Why are chuuls aberrations?

[Tensu]

While I don't play D&D myself, I do occasionally get my hands on a monster manuel to look at the art and see how badly wizards of the coast is ****ing mythology. and I have a question... what exactly makes chuuls aberrations?

They may have incredibly potent paralyzing venom, but there's a snail on earth that can boast even more potent venom, and while they're large, rewind a few eons back and invertebrates could grow much larger due to higher oxygen levels that made their breathing system more efficient. all signs say they're just crustaceans from a very oxygen-rich environment.

However, given my limited knowledge of D&D, there must be some reason to count them as aberrations that I don't know. anyone know what that is?

[hamishspence]

Ecology of the Chuul article in Dragon magazine makes their biology pretty aberrant- a little serpent, a little invertebrate, etc.

As a magical creation, aberrant is common choice. Like umber hulks, they were created by a wizard as soldiers of a sort.

[Alteran]

Disclaimer: This relates only to aberrations in the fourth edition of D&D, I don't know enough about the earlier editions to know if the answer is the same.

"Aberrant creatures are native to or strongly corrupted by the distant alien plane known as the Far Realm."

Chuuls are aberrations because they apparently have origins tied to the Far Realm. Also, tentacles. Anything in D&D with tentacles is probably aberrant. Strangeness alone is not enough to determine whether something is aberrant. After all, Hook Horrors and Otyughs are natural.

[Spiryt]

An aberration has a bizarre anatomy, strange abilities, an alien mindset, or any combination of the three.

I guess that they have bizzare anantomy, and they mindset is pretty alien as well (as they're intelligent, and apparently interested mainly in hunting other intelligent beings)

They probably could be Magical Beast, but are a bit too bizzare to be considered beast.

I agree about tentacles - they explain everything.

[lsfreak]

Well, they don't really match any possible descriptions except for magical beasts and aberrations. As to why it went one way and not the other, that probably comes down to a combination of mechanics (BAB, saves, hit dice) and lore (insectoid and/or slimy + inherently evil is usually aberration; non-slimy tends to be magical beast).

[Indeed.]

Lords of Madness says Chuuls were created by a deranged evil wizard to serve as a world-conquering army, and I quote:

They were entirely new creations, with attributes and powers not normally seen in creatures.

There you have it. They aren't simply half-this half-that, they are wholly and entirely unnatural. Aberrant.

[Tensu]

The only power I remember them being given was venom that can paralyze humans instantly, and there's a snail on earth that can do that, only the snail's venom is fatal (never pick up a cone snail) their "tentacles" seem more like proboscises to me, which I could imagine a lobster-beast having.

what is serpent about them?

and I always thought aberrations where supposed to have alien physiology. I wouldn't be surprised to find a chuul on earth. well, at least not in the Ordovician era.

[revolver kobold]

The only power I remember them being given was venom that can paralyze humans instantly, and there's a snail on earth that can do that, only the snail's venom is fatal (never pick up a cone snail) their "tentacles" seem more like proboscises to me, which I could imagine a lobster-beast having.

what is serpent about them?

and I always thought aberrations where supposed to have alien physiology. I wouldn't be surprised to find a chuul on earth. well, at least not in the Ordovician era.

But if you found one in this era, it would be quite aberrant. The general rule of thumb for aberrations, is while it might be perfectly normal in SOME place, it really isn't normal HERE. That, or a wizard did it.

Also; Cone-fish poison does paralyze humans. Its just that paralysis + underwater = bad. And I think it leads to respiratory paralysis too, which even above water is pretty nasty. Isn't Australian wild-life just grand?

[Tensu]

the only reason we don't find them nowadays is because the oxygen levels are so low, and are getting lower due to global warming. before long some of the larger arthropods are going to start suffocating, which could very well lead to a mass extinction.

however, in D&D word there's a lot of giant arthropods, and if I'm not mistaken, many of them are classified simply as animals. this means that the oxygen levels in D&D land must be much higher than on earth, meaning I could expect something like this to evolve and thrive in D&D land just fine without the aid of magic or the far realm.

I heard on animal planet (not the most reliable source maybe, but whatever) that the venom of one type of cone-snail can paralyze a human completely is seconds, causing death due to paralysis of the heart and lungs. and it injects it's venom via proboscis to make it even more chuul-like.

[revolver kobold]

Well, they are venomous, but not quite that venomous. Depending on the person stung, they might have a rather mild reaction, or be paralyzed in a few minutes. The big problem, as I mentioned before, is that being paralyzed under water is a very bad thing. Either way, if you see a cone shaped shell while SCUBA diving, don't pick it up.

