Our Monsters are Different

[Conners]

Seen this page before?: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...rsAreDifferent
It applies to monsters, elves, orcs, vampires--just about any "standard" fantasy things. Some people will have a race of brutish dark-green orcs, some will have a race of noble pale-green orcs. But they are orcs, all the same.

Thus, I thought it'd be fun if we talked about differences between creatures in different media, as well as the touches we add in our respective campaign settings.


As a kick-starter topic: Do you have vampires? What are their weaknesses and strengths, if so?

I like mine closer to the source-material, personally. Weakness to water, sun-light, and stakes through the heart. They also fear Garlic, and can't enter places without permission. Still, the ability to command animals of the night, turn into mist, and being really strong and fast is a pretty good trade-off.

[GenericGuy]

My Vampires: You can only become a vampire by choice, bite does not equal transformation, and it involves a ceremony. They’re not stronger than they were before they were changed, but because of how quickly they regenerate wounds and a deadening of the sense of touch means they feel little to no pain (along with having no sense of taste). Sunlight and holy objects still repeal them. And finally, although their bodies are immortal the brain has a limit to how much information it can store. It’s predicted that the human brain has around 2,500,000 gigabytes of memory, and could hold up to 300 years of information, but after that…So my vampires grow ever more insane and animalistic as they age, becoming pathetic parasites in the wilds and back alleys of large cities.(Suck it Twilight )

My Elves: Instead of forests and having a western culture, my elves are more of a mish mash of Persian, Arabic, and live in the desert. They were created directly by their gods and instructed to care and civilize the world. They have an “Elf Man’s Burden” mentality, so for some societies having elves come in can improve their “savage” ways, but for others it means cultural genocide and a handy excuse for the elves to exploit weaker cultures. The Elves are also matriarchal in way that current society is patriarchal, not constant avert discrimination, but an assumption that women are more likely to be in possessions of authority.(Elves are Jerks)

My Orcs: They’re far more lawful than chaotic and a utilitarian mindset over honor before reason. They were bread from human slaves (with the assistance of magic) to make a slave race of laborers and soldiers. The ones not still enslaved by their imperial masters flee to human lands and try to find work and a place that will have them. But Orcs pose a big problem for any society that accepts them, although Orcs can breed with one another after 3 or more generations of pure Orc breeding the resulting children will get dumber, more aggressive, and animalistic. The only way to prevent this is to occasionally add a human parent( the empire that originally bread the Orcs would constantly kidnap humans and force them to mate with Orc slaves to ensure this wouldn’t happen). Orcs also breed far quicker and have far more children than humans. Because of these factors many human societies worry that allowing too many Orcs to live in their communities will mean they will inevitable be overrun and be absorbed by the Orcs, and so drive out Orcs if their numbers get too large.(poor Orcs)

[Hyudra]

I like to mix things up to keep people guessing.

Vampires? A wooden stake through the heart doesn't cut it. It's a myth perpetrated by vampires. The idea is that you're providing an outlet or a vent through which the vampire's stored lifeforce can flow out. Wood works only for the very weakest of vampires... The stake needs to be bone, to really count. For the oldest and most powerful vampires, you need specific kinds of bone. A moderately powerful vampire might need one of the same race he is. A very powerful one might need a bone from an older dragon, or the child of a god.

[Gensh]

In the only setting I've had where vampires particularly matter, a vampire's traits depend on the individual. The curse can be passed on at will during feeding, so it appeals to the common downtrodden masses to become more powerful, even if it means becoming enslaved to an older vampire. The original vampire keeps a strict control over the numbers and kills any excess, having established an empire where vampires are the elite and are considered to be a higher form of life. A vampire gains a certain number of weaknesses as a result of trading its soul to its patron in exchange for being brought into the fold but likewise gains power as it gains thralls. Only "independent" vampires such as the original and a certain mad scientist are able to endure direct exposure to sunlight, however. Additionally, dhampyrs aren't half-vampires in that they're the child of a vampire but are instead the failed result of an experiment to create a type of partial vampire immune to sunlight. Well, technically the experiment was a success, but they lack any power until exposed to the noonday sun, which coincidentally fries their brains.

[Eldan]

Vampires? I always liked the myth that not only humans can be vampires, but anything. Not just animals. Vampire plants. Vampire tools. Vampire common household objects.

Yes, your frying pan is out for your life and will try to suck your blood.

[Spider_Jerusalem]

The only vampires seen in my campaign were actually a few vampire spawns, locked in eternal sleep in a tomb in a place called The Infinite Desert. I actually decided that the vampire character (who was never seen or heard of) was an ancient sultan who offended Horus, and his punishment was never being able to walk under the sun again. Swearing revenge, that sultan turned to Set and begged for help. He was then blessed by the darkness, and became unkillable by all things but sunlight. The blessed waters of the only river that crossed that desert are also deadly to him. Other running water sources are ok, though, but it doesn't matter much, because he is bound to the land (in order to accept Set's blessing, the sultan had to give away his soul, thus becoming an undead). Blood is the only thing that nourishes him and etc. There's nothing about garlic or other such stuff that could stop him, and the only holy simbols that keep the vampire at bay are the ones related to Sun deities.

My elves were once all from a single kingdom, but treachery against Corellon and a war between mortals and gods splitted the elves in four major variants, each dedicated to a phase of the moon. Elves also age differently from the standard rules - they age depending on their maturity. There is no exact age in which an elf becomes an adult, it depends on the growth of their souls and minds. Each kind of elf has a specific power source to keep them eternal, and every elf needs to be attuned to a power source in order to prevent from aging. Attuned elves never die of old age. Elves withouth a link to any power source grow old at the same rate as humans. As for the variants of elves:

The Crescent Moon Elves are exactly as the PHB elves, but their favored class can be chosen between wizard or duskblade (the sword-and-spell style which they claim to have created). Their land is where the heart of all elvenkind was, before they were divided, and it's an ancient forest in the middle of the central continent. Their power source is the Well of Life, in the center of the elven kingdom, where the Tree of Elvenkind stands eternal.

New Moon Elves are desert-dwellers, and descend from the ones who turned away from Corellon. After escaping the elven kingdom, these elves went to the eastern continent, where they found a gargantuan purple rock inscribed with ancient runes and infused with the power unknown, extinct beings. By studying this rock, the only remain of a civilization possibly older than the dragons, the desert elves managed to attune themselves to this rock. While the purple rock is a strong power source, the elves could never estabilish a complete link to it, and thus, each desert elf needs to be constantly wearing a purple necklace - made from a desert stone which is used in a ceremony that draws the power of the Purple Stone to it. A desert elf that travels too far from the Purple Stone and doesn't wear a purple amulet suffers a -1 withdrawal penalty to saves, initiative checks, caster level and attacks. Being more than one year and a day completely separated from the purple energy makes the elf mortal. Adapting to the desert and their new power source changed these elves: Their Ability modifiers are +2 Str -2 Con, they gain Heat Adaptation, +2 against illusion effect (instead of the usual enchantment), their skill bonuses are +2 to Spot, Listen and Sense Motive, the scimitar is a racial weapon for them, instead of the longsword, they do need to sleep and are not immune to sleep effects, and a desert elf with a Purple Amulet has a +1 morale bonus to initiative and can cast Command as a spell-like ability using the character level as caster level, once per day. Their favored classes are Duskblade and Hexblade (they claim they created the duskblades; and the hexblades are actually a sect of duskblades who applied some orc curses to the sword-spell study. Hexblades are outcasts even among the desert elves)

Full Moon Elves are an aquatic variant of elves. Their power source is a sacred moonshard that lies in their deep city. They haven't been statted yet. They are good friends of the Crescent Moon Elves.

