#and a lot of the other anime humanoid building designs….

[smuby]

i completely forgot about this,,, here is my design for a humanoid dispenser. i like to think of her as the scienceparty kid lol

[cydork]

Alien Questionnaire - A Biological Perspective

A while ago, somebody linked me a very comprehensive worldbuilding questionnaire. For most aspects of a fictional society, it was great, but I noticed it assumed that anyone using it was making up a fictional human society, or at least a society of beings very similar to humans. As such, there was almost nothing in the biology department, which to me is one of the best parts! Thus, this questionnaire was born.

These questions are designed to help people worldbuild from a biological foundation. As such, the questionnaire only touches lightly on other aspects of a fictional society, and is more of a jumping off point. I wrote it with the aim of using it to develop aliens, but it should be suitable for any project with non-humanoid species, such as sapient terrestrial animals.

Have fun! I'd love to see your answers :)

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General Anatomy How many limbs do they have? Do they have limbs at all?

What are their primary manipulators? Where are they located? How does this affect their tool use, building ability, etc?

What kind of body covering do they have, e.g. hair, scales, feathers? How do they clean it? Do they shed this covering constantly, or all at once at certain times? 

Can they maintain a constant body temperature? If not, how do they deal with changing environmental temperatures? 

What kind of habitat do they live in? Both specific habitat, and broader such as on land vs in water.

What adaptations do they have for living in this habitat?

What kind of creature did they evolve from?

What are the similarities and differences to their closest living relatives? 

What resource(s) is the most necessary and urgent for them? E.g. for many animals, but not all, it’s water.

What are some common mutations? E.g. eye colours, ability to digest lactose in humans.

What injuries or illnesses are considered disabling? 

How is their healing ability? Can they regenerate? If they can, is that limited to certain body parts or a certain number of times?

Senses What senses do they have? E.g. sight, smell, electroreception, etc.

How good are those senses?

Which of their sense/s do they use the most in everyday life?

How might this choice of sense impact the way they interact with the world? 

Can they detect things that Earth creatures cannot? If yes, how and why?

Movement  How do they move? Do they walk, crawl, fly, etc? 

If they have multiple modes of movement, which is preferred, and why?

Which part/s of their body do they use to move?

What is their speed and endurance like? 

How agile are they? 

Do they rely mainly on their own bodies for travel, or do they use pack animals and machines? 

How often do they move around? Are they mainly sedentary, do they move a lot within a set area, do they migrate, etc?

Do they have different levels of mobility depending on age, sex, or other biological group? E.g. young barnacles are able to swim, while adults are anchored permanently to a surface. 

Reproduction and Lifecycle  How many sexes are there? 

Are there differences between the sexes (ignoring the reproductive system)? 

Are there different castes, such as in honeybees or naked mole rats? If so, what is the function of each caste? 

Are differences in sex or caste used to justify discrimination or hierarchy? How might these ideas differ in different populations? 

Do they have a concept of gender? If so, is gender affected by sex, caste, or some other factor?

How do they attract a mate? Do they release a chemical into the air, do an elaborate display, etc?

Does one individual try to actively woo another, or is courtship more mutual?

What do they find attractive in members of the same species?

What is the usual reproductive partnership? E.g. two individuals, one main reproducing individual with a harem, no set partner, etc. 

How long do they live?

How are young brought into the world? Live birth, eggs, spores, etc?

Is producing young a painful, dangerous process, or is it easy?

How much parental investment is there? Are there many young with little investment, or few young with a lot of investment (r vs K strategy)? Or is it somewhere in the middle? 

How many offspring are produced at a time? Think about how attitudes towards children may differ between a species that produces one or two, and a species that produces dozens or even hundreds at a time.

How do they grow? Are they born looking like miniature adults, gradually growing bigger? Do they have specific phases of high growth, like puberty? Do they have a larval phase, metamorphosis? 

How self-sufficient are they as young? Can they move around and feed themselves as soon as they are born? Do they require parental care? 

What is the usual structure of childcare? Single or multiple parents/related individuals? Communally raised? 

Is sex purely for reproduction, or does it serve other purposes?

What kind of sexuality is considered the norm? This doesn’t just refer to same/other sex pairings, but the culture around sex in general.

Diet and Foodchain What is their diet? Are they carnivores, omnivores, frugivores, insectivores, etc?

Do they feed off an unusual source, for example rocks, metals, or (in appropriate settings) something like magic or souls?

What physical adaptations do they have for this diet? 

Is their diet very restricted, or can they have a wide range of foods?

How often do they eat? What is the culture around mealtimes, if any?

Are they prey for other organisms? For each other?

If they are, how do they deal with it? Do they fight back, have barriers, or do they accept it as a part of life?

If they are hunters themselves, what is their attitude to killing other organisms? Are they respectful? Prideful of their kill? Is it completely trivial? 

If they are hunters, how do they hunt? Are they solitary or packhunters? Are certain members of the group designated to hunt? 

