When you think of race/creature type X, what do you think of?

[MammonAzrael]

I'm working on a homebrew that involves a lot of different racial options. My question to all of you is: What do you think of when you think about race X? Not just mechanics that specifcally tied to that race (like Archon=Aura of Menace), but abilities, tactics, and methods you would expect to see from that race.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on each of the following races/types:


Aberrations (and no, not a specific race of aberrations like illithids, but just the type on the whole)
Angels
Archons
Demons
Dragons
Devils
Eladrin
Elementals
Fey
Giants
Guardinals
Slaadi
Undead
Yugoloth

[Tvtyrant]

Aberrations always seem like schemers to me; even the Beholders are going to have dominated followers and multiple back up plans. Basically every individual aberration is like its species writ small; scheming for personal power and racial expansion.

Angels seem like the messenger types; they spend most of their time informing people that they have aggravated the gods, or that they have a destiny!

Archons: Paladins. They kill things in the name of good.

[MammonAzrael]

Thanks for the input Tvtyrant! :smallsmile:

As for the other 50 viewers...no replies? This isn't a topic that really discriminates, and I'd love to hear all your opinions on the various races above!

[MikolasTheAngry]

I usually think of dragons as generally being a little more reserved and clever. There's a few flashy jerks now and then--but flying around and setting a farm on fire is really just asking for some punks wearing tin cans to show up and try to get murderous on you.

The really scary ones you'd never hear about. Until it's too late.

Same goes for intelligent undead of sufficient power. A vampire attacks people for food. A scary vampire has a well-kept flock. Who will defend the vampire because, at cost of a little blood tithing now and then, he ensures their prosperity and safety. In a world with wizards and orcs, I think that's a reasonable trade.

[King Atticus]

A scary vampire has a well-kept flock. Who will defend the vampire because, at cost of a little blood tithing now and then, he ensures their prosperity and safety. In a world with wizards and orcs, I think that's a reasonable trade.

I like this idea a lot. Making an extraordinarily wealthy and prosperous town, that is suspicious of outsiders and willing to do whatever it takes to keep their secret, that owes it's good fortune to the areas regent protector. Locking up vagrants or other passersby that commit some trumped up charge and keeping them as a feeding tank for their lord. Plus on special occasions everyone in the town takes part in a lottery to decide who gets to be the lucky one that gets to be sacrifice that lets the success continue. Death for one, life for the many.

[Randomguy]

Fey seem like they're friendly and carefree and don't normally have a battle plan, but would either use illusions to trick their attackers or run away and lead them into the nest of some sort of dangerous animal.

I don't think elementals are very smart. They'd probably know how to use their own abilities to their advantage in combat and everything, but they probably won't have much other strategy or tactics.

[Kol Korran]

ok, hopijng this is sort of what you intended:


Aberrations- incomprehensible, alien, frightening in it's weirdness. i'd expect powers that are just bizarre, strange unfathomable namatomy and extra limbs and tentacles, and sort of attacks that unsettle sanity (not ourgith fear, just... unnerving). as tot tactics/ behaviour- i think of one of two approaches- either feeding on my flesh savagely (gibbering mouther, otyugh) or feeding on my psyche (illithids, aboleths and so on), in which lurking and using psychic warefare is more appropriate. the main word is still this though- incomprehensible.
Angels- in 3.5E i'd imagine them to be straight forward, powerfully dominating with presence first, abilities second. they'll try to undo a worng, and if they can't- destroy it. i fathom them being slow to decide, act and engage in quests or combat, but when they do- they are one minded and seemingly unstopable. in 4E i see them more like powerfull mystic zen warriors, porfessional soldiers in their being, serving whichever force (good or evil) that managed to gain their servitude.
Archons- i don't have a clear image of them. i sort of see them as "mini angels" lower in power, lower in presence, and aspiring to the same dedication. they are faster to act though, and tend to think about tactics and allis more than angels, who are more of a "solo godly retribution" types
Demons- frantic destruction, savoring and loving chaos and mayham, their tactics mostly rely one power, savagery, and liberal use of their special powers.
Dragons- power combined with cunning and pride. dragons have varied issues, but the ones that live to old age tend to live to that age by being careful and wise. dragons i view as bloody bastard, who know well their own strengths, but also their weaknesses, and learned to exploit whatever they can to gain the upper hand. they will have ally informants, they will hide their true identity, they will spread false rumors, they will learn of their enemeies, they will use traps, magic, minions and more to whether the opposition, and they WILL choose when to fight, how to giht, and on what terms...
Devils- i imagine them as ruthless "the end justifies the means" militery and scheming masterminds (at least the greater devils). they use minions, allies, hierarchy, and quite a lot of deception, coercion and conversion.
Eladrin- i have no clear idea.
Elementals- basic forces, they are close to animals in thought in my perception. so they mostly fight as such- basic tactics, but utilizing their special abilites as well as they can. as being quite aware of higher powers, i often imagined elementals as fearing combat against unknown foes (and PCs are usually unknown) but often compelled to against their will (fighting slave mentality) if an elemental has time and/ or no master, they would usually prefer to hide or not engage enemies at all, much as herbivore animals usually do, disliking confrontation. some exceptions of violent elemental monsters (storm elemental come to mind) exist
Fey- they are of "the old world", "the way things used to be", and in many ways, some of their minds are still there. Fey in my perception MUST exhibit some aspect of the wild and untamed. they are often mischevious, pranksters, but can be quite cruel, sadistic, and incapable of quite understanding the humanoids, which most of them consider as amusements, as lowly animals or bugs, as something passing in this world, as a curious fly that is interesting to see what happens to it if you pluck it's wings... one by one... fey often use illusions, charms and compulsions, in direct battle summoning or nature allies, and they take grat use of natural surrounding and/or simple snares and traps.
Giants- regular campaigns giants i mostly think of "smash smash" types, but often with certain powers from lost civilizations (you can check my monster compendium link for my take on stone giants) in Eberron however the giant feel even more so- often utilizing ancient magic, or working in huge tribes. there ismore basis for their lost civilization.
Guardinals- not much idea, never usedthem
Slaadi- same.
Undead- undead are SOOOO varied, but i think they can be divided to three basic groups- those who were cursed: creatures that got that way without wishing to be so. those for whom it is punishment (bodak and the like)- they are usually quite more evil, malevolant and "Wrong". and lastly those who made themsleves undead (liches, some vampires and so on). the attitude towards each is different, but on the whole, from a "regular " adventuer's point of view they are something that must be "fixed" in the world. a sort of abomination, something not right. i see undead mostly as "in born" evil, something in their very nature, though i know some neutral or good undead exist. as to abilities? their numerous immunities and their ability to drain life comes foremost in mind, aswell as incorperiality, and some aversion to sunlight (for some) as to tactics- basically that of the base creature, so anything really, but added to that are the following- patience: an undead can usually outwait any problem indefinetly. survivla in unnatural conditions- locked without food and water, without air, underwater andthe like. and lastly- stealth. i know it's not a feature ofall undead, butlurking and surprsing you from hidden sites is often an undead tactic.
Yugoloth- merciless uncaring opportunistic evil mercenery types that ustilize whatever strategy fits at the moment. quite versatyle, quite adaptable. also, i don't knowwhy, but i get the feeling thse guys rarely if ever hide themselves. i have nothing to base this on, this is just how i fell.
[/QUOTE]

hope it helps!

[Eldan]

Yugoloths are perhaps the most secretive of planar races. At least the upper ranks. The lower ranks, as with pretty much all fiends, are brutes.

How do you know you killed that Arcanaloth? You may just have killed the only non-invisible mirror image of his Projected Image before he teleported away through your Dimensional lock via some metamagic no mortal has ever heard of. Or perhaps it was a polymorphed little child you actually killed. Or you just dreamt that entire thing.

[MammonAzrael]

Excellent answers and thoughts, and a big thanks to Kol Korran, that is pretty much exactly the kind of response I'm hoping for! :smallbiggrin:

[RedWarrior0]

My list will be more or less as a first impression thing, rather than D&D specifically. Plus I'm not that familiar with slaadi, yugoloths, guardinals and eladrin.