Waning Moon Elves departed from the mainland to the north more than half a century after the new moon elves rebelled. They were the ones who didn't want to turn their backs to Corellon, but also weren't satisfied with the way the elven kingdom was being ruled. The first war between the desert elves and forest elves was enough for a portion of the forest-dwelling ones to decide to leave. They became neutral in the war, and retreated to the northern wastes in order to keep isolated from their kin. They later attuned to the White Dragonpool, where the White Elder (the sage and protector of all white dragons) lives. Attuning to a Dragonpool gave them resistance to the cold mountains in the north, and centuries of living in a harsh environment turned these elves in a military-arcane society. Their appearance changed a lot (their hairs are always white, and their eyes range from light gray to deep blue, their skins have a faint blueish tone) and they became more resistant than the other elves, though isolation has made them less sociable (+2 Dex, -2 Cha). They have cold resistance 5, +2 on saves against cold effects, -2 on saves against heat effects, survival is always a class skill for them. Their favored class is wizard.

I also changed goblins a lot, but I'll describe them later, or else this post would be way longer than it already is.

[Systole]

My kobolds (Campaign #1): Have discovered engineering. They are the crazy mad scientists on the world (which has a bit of a steampunk vibe to it).

My elves (Campaign #1): Are an NPC race (Like, LA +3) of arrogant jerks. Dark elves look exactly like elves, and in fact the split between them was entirely political and only happened a few hundred years ago.

My hobgoblins (Campaign #1): Are intelligent and erudite, with an inborn taste for the finer things in life. The tragedy of their existence is that hobgoblins are born to ordinary goblins -- about 1 in 200 or 300 goblin births grows up to be a hobgoblin. Goblins are stupid, disgusting, cannibalistic psychopaths.

My elves (Campaign #2): Are violent, smelly, feral barbarians living in a jungle of death that spans a third of a continent.

My Great Old Ones(Campaign #3): Are super-sized versions of the weird crap from the Cambrian Period, who sleep for aeons in the depths of the ocean, then awake to feed and destroy.

[Friv]

In one setting I was working on, elves and dwarves were pretty different.

I designed a LA +1 variant for elves whose rules I don't quite recall anymore, but it involved bonuses to Dex, Con, and Wis. These elves were physically fit and rugged, and were forest-dwellers. As such, they despised magic, believing that it was an abomination against the world. Elven sorcerers were killed or exiled the instant their power developed, there were no wizards or bards, and the elves spurned the use of magical objects. They did have rangers and druids, who used their powers in harmony with the natural world, but the result was a bunch of xenophobic *******s who assumed that since they could get by just fine without magic or advanced tech, anyone who couldn't was a lesser being not worthy of existence.

Dwarves, on the other hand, loved magic. Dwarven wizards were almost as common as dwarven warriors, and their arcane lore was the envy of the other races. They made the best artifacts because they mixed their crafting skills with their magical abilities gleefully.

[shawnhcorey]

My orcs are based on the African lion. The females stay together but the young males are driven out by their fathers when they reach pubescence. They form roaming bands that eventually can take over a harem. The first thing they do is kill the young of the previous males so the females can spend all their efforts raising their young. They then settle down to the domestic life of males: protecting their harem from other roaming bands. It's these bands that attack human farms, homesteads, and isolated villages, to either their steel weapons and goods or out of sexual frustration. It's these attacks that give the orcs their violent reputation.

Is that different enough for you?

[Anderlith]

My vampires are evil bloodsucking parasites, that burn in daylight & don't look like angsy teen boys.

[Brauron]

In the campaign setting I'm currently designing, "Goblins" are Medium Fey, unspeakably ugly, with long, sparse greasy hair, warty pale skin, bulging eyes, and rows of shark-teeth crammed into their mouths. They dwell underground, especially in places where Evil Magic has been cast, drawn to it like moths to a light. While more than capable of subduing prey with their teeth and claws, they all seem to carry long, curved knives with serrated blades. These "Goblin Knives" are never seen outside the possession of a Goblin -- the blades are attuned to some magic inherent in the Goblin that owns it; take a Goblin Knife after killing its owner, and you'll soon find that the blade deteriorates and becomes brittle, crumbling to dust within a span of 1d2 weeks.

[Shadowknight12]

I live and breathe this trope. I absolutely loathe the anthropocentric school of thought that puts monsters as tools for the author/creator/DM/etc to evoke conflict, emotion, drama or plot in its human audience. It's extremely easy to spot: "This is scary, fear it!" "This is sexy, lust after it!" "This is weird and bizarre, be intrigued!" "This is not human, discriminate against it!" "This is a monster! It needs no three-dimensionality or fleshed out personality and backstory! It exists only for you, THE MIGHTY HUMAN CHAMPION, to defeat it!"

It aggravates me heavily, but I suppose it's a subset of the hedonistic "It exists to please me" philosophy that pervades current media. Anyway, some examples:

Vampires:

Spoiler

Show

They're so customisable I can't really get tired of inventing new kinds. However, I tend to avoid vampires in general nowadays due to the latest craze. Vampires are to me what Portal is to Yahtzee.

First kind:

They can only be created by another vampire, who must sacrifice some of its power in order to do so (hence why they are uncommon). They aren't set on fire by the sun, they are merely rendered powerless by it, and their skin is particularly sensitive to sunburns. They have more mythological powers, like mistform, animalism and domination, though garlic and other antibiotic/antiviral/antifungic substances are poison to them, true faith repels them (because true faith repels everything), stakes paralyse them, fire and decapitation kill them, and they don't need to sleep if they haven't exhausted themselves that day (but when they do, they must have grave dirt below their resting place). Aimed at modern times.

Second kind:

They can arise by the suicide by blood loss of a person who has suffered great losses, or they might be spawned by another vampire at a great sacrifice. They can grow to be very powerful in time, but they are usually hunted down and slain before that can happen. They have a fixed resting place, sunlight kills them, they recoil from garlic and holy symbols, they cannot cross running water, stakes don't kill them (decapitation + burning heart, head and body separately and spreading ashes on holy ground does the trick), all the classical things from mythology.

In exchange, they are very good at using blood to power strange magic and augment their deadly abilities. They are somewhat hard to kill and rather resilient. Aimed at standard fantasy setting.

Third kind:

Vampires are near the bottom rung of the undead hierarchy. The only advantages they receive upon transcending to undeath are superb regeneration, extraordinary beauty/handsomeness and supernatural allure. That makes them useful only as infiltrators, spies, assassins, diplomats and/or distraction/cannon fodder. Nobody counts on them to get anything done.

Sunlight knocks them out, stakes have to be made of a specific type of wood to kill them, they can die of starvation if they don't feed for three days, healing magic and disintegration overcome their regeneration and they can actually reproduce sexually (though their fertility rates are incredibly low). Aimed at standard fantasy setting.

Fourth kind:

Vampires are echoes that come back when someone commits suicide after long years of chronic depression. To make a long story short ("TOO LATE!"), someone can only commit suicide while depressed when they've made just enough progress to gain some modicum of motivation and willpower but not enough progress to actually break through depression.

