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Best New Critters

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I've got a bunch of critters that I've developed. I'll list a handful of the more mundane ones for now.

The Baiyak is a wooly, four hooved animal with a long trunk and a hump, like the cross between an elephant, a yak, and the way we picture a camel. It serves as a slow but reliable mount or pack animal that can store a lot of water in its hump and release it miles away. A herd of baiyak can reshape their landscape, and domesticated baiyak can work marvels for irrigating their society.

The Peacefowl is a bright and colorful bird, like a quail, that's found all over the continent. But within each region they naturally gather in groups of different color shapes and patterns, so that each region has their own special breed of peacefowl that represents them. Nations can show them off on their banners during peacetime and hold contest like dog shows. There's an entire art form dedicated to breeding the most perfect peacefowl, and artists collect rare birds from across the continent hoping to add their color patterns into the breeding mix of their prized specimens.

The Afstelian Clade is a group of red-furred animals ranging from weasels to raccoon and even small wild cats which have evolved in the region. Although they appear very normal, as a group they possess certain traits, such as their distinctive red and black fur, a willingness to show themselves to humans, an above normal intelligence for animals, and a leg-strength that makes them fast and difficult to catch or hunt. Domesticated, they can be incredibly useful. But there's something of a curse on the region that occasionally affects them, transforming the occasional wild animal into a savage little imp monster that tears people apart.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
Suburbanshee* - The spirit of a neglected wife and mother, tied to this plane beyond death for reasons that are not entirely understood. The suburbanshee is commonly sighted near soccer fields or in and around mini vans. The creature's wail instills a sense of listlessness and boredom in the hearer that cannot be broken, the unfortunate victim often succumbing to dehydration, starvation, or lapsing into a catatonic state in front of broadcast network programming. The tormented spirit can be exorcised by offering up tokens of recognition and gratitude for the spirit's duties in life.

*(Thank you, Fish, for the word).
 
Hi Elrick,

I like your nightmares too! But I keep thinking it would be the perfect steed for an arch villain instead of used for pulling ore. Also what would happen if a Drindox and a normal horse got together and had foal?

Cheers, Greg.
 
Hi,

Devor, one of the things I should mention is that camels don't store water in their humps. Their humps are mainly fat. Also I'm having some dark thoughts about how exactly they release their water. I can only think of one way people release most of their water and I wouldn't want to drink it!

But the peacefowl is great. You could explore that and come up with an entire heraldry based on them. What do the different colours mean? The station taken eg rampant or reclined?

And Steerpike, I laughed myself silly. Tell me, is it any minivan they like to haunt - or Chevy Suburbans?!

Cheers, Greg.
 

Trick

Auror
Hi Elrick,

I like your nightmares too! But I keep thinking it would be the perfect steed for an arch villain instead of used for pulling ore. Also what would happen if a Drindox and a normal horse got together and had foal?

Cheers, Greg.

Heck, I think it would be a cool steed for a hero! He'd have to be tough as nails but it'd be awesome.

I definitely have more fantasy creatures than I need but here are a couple:

Konga: A large creature used as a steed by mages only. It looks to be a cross between a raptor, dog, ram and horse. They have smooth, thick fur that comes in various earth tones. Their hind legs are stocky at the hip and lean at the ankle with hoof/foot combinations and they run on these two legs only. They drop to all fours at slower speeds. Their front limbs resemble dog legs with nearly humanoid hands that are very thick and tough with sturdy claws for gripping and fighting. They are largely carnivorous but known to eat some greenery. On their heads are symmetrical spiral horns that grow straight forward after one 360 degree turn and these never stop growing, necessitating lots of grinding on rocks and hardwood trees to make eating easier but it also keeps them sharp. Their long, heavy tails taper to points and are ideal for balance and battle because there are several long spikes at the end. Their origin is believed to be via mage creation and they serve their masters as steed and protector. There are few wild kongas but those that do roam free live in family units, male, female and cubs. The wild males are very aggressive and totally untamable but there has been success in capturing pregnant females, taming them and then raising their offspring domesticated.

Aenganyn:A flying beast with a canid appearance. Their wings are massive which dictates their chosen environment. They are roughly the size of a very large cat (think siberian tiger). They tend to live in the mountains or in very high valleys. If they descend to the lowlands to hunt, open fields are a dangerous place to be. Their night vision is nearly better than their day vision though they are diurnal for the most part and they can fly silently due to the structures of their wings dampening sound. They prey on livestock when their natural fair, mountain goats etc, are sparse. There is only a single record of one ever being domesticated and it was discovered near it's dead mother.
 
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Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Devor, one of the things I should mention is that camels don't store water in their humps. Their humps are mainly fat. Also I'm having some dark thoughts about how exactly they release their water. I can only think of one way people release most of their water and I wouldn't want to drink it!

But the peacefowl is great. You could explore that and come up with an entire heraldry based on them. What do the different colours mean? The station taken eg rampant or reclined?

