I want to start a brainstorming thread. To come up with ideas, or hash out a few interesting notions.
But before I do so, I want to present you with a few interesting scientific examples.
There's a parasite that lives in the stomach of cats. This parasite actually infects rats and alters their behavior so the rats seek out locations that smell of cat urine, making the rats easy prey for cats. From the same article:
On the non-parasitic side, predators (and prey) have evolved to deal with very specific situations:
Poria spiders have learning instincts, able to do trial and error to trick different species of web spinning spiders. BUT additionally, they have an instinctive reaction to other jumping spiders: going at the jumping spider from behind, because jumping spiders have good eyesight (and thus combat would ensue otherwise).
Certain species of wasps do brain surgery - sticking their stinger in the brain of a target species of insect, taking control of that bug, and leading it off to bury and lay eggs on them.
Japanese bees, too small to sting a giant asian hornet, have developed a way to fight back - they swarm the hornet, and vibrate. This vibration creates an increase in temperature. The bees can withstand 118 degrees - the hornet can only withstand 115. The bees cook the hornet.
Rechan, what's your point aside from grossing us out?
In ye olde fantasy RPGs, predators of people - monsters - are typically big nasty things that stalk people and eat them. Or blend in among them and kill them (and maybe eat them). Rarely you'll have the "enslave them and eat them" - the musk yellow creeper, a few other plants of this type, and a few psionic parasites. You even have the occasional mold (yellow mold) that just kills you and reproduces on you.
But what about the other stuff? If the humans (or humanoids) were those asian hornets, stomping in to slaughter them, what would be the equivalent to the Japanese bees that could develop a way to subtly just fight back? (So a "monster", or weak prey creature hunted by monsters that suddenly assaults you in self defense in a crazy way).
What about those crazy parasites that change your behavior (even in subtle ways!), think what could happen in a fantasy world, where the possibilities are endless. A parasite that literally transforms its host into a monster, for instance, or a disease that makes the host chant abyssal until demons are summoned.
Brainstorm time
The evolution, or development, of small things to scare the pants off players or create really interesting stories.
For instance, I think a parasite that is making people do something very strange, so that they are vulnerable to another effect is a really cool adventure setup. Especially because that parasite is doing it purely to propogate - so imagine several folks infected with it, doing something crazy - that's drawing a bigger, nastier predator to the town or otherwise endangering themselves/others. It also can just make a twist to the old "locals are disappearing" plot.
Example: trees in a forest that is continually logged could develop some sort of metal-eroding acid, desolving axes before they chop down several trees! Or some sort of poisonous vapor on the inside, killing anyone who cuts into the core of the tree. Some sort of natural herbivore or small predator that is hunted by people, and so it generates a dangerous defensive mechanism - like those brain rats that, the more rats there are, the more electricity they generate.
Another thing: monsters (big or small) developing instincts that address adventurers. Like the poria spider that Instinctively knows to attack jumping spiders from behind (or a rat that instinctively panics when it smells cat urine), some behavior these creatures have developed to respond cunningly to the likely threats around (adventurers). Good examples that have existed before are monsters that hunt/eat magic/magic users, but think a little more broadly than that.
Primarily the focus here is on monsters/animals/small things that aren't intelligent. Typically intelligent monsters learn Tactics and use Tools or Magic, developing these to respond to new threats, rather than "evolve" for niche defenses/offenses. Although intentional selective breeding to create a certain effect WOULD be a cool idea too (for instance, goblins constantly plagued by trolls finding a way to secrete acid and so now you have Acid Goblins).
But before I do so, I want to present you with a few interesting scientific examples.
There's a parasite that lives in the stomach of cats. This parasite actually infects rats and alters their behavior so the rats seek out locations that smell of cat urine, making the rats easy prey for cats. From the same article:
There are also species of fungus that target certain insects; this fungus infects the target, has the target move towards populated areas of this insect, and spores grow out of the target's head as the target dies. The spores are spread on the wind, to attack other targets.
On the non-parasitic side, predators (and prey) have evolved to deal with very specific situations:
Poria spiders have learning instincts, able to do trial and error to trick different species of web spinning spiders. BUT additionally, they have an instinctive reaction to other jumping spiders: going at the jumping spider from behind, because jumping spiders have good eyesight (and thus combat would ensue otherwise).
Certain species of wasps do brain surgery - sticking their stinger in the brain of a target species of insect, taking control of that bug, and leading it off to bury and lay eggs on them.
Japanese bees, too small to sting a giant asian hornet, have developed a way to fight back - they swarm the hornet, and vibrate. This vibration creates an increase in temperature. The bees can withstand 118 degrees - the hornet can only withstand 115. The bees cook the hornet.
Rechan, what's your point aside from grossing us out?
In ye olde fantasy RPGs, predators of people - monsters - are typically big nasty things that stalk people and eat them. Or blend in among them and kill them (and maybe eat them). Rarely you'll have the "enslave them and eat them" - the musk yellow creeper, a few other plants of this type, and a few psionic parasites. You even have the occasional mold (yellow mold) that just kills you and reproduces on you.
But what about the other stuff? If the humans (or humanoids) were those asian hornets, stomping in to slaughter them, what would be the equivalent to the Japanese bees that could develop a way to subtly just fight back? (So a "monster", or weak prey creature hunted by monsters that suddenly assaults you in self defense in a crazy way).
What about those crazy parasites that change your behavior (even in subtle ways!), think what could happen in a fantasy world, where the possibilities are endless. A parasite that literally transforms its host into a monster, for instance, or a disease that makes the host chant abyssal until demons are summoned.
Brainstorm time
The evolution, or development, of small things to scare the pants off players or create really interesting stories.
For instance, I think a parasite that is making people do something very strange, so that they are vulnerable to another effect is a really cool adventure setup. Especially because that parasite is doing it purely to propogate - so imagine several folks infected with it, doing something crazy - that's drawing a bigger, nastier predator to the town or otherwise endangering themselves/others. It also can just make a twist to the old "locals are disappearing" plot.
Example: trees in a forest that is continually logged could develop some sort of metal-eroding acid, desolving axes before they chop down several trees! Or some sort of poisonous vapor on the inside, killing anyone who cuts into the core of the tree. Some sort of natural herbivore or small predator that is hunted by people, and so it generates a dangerous defensive mechanism - like those brain rats that, the more rats there are, the more electricity they generate.
Another thing: monsters (big or small) developing instincts that address adventurers. Like the poria spider that Instinctively knows to attack jumping spiders from behind (or a rat that instinctively panics when it smells cat urine), some behavior these creatures have developed to respond cunningly to the likely threats around (adventurers). Good examples that have existed before are monsters that hunt/eat magic/magic users, but think a little more broadly than that.
Primarily the focus here is on monsters/animals/small things that aren't intelligent. Typically intelligent monsters learn Tactics and use Tools or Magic, developing these to respond to new threats, rather than "evolve" for niche defenses/offenses. Although intentional selective breeding to create a certain effect WOULD be a cool idea too (for instance, goblins constantly plagued by trolls finding a way to secrete acid and so now you have Acid Goblins).
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