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Tabletop Games! A Realm Full of Gamma-Goblins and Secret Hitlers

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Posts

  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Snowbear wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Pony wrote: »
    y'know who I think are super neat?

    Gnolls

    they're pretty much a D&D creation (based very vaguely on a made-up creature from a 1912 short story)

    over the years they've become very specifically Hyena-people and that's neato

    I honestly didn't know they had that little historical backing

    Like, they weren't something I'd encountered elsewhere, but I figured that was a fault on my breadth of mythology readings more than anything else

    That's super cool - they're one of my favorite of the monstrous races, for sure

    Thinking on this:

    Has there been any extensive pieces on gnoll culture and society written up at any point?

    Because I would expect, based on the hyena thing, that we'd be dealing with a matriarchal society. Female hyenas are significantly larger than male hyenas, and occupy an authoritative role in hyena clans, which are composed primarily matrilineally (female hyenas are more likely to stay with the group, essentially, while young males often go out on their own and join new clans). Also there is some weird stuff with hyena genitalia that I'll leave you to look up on your own.

    It would be a neat thing to see reflected in the fiction of gnolls, essentially.

    I'd be down with Matriarchal gnoll colonies. Would you also reflect that most hyenas are also scavengers? How would Gnoll society work in that case? Living in ruins of a fallen empire? Or how about something along the lines of a cargo cult?

    Well I know I've seen gnolls portrayed as "cannibals" previously (I don't personally think it counts as cannibalism if it's a different species, but fantasy worlds are weird). Obviously to look at an animal kingdom version of this, that's just eating your kills, which doesn't seem that strange, but given that humanoids don't typically eat their kills, it seems pretty fair. Especially for people that they kill in conflicts unrelated to their hunting patterns.

    I'd also add in their scavenging with regards to equipment and technology. Hyenas are territorial animals, but they frequently have pretty large ranges that they're spanning, so I'd style gnoll clans as being largely nomadic. No permanent gnoll settlements, relying on yurts and similar instead of building permanent villages (or, as you said, commonly occupying ruins and abandoned buildings). This has stunted their ability to, for instance, forge metal goods, most notably weapons, so their armaments are typically either stolen during raids or taken from fallen foes.

    Of course, we're dealing with seven foot tall hyena people, so some of this stolen equipment is going to work better than other pieces. Armor is invariably hodgepodge, a lot of bits and pieces strapped together, almost like a medieval Mad Max aesthetic, and weapons are frequently poorly sized, either appearing very small in the hands of a gnoll or being wielded in a way they're not normally intended. So like, a lot of two handed weapons being used one handed, daggers and shortswords being repurposed as cookware, that sort of thing.

  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    Damn now I want to run a game in a world populated with lesser fantasy races. Kobolds, Goblins, Gnolls, etc. Fantasy Mongol steppe warriors are just centaurs with bows.

    8EVmPzM.jpg
  • TurambarTurambar Independent Registered User regular
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Pony wrote: »
    y'know who I think are super neat?

    Gnolls

    they're pretty much a D&D creation (based very vaguely on a made-up creature from a 1912 short story)

    over the years they've become very specifically Hyena-people and that's neato

    I honestly didn't know they had that little historical backing

    Like, they weren't something I'd encountered elsewhere, but I figured that was a fault on my breadth of mythology readings more than anything else

    That's super cool - they're one of my favorite of the monstrous races, for sure

    Thinking on this:

    Has there been any extensive pieces on gnoll culture and society written up at any point?

    Because I would expect, based on the hyena thing, that we'd be dealing with a matriarchal society. Female hyenas are significantly larger than male hyenas, and occupy an authoritative role in hyena clans, which are composed primarily matrilineally (female hyenas are more likely to stay with the group, essentially, while young males often go out on their own and join new clans). Also there is some weird stuff with hyena genitalia that I'll leave you to look up on your own.

    It would be a neat thing to see reflected in the fiction of gnolls, essentially.

    The new book Volo's Guide to Monsters apparently has a large section on Gnolls

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  • RainfallRainfall Registered User regular
    Turambar wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Pony wrote: »
    y'know who I think are super neat?

