Author Topic: Bestiary of Azmoth  (Read 11242 times)

Spriggan

  • Administrator
  • Level 78
  • *****
  • Posts: 10582
  • Fell Points: 31
  • Yes, I am this awesome
    • View Profile
    • Legacies Lost
Bestiary of Azmoth
« on: May 21, 2004, 03:27:14 PM »
ok this is a thread that will discuss all manner of creatures in the setting.  From what normal (earth) creatures there are to new ones we make.  As well as any monsters (magical or non-magical) that we include in the setting.
Screw it, I'm buying crayons and paper. I can imagineer my own adventures! Wheeee!

Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.


Spriggan

  • Administrator
  • Level 78
  • *****
  • Posts: 10582
  • Fell Points: 31
  • Yes, I am this awesome
    • View Profile
    • Legacies Lost
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2004, 03:28:57 PM »
Ok first off is Horses and Camels.  Are they here and what roles?  Or are there non and they are replaces by others?  Like giant lizards or raptor like mounts that people ride.

Second is the Griffons that SE included, what is they're role and commonality?
Screw it, I'm buying crayons and paper. I can imagineer my own adventures! Wheeee!

Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.


The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

  • Administrator
  • Level 96
  • *
  • Posts: 19211
  • Fell Points: 17
  • monkeys? yes.
    • View Profile
    • herb's world
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2004, 04:06:30 PM »
1) I see no reason to specifically exclude horses or camels. It'd give a nice "oh, I can identify that" thing. I think we should keep 'em unless you have a need to remove them. I'd like to keep horses definitely, because the nomad plains will need something. But I suppose I could come up with another beast of burden if it comes down to that.

2) griffen. predator, obviously. likes to eat horses and camels, incidentally, or other cattle (unless there are no camels, then well, it has to eat some other largish animal). The role it fills is essentially that of a flying lion or other big cat. So it's a lot more efficient. That means, for ecological balance reasons, it needs to be much more rare than a lion would be. Perhaps not all their eggs mature and hatch, so they don't multiply so quickly. So, I'd sum up with common enough that people know they're not myths, at least, people near their environmnets. But definitely not so common that you see one every day, unless you live real near a nest (in which case, don't try raising cattle, and in lean years, make sure they don't come for you).

This pretty much applies to any griffon. If they have the fore parts of a bird of prey, then their method of getting food is essentially carnivorous (sharp beak, talons), so even if they have the hindquarters of an herbivore (like a hippogriff), they still prey on animals, and big ones if they're horse/lion/whatever sized. (I suppose you could have a squrrill-griff which preys on... rabbits? Maybe cats and dogs if it feels ambitious -- which gives me an idea....)

Spriggan

  • Administrator
  • Level 78
  • *****
  • Posts: 10582
  • Fell Points: 31
  • Yes, I am this awesome
    • View Profile
    • Legacies Lost
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2004, 04:22:38 PM »
Ok, that answers a lot.  I wasn't sure how much familiarty you wanted to keep and weither or not Griffians were common mounts.
Screw it, I'm buying crayons and paper. I can imagineer my own adventures! Wheeee!

Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.


Lieutenant Kije

  • Level 33
  • *
  • Posts: 1945
  • Fell Points: 1
    • View Profile
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2004, 06:04:28 PM »
I mentioned horses and oxen specifically in my writeups of Silkur and Bregtoran.  It can all be changed, of course.

The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

  • Administrator
  • Level 96
  • *
  • Posts: 19211
  • Fell Points: 17
  • monkeys? yes.
    • View Profile
    • herb's world
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2004, 07:11:53 PM »
there's nothing to prevent someone from making a tribe, or a very elite guard, that uses griffons of some type as a mount (hippogriffs seem easiest to sit on) but the wouldn't be "common" mounts. They'd be a rare cavalry, and greatly feared. I'd even add in a factor that the griffons are very difficult to breed or domesticate, just for realism.

Lieutenant Kije

  • Level 33
  • *
  • Posts: 1945
  • Fell Points: 1
    • View Profile
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2004, 10:29:18 PM »
From what you read in the intro material on Azmoth, it seems like Griffon cavalry is reserved to rumored northmen, as if it were unheard of in other places.

The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

  • Administrator
  • Level 96
  • *
  • Posts: 19211
  • Fell Points: 17
  • monkeys? yes.
    • View Profile
    • herb's world
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2004, 11:55:26 PM »
I didn't mean to imply that. I'm not sure what's conveying that impression either.

