Mind of tempest
(he/him)
I think we need something that can do the same job as dragons but are not dragons to get some real possibilities for other things going.
The main problem here is, there's very little which has the nearly-universal appeal of dragons. I wasn't kidding when I said that something dragon-like exists in basically every human culture ever. Moreover, the one through line for all of them is "powerful and important and at least kind of reptilian," making the category broad but consistently Kind Of A Big Deal.I think we need something that can do the same job as dragons but are not dragons to get some real possibilities for other things going.
While I did know this about wolfram (it's why the elemental symbol of tungsten is W), I had no idea this was an archaic name for neodymium! I just invented it as a term for an implicitly purple metal (on the notion of "tyrian" purple.) In my semi-fantastical interpretation, wolfram would be green metal in the way gold is yellow and copper is red, and tyrium would be purple. Iron is of course the "black" metal, cobalt is blue, and silver is white.They are archaic words for respectively tungsten and neodymium.
Giants, and Elementals.I think we need something that can do the same job as dragons but are not dragons to get some real possibilities for other things going.
I apologize. I misinterpreted the information I was finding. I should have taken more time and paid more attention. Tyrium seems to be an incorrect name for neodymium unless I am misunderstanding the Wikipedia redirect page. Many of its oxides are apparently vividly purple which would explain why someone might misname it tyrium.While I did know this about wolfram (it's why the elemental symbol of tungsten is W), I had no idea this was an archaic name for neodymium! I just invented it as a term for an implicitly purple metal (on the notion of "tyrian" purple.) In my semi-fantastical interpretation, wolfram would be green metal in the way gold is yellow and copper is red, and tyrium would be purple. Iron is of course the "black" metal, cobalt is blue, and silver is white.
Y'know, as a dork who loves way too many dragons in my game (Seriously, I dug through random 3E Dragonlance stuff just to find the references to canon Lead dragons, which, of course as Lead dragons, should be anti-magic and either poison or bullet breath), I decided to dig into thisI apologize. I misinterpreted the information I was finding. I should have taken more time and paid more attention. Tyrium seems to be an incorrect name for neodymium unless I am misunderstanding the Wikipedia redirect page. Many of its oxides are apparently vividly purple which would explain why someone might misname it tyrium.
Technically canon! There's a Dragonlance Dwarvish myth that the Chromatics were originally metallics that got corrupted. Just a myth, right? Tin became white.tin dragons that are the lost precursors of the bronze
No and here's why. They aren't all having brunch together at the local diner. The variety just gives you choices to pick from when you have that rare dragon encounter or adventure.Are we diluting the specialness of the dragon by having so many types?
Well, from a brand perspective, it's a simple enough question. Are you trying to make a game consonant with the particular history, lore, and tradition of "Dungeons & Dragons", or are you going to do a "Reimagined Ideal New Fantasy RPG" and try to market it under the D&D name? Given the history of relative commercial success for various RPGs over the last five decades, if you as a brand manager want to avoid losing your job, you answer the first.(And yes - I know the obvious answer - if you do not like them in your game, do not use them. My question is not aimed at how to fix my world - it is aimed at what the D&D brand is doing overall).
giants need an utter rebuild for it, and elementals live on a plane it has to be something that lives where players live.Giants, and Elementals.
honestly, I find the notion that every culture has dragons is wrong because of how different many of the ideas are on what they are like as beyond chimeric reptiles they feel different and represent very different things, it would be like calling and fierce mystical being a demon which fails to explain things.The main problem here is, there's very little which has the nearly-universal appeal of dragons. I wasn't kidding when I said that something dragon-like exists in basically every human culture ever. Moreover, the one through line for all of them is "powerful and important and at least kind of reptilian," making the category broad but consistently Kind Of A Big Deal.
The only other types of being which come close to the universality of dragons are Giants, Fey, Undead, and Demons/Devils. Almost all cultures have myths about those last two in some sense, the "unquiet dead" and "malign spirits" being incredibly broad categories, but Giants and Fey are a lot harder to call universal, even with intentionally broad definitions. Fey and Undead aren't the best fit because a lot of them are specifically very weak/minor, and Demons/Devils are highly variable. Plus, these categories often blend together; the Japanese word "youkai" is often translated as "demon," but the word encompasses everything from fairy-like spirit beings to souls of the restless dead to powerful malign beings, essentially a blender of Fey, Undead, and Demon/Devil all rolled into one.
In other words...there really isn't anything else that quite hits that mix of Universal, Powerful, and Important like Dragons do. Not in mythology at least. That makes any effort at creating an alternative at least somewhat fraught.
With my aforementioned cosmology, the four fundamental classes of supernatural beings are Dragons (overall LG, unless fallen), Fey (CG, unless fallen), Giants (overall LE, unless redeemed), and Demons (CE; a redeemed demon becomes something that isn't a demon anymore.) Even then, one must be careful to avoid letting dragons take too wide a place, simply because of how mythically resonant they are.
While I did know this about wolfram (it's why the elemental symbol of tungsten is W), I had no idea this was an archaic name for neodymium! I just invented it as a term for an implicitly purple metal (on the notion of "tyrian" purple.) In my semi-fantastical interpretation, wolfram would be green metal in the way gold is yellow and copper is red, and tyrium would be purple. Iron is of course the "black" metal, cobalt is blue, and silver is white.
Then put the Elementals on your plane....and that Giant book is coming.giants need an utter rebuild for it, and elementals live on a plane it has to be something that lives where players live.
That is an impressive amount of work. Well done, sir!I had compiled all the OD&D/1e monsters from Strategic Review and Dragon all into a single book (466 of them).