#I love lizardfolk so much

[twicfy]

I want him GONE. NOW.

(Just started to watch CoS ((on ep3)), this is the 6th LOA campaign I'm at rn. Soon I will be powerful >:])

[blujayonthewing]

mostly I prefer to play in the space and explore/ build on flavor text given by the books rather than outright reject or contradict it wrt things like races and classes in dnd but once in awhile I'll suddenly remember that canonically lizardfolk don't experience emotions and only respond to threats by logically assessing them as such because they're too primitive to feel fear

[cultofgherix]

Literally only on ep3 but i love sanrax my boy my dude my sweet cheese my beloved and id follow him anywhere tbh the cult of gherix sounds cool. Isnt he like planting trees? Gherix said ecology rights 😍😍😍

The Cult of Gherix is ‘cool’, indeed. Gherix approves of your willingness to follow one of his most devout clerics. Any wise person who walks the path of righteous flame, such as yourself, is welcome within our circles.

Cyclical destruction and renewal, death and rebirth, is one of the many properties of nature. Once a land is ravaged with evil and destruction has occurred (without fire or with unholy fire), there cannot be natural renewal. Sowing seeds, spreading life, touched by the power of Gherix, cleanses the evil within the soil: it is the duty of those who claim to follow the fire lord. (TL;DR: yes, Gherix did say ecology rights)

[lessrthanthree]

Hehe dumgeoms + dragns

[ohkatemykate]

Thank you for my boy!!

(He's usually in rags but we had a fashion montage)

My friend @ohkatemykate commissioned me to dress up her lizard boy for a campaign she's in and I gladly took on the task. The top one was the final but I just had to share the other options.

[enolezdrata]

I love your fantasy setting, expecially the fashion! What culture are you taking inspiration from? I am so curious!

Hey! Thanks for your question <3

I can't name a specific culture, because often I just draw what is easiest for me and what is already compiled in my head.

I take a lot of inspiration from Byzantine clothes and ethnography from Russia of 19th century (I wish to put it much more in my drawing!). Sometimes I'm inspired by art nouveau dresses. But most of the time I simplified everything to more or less "classic" fantasy clothes style.

For lizardfolk I just draw what my co-author said ahah

[jadecantcreate]

OK SO. I'm only in the 30s of the episodes. BUT what of the people who experimented on Torbek captured Gideon, since it might be the same guy who stole fairy wings and the unicorns horn? Gideon is magic fire, and I can see the guy wanting Gideon just like the hobgoblins. Kremy either finding out Gideon has been captured, OR Kremy getting captured too! But the guy doesn't have a use for a lizardfolk so Kremy just has to watch Gideon get his fire drained, tortured, and experimented on while they wait for the others to hopefully show up and find them. And it taking a long time to find them to where Gideon is very visibly losing all the weight Kremy worked so hard to get on Gid, and Gideon is regressing back more and more to how he was on the train. I'm not sure how much he gets to understand about fey wild tech but I know it'd be very different from his chains so who knows if he could reverse engineer his new ones. Maybe they keep Kremy as a way to get Gid to behave, threatening to hurt him or experiment on him, sell him on the black market, if he doesn't behave.

i LOVE this concept so much!! it has a lot of potential and seems like something that could actually happen in the plot of the story (if it wasnt a campaign: roleplaying those things are the table might be…iffy, to say the least, especially with an audience — thats why we’ve got canon divergent fanfiction wooo)

kremy having (i think in canon, but probably not) promised gideon that he’d never let him get captured again, failing to keep up his promise as they’re both taken in, unable to save himself much less gideon, working tirelessly to come up with a plan because he’s not sure that the other three will come to their aid…

gideon starting off furious and determined to get out, studying the way their captors speak to each other about their technology to try to find a way to break out only to be discovered and punished greatly, possibly descending into hopelessness and regret, thinking that no matter how far he runs he’ll always end up caged — except, now, it’s even worse, because he roped in another person (someone who he loves deeply) and now they’ll both suffer because of him…

[luna-the-cretar]

First impressions of EOM (after finishing episode 1)

Story thus far: ?????? How can I verbally express how much I love it so far????? The train???? The mystique????? The conductor (who may or may not also be the narrator)????? The fucking MOON???? I just. I can’t verbally express how much this campaign already has me hooked. This campaign got me hooked faster than Icebound did, and I thought that Icebound hooked me pretty quickly (since I was all on board for Icebound by the end of Ep 1). But EOM? I was on board (heh) by the time the train first appeared to collect Jericho. Oooohhhh I’m so intrigued.