A vampire is not a real person, but a shadow cobbled together from the psychic energy left behind by the victim, amplified by the grief and guilt of their loved ones. They don't look like they used to in life, so they can't be recognised, and they don't have the entire set of memories the victim used to possess, so they can't convince others of who they used to be because they lack a significant amount of knowledge from their former, living selves. Also, there's the dead body still around, which tends to disprove the whole thing. They exist in a constant state of physical, mental and emotional numbness, being quite literally dead inside and out. They can only feel and look alive after they've drank fresh blood, which fades after a few hours.

Weaknesses-wise, they are vulnerable to whatever other undead are vulnerable to, and they recoil from (or can be outright damaged by) things that symbolise joy, hope and happiness (like sunlight, laughter, certain flowers, etc).

This was born from a challenge presented to me in the form of "Give vampires something to be REALLY angsty about." Or, basically, ANGST OVERDRIVE TO THE MAX.

Elves:

Spoiler

Show

First kind:

They are somewhat inspired by post-WWII Germans. Their first and only emperor rose to godhood after proclaiming ideals of racial superiority, world domination and ethnic cleansing. A terrible war ensued and the other deities intervened to depower their god-emperor. This led to the elven defeat. After that, they've turned over a new leaf and started acting diplomatically and apologetic. Anyone caught espousing old ideals is shamed and ridiculed. But old habits die hard and it's very common to find haughty elves that have the social skills of a dead rat when it comes to other races.

Second kind:

They are exiles from a doomed world. They were tasked with keeping an eldritch horror sealed, but they failed and it almost got loose. However, its influence corrupted their nobility and turned them against their race. When confronted with civil war, the remaining elves split in two groups. Those who wished to stay and set things right, and those who wished to hide and/or flee. The latter were exiled from their world by the others, who remained behind to fight a losing war.

The exiles made their new homes in an ancient forest, where they spent several years undiscovered by the rest of the world. When they were found, they were quickly dominated by a martially-stronger, highly religious race (picture medieval knights and peasants with a penchant for healing magic) and so they were forced to become vassals for their conquerors, sending their spellcasters away for the kingdom to use as it pleases and keeping them supplied with wood and other forest goods. Their attitude is cowardly, shy and resentful.

Third kind:

They are corrupted by an eldritch horror (no, not the same from the previous kind, another one) who has developed a magical disease that turns intelligent races into highly appealing, animalistic elves who have a seasonal cycle (Winter: Hibernation. Spring: Village-raiding for kidnapping and turning other races into their own through a gruesome ritual-orgy. Summer: Village-raiding for plain old murder and slaughter. Fall: Village-raiding for supplies and goods.). The eldritch horror does its best to suppress higher brain function in the victims of its plague and keep them acting on an animal-level of intelligence, perpetuating the aforementioned cycle out of spite against the world.

They are empowered and healed by heat, the sun and fire, but they are deathly vulnerable to ice and cold. They cannot cross running water if it's under their body temperature (which thankfully keeps them confined, for now, to a single continent). They are designed to be the perfect vector for the eldritch horror's pathogen. They are extremely comely and secrete powerful pheromones, they have very sharp teeth, retractable claws and are rather fast and agile, if prone to lethargy when the ambient temperature is inferior to their body temperature (which isn't often, since they dwell in the tropics).

Third kind:

They are the bottom rung of the Fey hierarchy, acting as soldiers to protect incursions in their forests. Fey are hunted down by practically everyone with a business sense, due to them making excellent slaves and their body parts being usable to greatly enhance spellcasting. They tend to be the most serious of the Fey, stoic and rarely feeling joy or any sort of positive emotion (since they tend to be quickly soured by the horrors of war). They resent other Fey for the thankless job they've been assigned, and rebellion is only held in check by the fact that such major in-fighting will probably doom them all.

Fey:

I don't have much to say here, except that I try to make Fey more than just "pretty creatures for adventurers to bed" and give them actual societies, reasons to exist and do what they do, logical conclusions to the power they possess and so on. I tend to favour folklore and mythology here as well, which is a wellspring of ideas for how to make Fey actually realistic.

Undead:

I invariably end up going to town with these guys. Even more than with vampires. Everything I said in the Fey category applies here as well, only that undead are clearly meant to be slaughtered rather than romanced (usually). This is probably the type of creature I have to fight the most for. Typically, I'm given something to work with when it comes to vampires, elves, Fey and the like, but undead are portrayed even worse than fiends. They are always, always invariably portrayed as irredeemably evil and worthy only of destruction. The only exceptions are (sometimes) vampires and (sometimes) ghosts.

This portrayal irks me immensely, by the way.

Werecreatures:

Recently, I created a nation in a campaign populated exclusively by werecreatures, anthropomorphic animals and all those creatures in the Monster Manual that combine animals and humanoids. Then I gave them lycanthropy as a dreaded curse/disease that turns them into weak, naked humans during the full moon. They got that disease from humans themselves, who are apparently unknowing carriers, and have since done their best to isolate themselves from the world.

[Jallorn]

Well, let's see:

Orcs: Bestial and emotional, sure, but tempered by heavy lawfulness, though only kind of since I don't use the DnD alignment system in this world. They have a caste system, but it's relatively fluid for a caste system. Also the most technologically advanced.

Elves: Wild, bestial, emotional, and usually very short lived due to conflict. Tribal.

Halflings: Tribal, somewhat wild, brave warriors, tricksters.

Hobgoblins: Noble warriors.

Dwarves: Nomadic desert dwellers with by far the most lawful society in the world; everyone has a job to do, and if they screw it up, the entire clan could die.

Centaurs: Individualistic, music loving arctic dwellers.

[Togath]

edit; spoilers are to keep parts of it compact
my vampires;

Spoiler

Show

come in one of two kinds, either nosferatu style ones(down to being hideous and the weird hunch, that burn in daylight or the second kind; older style ones (which don’t burn in daylight, as early vampire myths didn't have that) and have to have most of their body burned to ashes or some other extreme in order to be gone for good, in addition they have stronger control over animals then the standard vampire(3.5 dnd vampire anyway), being able to summon rats, dogs, cats, bats and wolves to do their bidding, or shape-shift into any of those, some of the strengths of the first kind(the nosferatu ones) are natural spell casting ability and improved stealth and senses, the main strength of the second kind is greatly increased strength and ferocity, along with improved reflexes.

my trolls;

Spoiler

Show

are large grey skinned humanoids standing about 12 in height, they possess rough skin the texture of stone and head like a cross between a pug and an elf(so pointed ears and a kind of squished looking face) with slits for nostrils, they live for about 1500-2000, slowly turning to stone as their death approaches, once they entirely petrify they shatter into a cloud of dust, and another(smaller) statue forms somewhere else in the world and animates over the next week into a new troll(who possesses vague memories of their past life), they are also highly intelligent and are skilled at magic(mainly dnd wizard style magic, learned through knowledge gained from their long lives), in addition they are usually neutral in alignment, preferring to watch rather than act most of the time, they are also more agile then standard(3.5 dnd) trolls, having evolved in thick jungles and swamps

my goblins;

Spoiler

Show

are close relatives to my trolls, and look a lot like smaller(3-4 foot tall) trolls with full sized ears, they are at least as common as humans in my campaign, and in some places even more, they usually are good aligned, acting much like Halflings do in 3.5 dnd(without the stealing aspect), they also greatly enjoy exploring and are skilled at sailing(mostly using galleons), their culture is also strongly Spanish themed.

my ogres;