    Gnolls

    they're pretty much a D&D creation (based very vaguely on a made-up creature from a 1912 short story)

    over the years they've become very specifically Hyena-people and that's neato

    I honestly didn't know they had that little historical backing

    Like, they weren't something I'd encountered elsewhere, but I figured that was a fault on my breadth of mythology readings more than anything else

    That's super cool - they're one of my favorite of the monstrous races, for sure

    Thinking on this:

    Has there been any extensive pieces on gnoll culture and society written up at any point?

    Because I would expect, based on the hyena thing, that we'd be dealing with a matriarchal society. Female hyenas are significantly larger than male hyenas, and occupy an authoritative role in hyena clans, which are composed primarily matrilineally (female hyenas are more likely to stay with the group, essentially, while young males often go out on their own and join new clans). Also there is some weird stuff with hyena genitalia that I'll leave you to look up on your own.

    It would be a neat thing to see reflected in the fiction of gnolls, essentially.

    The new book Volo's Guide to Monsters apparently has a large section on Gnolls

    It does, and it's good!

  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    In a world populated by lesser D&D races. Would you allow the PCs to play as "Standard" or "Core" races? To emphasize a stranger in a strange land feeling? Or let everybody be weird lizard-dog-monster people and go nuts?

    8EVmPzM.jpg
  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Snowbear wrote: »
    Damn now I want to run a game in a world populated with lesser fantasy races. Kobolds, Goblins, Gnolls, etc. Fantasy Mongol steppe warriors are just centaurs with bows.

    Have you played Endless Legend?

    They're a minor race, but the Bos are essentially centaurs that are based on the Huns, rather than the typical stylings you see associated with centaurs.

    latest?cb=20140623142847

  • DoobhDoobh She/Her, Ace Pan/Bisexual 8-) What's up, bootlickers?Registered User regular
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Pony wrote: »
    y'know who I think are super neat?

    Gnolls

    they're pretty much a D&D creation (based very vaguely on a made-up creature from a 1912 short story)

    over the years they've become very specifically Hyena-people and that's neato

    I honestly didn't know they had that little historical backing

    Like, they weren't something I'd encountered elsewhere, but I figured that was a fault on my breadth of mythology readings more than anything else

    That's super cool - they're one of my favorite of the monstrous races, for sure

    Thinking on this:

    Has there been any extensive pieces on gnoll culture and society written up at any point?

    Because I would expect, based on the hyena thing, that we'd be dealing with a matriarchal society. Female hyenas are significantly larger than male hyenas, and occupy an authoritative role in hyena clans, which are composed primarily matrilineally (female hyenas are more likely to stay with the group, essentially, while young males often go out on their own and join new clans). Also there is some weird stuff with hyena genitalia that I'll leave you to look up on your own.

    It would be a neat thing to see reflected in the fiction of gnolls, essentially.

    in the same vein

    I've been thinking about fantasy races and culture a LOT

    IMO, D&D takes a lot of shortcuts with 'evil' races and tends to give them real brutish rule of the strongest kinda societies

    with kobolds, for example, it makes far more sense to me that they have a more traditional tribal structure (when a dragon isn't lording over them) with assigned rules and mutual cooperation

    or hobgoblins having a more explicity roman style culture (thanks @DE?AD for that)

    so, yeah, I totally dig that take on Gnoll society

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  • Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    Snowbear wrote: »
    Damn now I want to run a game in a world populated with lesser fantasy races. Kobolds, Goblins, Gnolls, etc. Fantasy Mongol steppe warriors are just centaurs with bows.

    Horses seem a bit posh for that world - what about centaurs that are half man, half goat? Like satyrs only quadrupedal.

    Although my first thought was giraffe centaurs for some reason.

    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Dubh wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Pony wrote: »
    y'know who I think are super neat?

    Gnolls

    they're pretty much a D&D creation (based very vaguely on a made-up creature from a 1912 short story)

    over the years they've become very specifically Hyena-people and that's neato

    I honestly didn't know they had that little historical backing

    Like, they weren't something I'd encountered elsewhere, but I figured that was a fault on my breadth of mythology readings more than anything else

    That's super cool - they're one of my favorite of the monstrous races, for sure

    Thinking on this:

    Has there been any extensive pieces on gnoll culture and society written up at any point?

