Random fluff! [Any]

[SilverLeaf167]

Do you have any random fluff, funny or not, that you have a tendency to share with your players for no real reason?

For example, in my games, the fantasy languages all sound quite similar to some real language.

Common sounds like Finnish (which I am)
Elven sounds like French
Halfling sounds like Romanian
Gnome sounds like Scottish
Giant sounds like German
Goblin and Orc sound like different accents of German
Draconic sounds like Latin
etc.

Also, dwarves develop near-pure alcohol in their bodies, and are extremely resistant to the intoxicating effect of alcoholic beverages. In fact, dwarves have a prankish habit of selling their urine as beer to other races, as it is so full of alcohol you can barely notice the other tastes.

[Morithias]

Do you have any random fluff, funny or not, that you have a tendency to share with your players for no real reason?

For example, in my games, the fantasy languages all sound quite similar to some real language.
[LIST]
Common sounds like Finnish (which I am)
Elven sounds like French
Halfling sounds like Romanian
Gnome sounds like Scottish
Giant sounds like German
Goblin and Orc sound like different accents of German
Draconic sounds like Latin
etc.

Also, dwarves develop near-pure alcohol in their bodies, and are extremely resistant to the intoxicating effect of alcoholic beverages. In fact, dwarves have a prankish habit of selling their urine as beer to other races, as it is so full of alcohol you can barely notice the other tastes.

If you play an antro-morphic race our group treats it as if it was a race in and of itself. You're never allowed to have "wizard made you/did it" as a backstory. If you play antro-bear or something for example, there's a 90% chance you're going to walk into a whole village of them somewhere in the campaign.

Oh also we go by the fluff of "alignments are never absolute" even if you find a devil on the 6th level of hell doing something evil. There's always a chance that they're actually just doing it out of fear rather than being evil (ironically this is why we actually use more detect good spells than detect evil, a devil will always ping as evil, but if one ever pings as good after a dispell magic hit then they're on the level).

[SamsDisciple]

Here is some random fluff, my brother was my DM years ago and he would take the most random idea and make it a permanent part of his home brewed world such as the horrifying bunny goblin. A goblin with a magic pink bunny suit (a Christmas story anyone?) That would reduce its con and int to 3, perfect regeneration, and an insatiable urge to eat carrots even though it can't remember what a carrot is. This goblin plagued the group as the replacement for any and all random encounters even after the fighter chopped it into little bits, tossed some of it o er a cliff, some of it into a lake, and buried the rest into a deep pit. The next day it came back searching for its carrots

[Angry Bob]

I've taken the alignment system and run with it. As a result, good, evil, law, and chaos are tangible forces, but they don't always line up with mortals' views on them. For instance, since a Planetar is of the Good subtype, one standing in the middle of the charred remains of an orphanage eating a puppy would still ping under detect good, and killing it would still shift your alignment toward evil.

[some guy]

Goblinoids are an evolutionary split off from foxes and are more than 90% genetically related to foxes.
Gnomes always hide their cities, towns and homes with illusion spells and are one of the most widespread humanoid species.
Almost every big lizard thing gets confused with a dragon, not only by the townsfolk, but also by knowlegable wizards.

[Coplantor]

There is always a kind wizard called Jeremias somewhere in the world. Also, dusk-almost-over-yet-nt-quite-night-time-yet is called mirdorf.

[Shadowleaf]

I have a lot of camo characters.

There's the mysterious random guy in Vampire. He will usually be a cab driver or an automechanic, and he will be aware of the players being Vampires. He will also disappear mysteriously, after giving a foreshadowing clue.

Former characters will also often make an appearance. If a character survives long enough to become a NPC, he will most often assume some important position within his field of work (High priest, general, leader of the thieves' guild, etc). If the party wishes to interact with him, the original player gets to play him.

If the players wonder about the application of some cursed item, magic item or spell, they will with 95% certainty encounter someone putting the item/spell to good use.

Edit: Names are often re-used. Almost all my campaigns have a paladin called William, a duke called James (+1 internets if you get the reference), a spellcaster called Miranda, a brute called Jack, and a Warlock or Demon called Drassik. All are names of my former characters.

[The-Mage-King]

Eh, if I run a campaign, and you go looking for "the most powerful mage, ever", you'll bump into, somewhere, my forum namesake. Who sells magic items at cost.

Yeah. An immortal elven lich who sells magic items to anyone who can afford them. Somewhere in the world.

And all instances? Same guy.

[Burnheart]

I have a lot of camo characters.

