aimlessPolymath
2017-05-14, 07:24 PM
Vrock demons are notable for several of their special abilities, which don't intuitively match each other. It's impossible to easily characterize them as "bird demons" in the same way that bebiliths are "spider demons", succubi are "seduction demons", or babau are "assassin demons", when their unusual abilities make up so much of their identity:
-Their Dance of Ruin, which takes several rounds to get going, and needs cooperation between multiple demons to get going. Notably, it takes cooperation between normally chaotic demons to function. This ability is a clear metaphor for the Manhattan project, which relied on the coordination of an immense amount of scientists, as well as cooperation with the military. After 3 rounds (read: 3 years between 1942, when the Manhattan project began, and 1945, when the first atomic bomb was exploded), a massive explosion results, obliterating everyone within 100 ft. The requirement for three vrocks to perform the effect is a clear reference to the Iron Triangle of the military-industrial complex.
-Their spores, which infect creatures with damage. Strangely, they count as both a poison and a disease, which makes little sense, unless we view them through the lens of radioactive fallout. In this context, the nature of the spores are clear- they are the radioactive isotopes, which enter the skin through the pores, poisoning creatures afflicted by it (and so it can be removed by neutralize poison), and then giving them radiation sickness (which is removed by remove disease).
-Their stunning screech is a clear portrayal of the reaction to the sheer power of nuclear weapons. Upon hearing their cry, only a true monster (a demon, in fact) is unaffected by the knowledge of what nuclear weapons represent.
In conclusion, I need sleep.
-Their Dance of Ruin, which takes several rounds to get going, and needs cooperation between multiple demons to get going. Notably, it takes cooperation between normally chaotic demons to function. This ability is a clear metaphor for the Manhattan project, which relied on the coordination of an immense amount of scientists, as well as cooperation with the military. After 3 rounds (read: 3 years between 1942, when the Manhattan project began, and 1945, when the first atomic bomb was exploded), a massive explosion results, obliterating everyone within 100 ft. The requirement for three vrocks to perform the effect is a clear reference to the Iron Triangle of the military-industrial complex.
-Their spores, which infect creatures with damage. Strangely, they count as both a poison and a disease, which makes little sense, unless we view them through the lens of radioactive fallout. In this context, the nature of the spores are clear- they are the radioactive isotopes, which enter the skin through the pores, poisoning creatures afflicted by it (and so it can be removed by neutralize poison), and then giving them radiation sickness (which is removed by remove disease).
-Their stunning screech is a clear portrayal of the reaction to the sheer power of nuclear weapons. Upon hearing their cry, only a true monster (a demon, in fact) is unaffected by the knowledge of what nuclear weapons represent.
In conclusion, I need sleep.