As for the Chuuls, while there might be other large arthropods living in the D&D world, the Chuuls were created, so they don't fit into any ecological niche that even a giant crab may fit into in the crazy D&D world. That, and if I remember correctly, they are rather evil and cruel, rather than just living by instinct like a giant crab.

[Waspinator]

The boundary between animal, magical beast, and aberration can be a little arbitrary sometimes. Though, it's not as bad as humanoid vs monstrous humanoid. Don't get me started on that.....

[ericgrau]

Chuuls are aberrations because they apparently have origins tied to the Far Realm. Also, tentacles. Anything in D&D with tentacles is probably aberrant. Strangeness alone is not enough to determine whether something is aberrant. After all, Hook Horrors and Otyughs are natural.

Maybe octopuses should be added to the list then . In Hawaiian mythology octopuses are the only surviving creatures from the first world before a cataclysmic event. And who can blame them for believing that.

[Tensu]

Of course! Cephalopods are invaders from the far realm! why didn't we realize it before? Oh I hope it's not too late!

Television lied to me again? Why can't you trust anyone anymore? The internet says that you apparently have enough time to smoke a cigarette before dying. However it does instantly paralyze fish... so the venom is still believable

I should have know though. This is the channel that exclaimed "This is the most endangered species of elephant in the world!" by which they meant "This species is more endangered than the other one!"

anywho, even if they've been magically created, why an aberration as opposed to magical beast? seems either could work.

[Fax Celestis]

Anywho, even if they've been magically created, why an aberration as opposed to magical beast? seems either could work.

Magical beasts, despite being inherently magical, still develop on their own--via a natural evolutionary process--and are fundamentally similar to regular animals, though are generally more intelligent.

Aberrations, on the other hand, are one of two things: either they hail from outside our reality (e.g. the Far Realm); or they are created whole-cloth by powerful magics.

See also: the Types and Subtypes section of the MM/SRD:

An aberration has a bizarre anatomy, strange abilities, an alien mindset, or any combination of the three.

Magical beasts are similar to animals but can have Intelligence scores higher than 2. Magical beasts usually have supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but sometimes are merely bizarre in appearance or habits.

[Tensu]

Ok, I see.

but that raises the "Why make Chuuls an artificial species?" question.

[Thurbane]

and I always thought aberrations where supposed to have alien physiology. I wouldn't be surprised to find a chuul on earth. well, at least not in the Ordovician era.

But would such a creature have the intelligence of an average human? I'd be very surprised!

[Ascension]

Of course! Cephalopods are invaders from the far realm! why didn't we realize it before? Oh I hope it's not too late!

Every octopus is an Illithid Demilich. Search your heart, you know it to be true.

[Sebastrd]

Ok, I see.

but that raises the "Why make Chuuls an artificial species?" question.

But that raises the "Why not?" question.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Ok, I see.

but that raises the "Why make Chuuls an artificial species?" question.

Because they simply are. At one point the Chuul used to be two different species, a large crusteacan monster that was unintelligent but very hardy and a parasitic snake-like creature that would commonly bond with the crab creature because of the natural advantages it had. When the wizard who first created chuuls arrived he took the two and magically bonded them into one species and began to mass produce them.

The first chuuls where aberrations because of their paralytic venom (which was not natural to either creatures), their arcane origin, the alien mindset and desire to dominate humaniod species, and the fact that the original chuuls where immortal barring violence and a true-breeding species that would not have occurred naturally, even on the super-speed evolutionary island they were made. Or at least not for a long time until the barrier between parasite and host began to become fuzzy.

[lsfreak]

Ok, I see.

but that raises the "Why make Chuuls an artificial species?" question.

I believe you have crossed the line from "reasonable questions" to "inanity." :P

It's because they chose to. Just like they chose for clerics to be more armored crusaders than cloistered mystics, that chromatic dragons are evil and metallic are good, and that 10cp=10sp=10gp. There is no reason per se, you just accept it.

[Waspinator]

Yeah, at some point the answer just becomes "because some guy at Wizards of the Coast and/or TSR liked it".

[Tensu]

Yeah, I suppose that ventures a little beyond reasonable. but it seems like there's a lot of creatures that are magical or aberrant that just don't need to be (like purple worms).

and forgive my ignorance but TSR=?

[revolver kobold]

TSR = Tactical Studies Rules. They were the company that did D&D before Wizards picked it up.