Jericho: I love him. He’s, admittedly, the character I knew the most about going into EOM, and I still knew next to nothing about him. I just knew that he was a living scarecrow and I knew about Virgil. I did NOT know about the demon, holy fuck. I’m curious. Also…he’s just so…I wanna hug him. So much. Poor guy deserves it. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I think it was inevitable I’d immediately fall in love with him. I mean, the first clue should’ve been that I immediately fell in love with Torbek (to the point where he literally got me into LOA in the first place), who is also a sad character with…oof. Iykyk. But also Jericho was, admittedly, the main reason why I finally decided on EOM as I was done catching up with Icebound. With the mixture of the couple of EOM shorts I’ve seen revolving around Jericho in some way, the bunch of Jericho fanart I’ve seen on here, and the Jericho song they revealed during the anniversary stream? Yeah…it was inevitable. Idk why I’m even surprised (actually, I think I’m mostly shocked that I fell in love with him the moment he started speaking)

Lethica: when Andy said during their BG3 gameplay on the stream on Saturday, that he was surprised that Lethica and Shadowheart’s stories were eerily similar, with Mace then asking if Shart was a cleric of Shar, I didn’t even begin to wonder as to WHY Mace even thought that. I was just shocked that he was right on the money for Shart. Then comes my absolute bamboozlement when reading Lethica’s card, seeing that she was ALSO a cleric of Shar, that suddenly Mace’s question and Andy’s comment made sense. Character-wise, she’s interesting so far. I love that she was immediately just. Very kind to Jericho. I’m interested to see where her character goes.

Marius, Briggsy, and Farryn: don’t have much to talk about either of these characters so far, so I’m combining them. Like Lethica, I weirdly love the fact that he was immediately very warm to Jericho upon meeting him. Also that he’s a very…hopeful person? It’s hard to say what I’m trying to get here, I’m just intrigued by his standpoint, and his relation to Lathander. All I really knew about Marius before going into EOM was his ship with Lethica, and I find it kinda funny that it’s—quite literally—Light x Darkness, just because of their respective gods. Very fun. I like Briggsy’s personality so far. And also, if I had a nickel for every time Richie played a lizardfolk warlock with some relation to death, well…I’d have 2 nickels. That I know of, anyway. And Farryn…I’m sorry but I didn’t even know you existed until I saw you paired against Gideon in the “which is gayer” LOA polls that’s going around. You’re cool so far tho. Like the accent.

Tl:dr: the story has me hooked, I will die for Jericho if he asked (tho he probably wouldn’t bc he’s such a sweetheart), Lethica is really cool so far, and the others are there too, I guess.

[leadfort]

OC KISS WEEK!!!

I want to participate in OC KISS WEEK

So I'll throw out some of my guys that are up for grabs. Tell me which one of these OCs you'd like to smooch your OC. Please give me a short description of your OCs personality + how they might act during a kiss, as well as a visual reference or perhaps a tag I can look at. I'm going to do all prompts, but some have been taken by my D&D players, so there are only 3 remaining: First Worship Forbidden

(You may wanna pick at least two prompts so I can finagle ideas) Anyway here are my batchelors!:

Quith. A psycho maniac who despite it all is pretty good at masking as calm, playful and sultry. Often lets his curiosity get the better of him which causes him to play around with people for extended periods of time. Will commit to the bit. Loves it when he feels like he has control over a person, and will bend over backwards to get it... when confronted however, he gets defensive, aggressive, toxic and violent. ----- A dominant kisser for the most part. Cares only for the other persons pleasures if he can gain something from it. Otherwise he is quite selfish.

Bre'uhn. A very steriotypical githyanki warrior-- With the exception of his exceptional bad luck. The world often finds a way to beat him down, and he rises up again and again and again. A hotheaded grumpy tsundere who cares more for people around him than he'd like to admit. Is more used to the present of istiks than gith at this point. A very expressive man. ----- Mostly dominant, but will submit given the right person. Doesn't like to admit it but he's one hell of a people pleaser.