Spriggan

  • Administrator
  • Level 78
  • *****
  • Posts: 10582
  • Fell Points: 31
  • Yes, I am this awesome
    • View Profile
    • Legacies Lost
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2004, 03:21:10 AM »
Well I;m comming up with some new mounts for the desert areas.  I'll let you know once I've decided.
Screw it, I'm buying crayons and paper. I can imagineer my own adventures! Wheeee!

Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.


Spriggan

  • Administrator
  • Level 78
  • *****
  • Posts: 10582
  • Fell Points: 31
  • Yes, I am this awesome
    • View Profile
    • Legacies Lost
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #9 on: May 22, 2004, 07:00:13 AM »
I'm thinking of haveing "water Oxe" that are like a cross  between a hippo and an oxe that the Parths and Tarths use to pull barges along the river.  As well as a osterage/raptor type bird that is used as a fast pased rideing mount in the desert lands since deserts aren't kind to horses.

There will be Crocidiles, lions as cattle preditors along the river as well as a few new races I haven't decided upon.  There porbaly won't be any griffons since Parth isn't near any mountains or very high hills.  I'm also planning on bringing versions of both Kappa and Kelpie as either faries or Darklings.

Haven't gotten to the rest of Parth just yet.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2004, 07:00:45 AM by Spriggan »
Screw it, I'm buying crayons and paper. I can imagineer my own adventures! Wheeee!

Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.


Lieutenant Kije

  • Level 33
  • *
  • Posts: 1945
  • Fell Points: 1
    • View Profile
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2004, 12:31:12 PM »
So after another quick reading of the intro material I found that according to this...
Quote
All observed examples have shared some traditional traits. They are meat eaters, and therefore prey frequently on domesticated animals. They tend to be solitary, and are never observed in more than a family group. All of them retain the wings of the bird heritage and are capable of flight, making them exceedingly dangerous. All observed samples have also had the posterior of a mammal, though scholars theorize the potential for reptilian griffons.

...griffons may be more common than I supposed.  This, though, is where I got the idea of griffon cavalry to be rare/unheard of:
Quote
There are even rumors of tribal peoples who ride griffons into battle.

(speaking of peoples in the North.)
« Last Edit: May 22, 2004, 12:32:06 PM by Lieutenant_Kije »

Spriggan

  • Administrator
  • Level 78
  • *****
  • Posts: 10582
  • Fell Points: 31
  • Yes, I am this awesome
    • View Profile
    • Legacies Lost
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #11 on: May 23, 2004, 09:58:47 AM »
A few more ideas that I'm thinking of.

Huge Elefant sized insects (probaly beetles) that have herds in the deserts.  Insects need less water then other animals so I think this might be a nice addition to a desert planet.  Also sometime relay big ones (weither or not their the same specites or look the same is something I have yet to decide upon) wander in from the southern wastes (ie past that 800 mile mark) that are as big as some small houses.

Second is what are our plans for Ghosts, entities and undead in general?
Screw it, I'm buying crayons and paper. I can imagineer my own adventures! Wheeee!

Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.


The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

  • Administrator
  • Level 96
  • *
  • Posts: 19211
  • Fell Points: 17
  • monkeys? yes.
    • View Profile
    • herb's world
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #12 on: May 23, 2004, 10:19:33 AM »
big insects = cool

ghosts and the undead. Well, we dont' want to eliminate the possibility, I don't think. But I don't think we want whole nations of undead. The supernatural should be uncommon. If you want to refer to the undead, like a land where the dead walk, or a famous ghost, or something, leave it as superstition and rumors for now, I'd think.

Spriggan

  • Administrator
  • Level 78
  • *****
  • Posts: 10582
  • Fell Points: 31
  • Yes, I am this awesome
    • View Profile
    • Legacies Lost
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #13 on: May 23, 2004, 10:24:22 AM »
I was planning on haveing some old ruins that were haunted, and maybe a ghost caravan that wandered the desert at night seaming to interact with something that no one else can see.  I don't realy care to have many of your standard D&D undead but I do want to have spirits or ghosts in places.  Most not being able to interact with the material world almost as if you're looking into the Spirit world.  But if it's not what you want to do I can scrap that.
Screw it, I'm buying crayons and paper. I can imagineer my own adventures! Wheeee!

Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.


The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

  • Administrator
  • Level 96
  • *
  • Posts: 19211
  • Fell Points: 17
  • monkeys? yes.
    • View Profile
    • herb's world
Re: Bestiary of Azmoth
« Reply #14 on: May 23, 2004, 10:33:25 AM »
well, it sounds good. Is there any reason why the main write up can't be 'travellers report' or something? So when we actually do adventures or stories there, we can make it real or false reports about the ghosts

That way, thde main setting can be vague, but we can make it surprising when we actually need to detail it. more of a showmanship/suspense thing than anythign else.