Spoiler

Show

possess greater intellect then standard ogres(and slightly more than the standard human), they stand about 10-11 feet in height and have black to grey coloured waxy skin, they are also skilled swordsmiths and armour smiths, they are also usually neutrally aligned, and focused heavily on trading with other cultures/races/countries, in addition, they are one of the few races in my campaign to possess their own country(one that has stood for 5000 years, and is based on ancient china geography wise and with regards to technology)

my orcs; are primitive brutish and rather stupid(stat wise in dnd 3.5 they have an int of 3-4) standing about 4-5 feet in height and possessing waxy black skin, as hinted at by their skin they are a relative to the ogres(in fact they are the ancestor of the ogres), due to their stupidity they are often used as slaves by the ogres, in order to row ships or carry goods

my fairies; stand about 3-4 feet in height, with exceptionally tall fairies standing up to 5 feet in height, they possess moth-like flexible wings, which often bear complex patterns of stripes and spots.
They are highly skilled at stealth and assassination, and are often thieves or assassins.
In addition they possess a home country[making them one of the few races to possess one](a small island nation, on which I had been planning to call “Yamato” until I found out that is an older name for Japan), which is heavily influenced by ancient Japan(hence why I am thinking of re-naming it).

my elves(elve not elf); usually stand about 6 1/2 to 7 feet in height and are lean and muscular, they posses only slightly pointed ears(closer to what some humans have).
they are also a non-native race of my campaign world, having literally fallen out of the sky(about 500 feet above the ground, along with their forest top village) about 2000 years before the current year in my campaign, they often act as diplomats and ambassadors to other cultures and countries in the current year of my campaign.

[Kol Korran]

i've made a few alterations to less used monsters, mainly in the terms of fluff, but also a bit in the terms of mechanics.

the Monster Compendium link in my sig leads to the thread. warning- each entry is a bit long i've been told.

i almost never used vampires myself... don't know why exactly.

[jseah]

Currently writing a magic system/fantasy setting

Apart from humans, some plants (mostly crops + trees + grass) and some domestic animals (farm animals + pets + mice), nothing much is the same.

Cinque-Vassa are the other intelligent race I have created. I haven't made any more since I can't think of any interesting names.

Spoiler

Show

Vassa are a bit like monkeys. Long limbs relative to bodies. Fur over most of the body and a long furry tail for balance and extra limb. Evolutionarily close to humans but further away than primates are in RL.
Vassas are tiny compared to humans, roughly the size of a small dog.

Cinques are intelligent parasites that infest Vassa hosts. Vassa themselves are intelligent and but an infested Vassa is subsumed into the Cinque. The Cinque gains the Vassa's memories and takes on a bit of its personality. It is essentially one creature at that point, the gestalt having access to the skills of both the Cinque and Vassa. The infested Vassa never learns new skills, but the Cinque infesting it can learn and expand its own skill set, although it cannot use the Vassa's skills to qualify.
The Cinque infestation eventually kills the host. (mean survival time is roughly two years)
There are no independent Cinques. Cinques cannot survive outside a Vassa, lacking in any digestive system.

Vassas grow like monkeys. Sexual reproduction can occur when females go into heat, ala monkeys. This happens every two weeks or so when the female has enough food, with a gestation time of ~7 months and a litter size of 4 on average. Food stress often prevents Vassa females from going into heat.
Unlike humans, Vassa children are born competent and can care for themselves in the wild or in society.
Vassas, when un-infested, have a natural lifespan of around 40. Being sexually mature at 2, and tailing off around 30, Vassas can bear litters virtually every year when there is enough food.
An infested Vassa is sterile and never goes into heat if female.

Occasionally, a Cinque may produce another Cinque. Cinque reproduction is asexual and occurs at random during infestation. This happens roughly every four years but never happens more than once per infestation.
When reproducing, a Cinque can cause its host to inject a Cinque egg into another Vassa. A Cinque in a host Vassa will cause rejection of any eggs and no double infestations occur. If a Cinque, by choice or circumstance, does not inject its egg, the egg eventually gets rejected and dies.

A Cinque may leave its host at any time by injecting itself into another Vassa. Doing this kills the host. A Cinque that is killed also kills the host.
The Cinque retains some memories of its previous host if it has made them part of its own memory. Learned skills tend not to get transferred although it has happened rarely.
Cinques regenerate all the time and have no maximum natural lifespan. They do die when their host dies however.

If you haven't noticed, this interactions are actually quite similar to the vampire-human interactions. Just rewritten and made a bit more robust.

[DoctorGlock]

Lets see, I have used...

Elves.

Spoiler

Show

Desert tribesmen with a semi Bedouin/Arabian feel. Mostly nomadic with a few fortress citadels. The part that really threw my players off was the cultural focus on masks. From the moment an elf reaches adulthood he is given a mask. It is blank but for a red tribal marking. Accomplishments are inked onto the mask over the course of the elf's life. Outsiders are given blank masks with no markings when they visit. To speak to someone without your mask on is considered an insult as you have just called the person a barbarian. When an elf is exiled he is stripped of a mask and branded with a broken tribe mark.

Angels

Spoiler

Show

And other good outsiders. These are not "peace and goodwill unto man" angels but "mysterious ways" angels. Columns of fire and wings studded with eyes. If "good involves driving your town to madness or just striking the place with brimstone, they do it, regardless of words like "pure souls" and "innocents"

Also had them as space aliens once.

Dragons

Spoiler

Show

I try to avoid standard dragons, even if it is only through a retexture.
I have used the Norse dragons, the vast wyrms that gnaw on the roots of the world tree, the lindworms, linnorms and assorted serpents whose breath is poison and death brings a dire curse upon the slayer

I also confused the heck out of my players in the same game with the mask elves by having a huge blue-green lizard with feathered white wings and a woman's head swoop down and start posing classic trickster shenanigans to the poor gnome that teleported to the wrong desolate waste. At the end of the session they were still wondering what on earth the thing was. It was a from the book blue dragon.

Dwarves

Spoiler

Show

Same game as above. No longer the cave dwelling neckbeards they once were, they have a senate and very advanced military. They bring culture, technological advancements and a revolutionary system of military organization. Also a huge amound of hedonism and rejection of cultural norms. There were in the middle of a civil war against a general turned emperor named Julius. Roman dwarves!

Jinn

Spoiler

Show

Ok, these guys were semi traditional in the trickster aspect, but not as malevolent as in most media. Once again, same game as the elves. The party is traveling through the correct barren wastes this time after getting a warning from the elvish guards stating "The aurora is in the sky tonight, beware the dancing Jinn"

Well, when the party is invited to share the fire with some cavorting figures in red masks covered in strange red marking and sheathed in robes, all in various hues of yellow to red, it became apparent that there were not listening. Over the course of a meal they get to discussing the nature of desire and purpose and the leader flat out asks "what then is your wish" One of the players answered "That our enemies meet the blades of our swords" (them tracking down some "man who would be king" type)

They get horribly drunk and begin to dance around the fire with the Jinn before the player with the highest wisdom score makes his will save and realized something is wrong. He pulls the others away, though not before one of the charmed party takes a swing at him as the Jinn all tears their masks off, revealing blood red skin, horns and fangs, along with manes of bright red hair

They flee into the distance with the laughter at their back. When they return hours later there is no sign of the encampment. It's about then that the wisher realized that he had accepted a wish from the Jinn.

This led to a sandstorm delaying their quarry and the wisher drawing most of the fight's aggro. He got the ghost class for his efforts though.

[Seharvepernfan]

Vamps

Spoiler

Show

For the past couple months, I've been trying to decide exactly how my vampires should be. I think the ones straight out of the MM are a bit too powerful, but then I guess they could be the rare "elder" vampires leaving vampire spawn to be normal vampires. Fluff wise, I haven't changed them much, but I did drop the whole garlic/crosses/running water/can't enter a house uninvited/control animals stuff. They are few in number because the world can't support many of them without them ruling, and there are too many powerful non-vampire beings out there for that to happen. So, they hide in cities and caves (and the underdark), picking away at the weak who live at society's edge.

