demihuman

[Nathal]

The term itself didn't make much sense. Demihuman? Did that mean they were akin to demigods? Or to demiliches?

Humanoid means "similar to a human". Elves, dwarves, halflings and gnomes are much more humanoids than, say, bugbears or troglodytes.

Demihuman and demigods are clearly different, as gods and humans are two distinct classifications. "Demi" means one that partly belongs to a specified type or class. Humanoid is anything bidpel with two arms, two legs, and one head. Subtypes are needed to create that spectrum between "more human" and "less human" in appearance. I admit demihuman was a term no more specific than humanoid, semantically speaking, but there was at least a precedent set in earlier editions of the game that was widely understood and used in a great deal of fantasy fiction.

Oh well, I won't loose any sleep over it.

 

[Nightfall]

Well thankfully my campaign setting, daemons, demons and devils are still used a lot. Cause that's what they are.

 

[demiurge1138]

Well thankfully my campaign setting, daemons, demons and devils are still used a lot. Cause that's what they are.

Well, yes, but in standard DnD, there are the devils and demons. It's just the yugoloths who are the odd fiend out. But that's OK, because daemon causes as many pronunciation problems and confusion as a wight dragon.

But I think the loss of demihuman is due to PCness for fictional species. After all, a demigod is a lesser god, and a demilich is less of a lich (lich being Old English for corpse, and the demiliches are just skulls). So why, exactly, should demihumans be "less than human"? And, if they are, why aren't goblins? I like humanoid as their lump sum.

But, if it's the flavor than concerns you, there's no reason why people in your game can't call elves and dwarves demihumans. But the loss of that term in the books works for me.

Demiurge* out.

*The demi in demiurge comes from a different root, as far as I know.

 

[Nightfall]

Saying Wight dragon isn't THAT bad unless you have a serious speech impediment. At least not for me.

 

[Gez]

I use "daimon" rather than "daemon". No pronounciation issue.

 

[Aaron L]

Daemon was a bad name for the NE fiend race from the very begining. It was the first instance of changing a letter in a monster's name and making a new monster out of it (goblin; goblyn, vampire; vampyr) that was all over the place in 2E. Daemon and Demon is the same word with different spellings, and both spellings are pronounced the same. Might as well have a race of Dwarves and a race of Dwarfs.


As for demihuman, I think that it was just a weak term to begin with. The "demihuman" races certainly wouldn't call themselves that, and would likely laugh at or kick any human they heard calling them that.

 

[Spatula]

Saying Wight dragon isn't THAT bad unless you have a serious speech impediment. At least not for me.

The point is 'wight' sounds exactly like 'white' (as in 'white dragon'). The same problem exists with 'demon' and 'daemon' - both words have the same exact pronunciation, making daemon an extremely stupid term for a race of fiends that are supposed to be seperate from demons.

 

[Nathal]

Daemon and Demon is the same word with different spellings, and both spellings are pronounced the same.

True, most dictionaries list daemon and demon as the same thing. But I always think of "daemon" in the sense of Greek antiquity, that is as "one's 'genius'; a tutelary spirit or internal voice; as, the daemon of Socrates. Or, in a more general sense 'a spirit, or immaterial being, holding a middle place between men and deities in pagan mythology." (quotes from dictionary.com)

For me it's a matter of connotation rather than denotation.

 

[Umbran]

The The same problem exists with 'demon' and 'daemon' - both words have the same exact pronunciation, making daemon an extremely stupid term for a race of fiends that are supposed to be seperate from demons.

Three things:

First, having two words that sound much the same actually makes some sense, in that as far as the vast majority of people in most game worlds, there is not much difference between daemons and demons. Subtleties of alignment and powers are usually lost on low-level commoners.

Second, proper pronounciation is hardly a hallmark of D&D. We cannot collectively decide whether we should say, "Oh wow, it's a drow!" or "Oh no, it's a drow!". A small mispronounciation of daemon that includes a hint of the "a" fixes the problem nicely.

Thirdly, the dictionary notwithstanding, the most common use of the word I know of (from the computer industry) is frequently pronounced "daymon".

 

[diaglo]

Has the word demihuman fallen into disuse? I don't see it used in the 3.5 books...it just now struck me. Am I wrong?

it is gone. along with many other standards from the previous editions.

like infravision, memorizing spells, thAC0, etc...