What Animals Do They Keep?

[TarionzCousin]

Obviously minotaurs would have cows--but not wimpy mellow cows: BATTLE CATTLE!

 

[Richards]

In the 2e adventure The Gates of Firestorm Peak, the duergar domesticated giant spiders ("steeders") for riding. Is this unique to that adventure or a common duergar thing?

That is indeed a duergar thing. The steeder is the traditional riding mount for duergars.

Johnathan

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

It's interesting to think that Gygax apparently looked at elves and said "you know what? These guys need big, smart DOGS," instead of cats, which I think every major creator of elf lore has done since. (Other than the Pinis, who went with wolves and, later, dolphins.)

I've always been a fan of elven dogs, especially making cooshee Blink Dogs for grey/high elves/eladrin (which is particularly apt in 4E), but I admit cats or eagles are actually a better fit. Then you can leave dogs to be the iconic sidekicks for halflings and humans.

For dwarves, I've always been partial to badgers.

 

[Hussar]

I just did an adventure where the lizardfolk used giant beetles to fairly decent effect - mobile artillery platforms basically.

Just for a change, I'd like to see dwarves with domestic spiders.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In an as-yet unplayed homebrew, I stole a bit from SM Stirling's In the Courts of the Crimson Kings. In his novel, Martians' tech is essentially biotech: everything from vehicles to firearms is in some sense alive.

And I took that idea and used it for Elves...

(Elves, for me, are among my favorite races to muck with. In another homebrew, they were sentient Fey plants.)

I was thinking I might do something similar with Warforged who raise a domesticated form of clockwork horrors, both as guard animals and as sources for new/replacement parts. (Kind of like how other races raise cattle for meat.)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In the Harry Harrison/Jim Burns "graphic novel" Planet Story*, a race of Lizardmen used something like a pteranosaur as flying mounts. They made swooping attacks that involved javelins, dropped/thrown/slung rocks, and their pteranosaurs pooping on command.

"They're divecrapping us!" is a line I'll never forget.

It didn't do much damage, but it certainly made for poor visibility, a slick deck, and a vile smell, none of which are conducive to using effective countermeasures.





* an excerpt of which was printed in an issue of Omni magazine, FWIW.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

3) Aquatic elves use jellyfish. They can't really "train" them, but they have learned ways to influence the movements of friendly strains of jellyfish, using them as doors and walls in their aquatic homes. Also, the aquatic elves keep cuttlefish as pets, and the more artistic elves use the cuttlefish's chameleon ability in their performances. Elven generals use the cuttlefish as a signaling ability in springing ambushes, and use the ink to effect hasty escapes.

In (yet another) homebrew of mine, Aquatic elves make use of cephalopods and jellyfish (and other medusans) in a different way- they found a way to consume the creatures and- like the nudibranch- incorporate their prey's specialized cells into their own body, untouched. So from the cephalopods, these elves gain chromatophores which they use for camouflage and communication. From the jellyfish, they absorb the nematocysts, allowing them to deliver painful and neurotoxic touch attacks.

(Like I said, I like mucking about with the elves.)

They can't do this with just ANY critters, though. The ones they use for this special foodstuff is carefully raised, and the powers are limited in effectiveness. They have to replenish their nematocysts after 3 uses or one month (whichever comes first), and the chromatophores have to be replaced every month as well.

 

[TarionzCousin]

[MENTION=19675]Dannyalcatraz[/MENTION], do you own Monte Cook's Chaositech? I think it sounds like your kind of book.

Check out the reviews at the link.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

[MENTION=19675]Dannyalcatraz[/MENTION], do you own Monte Cook's Chaositech? I think it sounds like your kind of book.

Check out the reviews at the link.

Why, yes I do...and it seems as if Mr. Cook and I sublet adjacent parts of the "Collective Unconscious"!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Anyone besides me ever do:

1. Halflings with giant dragonfly mounts?
2. Gnomes who use Elk or Moose like humans use Elephants? And keep beehives as both a source of honey AND as biological grenades?
3. Lizardmen who encourage snapping turtles to inhabit the waterways near their settlements
4. Sentient humanoid bipedal snapping turtles who use gators to pull rafts