Funny Animal D20 anyone? (MM2 rant)

[Jolly Giant]

Nothing productive could possibly come from this post, but I just have to get it off my chest:

First of all, I loved MM2, but...

What's with all the Disney-esque, funny-animal-type "monsters" in MM2? We already had the humanoid bull (minotaur), horse (centaur), tree (treant), fish (vast numbers of 'em! Sahuagin, merfolk, triton...), lizards (lizardfolk, troglodytes), lion (lamia), spider (aranea, dryder, ettercap), snake (yuan-ti), toad (kuo-toa), tiger (rakshasa), goat (satyr) and beetle (umber hulk) from MM1. Note that this list doesn't even include celestials, fiends, elementals (humanoid dirt, water, fire and air!) or the were-animals!

In Monsters of Faerun we got the humanoid deer (hybsil), more lizards (abasi), frogs (bullywug, siv), more humanoid spiders, trees, hyena (gibberling), pterodactyl (pterafolk), panther (quaggoth), yet more fish (good grief!), scorpion (stinger), and another lion (wemir).

Then comes MM2, starting with the humaoind bees (!)(abeil), followed by humanoid alarmclocks (automatons, clockwork horrors), rhino/porcupine (braxat), cemetary (corpse gatherer), bats (desmodu), bacteria (germlaine), squid (kopru), leech (leechwalker)... By then I started thinking their had to be some inside joke here I just wasn't getting! As I read on I was shaking my head more and more often... There came the two-trunked humanoid elephant, (just what my campaignworld was missing... ), the humanoid fungi, the humanoid/insectoid fish/squid genetic marvel (morkoth), the humanoid pineneedles (aptly named needlefolk!), the humanoid version of Willy the Whale (appearantly freed), humanoid centipede (ormyrr), mantis (thri-kreen) and finally the long-awaited humanoid yak! I'm still convinced that must be a joke! I just don't get it...
To round off the book they reprinted another humanoid scorpion. Hurrah.

Did I miss any? I'm sure I did... Nevermind.

Now I'm gonna take the much-needed half humanoid/half animal template MM2 thankfully included and make me a humanoid duck and a humanoid mouse... Look for Ducksville D20 in game stores soon!


edit: spelling

 

[Pseudonym]

Now I'm gonna take the much-needed half humanoid/half animal template MM2 thankfully included and make me a humanoid duck and a humanoid mouse... Look for Ducksville D20 in game stores soon!

Humanoid ducks are what made RuneQuest so much fun.

 

[the Jester]

Er... first off, not all of the monsters you mentioned are humanoid (clockwork horrors), second off, they aren't all funny animals (cemetaries, trees, alarm clocks, dirt, etc).

Third, you do realize that a lot of those are classic monsters converted to 3e, don't you?

Just checking....

My question remains: where are the kercpa? (Humanoid squirrels.)

 

[Darkness]

My question remains: where are the kercpa? (Humanoid squirrels.)

Everything is better if it has squirrels...

 

[Jolly Giant]

Er... first off, not all of the monsters you mentioned are humanoid (clockwork horrors), second off, they aren't all funny animals (cemetaries, trees, alarm clocks, dirt, etc).

Third, you do realize that a lot of those are classic monsters converted to 3e, don't you?

Just checking....

My question remains: where are the kercpa? (Humanoid squirrels.)

Yeah, you're right, I know. But you get the point, right? There's just so many of them! Roughly humanoid-shaped something-or-other... Seriously, yakfolk ???

 

[the Jester]

Yeah, you're right, I know. But you get the point, right? There's just so many of them! Roughly humanoid-shaped something-or-other... Seriously, yakfolk ???

Yeah, the yakfolk get to me too... lol... but you could also argue that there are too many weird, pointless-shaped monsters (mooncalf, moonbeast, gibbering mouthers, etc etc). At least some of the stupidest monsters aren't in there- although I haven't gotten the Tome of Horrors yet, so maybe they brought back classics like the tirapheg and the protein polymorph... and I understand the cifal was in a Living Greyhawk Journal...

Speaking of which, I'm off to the General Monster board to inquire about it, just for giggles!

 

[Tonguez]

Actually does anyone know where the idea for the Yakfolk came from? - are they from historic myth or did someone just get inspired (after spending 23 years in the Arkham Asylum no doubt...)

 

[Saeviomagy]

All I have to say is:
Imagine a monster.

Now describe it to us without referencing any previously existing creature. You are not allowed to use any variation of 'like a...'.

Honestly - how many creatures can you imagine which someone else isn't immediately going to say "hey, that looks a bit like a ...."

 

[Terraism]

Way OT

Darkness - I just noticed your user title - that's wonderful!

[Sorry guys; we now, uh... return you to your regularly scheduled thread.]

 

[starwolf]

The yakfolk a from Al-*fricken*-Qadim