Aberrations: Cthulhu, or some pan-dimensional creature that makes you straight up lose your San score
Angels 'n Archons: "Holy Warrior of Pure Law and Good"; the former Good first, then lawful; the latter lawful first, then good. I feel a vaguely humanoid creature with a bright aura and just going "I Smite thee with a lot of divine wrath!"
Demons: My first thought on Demons makes me think of the RueScape variety: giant red, more-or-less humanoid creatures, savage, destroy stuff types
Dragons: Smaug. Just Smaug. Alternatively, a force of power and destruction that doesn't care about your puny ballistae and primitive catapults; Destruction ex Machina, in this sense.
Elementals: a primal force; I think of "Elemental" being the element. Not a shard of the element, or an incarnation of the element, but the very element itself; my idea of fighting a Fire Elemental is fighting the Plane of Fire in its entirety
Fey: Circe and Calypso of the Odyssey; beyond mortal knowledge, terrible if angered, whimsical, and will keep you there for ten years even if you are guided by a god(dess)
Giants: the nigh-divine creatures of myth, not big hulking brutes like the Cyclopes((Yes, that is the plural of Cyclops)). Cunning warriors, weaponsmiths, and warriors. Powerful. Do not meddle in the affairs of the Giants, for you are squishy and about the size of an ant.
Undead: Acererak for one, and that ought to be enough on that; the endless hordes of zombies, in an open field, surrounding you; the mummies forever guarding their pharaoh's crypt; the ghost condemned to forever walk the earth

So yeah, these are my emotions in a non-D&D sense, but rather myth and my own creative thoughts.

[Eldan]

Let's go on, then, in more or less random sequence:

Eladrin: I love these guys. Of all the planar races, the Eladrin can most freely mingle with mortals, but to do so, they can not use their supernatural power. It creates an interesting dichotomy: they are, in their nature, fire and storm, elements not known for their subtlety. But while on the material, they have to be sly. Use their knowledge and experience, not their magics. They are the gandalfs of the multiverse, beings of unspeakable powers hidden in the shell of mortals, speaking words of wisdom and kindness, but never taking the glory for themselves, unless they come upon another supernatural enemy their chosen mortal heroes can't defeat.

Angels: the first thing that almost always comes to my mind first is a little bit of Planescape fluff about Solars. "They could wield the power of gods, but they chose to serve." And really, compared to a mortal, they are godlike. The book goes on to describe solars interfering in a fiendish assault on mount celestia and describes it much like a nuclear strike. There was the light, there was the sound, there was the silence.
But they are also humble. These are souls who chose to serve a being they see as even more powerful than themselves, a cause. They are sent out in the planes to help and, I think, no cause should be too lowly for them. An Archon will frown at the prospect of washing a leper's feet, because he has more important things to do, realms to defend, fiends to smite. Not an angel. They are more powerful than any of the true celestials, but they are considerate where the guardinals are wild, humble where the archons are dominant and subdued where the eladrin rage.
They feel all the weight of the multiverse on their shoulders, every sin, every evil, every tear, and they cry for it, but they buckle down and help. They fight as well, as other celestials do, but they help, first.

[Das Platyvark]

In a world with PC's I think that's a reasonable trade.
Fixed that for you.

[NNescio]

Aberrations always seem like schemers to me; even the Beholders are going to have dominated followers and multiple back up plans. Basically every individual aberration is like its species writ small; scheming for personal power and racial expansion.

Angels seem like the messenger types; they spend most of their time informing people that they have aggravated the gods, or that they have a destiny!

Archons: Paladins. They kill things in the name of good.

Interestingly, the word "Angel" also literally means "messenger".

[MammonAzrael]

These are all fantastic, and will really help be get things down right. I So many ideas, I may have to spiral out of my original home brew for multiple options! :smallbiggrin:

[Quietus]

May I ask - why are you looking for this?

[MammonAzrael]

May I ask - why are you looking for this?

Warlock homebrew.

[flumphy]

Slaad:

Onggyrgbnqf! Bxnl, abg dhvgr, ohg Q&Q qbrfa'g unir onggyrgbnqf. V org gurer ner onggyrgbnqf va Yvzob. Naq yynznf. Zzzz. Yynznf.

ENAQBZ FDHRR!!!

Fynnqv ynl rttf. V yvxr rttf. Rkprcg gurl ynl rttf va crbcyr naq gura vg'f yvxr TENNNU NYVRA!!!! Abg npghny nyvraf. V qba'g guvax gurl unir gubfr va Q&Q ng nyy, abg rira va Yvzob. V ybir gb qb gur ahzore yvzob. V ybir gb qb gur ahzore yvzob...Naljnl, V zrna Nyvra gur zbivr. V'z abg fher gurl unir zbivrf va Yvzob rvgure.