They were created by a long-fallen master race in a search for immortality, but since that empire's fall they were let loose to keep the current races in check (humans, elves, dwarves, etc).

They don't play a big part at all, I just keep them around for variety.

Elves

Spoiler

Show

I took most of the normal elf races (wild, wood, high, grey) and labeled them "elf" with the same racial traits. They might live as wilderness savages, sylvan fey-friend rangers, nomadic fair folk, or forest-city building sophisticated wizard erudites, but all that is just a cultural difference. I keep drow as they are. I don't know if I even have aquatic elves or not.

My elves are pretty vanilla. They are predominantly CG (except drow), love the wilderness (especially forests), dislike and avoid industry/business/empires, living simple responsible lives in tune with their environment, and aim for quality of life and joy. They are basically a race of libertarians.

They have smaller populations than other races, but a much higher percentage of leveled characters. They are deadly guerilla warriors, prime archers, and often-times magically capable. They have a sense of racial brotherhood, and never have wars among themselves (except drow), and very, very rarely start wars with other races. They almost instinctively cooperate, though loosely, with little need for leadership or nations.

Whenever other races invade or start preying on the elves, the elves gang up and guerilla the hell out of the instigators, making any victory too costly and embarrassing. Then individual elf heroes will hunt down those responsible and end them.

The forests of the world largely belong to them (with few exceptions). They let nature run its course, only tending their living areas (warping/speeding plant growth to suit their purposes), and let other races have the new growth outer edges of the forest, which they replant and regrow (and force other races to do the same). This satisfies the needs of the other races and ensures the safety of the true forest.

There are virtually no elf commoners, the only ones that are were raised in human lands, usually by humans. The vast majority are experts at least. Warriors are rare too, most "warrior" elves are actually a variant of fighter, or a wilderness rogue/scout/wilderness ninja/ranger. The wild/wood elves are usually just "warriors" with some druids thrown in, high elves are typically gish "warriors" with levels of enchanter/diviner/illusionist/transmuter who sometimes take eldritch knight/spellsword/bladesinger/arcane archer, and grey elves are mostly casters, sometimes duskblades.

Stat-wise, I made them a hair faster (35ft.) to represent their faster fast-twitch reflexes and light/slender/agile bodies, +2 caster level checks against spell resistance, +2 spellcraft, +2 craft (bowyer/fletcher), +2 on turning checks against undead, and +2 caster level with positive energy spells. This makes them magically capable in addition to guerrilla warriors, they are expert bow crafters like they should be, and they are innately gifted with "life" magic.

Orcs

Spoiler

Show

My orcs mostly look like the dudes from pg. 23 of the DMG, some are uglier and more like lockwoods drawings, others are nobler looking like azeroth orcs, but they are all the same race. I dropped thier charisma penalty (I pretty much lowered all charisma penalties by 2), and gave them a few more "brute" bonuses.

Their gear is usually subpar, unless they just got their hands on some new stuff (which swiftly goes into disrepair). A normal orc will be wearing hide armor or peicemeal equivalent to studded leater, using a greataxe with less hp than a normal one, and a few javelins. They virtually never create their own magic items.

Pretty much every orc is a warrior, and the elite "warriors" are usually barbarians. The wisest orcs end up being clerics (typically war/strength), many of which multiclass as barbarian (they usually prepare buffing spells). The same goes for charismatic orcs and sorcerer (who overwhelmingly prefer blasting spells). If they take any ranger, usually its a few levels at most. Very few have skillmonkey classes. The orc strategy is mass charge doing as much damage as possible at any cost as quickly as possible.

Orcs virtually never have sophisticated classes, like ToB.

Orc shamans cultivate a variety of drugs that increase "berzerker" qualities in their warriors, who are largely addicted to these drugs. They sometimes trade these drugs in the black markets of other races (usually humans).

Frank's orcs match up with mine pretty well. I haven't changed them much from how they are in the books, except more of them are sorcerers.

My ogres and giants are largely the same. Ettins are just two headed ogres. Trolls look more like lotr trolls (but leaner and clawed).

My dwarves are largely the same, except there are more spellcasters (but mainly utilitarian non-pc builds). Dwarf commoners are actually warriors, warriors are actually fighters, and fighters are actually crusaders. Artificers are common.

I got rid of halflings.

Gnomes

Spoiler

Show

My gnomes are completely reworked, but provide pretty much the same fluff.

Gnomes
+2 Cha, -2 Wis
small
base speed 20ft.
lesser low light vision (x1.5)
treat light repeaters as simple weapons, heavy repeaters and calculi as martial
a gnome who merely passes within 5ft. of an illusion is entitled to a save to disbelieve the illusion as if studying it
+1 attacks with thrown weapons
+2 will saves vs. illusion
+1 dc to any illusion spells cast
+2 craft alchemy
+1 to any two craft or knowledge skills (except alchemy)
+2 decipher script
+1 disable device and open lock

Their society is split into two groups, the hidden, and the wanderers. The hidden are your typical fantasy gnomes, living in hidden burrows in wooded hills or hard-to-find sections of the cities of other races. They are mostly crafters and casters, making the lions share of the worlds magic items/alchemy/technology (including smokepowder and rifled flintlocks).

The wanderers are more roguish. They live as bands of nomads, usually in large enclosed wagon caravans, boat caravans along large rivers and coastlines, and even in airships (which are new and rare). They do the trading and black-ops/secret agent/spy style work for the race.

Gnomes are virtually never warriors, they just don't have the natural capabilities for combat. Many are rogues, but that is largely the extent of their martial capabilities. They instead rely on stealth, superior items and gear, and constructs. Warforged exist in my world, but only as the servants and protectors of gnomes (they are free, but 99.?% choose to stay with their creators).

Other than this they are largely the same as the PHB gnomes, except they are a bit taller and about twice as heavy. They have a lot in common with eberron gnomes and rock gnomes from faerun.

Also, my svirfneblin are NE. They are as highly feared as drow or duergar, if not more so. They make prime stealth agents and smugglers.

Hobgoblins (Rhuuka)

Spoiler

Show

HOBGOBLIN CHARACTERS
Hobgoblin characters possess the following racial traits.
+2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom. Hobgoblins are disciplined and punished harshly since birth by a highly dominating society, developing healthy enduring bodies but lacking personal strength and the mental ability to block influence. A hobgoblin instinctively follows commands and orders.
A hobgoblin’s base land speed is 30 feet.
+2 to Grapple checks
+2 to all Art of War checks (Bull Rush, Disarm, Feint, Overrun, Parry, Sunder, & Trip)
+2 vs. all Art of War checks (Bull Rush, Disarm, Feint, Overrun, Sunder, & Trip)
+2 to Knowledge (architecture & Engineering) & Proffession (Seige Engineer) checks
Any hobgoblin who is adjacent to an ally hobgoblin gains a +1 shield bonus to AC against melee attacks from opponents adjacent to both hobgoblins.
Treat dire flails as martial weapons.
Automatic Languages: Goblin. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Infernal, Giant, Orc.

