D&D 2E [COMPLETE] Looking back at the limited series: Player's Option, Monstrous Arcana, Odyssey, and more!

[Voadam]

weresharks and sharkweres (the latter being an "antherion"; does anyone else remember them? They were animals that could become people, rather than people which could become animals),

I thought the D&D term was therianthrope for the wolfweres and such.

 

[Alzrius]

I thought the D&D term was therianthrope for the wolfweres and such.

"Therianthrope" is the term for were-creatures ("lycanthrope" is werewolf-specific), hence something like the entomanothrope template. "Antherions," which reverses the order of the root words, is the term for wolfweres, jackalweres, and other creatures that are animals which become humans rather than vice versa.

 

[RuinousPowers]

Every party I ever had HATED underwater adventuring, so I never gave this book even a passing look.

 

[glass]

I thought the D&D term was therianthrope for the wolfweres and such.

There was (at least) one book that used it as such (Tome of Horrors maybe?), but as @Alzrius points out "therianthrope" is just a generalised version of "lycanthrope", so they probably should not have done.

"Antherion" is a new one on me, but I approve!

_
glass.

 

[Alzrius]

There was (at least) one book that used it as such (Tome of Horrors maybe?)

Now that you mention it, I seem to recall the term being misused there, so that's probably what's contributing to the confusion.

"Antherion" is a new one on me, but I approve!

Well, I can't take any credit there. The following comes directly out of the Monstrous Manual (affiliate link):

 

[Voadam]

There was (at least) one book that used it as such (Tome of Horrors maybe?), but as @Alzrius points out "therianthrope" is just a generalised version of "lycanthrope", so they probably should not have done.

"Antherion" is a new one on me, but I approve!

_
glass.

That's probably it. I used a lot of ToH in 3e, 3.5, PF, and 5e. They made it a whole template. Tome of Horrors Revised page 398:

"THERIANTHROPE
Therianthropes (sometimes called anthromorphs or weretherions) are animals that can assume a human or hybrid form (the latter combining traits of both their human and animal forms). They are akin to lycanthropes (in that they are shapechangers), but therianthropes are not lycanthropes and do not carry or induce lycanthropy. All therianthropes in human form have slightly feral characteristics."

 

[Orius]

I, Tyrant was an interesting read but I've never really gotten any use out of it. I've never used beholders and I don't really have Ed's fascination with them. Almost none of my games really reached the level where beholders would be an appropriate encounter, so that's maybe part of it.

Never bothered with The Sea Devils myself. There really not much to the sahuagin anyway except being evil fish/shark people that are relatively low-mid level aquatic fare. They're kind of the orcs of the sea.

 

[Alzrius]

There really not much to the sahuagin anyway except being evil fish/shark people that are relatively low-mid level aquatic fare. They're kind of the orcs of the sea.

One thing I neglected to mention was how this book laid the foundations for separating the sahuagin from sharks, in terms of pointing out how they have a rapport with them, but aren't actually shark-people themselves (and the whole kinship with sharks thing seems like it comes from their adopted god Sekolah anyway).

As for being the "orcs of the sea," that made me think about how only the stronger humanoids seem to have aquatic variants, for some reason. I mean, we have scrags (aquatic trolls), merrow (aquatic ogres), and koalinths (aquatic hobgoblins); where are the aquatic orcs, goblins, and bugbears? I suppose sahuagin fill the same adventuring niche (having 2+2 Hit Dice, which is 11 hit points on average), but in terms of "feel," these guys don't come across as the same...though I suppose that's due in part to how The Sea Devils portrays them.

 

[Voadam]

As for being the "orcs of the sea," that made me think about how only the stronger humanoids seem to have aquatic variants, for some reason. I mean, we have scrags (aquatic trolls), merrow (aquatic ogres), and koalinths (aquatic hobgoblins); where are the aquatic orcs, goblins, and bugbears? I suppose sahuagin fill the same adventuring niche (having 2+2 Hit Dice, which is 11 hit points on average), but in terms of "feel," these guys don't come across as the same...though I suppose that's due in part to how The Sea Devils portrays them.

Koalinths mostly filled the lowest aquatic humanoid evil monster niche for the standard MM, even though I never saw them used. Sahuagin are at the gnoll level, much less likely to be one shotted by adventurers than a 1-8 hp orc.

My favorite here for the aquatic orc stand-in is the 3rd party Orcam from 3.5 Into the Blue:

Orcam are a race of humanoids encountered in the open sea, usually in the company of whale pods. They have large builds and stand over 6 feet tall. They are entirely hairless and their thick skin is covered in white and black patterns reminiscent of those found on killer whales. They have small, flattened noses and small teeth. Both the toes and fingers of the orcam have slight webbing and some have small ridges on their backs and legs where fins would be located. These vestigial elements lead most scholars to believe that orcam are descended from whales, though some believe they are an off shoot of orcs modifi ed through magical means.

 

[glass]

Well, I can't take any credit there. The following comes directly out of the Monstrous Manual (affiliate link):

Ah OK. I have had the 2e MM since it was published, but I either never read that particular paragraph, or did read it an long since forgot.... :embarrassed:

_
glass.