Fynnqv pna nyfb fhzzba zber bs gurzfryirf. zber bs gurzfryirf. zber bs gurzfryirf. zber bs gurzfryirf.

Naq gurl pbzr va nyy fbegf bs pbby pbybef. Abg pbby pbybef nf va, oyhr naq checyr naq abg erq, ohg pbybef gung ner njrfbzr. V unq n pbybevat obbx bapr. Vg unq n yynzn va vg. Gbb onq V qba'g unir nal penlbaf. V pbhyq qenj n yynzn vagb gur zbafgre znahny fb V pbhyq cynl n yynzn. Orsber V ernq gur Zbafgre Znahny, V unq ab vqrn qrngu jnf n pbybe, ohg fvapr gurer ner qrngu fynnqv V thrff vg zhfg or.

Fynnqv yvir va n cynpr pnyyrq Yvzob naq...

BZT ORRF TGT

[NNescio]

Modron: 10010101 01000101 01101011!
Slaad: Turquoise bicycle shoe fins actualize radishes greenly!

As seen here. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0068.html)

[Tvtyrant]

Demons: The first thing that comes to mind with Demons is Graz'zt and Demogorgon. Every demon is evil, but they are all individually evil; some of them are into torture, some are like Charles Manson and manipulate people, some like to find people with high moral values and cause them to break them over and over again.


Dragons: I think of greed when I think of dragons; some of them might be good and greedy (protecting a village because it makes the scenery outside their den better) and some of them might be evil and greedy (stealing women to shine their scales while they sleep), but the desire to have everything is what runs their lives.


Devils: Where demons are extremely different from each other, devils are all the same person in various bodies. All of them are extremely lawful, spiteful and ambitious. They each toady up to the people above them and abuse those below them like the worst kinds of bosses. If a person below them has particular talent they will seek to eliminate that person in a way that leaves them looking the better for it. A fair number of devils in each crop start out different, but they either die or alter themselves to match their environment. It is the few of these that reach the top that become unique devils, with bodies that reveal their individual souls.


Eladrin: The Eladrin always seemed like the protectors of chaos. They sided with the demons until the demons turned on them, and they believe that law chokes the vitality out of life. Each one has as varied a personality as a demon, but their constant is good rather then evil. Some are warm and affectionate, others are cold but take up noble quests to do good, and still others are artists who plant their unworldly art in places where the color has gone out of life.


Elementals: Dumb. They start out as little things just smarter then animals and grow up to be just below goblins in intelligence. The image of chimps going from cleaning each other to fighting in seconds from perceived insult comes to mind.


Fey: Like Eladrin, but without the "good" clause. Fey live their lives according to individual whim, and often without regard to each others will. Unlike in humananoid cultures the psychopathic are not punished or kicked out for their killings, because there is no laws to break and no enforcers to keep them from doing it.


Giants: Big humanoids, giants are less populous but more powerful. They build outsized keeps and forts, live in giant palaces and generally live a giant version of humanoid life.


Guardinals: Guardinals are good. Archons dispense law and order, eladrin make life worth living, guardinals protect good things. Archons abandon a city to a demon horde to make the war more winnable, guardinals would die fighting for it because its the right thing to do.


Slaadi: Slaadi are the Eladrin or Demons except that their unifying trait is their body, rather then a leaning towards good and evil. Some are perfectly sane, and others are dangerously deranged, and others sit and gibber to themselves.


Undead: The thing that stands out about undead is that they are always made, always the plaything of fate and dark masters. Easily manipulated through their hungers and attachment to negative energy, they resent the attempts to control them and often turn on their erstwhile masters.

[Eldan]

The Slaad:

The slaad may have uniform shapes now, but when the world was young and they still swam Limbo unhindered, every Slaad had every shape he could imagine. Then the four slaad lords, the most powerful of their race, got together, afraid of being cast down by their lessers, and imposed the spawning stone on them, forcing them both into defined shapes and an endless war between castes for the stone.
Planescape mentioned, I think, that in battle, every Slaad fights for themselves, and that can be expanded. They don't have parties of friends and battle-brothers, like the Eladrin, or screaming barely coherent hordes like the Tanar'ri. They have groups of individual warriors who are momentarily running in the same direction, because that is where the best fighting will be. They are out for duels, not wars.