Half-hobgoblin
+2 Wis, -2 Cha. Half-hobgoblins are looked down upon and ignored by their parent races and thus have weaker personalities, but develop greater self-control and perception by learning for and teaching themselves. They tend to say little and listen much.
A hobgoblin’s base land speed is 30 feet.
+2 on all endurance checks.
+2 to Concentration checks.
+2 to Grapple checks
+2 to all Art of War checks (Bull Rush, Disarm, Feint, Overrun, Parry, Sunder, & Trip)
+2 vs. all Art of War checks (Bull Rush, Disarm, Feint, Overrun, Sunder, & Trip)
+2 to Knowledge (architecture & Engineering) & Proffession (Seige Engineer) checks
Treat dire flails as martial weapons.
Automatic Languages: Common, Goblin. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Infernal, Giant, Orc.

Physically, hobgoblins are human sized but typically broader and thicker of frame, squarer, and as a result, heavier. They tend to be tighter or harder to the touch than man. Their skin is darker and ruddier, more leathery and tends to be reddish, orangish, brownish, gray, or some mix of these. Their hair is thick, stiff and hard, and mostly dark or muted in color. Their features are typically bonier or more pronounced, with a harder cast. Their faces are typically flatter than a humans, and wider. Their eyes are usually yellowish, reddish brown, brown, or black. They are rarely, if ever, blue or green. Their lips are thin and hard.

Hobgoblins are a conquering race that inhabit areas that used to be occupied by other races, usually a receding tide of humans. Hobgoblins live wherever they find suitable defensible dwellings. They add superficial fortifications and dwellings onto a base structure that they cannot replicate, though some powerful hobgoblins tribes and nations use slaves to build fortresses and cities that they design, and these fortresses and cities are often of higher structural quality than the majority built by humans and tend to be more tactical/strategic in layout. Some of the largest and strongest fortresses in the world are in (or bordering) hobgoblin lands. Any hobgoblin leader would go to great lengths to own a dwarven fortress. Hobgoblins living near water often pirate and raid from fortified battle-ships with siege weaponry (their ships tend to be very large, often with wide platforms, but aren‘t quite seaworthy).

They exist in tribes which occasionally, under the right leadership, form into small (but strong) kingdoms. They raid the communities of other races (and their own) for slaves, whom they use for menial labor, agriculture, crafting, animal handling, mining, battle fodder, and other miscellaneous (and often horrible) things. Hobgoblin society leans heavily on the use of slaves. Hobgoblins rely on other cultures for resources, as they lack the skill to make what they need (except for armor, drums, siege engines, and weapons), relying on their martial prowess to take what they need. Hobgoblins will sometimes trade with cultures they cannot dominate (yet) for things they cannot create or greatly desire (often fueling black markets in those cultures).

Most hobgoblins share a life goal/dream of becoming a warlord. Most often, this means serving one first, rising through the ranks with loyal service and dedication, then backstabbing and overthrowing. Most never get close to this goal. A warlords closest and most valuable advisors are typically his most dangerous enemies (because he needs and relies on them more than anyone else and they desire and are closer to his power than anyone else, and thus more likely to attempt a coup). The life of a warlord is typically short and bloody.

However, some warlords rule long enough for their children to mature before they die in battle (or when their children overthrow them - either of which makes a hobgoblin father proud). This leads to a royal line. If a line lasts (which is rarer still), a kingdom is born. If a kingdom lasts, it conquers its neighbors (other small kingdoms or individual warlords) and becomes a nation. A nation will typically amass armies composed of several tribes and set out to conquer the lands of other races. Successful nations become empires, which are usually considered world powers. A hobgoblin empire is a war machine unmatched by any other terrestrial mortal race and is universally feared and respected. Hobgoblin empires that aren't brought down by their own byzantine infighting are brought down by a coalition of enemy races who overcome their own differences to bring down such a dangerous enemy.

A hobgoblin warlord lusts after personal power (in battle and leadership ability), powerful weapons (armament, spell, magic artifice, armies, intelligence), slaves, the favor of his god (through sacrificial offerings if not deed), a line of numerous and strong descendents, territory, trophies of his enemies, respect and loyalty from his followers, fear from his enemies (and allies), and most of all, a mighty stronghold. Hobgoblin fascination with castles and fortification usually crosses the border into obsession. The wet dream of every hobgoblin warlord is a gigantic impregnable fortress on a mountaintop standing over the entrance to a conquered dwarven stronghold with his personal banner waving from the battlements, especially a blood coated stronghold with blood stained (or soaked) banners.

Hobgoblin decoration is dominated by one color. Red. If anything else it is red on black, occasionally in addition to gold, which is more common once a hobgoblin community reaches nation status. Red is a religious color to hobgoblins, it emphasizes strength and power, aggression, pride, and most importantly, blood. Hobgoblins often use blood as decoration, whether the blood of slaves, prisoners, enemies, or merely the unlucky. They use it on walls and armor as paint (this is actually false, hobgoblins never allow blood to stain their armaments, though they are commonly painted or enameled in red), and in fabric as dye. Sometimes it is drunk in celebration or ritual. It is even used as war paint. If blood is not used, then red paint or clay is used to imitate it. Hobgoblins favor red gemstones. A clear sign of a successful hobgoblin warlord is a stronghold painted in the blood of his enemies, with blood soaked banners. Elf blood in particular is craved. Often the first thing done after winning a battle is the stringing up and draining of a fallen enemy's blood (some do this to their fallen as well).

They are almost constantly skirmishing with orcs, whom they acknowledge as dangerous, but lack respect for. They are just as often at war with other hobgoblins, usually over territory, slaves, or some defensible location. They occasionally fight with dwarves, whom they regard as fierce and dangerous enemies, but can rarely defeat them on their home ground (which is where the vast majority of dwarf vs. hobgoblin battles take place). They rarely fight with elves, whom they have an almost fanatical hatred for, and will go far out of their way to kill when they catch wind of them (often meaning huge losses if in an elven forest). Hobgoblins consider killing an elf a great achievement, and many make trophies of the elves they have slain. If a hobgoblin is a ranger, they will almost surely pick elves as their favored enemy.

If a hobgoblin tribe is successful enough, they will breed their slaves to ensure a second generation. This sometimes means that whole generations of other races live and die as slaves to hobgoblins. Whole human cultures exist as hobgoblin slaves. Occasionally, when a hobgoblin society lasts long enough for a multi-generation human slave culture to form within it, trusted children of trusted slaves might grow up among and train with hobgoblin youth, creating a bond sometimes resembling friendship (though this is harshly punished if discovered). Some of these human slaves serve in hobgoblin militaries and clergies, some even become ambassadors to the lands and nations of other races. Plenty of half-hobgoblins spring from these mixed cultures. Some hobgoblins hire themselves out as mercenaries to humans and other races. Most human leaders are loathe to go to war with hobgoblins, as such always leads to heavy battlefield losses.

Most hobgoblins are of the warrior class (usually with a focus on phalanx fighting), with siege engineers being experts (who double as sentries, guides, and sometimes trackers). Many Hobgoblins are fighters, usually of the combat expertise feat tree and specialize in flails. Hobgoblin leadership typically includes clerics of Maglubiyet (Hextor), warmages, or marshalls, and often a triumvirate of the three, with evokers taking an advisory role. Hobgoblin adepts are almost always smiters* and serve in the same role as warmages. Hobgoblins have a strong tradition of ninja/monk hyrbids, although an individual hobgoblin may only have levels in one of the two. The highest regarded class of any hobgoblin, however, is the blackguard. Many champions and heroes of the race are blackguards. They heavily favor crusaders and war blades, and half breeds favor swordsages, but the ruukha have many swordsages as well.