    Because I would expect, based on the hyena thing, that we'd be dealing with a matriarchal society. Female hyenas are significantly larger than male hyenas, and occupy an authoritative role in hyena clans, which are composed primarily matrilineally (female hyenas are more likely to stay with the group, essentially, while young males often go out on their own and join new clans). Also there is some weird stuff with hyena genitalia that I'll leave you to look up on your own.

    It would be a neat thing to see reflected in the fiction of gnolls, essentially.

    in the same vein

    I've been thinking about fantasy races and culture a LOT

    IMO, D&D takes a lot of shortcuts with 'evil' races and tends to give them real brutish rule of the strongest kinda societies

    with kobolds, for example, it makes far more sense to me that they have a more traditional tribal structure (when a dragon isn't lording over them) with assigned rules and mutual cooperation

    or hobgoblins having a more explicity roman style culture (thanks DE?AD for that)

    so, yeah, I totally dig that take on Gnoll society

    There's also some (as I'm sure you're well aware) interesting takes on fantasy cultures based on our modern takes on good and evil.

    For instance, in the modern day we tend to be pretty anti-monarchy, anti-dictator, anti- that sort of thing. And for good reason, historically speaking. We also tend to be pretty pro-democracy, pro-independence, pro-social mobility. For largely pretty good reasons as well, I guess.

    But if you were, for instance, to read Castiglione's Book of the Courtier (don't do this), you'd find an interesting commentary on the various forms of government, which discusses monarchic rule as being the best form of rule (which I think we'd all expect from early renaissance Italian writings) and democratic as being the worst (perhaps a bit more surprising). It gets into this a bit further, staying that monarchic rule is the best form of rule under a good ruler and the worst under a bad ruler, whereas democratic is the worst form of rule under a good ruler, and the best form of rule under a bad ruler, which actually starts making some really interesting points, but the point is, medieval and renaissance thought does not line up with our present day though.

    Anyways, fantasy kingdoms have kings because of course they do. But they also have a ton of autocratic tyranny, and democracy, when it rears its ugly little head, is always considered to be a real good thing that's just trying to make it through these rough shitty times alive. Which is a thing that many of us believe out of fiction, but it also tends to be believed by characters in fiction. They're wildly more politically progressive than anyone of their time would be.

    Essentially what I'm saying is that we should experiment with having stuff like orcs being ruled by a democratic republic, which was seen as a dirty and impure form of government as it doesn't have its rulers selected by divine right. And really run full force with that - the orcs can still be evil, they just have the right to vote. They've spoken, as a people, and decided that the best choice was to appoint a series of smart orcs to make their decisions for them, so they can get on with their pillaging.

  • Desert LeviathanDesert Leviathan Registered User regular
    I used to secretly model common D&D monstrous humanoid cultures on Star Trek Enemy Races.

    My Kobolds were Ferengi. Cowardly, but opportunistic. Nobody really takes them seriously until a ton of them show up with some motivation to cooperate (probably externally imposed), and some esoteric gear (probably stolen or salvaged without real understanding of its operation). There's always one on the street corner selling dodgy meats out of a cart.

    My Drow were Cardassians. Affectations of elegance and civility mask oily fascists with a deep inferiority complex, who heavily rely on slavery to accomplish anything of consequence. Skilled spy organizations are undermined by being extremely volatile labyrinths of murderous intrigue. What good does information gathering do if you can't trust anyone enough to share it?

    My Hobgoblins were Romulans. Delusional arrogance turned all the way up, to the point that it's impossible to imagine one experiencing joy. Racial proficiency with the stick up their butts. Only indulge in creative pursuits so they have an excuse to talk shit about the inferior art and literature of other cultures. Could probably really get some things accomplished if their national sport wasn't the Pissing Contest.

    My Orcs were Klingons. A lot of lip service to Honor and Duty, but 99% of the culture is alcoholism and competitive headbutting, until the occasional actual Noble Warlord Guy emerges and whips everybody into shape. Probably fun to hang out with, right up until some trivial bullshit pushes their berserk button. Few leaders have strategic sense beyond "Form Horde -> Charge," but those that do are dangerous.

