Snippets of Creativity

[Oracle_of_Void]

Why do the shark Lords and the dragons see each other as competitors when they aren't competing over anything? They operate in non-overlapping environments.

Because the sharks can shapeshift into a land creature and the dragons into a sea creature. Their schemes and desires are very similar but they have to compete with each other to get them completed. Also, as proud and greedy creatures, their motivations are not rational but impulse and emotion driven. "How dare that dirt fish/lizard try to take that stuff?! That's my stuff! Okay, its not really my stuff...But I want it!" Stuff like that.

[GorinichSerpant]

I think the Shark-Lords would have some ability to fly, like dragons do. You could then say that dragons rule the land, shark-lords rule the sea and they fight over the sky.

[Oracle_of_Void]

I think the Shark-Lords would have some ability to fly, like dragons do. You could then say that dragons rule the land, shark-lords rule the sea and they fight over the sky.

That's a good idea too. I like that. Shark-lords are incredibly magical like dragons, so magical flight (along with the ability to breath on land of course) is definitely possible. And in case any one was wondering, I imagine shark-lords having dragon like claw-hands so that they can manipulate stuff and cast somatic magic.

[Jendekit]

That's a good idea too. I like that. Shark-lords are incredibly magical like dragons, so magical flight (along with the ability to breath on land of course) is definitely possible. And in case any one was wondering, I imagine shark-lords having dragon like claw-hands so that they can manipulate stuff and cast somatic magic.

Personally I wasn't picturing them as using magic. I saw them as more physical than dragons and enhanced with psionics instead of magic. Maybe that could be another point of conflict between the two, a need to prove that they have the superior power.

Another possibility, arcane magic originated on the land while psionics originated in the sea. Go too far into the other and the source of power looses its strength with divine magic being the only source of power not affected.

[Inevitability]

Psionic flying shark kings versus arcane flying dragon lords?

Seems legit to me.

[Oracle_of_Void]

Personally I wasn't picturing them as using magic. I saw them as more physical than dragons and enhanced with psionics instead of magic. Maybe that could be another point of conflict between the two, a need to prove that they have the superior power.

Another possibility, arcane magic originated on the land while psionics originated in the sea. Go too far into the other and the source of power looses its strength with divine magic being the only source of power not affected.

Love it. Keeping that idea in my notes. Would have never thought of it.

[Jendekit]

So to sum up: psionics work in the sea, arcane magic works on land, both work in the sky, and divine magic works everywhere.

I feel the creative juices flowing and the cogs turning in my head.

Edit:

That's a good idea too. I like that. Shark-lords are incredibly magical like dragons, so magical flight (along with the ability to breath on land of course) is definitely possible. And in case any one was wondering, I imagine shark-lords having dragon like claw-hands so that they can manipulate stuff and cast somatic magic.

Instead of claw-like hands, remorahs that attach themselves to the shark-lords eventually turn into aquatic kobold/imp like creatures that are bound to the shark-lord's will. It is a matter of prestige to have a large horde of these mutant fish, like how a large horde is a mark of prestige among dragons

[Jendekit]

I started up a thread over in the Homebrew section for making a Pathfinder crunch version of the shark-lords (which in any and all of my games will be called Aumakua). If anyone wants to contribute then by all means feel free.

[SirKazum]

Dragons were created by the Gods as the stewards of the mortal world. Their role was to watch over the mortal races from afar, interfering only when necessary to keep the peace and guide mortals away from corruption and toward enlightenment. They were granted superior intellect, wisdom and spellcasting ability as part of their role as mentors, and extremely powerful bodies with great combat prowess in order to effectively control dangerous or overly violent mortals.

However, after a while, some dragons grew resentful of their charges, wondering why should they serve mortals far inferior to themselves, rather than ruling them. These dragons turned on the mortal races and set off to terrorize and conquer them - those are the chromatic dragons. The dragons that remained loyal to their purpose, the metallic races, immediately reacted by engaging the chromatic dragons in a fierce war that utterly devastated the mortal realms.

By the end of the conflict, only a few dragons on either side survived, and those were disowned by the gods, who became disgusted with the results of their "project" (and who created orders of dragonslayers to keep the remaining dragon population in check). The metallic dragons turned to solitude (both out of disappointment in their abandonment by the gods and to prevent themselves from becoming tyrants in the future), while most chromatic dragons decided to shy away from conquering and ruling mortals in fear of further reprisal.

