" data-attributes="member: 6696971">Brief chime-in on a point of contention in this thread that I typically champion:1)  the coherency in the relationship of gravity and atmosphere (the issue that  [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] is espousing) with respect to any kind of earth-based morphology of arthropods, dragons, and giants.and2)  if we're willing to just hand-wave any aspects of these away, then why are we so intent on "earth-physics-ing" our martial heroes into something resembling (sometimes the lower) earthy-human bounds.  This is especially concerning when their counterparts (spellcasters) are, effectively, god-like.So a couple of things on this:a)  The giant theropods and sauropods don't have hips that resemble bipedal humans.  This allows their load-bearing machinery to function in proportion to their insane loads while also interfacing with their spinal column/necks/tails to distribute those insane load such that they can move just fine...however, they could NOT walk/load-bear in an upright fashion. The premise of "dinosaurs/T-Rex could do it, therefore massive upright bipeds should be able to do it" is not a line of evidence.  Its actually the exact opposite.  If Giants' endoskeletons possessed similar architecture to distribute their massive load, they would look and behave nothing like D&D giants.  They would look like alligators...and have massive tails...and long necks or massive heads.  b)  There is no indication that the overwhelming number of medium+ sized creatures with exoskeletons in D&D (the arthropods) have magical respiration or kinesiology or load-distribution.  We apply so many earth-based physics and biological (specifically how their form and systems relate to gravity and atmosphere) bounds on martial heroes yet the exact same limitations that should disallow spiders, scorpions, ettercaps, umber-hulks (et al) from being larger than a chicken are hand-waved away...because "reasons?"c)  Evolution is not a thing in D&D land.  All creatures are basically magically spawned via primordial forces or brought into existence via divine myth (eg a God bled or cried them into existence, etc).  So why are we inconsistently applying selection pressure-based evolution to adventurers/martial heroes or applying earth-based physics/biology, yet ignoring one or both of these things for the many fantastical creatures they face in battle (and must move dynamically to do so!)?Its just a giant D&D double standard.  Either (i) allow martial heroes to do fantastical things (because they're origin is magical, the same as everything else...or because hand-waving all the things we hand-wave for magical creatures), (ii) disallow the fantastical things of D&D world (that is no fun and not going to happen), or (iii) just admit that their is no rational high ground for the double standard...it doesn't have a basis beyond aesthetic preference!</blockquote>

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