Captain Ketza'Jin. This troll is an ex-Pirate turned bounty hunter. He is an asshole with a heart of gold. Quite a bite slutty and hedonistic, but doesn't let his vices get in the way for the wellbeing of his crew. The kind of guy who would give his life for anyone of his crewmates, no matter how much they bicker and fight. ----- Mostly dominant, but with a huge 'your pleasure is my pleasure' take on it. He struggles to kiss a little due to his tusks, but thankfully they point outwards and he'll make it work. Anything for you~

Taz. Odd yuan-ti who seems to like the company of dragonborn, kobolds and lizardfolk over more humanoid faced people. An oddball that will tell you everything there is to know about any kind of dragon and wyrm, and is seeking to steal every type of dragon breath for himself in his quest to become a dragon. Despite his oddities, he's a very intelligent with a kind disposition. ----- Leans submissive. While he cares more for his own pleasure, worship is in his lifeblood. Few things are below him.

Claus. The man of a thousand AUs. (Portrayed are Fallout and D&D). All 7 foot of this idiot slut is begging for a kiss. However, a kiss now means you're bonded forever and how DARE you look at another man ever again I don't care they're the cashier I need you to love me as much as I love you. He's a bit of an obsessed freak. But he's also extremely supportive and will kill for you if you ask it. Will worship the ground you walk on. ----- Very submissive. He'll do anything. ANYTHING to make you happy.

[blackblooms]

Irredeamable developpement retrospective Part 3: The fountain So just as presented in the last part, this was my attempt at creating a single complex and interconnected setting for all of my games. I even had a bunch of games planned for this, including one some of you may have seen before.

This game was made on a whole other engine, so i won`t linger too much on it, but the planned story was about a small elf huntress, ascending the great titan (giant tree) to find increasingly imposing preys to hunt, such as troglodytes (giant frog people), drakes, wyrms, other sentient bugs and concluding on a battle with the nevermore, a black crow/dragon that served as the god of the tree.

Anyway, back to our actual game. The fountain took place in a nexus between several worlds, where several species from all over the multiverse lived, including humans, lizardfolk, goblins, elves, trolls, and several races of fae. At the heart of this world, was the coveted fountain, a well of pure magic that was the source of all reality and could remake it to the whims of any who were bold enough to find and use it.

From this premise, a main game was planned, an epic journey through the crossroads of lands, where a group from different races would meet and unite in their common quest to find the fountain and achieve their deepest wishes.

So the journey starts on human lands, a continent consisting of mostly deserts. The fountain is where i finally settled on an aesthetic for humans, making them mechanical, and fire-themed. They usually wield guns and use the metal, oil, and coal of their land to build fiery machines and factories. Other stories also give them the ability to nearly fully mechanize their bodies, turning themselves into metal demons. the second area would have been the lizardfolks/mermaid archipelago (don't ask why they are the second to last area in the plans, i dont know either) These would be themed around water and serve as an artificial/life amphibious force, working under the centaurians from the last few settings. The mermaids specifically were centaurians-humans hybrid, hence why they have features of both. Then the group arrives upon the mainland, where they are met with an overgrown swamp, infested with demi-fae, a group of several races mixed with fae blood, giving them the ability to use magic. This is followed by a series of urbanized forests controlled by the tiny, but industrious elves who are able to build dozens of man-sized war machines. The last obstacle on the journey is the shadowlands, a dark, cold, and desolated region, guarded by a race of ancient stone creatures. These old traditionalists and users of mystical shadow arts despise change and will do anything to prevent the fountain from being tampered with. ( i remember hearing the line "dwarves are incorruptible as stone" in shadow of mordor and it stuck in my head ever since, becoming a defining aspect of the trolls in my own stories.") And finally, the fountain, a place of infinite potential and home of the Fae, creatures that have been encountered during the whole journey, avatars of magic, nature and change. The fountain is a fantastical realm, a city of candy, floating over an ever-flowing lake of golden honey. The purest of faes reside in this realm, but they are far from the nature-loving beings met in the outside world. These Faes are cruel and ravenous, eager to consume the world and make a new one that will one day also be ruthlessly consumed.