    These days... I rarely run games in any of the standard D&D settings, unless it's something like a convention game where I don't have the time to talk to the players about a lot of worldbuilding. And when I write my own settings, I rarely write "monster" races, I just write different groups who politically or culturally may not get along with other groups, so that the comfortable spread of PC types varies heavily depending on where the game is set, and how willing the individual characters are to endure each other's eccentricities.

    Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Dubh wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Pony wrote: »
    y'know who I think are super neat?

    Gnolls

    they're pretty much a D&D creation (based very vaguely on a made-up creature from a 1912 short story)

    over the years they've become very specifically Hyena-people and that's neato

    I honestly didn't know they had that little historical backing

    Like, they weren't something I'd encountered elsewhere, but I figured that was a fault on my breadth of mythology readings more than anything else

    That's super cool - they're one of my favorite of the monstrous races, for sure

    Thinking on this:

    Has there been any extensive pieces on gnoll culture and society written up at any point?

    Because I would expect, based on the hyena thing, that we'd be dealing with a matriarchal society. Female hyenas are significantly larger than male hyenas, and occupy an authoritative role in hyena clans, which are composed primarily matrilineally (female hyenas are more likely to stay with the group, essentially, while young males often go out on their own and join new clans). Also there is some weird stuff with hyena genitalia that I'll leave you to look up on your own.

    It would be a neat thing to see reflected in the fiction of gnolls, essentially.

    in the same vein

    I've been thinking about fantasy races and culture a LOT

    IMO, D&D takes a lot of shortcuts with 'evil' races and tends to give them real brutish rule of the strongest kinda societies

    with kobolds, for example, it makes far more sense to me that they have a more traditional tribal structure (when a dragon isn't lording over them) with assigned rules and mutual cooperation

    or hobgoblins having a more explicity roman style culture (thanks DE?AD for that)

    so, yeah, I totally dig that take on Gnoll society

    There's also some (as I'm sure you're well aware) interesting takes on fantasy cultures based on our modern takes on good and evil.

    For instance, in the modern day we tend to be pretty anti-monarchy, anti-dictator, anti- that sort of thing. And for good reason, historically speaking. We also tend to be pretty pro-democracy, pro-independence, pro-social mobility. For largely pretty good reasons as well, I guess.

    But if you were, for instance, to read Castiglione's Book of the Courtier (don't do this), you'd find an interesting commentary on the various forms of government, which discusses monarchic rule as being the best form of rule (which I think we'd all expect from early renaissance Italian writings) and democratic as being the worst (perhaps a bit more surprising). It gets into this a bit further, staying that monarchic rule is the best form of rule under a good ruler and the worst under a bad ruler, whereas democratic is the worst form of rule under a good ruler, and the best form of rule under a bad ruler, which actually starts making some really interesting points, but the point is, medieval and renaissance thought does not line up with our present day though.

    Anyways, fantasy kingdoms have kings because of course they do. But they also have a ton of autocratic tyranny, and democracy, when it rears its ugly little head, is always considered to be a real good thing that's just trying to make it through these rough shitty times alive. Which is a thing that many of us believe out of fiction, but it also tends to be believed by characters in fiction. They're wildly more politically progressive than anyone of their time would be.

    Essentially what I'm saying is that we should experiment with having stuff like orcs being ruled by a democratic republic, which was seen as a dirty and impure form of government as it doesn't have its rulers selected by divine right. And really run full force with that - the orcs can still be evil, they just have the right to vote. They've spoken, as a people, and decided that the best choice was to appoint a series of smart orcs to make their decisions for them, so they can get on with their pillaging.

    The orcs are going to tear down the wall and make the villagers pay for it.

    steam_sig.png
  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Snowbear wrote: »
    Damn now I want to run a game in a world populated with lesser fantasy races. Kobolds, Goblins, Gnolls, etc. Fantasy Mongol steppe warriors are just centaurs with bows.

    Horses seem a bit posh for that world - what about centaurs that are half man, half goat? Like satyrs only quadrupedal.

