Scaly Races (Wandering Monster column)

The green one looks like a lizard-man. The brown one looks like... a slightly different breed of lizard-man. I guess that was the idea, but the word "troglodyte" means "cave-dweller." When I think troglodyte, I think of those creepy see-through fish on that one episode of Planet Earth who have evolved to have no eyes, no color, etc.
 

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Why have troglodytes at all? They are exactly like lizardfolk, but they stink. That doesn't justify giving any space of the Monster Manual to them for me.
 

Thoughts on lizard men: Don't really understand the whole 'no technology' thing. It makes more sense to me to have Lizardfolk be more similar to uncontacted Amazonian tribes- they make lots of low-impact temporary technology- shelters, fishing gear, spears, bows and arrows- but none of it lasts very long, and they frequently move around and abandon it if they no longer need it. They have no need for clothes, but they might wear some sashes or belts as ritual objects (similar to a koteka or 'penis gourd') or for the convenience of attaching things to them in skin pouches.

Looks-wise they are a little too fishy with the big frill- I'd kind of like them to look more like a scaled dinosauroid, but with a stronger lower jaw and more angular face, upright posture, and no fans or veins.

Troglodyte: The troglodyte looks like it is trying to squeeze through something- like a cat poking its head through a narrow opening. I like the pale skin, the ragged clothes, and the weaker looking limbs. The posture is a little too curved and the head is a little too narrow and angular. As the 'degenerate' race, I like the idea of having some sort of open wounds or deformities that are the source of their stench- this guy looks like he has a goiter full of lime Gatorade on his neck. Trogs should look slimy- I don't care if real reptiles aren't usually slimy. Also, as a 'degenerate' race, their technology and attacks should be simpler than the troglodyte. If trogs are going to have javelins and the like, lizardfolk should have bows and arrows. I'm not convinced about the javelins, really- how much use is a javelin in an underground environment (low ceilings, limited visual range around twisty passages) and where are they getting the materials for it? Crude clubs, knives, and axes made of bone and stone seem like a better fit, with a lot of reliance on natural attacks.
 


As to the art, I like the trog better than the lizardfolk. For both I thought they really missed the mark in failing to make them scaly looking. They both look more frog/toad like in the smoothness of their skin. The lizardfolk also looked kind of froggy in its face too. I don't mind the frill on the lizardfolk, but the shape of its head is not lizardlike enough, and the body should look more muscular and strong. Also better posture suggesting strength is needed for the lizardfolk. It's almost as slumped as the trog.

The trog looked interesting, especially having it look kind of like a darkdwelling salamander type thing, with glands for the stench, but more scales would be good.

For the description, the biggest issue I had was with only 1 in 10 lizardfolk using weapons. I always have lizardfolk use weapons in my campaigns, with maybe a few specialized more primitive ones using natural weapons. I'd reverse the percentage and have only 1 in 10 or 2 in 10 be so primitive they don't even have weapons.
 

Thoughts on lizard men: Don't really understand the whole 'no technology' thing. It makes more sense to me to have Lizardfolk be more similar to uncontacted Amazonian tribes- they make lots of low-impact temporary technology- shelters, fishing gear, spears, bows and arrows- but none of it lasts very long, and they frequently move around and abandon it if they no longer need it. They have no need for clothes, but they might wear some sashes or belts as ritual objects (similar to a koteka or 'penis gourd') or for the convenience of attaching things to them in skin pouches.
I actually like to make them more Aztec-like. Still no metal and paper, but as much civilization as you can get with that. It doesn't need to be huge temple-cities everywhere, but I think it should be assumed that there are three or four somewhere in the world.
 

The trog looks passable, but the lizardfolk looks too serpentine - I thought yuan-ti first time I saw it.

I think "gator-man" is an apt description of lizardfolk.

All I can say is in 3E lizardfolk and trogs looked too similar. I'm always mixing the miniatures up.
 

I actually like to make them more Aztec-like. Still no metal and paper, but as much civilization as you can get with that. It doesn't need to be huge temple-cities everywhere, but I think it should be assumed that there are three or four somewhere in the world.

Aztec is a nice model -- it has both the low tech, and the sense of a dignified, proud (but still threatening) culture.

Good call.
 

Well, might as well link in the pic anyway - makes it easier to see:

Lizard Folk

Yeah, not loving the crested lizard man so much. Looking at the sketches in the back, I really like the middle one though. Not a huge fan of the Trog either. But, then again, trogs have never really had good pics IMO. Di Terlizi's in 2e left me cold The 3e trog wasn't half bad though.

/edit - let's not direct link that image cos it's freaking big. :D
 

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