Dragons on either side have not forgotten their past, however. Chromatic dragons still have a taste for tyranny, and may occasionally decide it's time for them to rule over mortals once again. Metallic dragons, while generally aloof, still feel a sense of duty toward mortals, and may sometimes be spurred into action to defend them - especially when their chromatic counterparts start acting up. They may take some convincing, though (as in, heroes seeking out powerful dragon leaders in remote locations and then performing quests in their behalf to convince them). The Gods themselves may want to take action if they smell a new dragon war coming up. And ruins and artifacts of the past will often reflect either the time when dragons watched over mortals or the devastation of the Dragon War, depending on how old they are.

[dragonjek]

Elves believe they are imperfect and use magic to direct their evolution; each "sub-race" of elves is a faction that decided to take a different route to their eventual perfection. The highest elven archmages use their spellwork to weave their own changes into their followers to bring them closer to the perfect culmination of elvenkind's potential. Although conflict has arisen between the races due to perceived flaws in the paths the other factions take, the elven race maintains an overarching racial camaraderie due to their common goal.

It is understood that whichever group first finds the true pinnacle of what elves could become will then spread their perfection amongst the rest. The grudges between dark elves and all the many, many varieties of the rest of elvenkind originates from their belief that they have already reached that highest state (which the others vehemently object to) and are trying to forcibly convert the rest of their race by kidnapping and changing elven children.

[Totema]

One neat idea I had for my world is that the Mordor-like region has rivers of oil. The sediments from the river banks are harvested by gnomes and alchemically refined to make something akin to gunpowder.

[braveheart]

Snow elves, they build massive palaces from ice and use their natural frost magic to keep them frozen all winter. Snow elves have a naturally cold body temperature and actually experience extreme discomfort whenever the air gets above 65 F. they are entirely white, and use this to great effect when hunting, or hiding. they are largely unknown due to their reclusive nature, and their inability to travel in warm climates.

[Inevitability]

One neat idea I had for my world is that the Mordor-like region has rivers of oil. The sediments from the river banks are harvested by gnomes and alchemically refined to make something akin to gunpowder.

Neat indeed. I like it.


Aaaaaaand then the pyromaniac PC's appeared, set the rivers on fire, and looted all of the dead gnomes that had been killed by the sudden blast.

[SirKazum]

Elves aren't really long-lived; they grow up and age at the same rate as normal humans, and tend to die of natural causes at about the same age as well. Thing is, they reincarnate (up to you whether that's the normal fate of souls for everyone, or if it's just elves), AND they recall their past lives just like we recall past events in our current one. Hence the impression of living for centuries or even millenia. They take a few years (about 6-7) after birth to start recalling their first few past-life memories, vague and fuzzy (and only small snippets) at first, and then gradually increasing in both frequency, completeness and clarity until they've got a pretty solid grasp of who they used to be previously at about age 15. But those first few years of building up a new identity, with a new family and environment and little to no memory of who they used to be, keeps elves constantly renewing and reinventing themselves, even after millenia of existence.

They also get to "remember" events from future lives as well, although those tend to come more frequently the closer an elf is to dying. At the moment of their deaths (whether by natural causes, violence or anything else), elves' next lives are as clear in their memory as their current ones. Suddenly starting to get flashes of future lives may be a hint that an elf is in mortal danger...

[jqavins]

Elves aren't really long-lived; they grow up and age at the same rate as normal humans, and tend to die of natural causes at about the same age as well. Thing is, they reincarnate (up to you whether that's the normal fate of souls for everyone, or if it's just elves), AND they recall their past lives just like we recall past events in our current one. Hence the impression of living for centuries or even millenia. They take a few years (about 6-7) after birth to start recalling their first few past-life memories, vague and fuzzy (and only small snippets) at first, and then gradually increasing in both frequency, completeness and clarity until they've got a pretty solid grasp of who they used to be previously at about age 15. But those first few years of building up a new identity, with a new family and environment and little to no memory of who they used to be, keeps elves constantly renewing and reinventing themselves, even after millenia of existence.

Very similar to time lord regeneration. With differences, or couse, but very similar in esence.