    Although my first thought was giraffe centaurs for some reason.

    Really long legs, regular human torso.

    steam_sig.png
  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    Uriel wrote: »
    I really want to play infinity with my brother. I already have some of the models already and the new rules are free on the website (minus those cool introductory missions from the box set)

    It's so hard to improvise terrain with the stuff in our house though.

    Bleh.

    @Uriel I would definitely recommend picking up the card terrain.

    It's really good quality and incredibly cheap. You can put one of the regular Infinity boxes inside the buildings too, they are designed to fit them perfectly and it gives them more structural strength.

    Link here to miniaturemarket

    ten dollars for the below, and they do quite a few sets now. I'd get the stuff from the Red Veil box and two packs of this and you've literally got enough terrain for a full 300pt game with a bit of variation too. From there you can slowly get scatter terrain, buy more cool stuff and replace it out.

    285055_1.jpg

  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    the thing about giving monster races culture and what not is after a certain point they just become a different nation. A small one, perhaps, but what's different a hobgoblin society based on the romans, and a human society based on the romans.

    Basically nothing, and then we're just back to using fantasy species as a stand in for real races and then what have we accomplished?

  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Melding wrote: »
    the thing about giving monster races culture and what not is after a certain point they just become a different nation. A small one, perhaps, but what's different a hobgoblin society based on the romans, and a human society based on the romans.

    Basically nothing, and then we're just back to using fantasy species as a stand in for real races and then what have we accomplished?

    You're right

    Let's get rid of the humans so we just have hobgoblins

  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    Melding wrote: »
    the thing about giving monster races culture and what not is after a certain point they just become a different nation. A small one, perhaps, but what's different a hobgoblin society based on the romans, and a human society based on the romans.

    Basically nothing, and then we're just back to using fantasy species as a stand in for real races and then what have we accomplished?

    One is full of goblins and bugbears and wizards.
    We can also put them in close proximity to cultures and nations full of other weird races that human Romans never had opportunity to.

    8EVmPzM.jpg
  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    Melding wrote: »
    the thing about giving monster races culture and what not is after a certain point they just become a different nation. A small one, perhaps, but what's different a hobgoblin society based on the romans, and a human society based on the romans.

    Basically nothing, and then we're just back to using fantasy species as a stand in for real races and then what have we accomplished?

    I was thinking about this recently, and it occurred to me that in the many settings where humans, orcs, and/or elves are able to produce fertile half-breed children with each other in that generic high fantasy way without magic being involved, that technically means they're just different phenotypes of the same species. That they're literally just races in the human sense. So much for metaphor!

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User regular
    Speaking of Infinity, after like 6 months of not playing anything I finally had a game with a friend a couple weeks ago using the Yu-jing starter squad I got last Christmas. It was pretty great, especially since this friend of mine has a crapton of the laser-cut terrain.

    We're having a 300pt game this friday where I'll be borrowing some of his yu-jing and maybe doing some sly proxies. He's got a way bigger collection (like 3 armies) and he just wants to play so he's happy to lend me models to use! I still need to work out my list but I am determined to fit a TAG in somewhere.

  • ZonugalZonugal (He/Him) The Holiday Armadillo I'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User regular
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Melding wrote: »
    the thing about giving monster races culture and what not is after a certain point they just become a different nation. A small one, perhaps, but what's different a hobgoblin society based on the romans, and a human society based on the romans.

    Basically nothing, and then we're just back to using fantasy species as a stand in for real races and then what have we accomplished?

    You're right

    Let's get rid of the humans so we just have hobgoblins

    Get rid of all human-like races.

    Only anthromorphic animal folk.

    Ross-Geller-Prime-Sig-A.jpg
  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    Zonugal wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Melding wrote: »
    the thing about giving monster races culture and what not is after a certain point they just become a different nation. A small one, perhaps, but what's different a hobgoblin society based on the romans, and a human society based on the romans.

    Basically nothing, and then we're just back to using fantasy species as a stand in for real races and then what have we accomplished?

    You're right

    Let's get rid of the humans so we just have hobgoblins

    Get rid of all human-like races.

