Hieronymus Bosch's demons are fairly Far Realm to me, not unlike D&D obyriths like the sibriex, ekolid, or Obox-ob. Compared to the typical devils and demons of D&D, yes, they are scarier, and I think it's because of HOW the monster/human/inanimate shapes are combined: Not scary: keeping all the human regions (face, arms, legs, torso) in about the same positions they are on a human. Scary: thwart that familiar lay-out. Give it a human face, but put it in places that shouldn't...
View full commentHieronymus Bosch's demons are fairly Far Realm to me, not unlike D&D obyriths like the sibriex, ekolid, or Obox-ob. Compared to the typical devils and demons of D&D, yes, they are scarier, and I think it's because of HOW the monster/human/inanimate shapes are combined:
Not scary: keeping all the human regions (face, arms, legs, torso) in about the same positions they are on a human.
Scary: thwart that familiar lay-out. Give it a human face, but put it in places that shouldn't have any, or an inanimate object where a head should be, give it a silhouette that mocks expected proportions and bestiality: a human head wearing an ornate crown on an emu's body with 6 legs isn't a human or a bird, and it sounds bestial, but wearing an ornate crown hints at culture and relative intelligence.
I'm sure everyone has a lot to say about all the new stuff that is to come, so I'm just going to say this, I would really like to see something for bringing custom classes and races into the game. Customization of existing classes and races is always fun, but every one in a while someone wants to add a little something extra that isn't really seen all that often.
Ed... this kind of play - while it can easily be overdone - is the cornerstone of the immersive roleplaying experience my group discusses in our biweekly podcast, Metagamers Anonymous (www.prismatictsunami.com). I've been eyeball-deep in character-driven drama for so many years that I am always surprised when I encounter gamers who are dissatisfied with first-person character immersion at the gaming table....
View full commentEd... this kind of play - while it can easily be overdone - is the cornerstone of the immersive roleplaying experience my group discusses in our biweekly podcast, Metagamers Anonymous (www.prismatictsunami.com). I've been eyeball-deep in character-driven drama for so many years that I am always surprised when I encounter gamers who are dissatisfied with first-person character immersion at the gaming table. Great article, sir!
The way my current group decided on the naming convention, is to reverse the naming - the "Abominations" (powerful snake-like beings) are called Purebloods, and the "Purebloods" (human-like yuan-ti) are the Abominations. The way the names are right now, you'd think it's the other way around - where the Purebloods are the top tier and Abominations are the manual labor rejects. And what to call the hybrid middle tier - I don't care. I'm not offended by the term "half-breed" or...
View full commentThe way my current group decided on the naming convention, is to reverse the naming - the "Abominations" (powerful snake-like beings) are called Purebloods, and the "Purebloods" (human-like yuan-ti) are the Abominations.
The way the names are right now, you'd think it's the other way around - where the Purebloods are the top tier and Abominations are the manual labor rejects.
And what to call the hybrid middle tier - I don't care. I'm not offended by the term "half-breed" or "half-blood" - it makes sense to call them that, after all. If it bothers you so much that a fantasy being is called a certain way, that's more your own problem than the game's (as in, seeing offense in something where non need be found).
I always had the purebloods leading the yuan-ti. The abominations may have been the strongest and most alien, but they followed the commands purebloods. I think 4E got it right, when the anathema went made and were thrown down and imprisoned. I like this version of yuan-ti.
#1: Unpredictable, Humourous, Resourceful, Compulsive, Good-natured
#2: Surreal, Exaggerated, awe-inspiring
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Assignment #1: adventurous, imaginative, cooperative, entertaining, creative
Assignment #2: deep, enticing and intricate
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