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Shpadoinkle
2010-04-22, 05:48 AM
So I'm looking through Lords of Madness for the hell of it and I get to the section about grell. They're specifically noted to hate light, but they're ALSO specifically noted to lack eyes or any ability to sense anything visually. So... yeah. I'm confused.

It's like if humanity hated infared light. For millions of years we had no idea it even existed, and even now we only know it exists because of machines we've built to detect it, and that's the only way we have of sensing it.

Anyone have an explanation for this?

Dhavaer
2010-04-22, 06:12 AM
Maybe they get sunburned easily?

Yora
2010-04-22, 06:47 AM
Light is a form of radiation Even though the light from a candle or a lightbulb is completely harmless to humans, I think there are actually a number of organisms that suffer from negative effects when exposed to it.
If the grell are specifically hating sunlight, then it's most probably that they have no UV-protection.

The Glyphstone
2010-04-22, 07:10 AM
Being underground-dwelling creatures from another dimension, or at least another planet (or is that the Tsochar), it would make sense.

Blackfang108
2010-04-22, 08:26 AM
Being underground-dwelling creatures from another dimension, or at least another planet (or is that the Tsochar), it would make sense.

Also the Grell. The Tsochari, the Neogi, and the Grell are all from different planets within the material plane. The Neogi fly ships, while the other two create portals through various means.

hamishspence
2010-04-22, 08:28 AM
Aren't the Grell from an alternate Material Plane, which can only be accessed via the Shadow Plane?

MoTP mentions alternate Material planes, and I think LoM gives this as the Grell origin.

Warpwolf16
2010-04-22, 10:27 AM
The Grell if I remember are a soft skinned organism.They lack carapace, armor, or or any other form of protection. They live in the underdark for a reason and I guess that since their 'heads' hold their brain, they cant expose it to much light or they might suffer from some sort of brain damage dealt from the radiation to their soft pale skin.

Shpadoinkle
2010-04-22, 05:14 PM
The Grell if I remember are a soft skinned organism.They lack carapace, armor, or or any other form of protection. They live in the underdark for a reason and I guess that since their 'heads' hold their brain, they cant expose it to much light or they might suffer from some sort of brain damage dealt from the radiation to their soft pale skin.

Lords of Madness says thier skin is "quite tough and leathery, measuring several inches thick on thier uppper body." So I'm thinking that's not the case.

As far as I can tell, they have absolutely no way to sense light (outside of spells) and as LoM says, they're completely unharmed by it.

If sunlight affected them like radiation affects human, then yeah, I wouldn't be confused. But it's completely benign, and thier ability to even detect it is limited. As far as I can tell, they hate sunlight for no reason whatsoever.

KurtKatze
2010-04-22, 05:22 PM
I'd say the reason is the possibility for some drama ^^ Grell's don't have such a high CR so they can be encountered by a group of adventurers befor they are really strong. So they go down a cave of some sort and fight say 2 or three grell, they kill 'em, venture deeper, find that there is an intire city, get ambushed, heavily wounded, and flee, fortunately they make it to the sunligfht and the well fed grell don't value another meal high enough to follow them into the hated hated light.

It is a nice scene imo ^^

Sydonai
2010-04-22, 05:24 PM
Its like hating getting wet, it doesn't harm you, but that doesn't mean you can't hate it.

The Glyphstone
2010-04-22, 05:33 PM
<tinfoil hat>

Or, maybe on the Grell's home plane, they live underground/away from the sun/nocturnally because of gigantic, incredibly dangerous predator creatures who stalk around during the daylight. It's geneticallly ingrained into them to fear/hate sunlight because of their subconscious associations with dying horribly, even if the sunlight itself is harmless, and even though those predators don't exist on our world...

Foryn Gilnith
2010-04-22, 05:38 PM
On a side note, grell crystal is great. Relatively portable barricade; just add water.

Emmerask
2010-04-22, 05:41 PM
Lords of Madness says thier skin is "quite tough and leathery, measuring several inches thick on thier uppper body." So I'm thinking that's not the case.

As far as I can tell, they have absolutely no way to sense light (outside of spells) and as LoM says, they're completely unharmed by it.

If sunlight affected them like radiation affects human, then yeah, I wouldn't be confused. But it's completely benign, and thier ability to even detect it is limited. As far as I can tell, they hate sunlight for no reason whatsoever.

plants can sense light too and that without any eyes :smallwink:

The Glyphstone
2010-04-22, 05:50 PM
I prefer Lightning lances myself, they're just nifty for some reason.

Samb
2010-04-22, 07:08 PM
So I'm looking through Lords of Madness for the hell of it and I get to the section about grell. They're specifically noted to hate light, but they're ALSO specifically noted to lack eyes or any ability to sense anything visually. So... yeah. I'm confused.

so a blind vampire would be immune to sunlight damage? Plants don't have eyes either so how does photosynthiese occur? You assumed that all creatures (real or imagined) need eyes to precieve light when this is not the case.


It's like if humanity hated infared light. For millions of years we had no idea it even existed, and even now we only know it exists because of machines we've built to detect it, and that's the only way we have of sensing it.

Anyone have an explanation for this? dude infrared is just a fancy way of saying heat. You can't see it but you can feel it in front of a fireplace or when you hold your boyfriend's hand. What you just said basically answered your own question.