    Only anthromorphic animal folk.

    only non-anthropomorphic animal folk

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • GvzbgulGvzbgul Registered User regular
    So... Mouse Guard?

  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Zonugal wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Melding wrote: »
    the thing about giving monster races culture and what not is after a certain point they just become a different nation. A small one, perhaps, but what's different a hobgoblin society based on the romans, and a human society based on the romans.

    Basically nothing, and then we're just back to using fantasy species as a stand in for real races and then what have we accomplished?

    You're right

    Let's get rid of the humans so we just have hobgoblins

    Get rid of all human-like races.

    Only anthromorphic animal folk.

    Yeah, pretty much

    My general setting guideline is all humans or none at all

  • ArdentArdent Down UpsideRegistered User regular
    Zonugal wrote: »
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Melding wrote: »
    the thing about giving monster races culture and what not is after a certain point they just become a different nation. A small one, perhaps, but what's different a hobgoblin society based on the romans, and a human society based on the romans.

    Basically nothing, and then we're just back to using fantasy species as a stand in for real races and then what have we accomplished?

    You're right

    Let's get rid of the humans so we just have hobgoblins

    Get rid of all human-like races.

    Only anthromorphic animal folk.
    Ah, a fan of Ironclaw in the wild. Unusual.

    Steam ID | Origin ID: ArdentX | Uplay ID: theardent | Battle.net: Ardent#11476
  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    Gvzbgul wrote: »
    So... Mouse Guard?

    still too anthropomorphic

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Gvzbgul wrote: »
    So... Mouse Guard?

    still too anthropomorphic

    So... Homeward Bound, the RPG?

  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    Straightzi wrote: »
    Gvzbgul wrote: »
    So... Mouse Guard?

    still too anthropomorphic

    So... Homeward Bound, the RPG?

    NO TALKING

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    So, Wolf the RPG?

    Also I guess the point of having non-human races if you're avoiding 1 dimensional stereotypes is the same reason you have aliens. They're cool and they allow greater character and cultural customization than just humans would allow, and some or even most of them are just fundamentally different than humans in some way or other, and if you do this well it doesn't necessarily make them "good" or "evil" just different. A couple examples might be elves and say Lizardfolk. To go with classic fantasy elves, say they really really care about the environment. Not just forests and not in a superficial way, but something that's bone-deep psychological, possibly with magic as the root cause. They might be willing to work with other races to preserve the environment or the natural order or whatever, but they would also be willing to go to war over it, and might be more sympathetic to a clan of orcs or goblins who might live in smaller less resource intensive communities than the big human kingdom next door. For the Lizardfolk, well they're Lizards. They for example might not feel anything like familial ties and would find certain aspects of human emotions and friendships odd. They might feel loyalty and certainly aren't stupid, but they just don't have the same sense of honor and emotional reaction to certain things that humans would and for this reason humans might find them offputting and strange, perhaps thinking of them as inherently hostile because they put off the wrong signals to Lizardfolk or don't properly respect some territoriality or something else that is as important to a Lizardfolk as family ties are to us, but which humans would find equally mystifying.

    I mean there's a range, but I think there's a lot to recommend about non-humans in a fantasy, allowing them to essentially just be nations with different attitudes and cultures without making them all basically just human.

    Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
  • Duke 2.0Duke 2.0 Time Trash Cat Registered User regular
    No internal dialogue or mental actions beyond the instinct of an especially bright wolf

    VRXwDW7.png
  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    Duke 2.0 wrote: »
    No internal dialogue or mental actions beyond the instinct of an especially bright wolf
    Now I am imagining this:
    shetlandwizardfinal.png

    But with a lot more growling. Maybe the wizard gets mauled mid sentence

    8EVmPzM.jpg
  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    I just spent a while reading through the playtest materials for Monsterhearts 2

    I can't say for sure whether I will ever get that game to the table, but I'm pretty glad to have backed it

  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Snowbear wrote: »
    Melding wrote: »
    the thing about giving monster races culture and what not is after a certain point they just become a different nation. A small one, perhaps, but what's different a hobgoblin society based on the romans, and a human society based on the romans.

    Basically nothing, and then we're just back to using fantasy species as a stand in for real races and then what have we accomplished?