Anyway, as you can tell from all the lore, i ended up putting a whole lot of effort into that setting. There was even supposed to be a whole second half of the game where the characters made their wish and the world would be twisted by the Fae magic into nightmares that would have to be fought and repelled before they replaced the region. We are slowly, but surely getting close to the end of this retrospective. Next we will go into the game that ended up giving irredeamable much of its mechanics. A small, self-contained story that ended up bridging the gap between the fountain and the current setting i have been building. See you in part 4: The city of dolls.

[botanist-cool]

Minis of 2024!

Hi all! I've been minipainting for... about a year and a half now so I'm here to share some random minis from this year I've been painting! Just know... I haven't sealed 99% of them cause... Well.... Didn't know! LOL I'll hyperlink videos as well. Let's get started! January:

The Erinyes Bards, boy these minis were a LOW point for me. I was actually quite disappointed in them. But I remember trying to really do shading without using a wash and honestly... I don't think I did well at all.

Feburary:

Ahhhh the Skyshroom Druid! I actually painted four mushroom druids in the style of various Tears of the Kingdom mushrooms! Has a lot of learning to do with THINNING MY PAINTS! LOL I do love the group as a whole though!

March: The Lizardfolk Assassins! See this time is where I believe I began to find my stride in general. I started painting once a week and really began to practice throughly.

April:

The BEHOLDER! This mini is in some CURRETLY DESPERATE NEED for a touching up. Specifically on the tendrils which, because it's not sealed, lost a lot of paint. HOWEVER the eye and mouth were highlights and big points of pride at the time! I'm sincerely proud of this one!

May: The Gold Dragon! It's actually NOT DONE yet... I need to do the eyes and honestly... that's about it. And reup the paint a tad. Otherwise, almost ready to seal! However now that I have MULTIPLE GOLDS I may touch it up and make it POP a little.

June:

Greek Columns.... I was trying to learn to make a marbling effect and honestly bit off more than I can chew. Not very proud of them.

July:

MY BABY RATHIAN! I love you Rathian! That being said, she's ALSO NOT DONE and needs touch ups! But I was very proud of the dry brushing I learned and the great shading I was able to do. I fully intend to paint a Rathalos one day.

August:

The Gnome Scouts and Juvenile Kraken! I'm actually most proud of the FROGS specifically! I got real good shading on them, solid highlighting, and a lot of great color work.

September:

Personally, MY BEST DRAGON TO DATE the Coastal Dragon, and my first Space Marine! I'm still very proud of both of these minis to this day!

October:

TALK ABOUT GROWTH! With the Aboleth, Mouse Knight, and Chaos Warrior I really practiced edge highlighting, shading, color theory, and shading with a lot more care than ever before! And I'm VERY proud of them!

November:

Again, we have a lot of growth with my Dragonborn Smithy, War Elephant, and League of Votann! Specifically with color theory! Using better colors and mixing colors to shade, highlight, and make these minis pop!

December:

This month! Finally got to the Orruk Cruel Boi, the Skaven, and starting basing my Tyranids! You can see on the Cruelboi and Skaven my highlighting is so much crisper! And my paints are NICE AND THIN on the tyranids! Honestly... Holy shit there's such a difference and so much growth in these past 12 months.

Over all... I've grown so much in this hobby over the past twelve months and I'm super gosh darn proud! I have done great! And I hope to continue doing amazing! I can't wait to continue!

[writernopal]

Friday Kiss Tag

Its still Friday here so this counts! Thanks to @mysticstarlightduck for tagging me here!

Rules: From your Story/WIP, share a snippet of your characters kissing. It can be any kiss, from familial pecks on the cheek, platonic kisses, forehead kisses, to full-blown makeouts

This one is going to be kind of spicy because, well, because! Under a cut in case you don't want to read it 💙

Tagging (gently): @tabswrites @noblebs @captain-kraken @commander-krios @sarahlizziewrites and anyone else who wants to play!

Her blush brightened and she quickly left me, gathering the bandages in such a frenzy that I couldn’t tell which of us was more looking forward to her return. I begrudgingly returned to the bath as she’d asked and waited for her. It was torture, not even the promise of her arrival took the edge off. That burrowing sensation of bubbles finding their way to the surface of the water from underneath my shed was just too much to bear! As if I were sitting there, a decaying body waiting for a burial the likes of Mariel’s people, instead of the righteous fire we lizardfolk engulfed ourselves in to reach Kava’s kingdom! 