There's the mysterious random guy in Vampire. He will usually be a cab driver or an automechanic, and he will be aware of the players being Vampires. He will also disappear mysteriously, after giving a foreshadowing clue.

Former characters will also often make an appearance. If a character survives long enough to become a NPC, he will most often assume some important position within his field of work (High priest, general, leader of the thieves' guild, etc). If the party wishes to interact with him, the original player gets to play him.

If the players wonder about the application of some cursed item, magic item or spell, they will with 95% certainty encounter someone putting the item/spell to good use.

Edit: Names are often re-used. Almost all my campaigns have a paladin called William, a duke called James (+1 internets if you get the reference), a spellcaster called Miranda, a brute called Jack, and a Warlock or Demon called Drassik. All are names of my former characters.
Jimmy the Hand?

[Shadowleaf]

Jimmy the Hand?
+1 internets. I love that character - he's straight out of a P&P game!

[SilverLeaf167]

I just made this thing up on the fly, when the players were asking me how cumulative weapon enhancements get so expensive: when greater amounts of magic are bound into an item, they get more unstable, requiring more care and sometimes materials to craft.

Hobgoblins have an old tratidition of putting their enemies' heads on sticks and keeping them as trophies. The PCs got a Drow-head-on-a-stick as thanks for helping out some hobbos fend of Drow attackers.

Elves only drink wine. White wine is the most usual drink, and red wine is considered a very strong drink. Even a tiny sip of beer gets an elf drunk.

[Drakevarg]

Elves speak Japanese with Irish accents.
Western Humans speak German with Southern accents.

Dunno about the rest of the cultures, since they haven't show up yet. The accents usually just happen to be whichever one pops into my head first when I first have to roleplay an NPC.

[AsteriskAmp]

In my actual campaign I have:
The Northern Empires speak Imperial (Spanish)
The Southern Empires speak Sajonian (English)
Tried to make a third faction speak German, failed miserably.
Thought about probably convert a number of languages to Italian.
Considered learning Japanese to make the planar languages more exotic.

The players only understanding the first two and occasionally Italian.
Accents, lots of them.

Mind that we actually speak the language not just an accent. We use accents for regions in the Empires.

[SilverLeaf167]

If they can understand the language, I just speak Finnish with a funny accent. If they can't understand it, I either describe it as "grunts" etc. or just make something up ("ching-chong, shoo")

Yeah, our games are pretty silly anyway.

[Greenish]

For instance, since a Planetar is of the Good subtype, one standing in the middle of the charred remains of an orphanage eating a puppy would still ping under detect good, and killing it would still shift your alignment toward evil.It was self-defence!

But seriously, I think Planetars always ping on Detect Good even with the standard rules (just like a succubus paladin will take a negative level from holding a holy weapon).

Goblinoids are an evolutionary split off from foxes and are more than 90% genetically related to foxes.:smallconfused:

Eh, if they're an evolutionary split-off, shouldn't they be 100% genetically related to foxes?

[some guy]

Eh, if they're an evolutionary split-off, shouldn't they be 100% genetically related to foxes?

Depends on the time passed since the split-off occurred, wouldn't it? Maybe it would be better to say foxes and goblinoids share an common ancestor.

[Farlion]

Eh, if they're an evolutionary split-off, shouldn't they be 100% genetically related to foxes?

Actually, related means, not identical. 100% genetically identical would mean they are the same (Note: 100% genetical identity over the whole genome is not possible, due to random (silent) mutations, even in "clones").

I would also use some_guy's wording. Goblins and foxes share a common ancestor or arose from a common ancestor. Something like that

Cheers,
Farlion

[SilverLeaf167]

If you're going to start an argument about that, go to the "Genetics question" thread :P

The creation of one's Psicrystal is quite painful; you'll have to use your head (while psionically focused) to hack a chunk of stone from a mountain, cliff etc. You then have to swallow it, and when it comes out from the other end, it will be a hard crystal.

[Grogmir]

Nothing personalised fluff really - we stick to pretty 'standard' Fantasty fair - just so everyone's on the same page.

Oh one thing every DM in our group does is name the pubs after Prancing Pony stylee. So for example last night my adventurers slept in the Frisky Foal Inn.

[TheCountAlucard]

One of the feared necromancers from ages past, Jamben Milner, devised an oil of animate dead that took the form of a bright green syringe. Party never saw one, but I still made mention of 'em a couple of times. :smalltongue:

[Ravens_cry]

There will always be a Plotting Hook tavern. Always.