Hobgoblin clerics and evokers have a strong relationship with barghests through the planar ally/binding spells, and the barghests are held in high regard in hobgoblin society, existing outside the usual hierarchy. Barghests often sponsor blackguards, and half-barghest hobgoblins are usually blackguards (half-fiend with the barghest ability to turn into a wolf instead of having wings). Hobgoblins usually feed low worth slaves to barghests in return for being called. Hobgoblin warbands under a barghest leader will usually ally with a pack of wargs.

Strong hobgoblin nations will sometimes breed small armies of skull crusher ogres for use as elite heavy infantry and shock troops, or, rarely, as heavy cavalry mounted on war elephants. Hobgoblins rarely ride horses (hobgoblin mercenaries in foreign lands are a big exception), instead, they ride either dire wolves raised for battle, or wargs enlarged through a permanancied first level spell created by their evokers. Magic hobgoblin armor usually has the shadow and silent moves enchantments. Hobgoblins favor flails, tower shields, and armor spikes. The most common template for hobgoblins is half-fiend (barghest).

*The smiter is an adept variant from a third party book, "Ultimate NPCs". It's basically what you would get if you crossed an adept with a warmage.

Bugbears

Spoiler

Show

My bugbears are orc/rhuuka hybrids called Uruks. They have no bonus HD, and their traits are a mix/match of orc and hobgoblin traits, but are LA+1. They usually have purpleish or maroon skin. They live like bands of werewolves (in fact, most werewolves are uruks) in between hobgoblin and orc lands, and often hire themselves out as mercenary skirmishers/rangers. They look like lotr uruk-hai. They worship an aspect or erythnul called Hruggek, though many are NE.

Kobolds

Spoiler

Show

Largely the same, except a bit more urbane and sophisticated (despite living in tunnels and holes).
small
base speed 20ft.
-2 con, +2 cha
darkvision 60ft.
poison use
+1 nat armor
+2 craft (poison), +2 craft (traps)
+2 search

They favor necromancy. They look like MM kobolds mixed with 4th ED dragonborn. They are gnome sized, though lighter and a bit thinner.

Gnolls

Spoiler

Show

As Frank's description, but:

+2 str, -2 int, -2 cha
+5ft. reach in one direction per round (not on AoOs)
35ft. speed
low light vision
treat greatbows as martial
+2 spot, listen, survival

They are long and lean, favoring reach weapons like spears, and using hit and run tactics. Most are warriors, scouts or rangers. A few are druids. They worship an aspect of erythnul called yeenoghu.

Dragons

Spoiler

Show

I did away with the color coded dragons from the MM, opting instead to make each dragon unique. In my world they have extremely morphic DNA, making each and every dragon different. Not all are "true" dragons with wings, a long tail, 4 legs, a long neck, horns, and all that, however those that are are the most powerful. Some are snakelike, some are like crocadiles or komodos, some are thick and bulbous like frogs, some are sea serpents, etc. They do all have some sort of mouth based attack, whether as a breath weapon, a poison bite, or even a fang dragons increased damage and con drain. They do mostly have innate spellcasting, but some are stupid like wyverns and can't manage it. Some have druidic casting instead.

I try to keep most monsters from being overly large, and dragons are no exception. The largest flying dragons will be huge or smaller, the largest land dragons will be gargantuan, only sea dragons will be colossal (exceptions to the first two cases exist, but are very rare).

Basically, I tailor whatever dragon I decide to use to whatever specific need I have for it in the adventure.

Most live like beasts or MM dragons, some live among the societies of lesser races, even openly. Some rule nations.

[kieza]

My ghouls: Rather than carnivorous undead, they're carnivorous living humanoids. They first appeared about two hundred years ago, living as carrion-eaters. (They lived near graveyards, which gave them a nasty, but deserved, reputation.) Eventually, they adapted to modern society, and now about half of the total ghoul population is "civilized." Aside from their carnivorous teeth, they look completely human, so a lot of people think that they were bred or magically altered from human stock by some anonymous wizard.

My orcs: Orcs don't come from the same genetic ancestor as elves, humans, dwarves, and halflings, or at least, they split off earlier. They have markedly different brain chenistry and psychology; most notably, they have a fight response rather than a fight-or-flight response, and they massively overproduce adrenaline even when calm. The end result of this is that they fly into berserker rages at the drop of a hat. However, their modern society tries to counter this: about five centuries back, the orcs were involved in a war from which most of a generation didn't return. A few shaman from the older generation took the opportunity to reshape orc culture, emphasizing self-control and restraint, and channeling their cultural aggression into bloodless competitions like hunts and a version of the Olympics. Orcs are still berserkers, but aside from a few outcasts, they fall into a cold fury rather than a frothing rage.

My dwarves: Dwarves are a stagnant race. Their culture has always revolved around tradition and respect for ancestors, but after a war 500 years ago (the same one that the orcs were in) that destroyed their capital and royal family, tradition became their overriding concern. Whenever a dwarf makes some achievement, the expectation is that he will dedicate it to the founder of his clan, and take no glory from it himself. The problem with this is that, once something is dedicated to an ancestor, it is considered a great dishonor to stop using it, much less destroy it. As such, the dwarves have passed up many recent advances in industrialization and mechanization. While dwarf mastersmiths are still the finest craftsmen in the known world, sought after for heirloom-quality work, all of the mass-produced goods that the dwarves used to make are now produced by human foundries. The dwarven economy is in shambles, and more and more young dwarves abandon their clans to seek training and employment abroad. Many elders fear that the collapse of dwarven society will occur within the next two generations.

My angels and demons: Angels are constructs which not only lack free will, but also lack true sentience. They are created as needed by the greater servants of the gods (archangels and the enigmatic Observers, who do have sentience, and in the case of Observers, free will) and given only the knowledge and decision-making ability necessary for the task at hand. As an essentially limitless resource, created from the endless material of the Astral Sea, angels are simply thrown at a problem until it goes away with no concern for losses. Demons, on the other hand, are created ad infinitum by a corrupted version of the same process which creates angels. On the Astral Sea, around the mouth of Hell, endless legions of angels and demons are eternally created, thrown at each other, and destroyed, neither side making progress.

Spoiler

Show

A note on my cosmology: The gods are absent, having moved on to the next world on the docket. They left behind a council of Observers, enigmatic beings who serve all of the gods equally, and their domains on the Astral Sea. The Observers coordinate the archangels, who coordinate the legions of angels to defend the world against intrusion from the Far Realm.

However, uniquely among all the worlds designed by the gods, this world's Observers had an ideological split, which led to the corruption of the demons and the destruction of many of the gods' works and facilities. The loyalist faction maintains control over the angels, but the usurpers have erected a defense against transit from the Astral Plane, preventing both loyalist Observers and angels from attacking them on the Material Plane while the usurpers advance their own agenda.

(This is all a variation of the Ancient Astronaut hypothesis, with lots of MAGIC! and SCIENCE! thrown in.)

[Anderlith]

My angels cannot create, that is the sole trait of humans & god(s), this means that they are limited in ideas & cannot lie (this does not stop them from thinking you are lying, nor make them ignorant of the concept of a lie.) Angles are however very powerful.

Fallen angels hate humans because of our power to create. Fallen angels use the same rules as normal angels except they are really good at not lying. They also seek to harvest human souls because it is an energy source. The lead Fallen Angel wants to accumilate as many souls as he can to rival any power that exists (perhaps even god(s))

Demons are corrupted souls of humans, fallen angels corrupted them because they cannot create & so a demon is a way to circumvent that. It is thought that the idea for the first demon was from a man. Demons are stronger than humans power-wise.