I gripped the edge of the bath angrily when the tent flapped open and she came back inside. The shy look on her face before she turned around and tied the tent flaps together arrested me, as if she’d commanded me not to rise, let alone move until she said otherwise. I swallowed as I watched her approach, my heart leaping in my chest and other places as she drew ever nearer. 

Gods, she was everything.

The diffused light patterned the softest shadows on her lovely face, placing their ungrateful kisses on her freckles, those tender lips, that charming nose, and those collarbones of hers. So perfect were those two ridges framed by the square neckline of her dress… How many times had I known those features beneath my lips and fingers? So many and yet not enough. Never enough. I could spend the rest of my nights, days, every waking moment, knowing them as I knew my own and it would still not be enough. To know her, to love her, was to love the stars dotting the night sky, for they and she were one in the same—peerless and more than any of us mortals deserved to set eyes on.

She kneeled beside the tub and leaned on its edge, then softly whispered. “Tell me what to do.”

“Been a dangerous thin’ to say.”

“I— I don’t care.”

I shifted in the bath and rested a curled finger beneath her chin, coaxing her just that much closer. “Been that so…?”

“Yes…”

She closed the space between us and pressed her lips to mine. I groaned and trailed my knuckles down her supple neck. A soft sound escaped her. If I could but devour her whole…

“Tell me what to do.”

“Fetch that there stone and strip down.”

AASOAF 3 Taglist: @outpost51 @thelivingdeceased @faelanvance @captain-kraken @illjustpretend

@elshells @full-on-sam @the-mindless @zestymimblo @tabswrites

@void-botanist

Join/leave the taglist using this Google Form.

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tags @the-golden-comet and @willtheweaver!

Range of Emotions Tag

Rules: Choose one OC at a time, search any of your writing featuring that OC, and share passages where that character expresses each emotion in this list: joy - anger - sadness - anxiety - fear - disgust - embarrassment. Bonus points if the emotion is implied but not listed in the text by name. If there’s a reason the character does not ever express one of those emotions, feel free to share that reasoning instead.

I'm listening to their playlist right now, so let's go with Avymere!

Joy: (When I tell you this was hard to find)

Avymere looked up at the stars and took a deep breath. The faintest of tears glimmered in their eyes and Elsind imagined perhaps they were searching for someone up among that shining trove of heavenly treasure.

“I forgive you,” they finally said. “My father wronged you and yours terribly. I love him and will miss him every day of my life, but I can see now how murderous some of his actions were, even if he didn’t intend for such things to happen. Ignorance is cold comfort to the dead and dying.”

Anger:

You’ll kill that eikodoro beast just like she killed your father—in front of a godsdamned cheering crowd.

Cold settled like a heavy mantle over Avymere’s shoulders, or like a frigid crown upon their brow. It was enough to drive back the desert heat. Enough to cause them to clench their teeth against chattering—though perhaps that was from a different chill. The kind with silver plating and blood-spattered fists that lurked like a stubborn nightmare, rather than the frigid weight of promised recompense.

It was easy for the Duchon to put one foot in front of the other by the time the caravan started moving, despite the omnipresent ache that came with every breath. Everything was easy if you had a purpose.

Sadness:

Up ahead, the caravan traveled at a fair pace, horses clopping on their merry way. Avymere stared at a pair of lizardfolk laughing riotously as they rode atop one of the wagons. Not longingly, of course. That was far too undignified for the Duchon—Archduchon now—of Salis. However, whatever emotion they did feel was exquisitely close to such.

Anxiety:

Avymere shifted their weight uncertainly. How to go about this…. How do I comfort him? Have I ever comforted someone? Normally, I have people to take care of that sort of thing for me. Think now; how did I keep Father on track when he was worried about something? But they aren’t the same whatsoever! Bright gods….

Fear:

For several breathless moments, the Duchon waited to hear the sound of gunshots from behind. It never came, though. The pounding of armored feet passed, heading resolutely after the false trail.

It was only then that their lungs gave out. Avymere put their back to the wall, knees threatening to buckle, shaking as they gasped desperately for air. As much as their arms ached, they didn’t set Elsind down. They didn’t dare. When their breathing finally calmed, words spilled like tears from their lips.

“Oh gods…. Oh gods, what am I going to do?”