[SirKazum]

I've never watched Doctor Who, just heard a lot about it... I actually came up with this idea for a story I'm working on that's basically the main Nintendo games set in a D&D world, where the Legend of Zelda's Hylians are elves. This reincarnation business helps explain away Zelda's convoluted chronology as being the adventures of several incarnations of Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, happening across the centuries in different places and situations but with essentially the same characters. But it's interesting to know they came up with the same idea in Doctor Who

[jqavins]

I've never watched Doctor Who, just heard a lot about it... I actually came up with this idea for a story I'm working on that's basically the main Nintendo games set in a D&D world, where the Legend of Zelda's Hylians are elves. This reincarnation business helps explain away Zelda's convoluted chronology as being the adventures of several incarnations of Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, happening across the centuries in different places and situations but with essentially the same characters. But it's interesting to know they came up with the same idea in Doctor Who

I've never played Zelda, and the above constitutes 90% of my knowledge about it. In Doctor Who, when a time lord dies his body can "regenerate," giving him or her a new one (and thus a new actor.) The new one is fully grown (so that's different from yours) but is disoriented and confused for a little while. Memory of past "lives" returns gradually. The Doctor will remember who he is and be functional within a day or two, often just a few hours, but still not clear on memories of the past. The haze seems to take days or months to clear completely. And, in the mean time, new or heavily altered personality traits emerge. The process may well be different for other time lords; we (the viewers) have only been able study the process in the Doctor himself, though we've also seen it in (at least) two others. One of those, a time lady named Romana, regenerated voluntarily like she was changing into a new outfit and had none of the confusion that the Doctor experiences.

When your story is released, I will not prove to have been the last to compare this part of it to time lord regeration.

[SirKazum]

Oh, I wouldn't have any problem with that at all... especially if enough people read it to make the frequent comparisons a big thing :)

[Mr.Cobalt]

In this world, understanding of both magic and science have advanced to the point where they are considered complimentary to each other. Wizards, sorcerers and artificiers alike have become commonplace as essentially arcane programmers, artists, and engineers, with "magitech"- flawless union of mundane technology and magic- being considered the norm. Extensive exploration and colonization by the populace has charted and/or tamed most of the world, with many species that were once considered "monsters" having been domesticated, exterminated, or forced into hiding. The days of sword and sorcery are mere legends now, with most already becoming disillusioned with the "old ways" of magic and no longer fearful of the divine or the "supernatural".


It is during this time of peace, prosperity, and complacency that the unthinkable happened: Aboleths, once thought to be myth, have begun returning to the shallow world, forcing the evacuation of many a port town or coastal city. Within weeks of their arrival, thralls made from those unfortunate or foolish enough not to evacuate in time have made their way to the centers of government all across the continent, acting as messengers for their ancient masters.

Unexpectedly, the messages they bear are not threats or ultimatums, but cries for help.

It appears someone or something piloting a massive beast of glass and steel has been capturing living Aboleths and harvesting their brains, apparently with the intent to access the massive archives of ancient memories and knowledge held within. The Aboleths, stagnant after centuries with no new knowledge from the surface, are desperate to save themselves from extinction and protect the eons-old secrets they keep.

[Citrakayah]

Lycanthropy tends to show up in oddly isolated communities, yet a werecreature that goes around biting people tends to end up dead pretty quickly (as a side note, most lycanthrope attacks end in bites; they're afraid of humans when transformed and so lash out at people). So... what's up with that?

The answer is simple; in reality lycanthropy's point of origin isn't a curse or a bite, it's an innate stress relief mechanism for the human species. When humans try to bury their bestial nature too deep, it ends up manifesting as lycanthropy, which usually leads to a lot of injured or dead people, because while the lycanthrope is not actually evil, it is a feral creature that will bite or claw anything it feels threatened by if it can't retreat. Since it's in a strange and unfamiliar environment, that tends to happen a lot.

But if the victim actually embraces the change, they not only gain control of their shape, but control of themselves. While they're permanently altered by lycanthropy, making peace with their inner animal and letting it out once and a while makes them less stressed, not as irritable, and improves their sleep schedule.

---

If one looks at elves, they're mostly hairless, slight of build, can see in low light levels, remain conscious of their environment when asleep, only sleep for a very short period, and agile. Adaptations well-suited for living in the water.

Elves aren't relatives of humans; they're Deep Ones.

---

Per The Noble Wild, the gods did create many intelligent animals to populace the Earth, and to Serve or Challenge humanoid races. They made it so that their children were often not sapient so they would not compete with humans, they made it next to impossible for them to communicate with humanoid species, gave them lifespans often lasting just a few years, required blood sacrifices for their magic items, and even the little choice they pretended to give their creations--Serve or Challenge--was a lie; those who had no wish to Serve would nevertheless Serve through Challenge. The gods went so low as to brainwash intelligent deer to offer themselves up as potential meals.

