Wherefore art thou, otyugh?

[cthulhu_duck]

Naturally, she goes by 'Marjory', and those seeking audience are vetted by her two kobold wererat lieutenants, Philo and Gunge...

That's just ... brilliant. (I want to say wrong, but now I have the urge to take this idea and make my players groan)

 

[Mouseferatu]

Just to play the "ultra-geek" card, you do realize that your thread title is asking "Why are you otyugh?" Just thought I would bring that up.

I realize. I just liked the sound of the title.

 

[paradox42]

I recently used an otyugh as the mastermind controlling a city wererat guild. She lives under the city dump, and acts as an 'information broker' - her spies gather all sorts of tidbits and trivia from around the city, which she exchanges for other useful information with those seeking knowledge.

Naturally, she goes by 'Marjory', and those seeking audience are vetted by her two kobold wererat lieutenants, Philo and Gunge...

(All of this sprang from one line in the Monster Manual... 'Otyughs speak Common'...)

-Hyp.

Can we who don't live in the south Pacific assume this is some kind of reference to a New Zealand media figure (or three)?

 

[Bregh]

Can we who don't live in the south Pacific assume this is some kind of reference to a New Zealand media figure (or three)?

They carried Fraggle Rock in the US, didn't they?

 

[Henry]

The timetable is kind of suspect, because Star Wars' release was in May or so of 1977, wasn't it? And the Monster manual was I believe sometime in early 1977; it's so close to call, it's hard to say the trash compactor monster was the cause. To muddy it further, it seems like I remember some apocryphal stories about the otyugh having its roots in a monster that Dave Arneson put in the ORIGINAL Castle Blackmoor expedition (the first time that "Adventurers" actually went into a "Dungeon" on the tabletop, circa 1971 or so).

I have no idea on veracity, though; if Arneson is amenable, or if you can get in touch with Dustin Clingman, who works closely with him, he might be able to comfirm or deny this.

 

[alan]

They carried Fraggle Rock in the US, didn't they?

Only on HBO, I think. Although you can pick up DVD sets for season one and two now.

Alan

 

[GreatLemur]

I suspect there's a good chance it first appeared as a cheap plastic figurine from Hong Kong.

 

[BOZ]

like the rust monster?

 

[GreatLemur]

That's what I'm thinking. I know a bunch of critters were based on those figures, but I've never seen a list.

 

[Eytan Bernstein]

I can't recall, but were their movie previews or stills of Star Wars that might have included the scene with the dianoga. That way, it could have influenced the creation of the Otyugh, even if the movie wasn't out in time to affect the book.