Disgust:

Elsind’s face gave a slight ripple that Avymere took to interpret as a slow blink. “Avy, I need you to understand this: you just broke the biggest bone in your body and had surgery to fix it, not to mention your ribs are about two steps up from gravel. No one will mind if you go out in your pajamas. Also, crutches? Yeah, no, there’s a wheelchair folded up under your bed that they brought you here in. You’re gonna be stuck in that several weeks, if not months.”

Avymere frowned at both of those statements, though the first had them somewhat baffled. What do they mean ‘go out in’ my pajamas? Is that… a thing people do? How desperate does one have to be to sink that low?

Embarrassment:

Still facing away, Avymere tried to curl in on themself, only to wince as a line of agony shot up their leg and chest. Part of them wanted to push Elsind back. Their friend’s presence was like sand on the wound in their mind. If they could just be left alone, no one else would have to be subjected to their pitiable weakness.

“Everything feels so heavy,” they mumbled instead. “I…. I can’t bear to face it. I just can’t.”

“Oh, Avy….” Elsind sighed sadly. They got up and, from the sounds of things, began to put together a small tray of food.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Avyemere choked out. Even talking brought pain to their leg, as well as leaving them out of breath. “I should be strong enough. I’m meant to be. My people deserve better.”

Lots of emotions there, for such a stoic fellow. Just not a lot of happy ones. I'll tag @mk-writes-stuff @imsoveryveryconfusedatlife @nczaversnick @astor-and-the-endless-ink @sergeantnarwhalwrites and anyone else who wants in :)

[dark-twist-fairytales]

Idk what I was smoking when I came up with Lich Clayton but I need more of it- (I say, as someone who’s never smoked in their life.)

It’s just so tragic-

The death order goes like this (might change later)

Sarnax (Lizardfolk have the shortest lifespan)

Shepherd (He lives a peaceful life in Yona, dying in the embrace of his loved ones)

Kana ( She stands strong against one final attack against her home, she watches the battlefield in victory as her eyes shut for the final time.)

Victoria ( Clayton moves to Barovia after his family’s passing, they spend their days helping the people, they’ve made a shrine for their fallen friends by one of Sarnax’s trees. She dies knowing she’s helped the people, Clayton adding her to the shrine)

Clayton ( He helps around Barovia, taking extra care of the Martikov family and their descendants. When his body degrades he continues his search.)

(New generations of Barovians are born, hearing the tales of the Azran Expedition, all of them should be dead by now, yet who is that cloaked figure by the shrine? No one truly knows, he brings medicine and magic, the elders claim him ancient, they watch on as he continues on his journey, wondering if they’ll see him again in their lifetime.)

Also, Hello! I’m the guy who made the long rest drawing!

I'm slamming my head into the table- I THOUGHT IT WAS YOU-

FJHRGAJVSEDGHASD---

Clayton being a damn cryptic yet it has so much meaning behind it- I'm sobbing-

Your art is incredible, by the way, it's delightful to see.

[dailycharacteroption]

Book Review: Classic Monsters Revisited

I had said yesterday that we’d be looking at how Pathfinder reimagined goblins and other monsters , and now I’m here to deliver!

Classic Monsters Revisited was the start of one of my favorite series of setting books for Pathfinder’s core setting, the Revisited series. Like the name suggests, it was all about showcasing various monsters (plus one time they focused on magic items) and how Pathfinder sought to recontextualize them and breathe new life into the concepts, which they did at first, thought later iterations were more focused on showing off the new monsters they had ripped wholesale from folklore or made up wholesale, though they never truly abandoned revisiting monsters that had been featured in past iterations of D&D.

The monsters this time around were Bugbears that were less “vaguely bearlike uber-goblins” and more creepy stalking predators like the boogeyman that their name is actually a variant of; Gnolls that were, let’s be honest, more or less the same as D&D gnolls but with a different deity slapped onto them; The Goblins we all know and love from their  fusion of Stitch and Gremlins; Hobgoblins being the classic militaristic types we know of but also being created by divine intervention on goblin stock; Kobolds, who aren’t changed that much from past systems beyond not having any connection or reason to hate gnomes in particular; Lizardfolk, which aren’t changed much beyond actually exploring their culture and demonstrating how different societies have different social mores; Minotaurs, which aren’t changed much at all; Ogres, who’ve gone from lesser giants to being “The Hills Have Eyes” style degenerate mutants and hybrid offspring of humans and giants, while being capable of some of the most monstrous acts both against other humanoids and even each other; Orcs, who aren’t changed much and were just given relevant lore for the setting; And finally, Trolls, which aren’t changed much but are given interesting lore tying them to the First World and also exploring the difficulties of maintaining the metabolism necessary for their regeneration.