Thanks! It's kind of an Asian setting where I understand heraldry can work a little different, but I hope to do similar things with it.

Regarding the Baiyak, I know that's not really how camels work - that was just for explanation's sake. But I wanted an animal that could reshape their environment as much as the beaver does. And an "intake bladder" or series of them for that purpose doesn't seem like too much of a fantastical stretch.
 
The We--Only found in areas that have seen magical warfare, these shapeless blobs are composed from the fragments of soulstuff left behind when people and animals are annihilated down to the spiritual level. Kludged together into rough individuals, they retain the drive to survive and consume, but lack strong memories or deeper impulses. Those formed primarily from humanoids are capable of reason, but without a strong will or sense of ethics, they're easily manipulated by the first person they meet. They can be guided into great good or great evil, and most see little difference between the two.

The We have the ability to mimic beings they encounter, taking on their forms and mannerisms, and to some extent acquiring their abilities. The more they analyze one person, the better they'll be able to replicate that person's talents. They also show an unusual aptitude for magic, surprising given that magic is usually the domain of the strong-willed.

We that have studied many people for a long period of time may be able to pick and choose what parts of their personalities to mimic, effectively constructing new identities for themselves. In rare cases, some We have also retained the personalities of people whose souls contributed to them.

"The We" is their most common manner of referring to themselves, due to their near-compulsive avoidance of singular pronouns. Among other species, they may be known as wraiths, slimes, or simply monsters.
 
Hi Trick,

I see your Aenganyn as similar to a simurgh - a Persion mythological winged dog. (Their equivalent of the griffin I suppose.) One of the things about the simugh was that it was a strictly good creature and from memory it could also heal the sick with its feathers.

Feo, your The We would make an interesting character. It's hard to be sure, depending on how much intelligence it has, but it could make a ghost story like no other.

Cheers, Greg.
 
Hi,
Actually, some of the humanoid races of that world use The Drindox as a rite of passage of sorts. Orcs in particular will send young males into Drindox herds so they can attempt to ride one for a certain distance or for a certain amount of time. Being able to dismount and get away intact is even more impressive.
They don't make very good mounts. They are high maintenance and can't be brought around people or other animals so, entering cities or towns is a disaster. They are also large enough that they are uncomfortable for the average person to ride for long periods of time or over great distances.
Drindox see horses as prey instead of mates. They have been know to ride down wild horses and consume them.

Mike
 
Hi,

You realise that makes them even better as the bad guy's steed?! Now he rides a beast that will eat the good guys horses - how cool is that?! And the right of passage thing is good too since it talks about dominance and power. The arch villain can ride the drindox because he's even more bad arse.

Cheers, Greg.
 

Saigonnus

Auror
Anything can be tamed through magical means. Just stating. If a mage could make an earring to charm their lackeys into obedience, the same could be done with a drindox. Might be cool if the baddie rides one, but the heroes figure out how and remove the earring. The drindox might even turn on the baddie.
 
Hi,

But writing a story is often about setting a scene and creating an image. It's about setting up a character to fit his role. The heroic knight rushing in on his great white stallion etc. The heroic knight sort of trotting in on his somewhat tired old mule just doesn't have the same sort of oomph to it.

That's what the Drindox is to my mind. A set of credentials. It's just such a mean steed that who would ride it? Someone even meaner! And it's so dangerous and headstrong that who would ride it? Someone even tougher!

If it was easy to tame one through a magical earring etc, it's just not the same as if this fire breathing nightmare simply obeys because it recognises the true evil of its master.

Cheers, Greg.
 

Trick

Auror
Hi,

But writing a story is often about setting a scene and creating an image. It's about setting up a character to fit his role. The heroic knight rushing in on his great white stallion etc. The heroic knight sort of trotting in on his somewhat tired old mule just doesn't have the same sort of oomph to it.

That's what the Drindox is to my mind. A set of credentials. It's just such a mean steed that who would ride it? Someone even meaner! And it's so dangerous and headstrong that who would ride it? Someone even tougher!

If it was easy to tame one through a magical earring etc, it's just not the same as if this fire breathing nightmare simply obeys because it recognises the true evil of its master.

Cheers, Greg.

It would be a good setup though, for appearances only. The villain appears to have tamed a drindox and it makes him seem very scary indeed, until the hero figures out he used a charm and uses that to his advantage.

I'm into the anti-hero thing right now so my MC taming a drindox (more like forcing it into submission) would be awesome.
 

MineOwnKing

Maester


The hodag was used by the lumber barons of Rhinelander Wisconsin to scare the Norwegian immigrants. The working conditions were dangerous and they were treated poorly. They were told that there was a hodag in the woods to keep them from running away.
Now they have the yearly hodag festival. Good excuse to drink beer.
 
Hi,

There's actually a real mythic critter called the Hodag? And he has a festival named for him? Lucky beggar!

Cheers, Greg.
 
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