My goblins are my pet race, I love me some goblins. I like them as cowardly cunning greenskins with football heads. They do have Goblin Heros who are smart or brave or such. The most cherished Goblin Hero is Gnish, a goblin warrior/blacksmith who wields a greatsword (goblin sized). Gnish is based on a happenstance NPC that turned into my first & only GMNPC.

[Conners]

My angels cannot create, that is the sole trait of humans & god(s), this means that they are limited in ideas & cannot lie (this does not stop them from thinking you are lying, nor make them ignorant of the concept of a lie.) Angles are however very powerful.

Fallen angels hate humans because of our power to create. Fallen angels use the same rules as normal angels except they are really good at not lying. They also seek to harvest human souls because it is an energy source. The lead Fallen Angel wants to accumilate as many souls as he can to rival any power that exists (perhaps even god(s))

Demons are corrupted souls of humans, fallen angels corrupted them because they cannot create & so a demon is a way to circumvent that. It is thought that the idea for the first demon was from a man. Demons are stronger than humans power-wise.

By, create, you mean think up new ideas...? Hard to imagine a being that can't think of ideas... that's similar to not being able to think.

[Anderlith]

By, create, you mean think up new ideas...? Hard to imagine a being that can't think of ideas... that's similar to not being able to think.

Yes. Look at a bird or a spider, they can make a nest or a web that is beautiful & complex, but every bird or spider makes the same kind of nest/web. Only humans actually have new ideas. The way I portray angels, they are immensely powerful entities but they are created to serve. They are soldiers & messangers, they don't need to have ideas.

Without trying to push religion, using religion just to flavor & fluff gaming...

Spoiler

Show

In the bible angels are portrayed as mostly autonomous things, some of them serve no purpose other than to chant "Holy, holy, holy". & you could interpret the line in the bible "god made man in his own image" as God creating man as a creator

[Conners]

Yes. Look at a bird or a spider, they can make a nest or a web that is beautiful & complex, but every bird or spider makes the same kind of nest/web. Only humans actually have new ideas. The way I portray angels, they are immensely powerful entities but they are created to serve. They are soldiers & messangers, they don't need to have ideas.

Without trying to push religion, using religion just to flavor & fluff gaming...

Spoiler

Show

In the bible angels are portrayed as mostly autonomous things, some of them serve no purpose other than to chant "Holy, holy, holy". & you could interpret the line in the bible "god made man in his own image" as God creating man as a creator

Not true... I taught a wild bird to stand on my hand, and peck chicken off of it (cannibalism, I know). Animals don't understand the same way humans do. But they still can understand in their own way (our brains literally work differently from animals').

Spoiler

Show

? Not sure what you mean. The angels were often sent to deliver messages, save people from cities, and that sort of thing. Unless it's some particular parts I haven't read recently.
"Image" would seem to refer to appearance (that's the way the word is normally used).

One thing I'm noticing in the thread, is the roles of orcs and elves being reversed (elves being made savage, orcs being made noble). What appeal do you see in doing this, out of question?

[jseah]

I think I will do an elf for my setting.

It will not be savage elves, like others, sticking to the high civilization style. And they have to stay in the forest. And they have to have infinite natural lifespans.
EDIT: looks like I didn't get all of that.

So... *cracks knuckles*

Elf/Elves used below is a placeholder name. I am now looking for a name for this species. Any suggestions?

Spoiler

Show

Elves are strange kind of plant.

Young elves grow from seeds and live for an indefinite period of time. When they sexually mature, which always happens after 20 years and before 60, they morph into a tree. This requires the elf to eat rather alot (and get fat) beforehand, so the transforming elf in its cocoon doesn't starve before it finishes tree-ifying.
Young elves can choose the time they mature by stuffing themselves with lots of food and finding a place to take root. Young elves are bipedal humanoids, but have a tough outer skin not unlike what you might find on a plant stem. Young elves are omnivores and can digest plant matter.
Instead of haemoglobin, young elves use a protein to transport oxygen. Their blood is clear as water, although just about as viscous as human blood or tree sap.
Young elves do not photosynthesize. Skin colour is usually pure white (which is really transparent but refracted too much, like a really misty day)

Elf-trees are non-sentient but retain the ability to wield magic, and young elves can draw on elf-tree magic. This connection is too complex and in-built into elf biology that no other species can use an elf-tree's magic.
Other than young elves requesting elf-trees to use magic, elf-trees will also use magic in self-defence.
Young elves can request an elf-tree to grow wood in a certain shape and then detach it. Only elves can do this.
Of course, elf-trees only use magic or grow wood upon request if they can actually do it without comprising their magic and nutrient levels.
Elf-trees have no maximum natural lifespan.

Elf-trees are bisexual and can self-fertilize. Elf-tree pollen has a soporific (calming) effect on mammals, although unless concentrated, cannot serve as a sleeping powder or general anaesthetic. Note that this doesn't work on young elves.

Elf-trees drop seeds through the year. Elf seeds grow as a plant for a short time (a few years) before morphing into their intermediate stage of the mobile young elf. This morph happens in the large tap root the elf-plant grows (far larger than would be expected out of a plant that size)
Only mobile young elves are sentient. The plant forms of elves lack a nervous system at all.
Young elves never exit their tap root during winter. Development of the elf-plant is timed so that they exit from late-spring to mid-fall.

[Conners]

Names? You could use the Norse name, "Alfr".

[Thinker]

One thing I'm noticing in the thread, is the roles of orcs and elves being reversed (elves being made savage, orcs being made noble). What appeal do you see in doing this, out of question?

It's the trendy thing to do after the LotR movies. I guess people feel like they're getting back at Legolas by making elves terrible. As for orcs, they always seem like they're an underdog. Everyone loves underdogs.

Lately I've been experimenting with having no fantasy races and monsters are unplayable. "Oh, you got turned into a vampire? Better roll up a new character..."

[mint]

My group has a running gag about elves. They're everywhere because if they ever end up in a place too long they get this urge to go "into the west" at the drop of a hat.

"Arîevnir, did you take out the garbage?"
"Alas, I did my love"
"'Tis truly the end of an era. Let's fade into the west"
"'kay"

So if we go somewhere really off the map or metaphysical, chances are there are some elves around.
The corollary is that some elves don't move on. What happens to them? They become Hillbilly Elves. They have sweet stills, mouth accordions and interesting handshakes.

[Conners]

Lately I've been experimenting with having no fantasy races and monsters are unplayable. "Oh, you got turned into a vampire? Better roll up a new character..."

Interesting. What have you discovered form your experiments, so far?

My group has a running gag about elves. They're everywhere because if they ever end up in a place too long they get this urge to go "into the west" at the drop of a hat.

"Arîevnir, did you take out the garbage?"
"Alas, I did my love"
"'Tis truly the end of an era. Let's fade into the west"
"'kay"

So if we go somewhere really off the map or metaphysical, chances are there are some elves around.
The corollary is that some elves don't move on. What happens to them? They become Hillbilly Elves. They have sweet stills, mouth accordions and interesting handshakes.

Wow. Everyone seems to hate elves, these days :-/. I never liked them that much, but still.

[Yora]

The only real problem with elves are the very vocal fanboys and fangirls. Unfortunately, quite a few of them are also writers who occasionally work for RPG companies.
It's not so much the things that elves do, but that some writers claim that these things make the elves superior to everyone else. And when you also have the writers make all the other races agree with that, you have a real train wreck.

[Conners]

Yes... that often can be annoying.