Reflavor Races & Monsters

[Afrodyte]

Over on this thread, I started a discussion about subverting or reflavoring the medieval European default (or rather, pseudo-British and pseudo-Scandinavian) for fantasy settings. It started going in a few directions, so to brings things into focus, I'm going to start different threads for the various ideas bouncing back and forth there. This is the one for races and monsters.

Here is where you take an idea we're already familiar with and give it a twist - a different texture and flavor, if you will. Of course, we're all inspired by different things, so going from your base source and describing how you change it would be helpful.

For instance, I love the aesthetic elements of Tolkien's Elves (as presented in this First Age writings like The Silmarillion, The History of Middle-earth, and Unfinished Tales), especially the languages. I like elves tall, magical, ridiculously good-looking, and immortal unless killed (by accident, murder, or some sort of supernatural aging or magical sickness). But in nature I like them closer to Exalted's Dragon-blooded. Yes, they are noble, but that doesn't always mean "regal and wise" (although it can). It's more like, "above anything uncouth or common" (especially uncouth or common people - which usually means the entire human race).

There's lots of different cultures I can imagine for them, which is cool because it would help me avoid the monocultural tendency of many fantasy settings.

But if the elves have any natural enemies, it wouldn't be orcs, but vampires. I think they'd find their mere existence an insult.

 

[Rechan]

Some ideas I've been working with. Most of them relate to monsters; I'll likely steal ideas for the races come time for my next campaign.

[sblock=Ghouls]Ghouls are my favorite of undead. Ghouls are created by malicious greed and gluttony. Not necessarily physical; a landlord who charges his tenants to the point they starve is eating their livelihood, and he may rise.

But what I plan to implement with ghouls is thus: they are vampires without the sexy. While this can mean nomadic, plague carrying, nosferatu style undead that sweep in, eat and slip away into the night, I have another use for them.

Being intelligent, and often when ghoulishness strikes the upper classes or intelligent magic users, societies form. These High Ghouls blend in with humanity, covering their raggedness with cosmetics, magic, and masks. They form formal dinner parties, where they dress regally, and use fork, knife and nice plates when they dine on flesh. Because of this, and their cover, they are hyper-vigilant against other forms of undead, especially vampires who they are far too jealous of.[/sblock]

[sblock=Grimlocks]Grimlocks are ape/baboon like things, shaggy hair all over their backs and limbs. White paint and blasphemous symbols decorate their eyeless foreheads and faces. With their long, powerful hands and feet, they lope across the ceiling and walls of caves. Their throat destends like a frog's when it croaks, allowing them to howl in ululating cries that echo through the caverns. This is accompanied by drum beats that fill the air.

Grimlocks hunt sentient beings under ground, sometimes surfacing to hunt. They want you to hear them coming, so the fear marinates your bones. But you never see them until they are on top of you, because they employ mists, fogs, and darkness. Once they capture you, you are dragged back to be boiled alive, and your head will be shrunk.

Eating is spiritual to the grimlocks and they are fanatical about their religion; they believe that by eating sentients, they draw the power and memories from them, along with the deliciousness of their flesh and bone.

Combine Papa New Guinnea Headhunters and Cannibals with Haitian Voodo and the stereotypical "African Savage".

I've yet to determine their origin. Perhaps a group of heinous, blasphemous humans were driven underground, where when exposed to the Far Realms' presence, mutated horribly.[/sblock]

[sblock=Gnolls]

Gnolls are what happens when a hyena consumes the flesh, and along with it the soul, of a living human. Over a period of several days they change, gaining sapience and learning to walk upright. They can speak instinctively in whatever language their victim once spoke, as well as their own bestial tongue.

Even so, they remain animals. Cruel and sadistic animals, at that, who kill as much for pleasure as for food.

And it's not unknown for a burgeoning pack of gnolls to take living captives, solely for the purpose of feeding them to their still animalistic brethren.

I love this and plan on stealing it for my next campaign. But recently I had a thought. Gnolls have their demon lord, who is also the demon lord of ghouls. So Gnolls may use demons and undead (being scavengers, having carrion meal walk with you and be a meatshield in case of a fight is useful). Though this might create a schism; are you an undead user, or a demon lover? Could even cause a species split; hyenas prefer demons, but the jackal-headed gnolls prefer undead.[/sblock]

[sblock=Goblins, Hobgoblins and Bugbears]I'm actually thinking of pulling these three races apart so they are not related.

Goblins are very much like the creatures in Gremlins: sadistic and malicious, black senses of humor, sneaky and into everything. They are actually kind of like fey; Goblins are created by malicious or cruel thoughts and desires. You want to kick that poor dog down the street because it keeps barking all day? A goblin pops into existence.

I like hobgoblins, and unfortunately can't think of a good twist on them. Maybe give a good Nazi Germany flavor, perhaps even let them tinker with Powers That Should Not Be.

Bugbears are big, dangerous, and sneaky. I'm contemplating giving them a culture similar to the Yautja from the Predator movies. For the most part they are loners (unless they are young, or form hunting parties), and are about bringing in big game. I haven't really fleshed this out properly.[/sblock]

[sblock=Ogres]On the one hand, I like what Paizo has done with them; mutated backwoods hillbillies, cruel and stupid. On the other, ogres make perfect Sasquatch, Abominable Snow Men, etc; stealthy loners that move through the woods without being noticed. They feel no pain, allowing them to take brutal punishment, part of what earns them the fear.

I also enjoy the mental image of several ogres gathering and haunting a mountain, working together, and the locals referring to them as Mountain Fiends. This could happen if they need to protect their "Family", an Oni/Ogre Magi and a Hag.[/sblock]

 

[Rechan]

I have two threads for you. Here's one. It's a gold mine of different ideas.

The other is this one, where Carpe DM turns Kobolds into Giger-decorated skittery monsters in the walls.

Oh, and the gnolls gnolls and more gnolls thread.

 

[Afrodyte]

I love Set's gnolls. They're actually interesting!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

But if the elves have any natural enemies, it wouldn't be orcs, but vampires.

I agree, and there was language to that effect in the entry for Elvish Vampires in one of the Monsterous Compendiums (as I recall).

Well, a lot of my variants are covered in those various links...but I have others- here are a few more:

1) Clockwork Gnomes- yep, ripped right off of a M:tG card, and fused with tinker gnomes to make another, albeit diminuitive, race of living constructs.

2) Forest Gnomes rather than Elves as the true wardens of the wild (FC Druid), with Elves taking on the full mantle of being innately magical by changing their FC to Sorcerer. Other races know magic, but Elves are magic. (I often change FCs from campaign to campaign.)

In one variant, not only were Elves Sorcerers, but each Elf had +1CL in a particular school of magic (with a corresponding -1CL in another).

3) Simply replacing normal humans with Neandertals (Frostburn) leads to some interesting PC choices and campaign ramifications.

4) Small, Winged Thri-Kreen. I'm considering using these in a campaign I'm designing, but simply applying the rules for downsizing with the template results in some interesting things, like a net +10Dex! As a result, I'm changing a few other things about them, like reducing the potency of their natural attacks and cultural weapons (they'll use spears, for instance), and they'll be a bit more like Dragonflies than Mantises.

5) I just remembered- Dwarves and Giants as divergent subspecies of the same race, and not unlike Elves & Drow, constantly at each other's throats.