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<blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 5874722" data-attributes="member: 92511">Great topic, Mark!The flora and fauna of the world will, most likely, follow standard real life Earth creatures and species. We all need a starting point that we understand and can relate to. That's basic for any fantasy. So, in desert areas, I expect to see camels, scorpions, asps, the occasional elephant, etc. In temperate forests, yes deer and foxes and squirrels should exist. Tundra plains should have great herds of caribou or musk oxen, yaks, snowy owls, etc.But then, from there, throw in a sprinkling of talking animals, or a turquoise crested gale (some harmless bird with bright blue-green crest that has a beautiful singing voice much sought after by the aristocratic/noble classes as &quot;pets&quot;), red weasel/fox creatures domesticated by the folks of Swampytown to ferret out snakes and rats...some great bison-esque beast of burden...that is pink to purple spots used by the farming folk of a particular region.Throw in a &quot;vallenwood&quot; or &quot;silverleaf&quot; or &quot;bronzewood&quot; tree or a &quot;moonrose bush&quot; (bright white rose, sacred to the druids -or just appreciated for their beauty and scent, that only bloom at night and give off a silvery glow) or some &quot;black ginger root/plant&quot; used to create a spicy tea...Disney-esque &quot;snapdragons&quot; that actually are carnivorous beautiful flowers feasting on your garden variety insects.Nothing you necessarily have to fight or that, necessarily, would be able to kiil you. But flavor....flavor, flavor, flavor. Things that give the palyers an immediate immersion to the world beyond &quot;it's Earth with dragons, orcs and fairies in it.&quot; Just a sprinkle of fantasy that, ironically, gives the setting a &quot;realness&quot; I often find lacking in published settings.I've been doing this in my own game world for years and years, but would definitely like to see &quot;official D&amp;D&quot; take a slight turn in this direction.--SD</blockquote>

[QUOTE="steeldragons, post: 5874722, member: 92511"] Great topic, Mark! The flora and fauna of the world will, most likely, follow standard real life Earth creatures and species. We all need a starting point that we understand and can relate to. That's basic for any fantasy. So, in desert areas, I expect to see camels, scorpions, asps, the occasional elephant, etc. In temperate forests, yes deer and foxes and squirrels should exist. Tundra plains should have great herds of caribou or musk oxen, yaks, snowy owls, etc. But then, from there, throw in a sprinkling of talking animals, or a turquoise crested gale (some harmless bird with bright blue-green crest that has a beautiful singing voice much sought after by the aristocratic/noble classes as "pets"), red weasel/fox creatures domesticated by the folks of Swampytown to ferret out snakes and rats...some great bison-esque beast of burden...that is pink to purple spots used by the farming folk of a particular region. Throw in a "vallenwood" or "silverleaf" or "bronzewood" tree or a "moonrose bush" (bright white rose, sacred to the druids -or just appreciated for their beauty and scent, that only bloom at night and give off a silvery glow) or some "black ginger root/plant" used to create a spicy tea...Disney-esque "snapdragons" that actually are carnivorous beautiful flowers feasting on your garden variety insects. Nothing you necessarily have to fight or that, necessarily, would be able to kiil you. But flavor....flavor, flavor, flavor. Things that give the palyers an immediate immersion to the world beyond "it's Earth with dragons, orcs and fairies in it." Just a sprinkle of fantasy that, ironically, gives the setting a "realness" I often find lacking in published settings. I've been doing this in my own game world for years and years, but would definitely like to see "official D&D" take a slight turn in this direction. --SD [/QUOTE]

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