    One is full of goblins and bugbears and wizards.
    We can also put them in close proximity to cultures and nations full of other weird races that human Romans never had opportunity to.

    no that's the difference between fantasy romans and actual romans.

    I am asking for the difference between human fantasy romans and non-human fantasy romans. Coming from a previous argument that using Fantasy races as a stand in for culture archetype is bad and or lazy.

  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    Oh, in that case I'd agree with @Lord_Asmodeus
    You can make a nation that has a culture based in ancient Rome and populated with Goblinoid races. If someone wants to avoid being lazy you can treat it as a thought experiment. Goblins are physiologically different from human, how would those differences manifest in a larger society. How do other races interact with this society etc.

    In my mind being lazy is saying Here is the Goblin Republic. It is just Rome with a coat of green paint.
    Or I could do a deep dive into what life in republic really looked like and flesh out a culture or society that exemplifies the aspects of Late Republic Rome I really like.

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  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    what about a goblin roman empire

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  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    I am much more the type to look at what a creature is described to be and build from there. Goblins are supposed to be short sighted violent creatures focused on amassing wealth.

    That is much more a corporate run government. Trade guilds command the craft guilds which subjugate the rabble leading to a rather cyberpunk fantasy city. Which i think is more interesting than trying to fit the greedy goblins into the broken roman empire.

  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    That is an absolutely valid way to go about it. I think @Dubh mentioned a write-up of Roman Hobgoblins. I don't remember it but that's where we started talking about it.

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  • ZonugalZonugal (He/Him) The Holiday Armadillo I'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User regular
    I think an interesting way to approach the entire goblin species (goblins, hobgoblins & bugbears) would be to assign them a key trait and see how they each fit around that.

    For example: greed.

    The goblins might take it through a more base or capitalistic view-point, seeing the attainment of wealth as the highest achievement.

    The bugbears might view it through far simpler terms, as a bandit/might-makes-right style society of pirates & thieves trying to just take ever increasing items from others. As long as someone else holds value in it, they want to steal it.

    And the hobgoblins, they don't want to amass coins or gold, they want people. They want to maintain power & control, viewing wealth as the pure fist of force over an entire region.

    Just a thought.

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  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    In one homebrew setting I played in, the hobgoblins once had an enormous empire, but when the lich-kings came into power they were practically annihilated.

    Also all half-elves were culturally hobgoblin, since they were all descendants of the human and elf slaves from way back when.

  • FuselageFuselage Oosik Jumpship LoungeRegistered User regular
    edited November 2016
    Fuselage wrote: »
    @DaMoonRulz would it be too cruel for a one shot to have my regular table of people in real life play against people on Roll20 that are muted but can hear the room and play at least some of the monsters?

    Beforehand I'd have the layout of the dungeon set up and then give the Monster Players an amount of creatures that would be a correct challenge rating for their zones in the dungeon. Then I tell the players that they've heard about this place and that roughly X monsters are inside. Then they have some time to plan and I DM like normal, while keeping an eye on Roll20 chat to see what the monsters want and are rolling. Too much? I'd almost need a Co-DM for that.

    To those that liked this idea:

    Would it be more compelling or fun for you if this were...
    A) Player Adventurers vs Player Monsters (Hey, these goblins are smart and tired of getting beaten!)
    B) Player Adventurers vs Player Adventurers vs DM Monsters (Elf party and Dwarf party trying to excavate same ruins, or just murder hobos doing their thing)
    C) Player Adventurers controlling DM Minions vs Player Adventurers controlling DM Minions (Guilds of New York style trying to control a village/neighborhood (with this idea I'd be inclined to use modified mass combat rules and give each player their own squad based on their class selection))

    This is for a one shot that will be the last time we get to.play with one of our players/DMs.

    Fuselage on
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  • GvzbgulGvzbgul Registered User regular
    I know some people who would love a rpg where you can only communicate by making animal noises.

  • FuselageFuselage Oosik Jumpship LoungeRegistered User regular
    Gvzbgul wrote: »
    I know some people who would love a rpg where you can only communicate by making animal noises.

    "Yiff yiff!" "Ah, yes. Make a Perception check."

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