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Another Creature Catalog query for Dragon? (Pt 2)
- Thread starter BOZ
- Start date
Aspect of BOZ
First Post
OK, here’s where I’m coming from with these guys. Yes, they are silly and whimsical and cute, and I’m not going to take that away from them. However, the ideas that we’ve generated add a much-needed depth to the creatures, which will strengthen them in many fundamental ways, hopefully. They won’t be any different combat-wise, but flavor-wise there will be a world of difference. No longer will they be silly hair-swingers with no other point to existence, now their playfulness is a product of something much greater.
So, here we go… let me know how close to “right on” I’ve got this:
Legend holds that the smallest and most innocuous of faeries are, in their own way, among the most powerful. It is told that these creatures, seemingly swinging innocently, hold secrets of the millennia. A playful group of stwingers will charm an adventuring party into helplessness, and swing from one long-haired person to a bearded person, back to another long-haired person, all the while singing a barely audible lullaby; this swinging deals nonlethal damage which can ultimately leave creatures unconscious. Some say that the tiny faeries then steal the victims’ hair, and that with each hair comes a memory, emotion, or secret, leaving a victim feebleminded until the hair grows back. It is said that their songs contain pieces of such memories stolen through the years, and many have sought out this sage-like knowledge, only to have their own memories stolen in the same fashion. The stolen hairs are collected to braid into ropes, woven into their homes, or made into their own form of magic scrolls.
I know it’s a little long, but I think the explanation is mandatory.
I’m only going to pitch these guys once; if our brilliant revision is still a no-go, then I’m washing my hands of them. Aspect of BOZ
First Post
well, again, thanks for the vote of confidence.
with the weekend over and no other responses, i'm calling the redone Stwinger ready to go.
that leaves us with one more, and probably the biggest challenge of all - the tirapheg!
the tirapheg may not have as big a fanclub as the flumph, but apparently there are at least a few supporters, most of whom i assume are tongue-in-cheek like myself.
beisde the tirapheg being a simply out-and-out weird creature, the biggest complaint (and fairly so) that i've seen regarding them is that they have no real purpose to exist. we know nothing about them other than the fact that they are solitary, like to eat decayed flesh, have external body parts (three tentacles) with unknown functions, and will normally shy away from other creatures but are quite unpredictable and will sometimes attack a party of adventureres for no apparent reason. they don't have a mouth on their heads and seem unlikely to be able to speak (but can they understand?) and they wear no clothing. i know that, from the encounter tables in the back of the MM2, they can be encountered in dungeons, swamps, and mountains.
so what's the deal with them? they are a complete mystery. i wouldn't want to completely remove that mystique from them, but i would like to at least give them something resembling a purpose. why do they exist, then? what do they do, besides behave unpredictably? they have average Intelligence, so they're not stupid. what interactions, if any, do they have with their own kind? they seem like loners, so probably very little, and even less with creatures of other types. we can look to other similarly odd creatures for ideas on what they might be all about (Lords of Madness might be an excellent source).
i suggested earlier that i had an idea for them. how about if they were originally from the Far Realm, or perhaps created by entities from the Far Realm. it seems plausible at least, doesn't it? if not that, then what others ideas do people have?
with the weekend over and no other responses, i'm calling the redone Stwinger ready to go.
that leaves us with one more, and probably the biggest challenge of all - the tirapheg!
the tirapheg may not have as big a fanclub as the flumph, but apparently there are at least a few supporters, most of whom i assume are tongue-in-cheek like myself.
beisde the tirapheg being a simply out-and-out weird creature, the biggest complaint (and fairly so) that i've seen regarding them is that they have no real purpose to exist. we know nothing about them other than the fact that they are solitary, like to eat decayed flesh, have external body parts (three tentacles) with unknown functions, and will normally shy away from other creatures but are quite unpredictable and will sometimes attack a party of adventureres for no apparent reason. they don't have a mouth on their heads and seem unlikely to be able to speak (but can they understand?) and they wear no clothing. i know that, from the encounter tables in the back of the MM2, they can be encountered in dungeons, swamps, and mountains.
so what's the deal with them? they are a complete mystery. i wouldn't want to completely remove that mystique from them, but i would like to at least give them something resembling a purpose. why do they exist, then? what do they do, besides behave unpredictably? they have average Intelligence, so they're not stupid. what interactions, if any, do they have with their own kind? they seem like loners, so probably very little, and even less with creatures of other types. we can look to other similarly odd creatures for ideas on what they might be all about (Lords of Madness might be an excellent source).
i suggested earlier that i had an idea for them. how about if they were originally from the Far Realm, or perhaps created by entities from the Far Realm. it seems plausible at least, doesn't it? if not that, then what others ideas do people have?
Aspect of BOZ
First Post
not only do they *like* to eat decayed flesh, it's their favorite food. 
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