Reinventing fantasy cliches

[Cor Azer]

One little thing I did in my last campaign was change the origin of orcs. Specially, although the world had existed for ages, orcs were a relatively new discovery - the result of an evil wizard corrupting an entire forest of elves over the last few years pre-campaign. The first part of the campaign dealt with the party trying to learn of this new menace, and where they came from.

So I was still able to use the same stats for orcs, and they were still primarily savage brutes (although I did have a "noble" breed that was more lawful, but still evil), but their motivation was different - they wanted to make a place for themselves in the world.

As a DM, I'm a big fan of humanoid monsters in general, and this simple change to their original really reinvigorated their use for me. It also pulled the players into the game more, because they were the ones who discovered the new race, and so they were the source of almost all the information the outside world learned about the orcs (For one, the players named them "bhenbiir" - an elven compound word for "ugly humans").

In fact, it actually took a few sessions of dealing with these mysterious bhenbiir before the players clued in they were basically orcs.

 

[Rechan]

Back in the "Half-Orcs product of Rape?" thread, someone suggested an interesting notion:

Orcs aren't evil rapists. Instead, the species is a very chaotic, live-by-emotions Id-type species. They are also Very viril, which lets them produce in such high numbers. But this is also appealing to other races, who want a fling with a passionate, primal lover with large attributes and excessive energy. This results in half-orcs.

Heh. This thread is actually devolving from "Reinvent Cliche" to "What'd you do with your Core races?"

 

[Dlsharrock]

(For one, the players named them "bhenbiir" - an elven compound word for "ugly humans").

Shouldn't that be 'ugly elves'?

Tolkien's orcs had a similar source. They originated from elves captured by Melkor in the Age of Stars and corrupted in the dungeons of Utumno into the twisted and hideous forms of the orc. I believe the trolls were also corrupted Ents.

Heh. This thread is actually devolving from "Reinvent Cliche" to "What'd you do with your Core races?"

Better than 'Americans Don't Know Squat About Castles', which IMO was going in a rather dodgy direction.

There are other cliches yet to be noted: weapons, for example. You have your sword, your axe, your club and your bow and arrow. Given the vast array of nasty pointy things used for hurting people over the ages its funny how fantasy favours the same things. Swords, in particular, are very cliched as the big phalic emblem of power.

 

[Rechan]

Better than 'Americans Don't Know Squat About Castles', which IMO was going in a rather dodgy direction.

I don't disagree. But I was thinking a "Reflavor Humanoids and Monsters" thread might be appropriate.

Here's another cliche: The King's (Lord's, whatever) Adviser is Evil and Manipulating him. And/or the King/Lord "is REALLY a vampire/lich/dragon in disguise".

I'd like to see a non-feudal situation. Parliment, Senate, etc.

 

[Afrodyte]

Please tell me the dwarfs are all Hell's Angel bikers, easy riding in their horned helmets and leather studded armour!

Now that's cool!

Although, Sovereign Stone had horse-riding Mongolian-type dwarves, which I thought interesting.

 

[Afrodyte]

I don't disagree. But I was thinking a "Reflavor Humanoids and Monsters" thread might be appropriate.

We probably should do that. But I think I can understand why it happens like that. As far as D&D is concerned, monsters and races are the most immediate source of flavor in the game because it directly affects play. It's kind of hard to overlook.

I'd like to see a non-feudal situation. Parliment, Senate, etc.

Interestingly, I always find the feudal default somewhat odd given how many systems of government existed in history, let alone fantasy.

 

[Rechan]

I wonder how you would do bikers in fantasy. Riding horses is eh; you need something else to fit the biker motif of having some sort of cool ride.

Speaking of Dwarves, I've seen a few ideas.

1) Spartans, wielding spears in the caves. Stealing children of other races to be their slaves.

2) Amish-style religious, humble, solemn. Wear a piece of stone in their hats, so they will always have rock above their heads.

3) Desert dwelling muslim-style: very into mathmatics, science, and magic, but they hold their horse-riding scimitar-wielding warriors in the highest regard.

4) The dwarves were dying out, and thus implanted their souls/memories into the Warforged.

 

[Dlsharrock]

I wonder how you would do bikers in fantasy.

Aha, (and with Afrodyte's grace) huge cogs and chugging black smoke 'bikes' made from forge and mine technology parts, perhaps? You can see 'em coming from a long way 'cos of the black smoke cloud and low roar/rumble of engines and stone wheels. Not into rock n' roll but rock n' rock! The fuel for the bikes is probably mineral based (or drawing from magic gems?). I can think of several leather-clad gamers who'd LOVE to play these bad muthas

 

[Teflon Billy]

...The same can profitably be done with Fantasy. Simply take principals/cliches from Sci-Fi (or other genres) and apply them to sword and sorcery...

I've had a lot of success doing this by simply extrapolating what the existing power-levels and abilities in 3rd Edition would do to a society. With Magic being an absolutely reliable power set with enough variety to mimic technology in a society, and magic item creation being more akin to Pottery than, well, Anything really magical I set up an urban fantasy society where the two major power blocks were Arcane and Divine Spellcasters.

The Wizards guild were reclusive specialists who mostly worked through operatives outfitted by them with Magic Items and Geas' (Mystic Eye Games Artificer's Handbook figured large in the setting as Magic Item Creation was so important).

The Churches were both temporal and spiritual powers who had the "mandate of the people" (it's amazing what having access to healing and curative magic can do for folks positive opinion of your group) but spent quite a bit of time jockeying with one another for souls (this was a polytheism). The "Mandate of the People", however, doesn't mean a lot in a society that is level based and where the power levels jump as quickly as they do. They also worked through hired operatives, though to a lesser degree than the wizards.

In much the same manner that Core Book Paladins seem to hew closer to "good" than "law", the Paladins in my setting tended to pay a bit more attention to "law" than "good". They were more or less an organization separate from either of the big power blocks, but with enough might to maintain their own separate state from the big boys.

Think of them as The Jedi Knights, with Stannis Baratheon as the head of their Order.

Their arrival on scene was always a mixed blessing because, often as not, they would being to "take care" of issues they had not been called in to deal with (Called into a neighborhood to take care of some Assassin/Cultists setting up shop, they also "rescued" several children being "improperly cared for" by their birth parents, hung the head of a local "Thieves Guild"--who was a source of cheap protection for local people--because he "Detected as Evil" and burned a brothel to the ground).

Dwarves were a degenerate race who lived in tunnels beneath the city (had an attack bonus vs. Vermin rather than Giants , and had barbarian as their favored class) and were only tolerated becasue they provided cheap food for the teeming masses of the city (Farmed mushrooms and Giant Rats)

There were no Core Book Elves, but Core Book Gnomes are what the locals called Elves...always matched my idea of what "elves" were anyways...little magical people.

No halflings.

When all was said and done, it looked a lot like Cyberpunk with the numbers filed off.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Speaking of Dwarves,

I did a campaign with some truly nifty Dwarves. I based them on Termite/Ant societies- mostly African Termites, with their rock-hard, temperature controlled mounds- with a bit of the Fremen of Dune tossed in.