For millenia, the existence of intelligent animals was more or less unknown to the humanoid races. Most seen were thought to be awakened. And potential breaches of secrecy were handled by the gods, who would sometimes simply kill witnesses and devour their souls.

Finally, though, some of the newer gods--and those who had not known about the decision during the creation of the world--managed to interfere. Now, intelligent animals, monsters, and humanoids sympathetic to their cause gather under the banner of the Forsaken. They will bring about the end of the old order, topple the palaces of the gods, and make them pay for their crimes against sapient life.


(Yes, this is an actual freaking sourcebook, except it didn't see anything wrong with having humanoids hunt and eat intelligent deer. While the crunch is useful, it is possibly my least favorite fluff; possibly making it the worst sourcebook in terms of fluff ever. Unless people know of one that seriously treats creating a sapient species specifically to hunt them as perfectly normal and not worth batting an eye over.)

[Booper]

A race's courting rituals involve a lot of physical pain. When potential partners meet, one bestows all sorts of torment on the other (never putting their life in danger of course). If they are impressed with their potential partner's pain tolerance, and the other is in turn impressed with their tormentor's methods, they will mate. This assures that all offspring are able to withstand attacks and make counter-attacks of their own.

Surprisingly, the species is otherwise very kind and civil.

[jqavins]

A race's courting rituals involve a lot of physical pain. When potential partners meet, one bestows all sorts of torment on the other (never putting their life in danger of course). If they are impressed with their potential partner's pain tolerance, and the other is in turn impressed with their tormentor's methods, they will mate. This assures that all offspring are able to withstand attacks and make counter-attacks of their own.

So... Klingons?

Surprisingly, the species is otherwise very kind and civil.

OK, no.

[Mr.Cobalt]

Lycanthropy tends to show up in oddly isolated communities, yet a werecreature that goes around biting people tends to end up dead pretty quickly (as a side note, most lycanthrope attacks end in bites; they're afraid of humans when transformed and so lash out at people). So... what's up with that?

The answer is simple; in reality lycanthropy's point of origin isn't a curse or a bite, it's an innate stress relief mechanism for the human species. When humans try to bury their bestial nature too deep, it ends up manifesting as lycanthropy, which usually leads to a lot of injured or dead people, because while the lycanthrope is not actually evil, it is a feral creature that will bite or claw anything it feels threatened by if it can't retreat. Since it's in a strange and unfamiliar environment, that tends to happen a lot.

But if the victim actually embraces the change, they not only gain control of their shape, but control of themselves. While they're permanently altered by lycanthropy, making peace with their inner animal and letting it out once and a while makes them less stressed, not as irritable, and improves their sleep schedule.

I like this- reminds me a bit of Weregeek too.

[Booper]

So... Klingons?

I haven't watched much Star Trek so I wouldn't know. Definitely sounds like them tho! Aside from the obvious lol.

...I really gotta watch more Star Trek...

[jqavins]

Werehumans. Animals infected with lycanthropy that, under the light of the full moon, transform into lost, scared, confused, ferral humans.

[SirKazum]

At least in 2nd edition D&D, there was a creature called the wolfwere, which was born a wolf and could turn into either a human or a hybrid form. It was a voluntary transformation though, and they were intelligent and civilized. I believe there were jackalweres as well.

[Mr.Cobalt]

Werehumans. Animals infected with lycanthropy that, under the light of the full moon, transform into lost, scared, confused, ferral humans.

That could be kind of scary if they became as proficient with improvised weaponry and traps/ambush tactics as werewolves do with their claws and bite.

[Inevitability]

At least in 2nd edition D&D, there was a creature called the wolfwere, which was born a wolf and could turn into either a human or a hybrid form. It was a voluntary transformation though, and they were intelligent and civilized. I believe there were jackalweres as well.

Jackalweres returned in 5e, as demonic power-infused jackals with the ability to turn into humans and induce sleep with a gaze.

[Citrakayah]

At least in 2nd edition D&D, there was a creature called the wolfwere, which was born a wolf and could turn into either a human or a hybrid form. It was a voluntary transformation though, and they were intelligent and civilized. I believe there were jackalweres as well.

I was under the impression that they were evil.

Because clearly a wolf (or jackal of all things!) is clearly a slavering beast that tries to eat everyone. Yup, not like we domesticated them or anything. Nope, it'll totally looking like a demonic chihuahua with mange.


In any event, now I want to make a prestige class for my idea.

[SirKazum]

Well I said they were civilized, as in they can talk and maybe read and write (not sure), not that they were non-evil. They were CE, both of 'em.