The art and lore in this book is all fun stuff that taps into not just the physiology and behavior of these beings, but also where they live and what their lives are like. Interestingly, the art for trolls appears to predate the official look that Pathfinder gave to troll-kind, and hearkens back to their look in D&D, what with the elongated drooping noses that almost certainly would get in the way of eating and whatnot, whereas later Pathfinder would give them massive tusks and underbites, a more potbelly appearance, and somewhat porcine faces.

One the one hand, this book perfectly showcases how Paizo was willing to go above and beyond to make some of their classic humanoid threats more interesting and diverse, be it the comical goblins, the terrifying bugbears, or the pure disgust of ogres.

On the other, however, a lot of the humanoids in this book actually are barely changed or fleshed out at all, and are sometimes just awful for awfulness's sake. Gnolls and orcs being universally cave-dwelling slavers and brutes, kobolds being cowardly, minotaurs barely having a society at all, and so on.

The good news is, this eventually gets better, with orcs being given proper nuance with the matanji orcs of the Mwangi Expanse being goodly guardian warriors, while the Belkzen orcs even got enough nuance to see that they were forged by the struggles caused by both the Dwarven Quest for Sky and the return of the sun, while others focus their pride and physical prowess elsewhere.

Meanwhile, gnolls get a more matriarchal culture (far cry from their weirdly misogynistic patriarchal one even while worshipping a goddess), and we see, especially with mwangi gnolls, them being a practical and pragmatic people, a far cry from the assumption of lazy slavers that only represent the most monstrous tribes of their kind.

And Minotaurs! Oh, how they improved minotaurs over time, including giving them a better origin based in Pathfinder’s not-Greece Ibyldos rather than being “Lamashtu did a thing again”.

All this to say nothing of how kobolds have evolved into a people able to match their pride with their actions and even get new lore where they adapt and evolve to match powerful beings they revere.

All of these changes as the Pathfinder setting evolved does mean that while this book is a good jumping-off point, a lot of it is woefully out of date.

Some of that goes back to the original assumption that Pathfinder was going to be a more edgy, dark fantasy setting. (They went as far as to explicitly state the carnal, often incestuous, habits of ogres, for example.) However, some of it also ties back to the lingering assumptions of Gygax’s vision of D&D, wherein biological determinism was very much a thing and “evil” ancestries were inherently so with no chance of redemption and no moral recourse but to wipe them from the earth, and all the horrific implications that come with that when used as a metaphor for the real world.

Thankfully, we as a fandom are happily moving away from such things, with conflicts with orcs and goblins being more about struggles for resources, cultural misunderstandings, and of course the influence of evil gods teaching them that malicious right-makes-right ideologies are superior, which you can happily apply to any people, even the traditionally “good” peoples.

I think that will do for today, but this has been a fun revisitation. Now, on to something more focused on mechanics than lore!

[wanderlustknightofmagic]

✍️

The lizard folk would let out a hearty and full laugh when questioned about his weapon. "Grah ha ha ha! No no, I didn't find this somewhere, I built it myself. Mhm, very proud of it! It has some kinks to work out, but it's very much my prized creation," He'd boast with a wide grin. "I mostly like to build a lot of what I end up using, but my party members prefer I use store-brought things. I don't mind it so much, but I do wish they'd trust me a little more. Not everything I make explodes... by accident. Besides, what's better? A chair that's comfortable to sit in, or a chair that's comfortable to sit in AND can explode when thrown at an incoming enemy? I rest my case." The crocodile man gave two nods of his head with his arms folded in front of his chest.

//This is Grix Snapjaw! He's my Lizardfolk inventor from a Pathfinder 2E session. I had @the-storm-chaser do this art and I still love it. I may not use Grix for much DnD stuff nowadays, but I will always be happy to remake him and use him again whenever I do play! He's my silly Croco-boy.