Are the results of foraging or hunting shared, or is it everyone for themself?

Are they parasitic, parasitised, or in a symbiotic relationship with any other organisms? 

Body Rhythms How often do they sleep?

What time of the day are they most active? Are they nocturnal, diurnal, crepuscular? 

Do they generally sleep for one long period a day, multiple shorter periods throughout, or something in between? 

Do they sleep to cope with extreme temperatures or bad conditions, i.e. hibernate or aestivate?

Do they have any biological processes that disrupt their life e.g. moulting, reproductive cycles, etc?

If yes, how does their society accommodate for these processes? Does it accommodate them at all? 

Communication What is their main method of communication? Sound, visuals, scent, etc? Think about their main sense and how this would affect communication.

What is their body language like? What small moving parts might aid their body language?

If they have multiple methods of communication, are they all given equal weight, or is one considered higher than others? 

Society How sociable are they? 

If social, what is the usual social structure? 

Are there hierarchies? How strict or relaxed are the roles?

How are disputes usually settled? Is it more common to be violent or appease the other party? 

If not social, what is the reaction to being with other individuals? Do they become aggressive or stressed? Do they tolerate each other? 

What is the usual size of a community? Do they have communities at all? 

Do they have an in-group vs out-group mentality? If so, how strong is it? This generally relates to how scarce or plentiful resources were during their evolution, and how territorial their ancestors were.

What kind of bonds do they form? 

On the spectrum of individualistic to community-oriented, where do they fall?

Do they have a strong sense of personal identity? Think about how this might tie in with the previous question. 

What are the main things they derive identity from? Occupation, gender, family ties, etc?

Do they have names? If yes, how are these names formed? Are they given by another party or chosen by the individual?

Have they domesticated any creatures? If so, what do they use these creatures for?

Do they have any unusual relationships with other creatures on their planet (beyond predation, parasitism or mutualism)?

Do they produce art? What are their main forms of artistic expression? Think about how this will be linked to their main sense(s), communication method, and/or primary manipulators.

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GLOSSARY Primary manipulator: Main body part used to manipulate objects, e.g. hands in humans, trunks in elephants, feet in parrots.

Sedentary: Inactive, staying in the same place.

Caste (reproductive): A group within a species with differences in body type and reproductive ability.

Symbiosis/Mutualism: Interactions where both parties benefit, e.g. cleaner fish getting a meal in exchange for picking irritating parasites off larger fish.

Aestivate: To become inactive during hot or dry periods, usually involving being sealed in mucus or soil e.g. lungfish, snails. 

Reproductive cycle: Regular hormone fluctuations that affect an animal’s fertility or attitude towards breeding. The cycles can range from months to years and can include things such as antler growth in male deer, heat cycles, and menstruation in humans.

[tocomplainfriend]

I am mad

Yup!

Bro shut up, she is white - being Latina is not a race, is an not the same as color skin. And she is a second generation immigrant too. So like... this isn't like a Salvadorian person doing a cartoon, is a daughter of Salvadorians... That grew in the USA. Being Latino doesn't mean you aren't white, you can be any race and Latino. Still wouldn't make up for the lack of representation or the existing racism. In the piece of media that's "diverse".

Salvadorian is not a race, LMAO. That's crazy- you think someone from Argentina who is white, is not white cause of their nationality??? Being Latino and having that culture does not equal a race. It's in itself a racist thing. This Latino = Race is terrible, It also comes from the idea of the "You are not Latino because you are not brown", assuming all people from Latino America are brown by default. You know how much has that happen to me? -AND MANY OTHER PEOPLE.

(I'm Latino btw)

I already have an older post about it, but - you can really see the lack of diversity in the show a lot. (Will talk about it even more other day).

Again the main thing you get is MEN, hypersexual skinny queer men (cis). You won't get to see female characters being well written, thought all the season 1 and all the episodes we got rn of season 2. All characters are skinny and similar body types and repetitive design choices. Funny enough, shows that lack of human characters still have better race-coding that helluva. (and well in hazbin you'll get POC characters that are gray, lack all ethic features... even when they are humanoid. So that is great.)

Bro you could, you imagine a character being black and having different textured hair, and you go to hell... AND EVEN THO YOU ARE HUMANOID- your hair became straight and spiky, and you are now a light gray? If you build a world like that... it just seems like the perfect racist excuse to delete ethic features out a POC character because you don't want to draw them. "Not going to a single hint of their race/culture unless it revolves on their death"... If the character became a fucking coin with dot eyes, maybe (not really, shows with no human/humanoid characters still are capable to race-code their characters). But all of these characters are humanoid- why do none of them have their different characteristics? Also, this is about a real person in the real world choosing how to design a character.

This tweet also implies that a black character when they were a life they had ethic features, but lose them when they go to hell. Which is even more fucking stupid.

If a white person with straight hair goes to hell, and their hair remains straight (assuming it has nothing to do with their death), why wouldn't there be black people with textured hair? This is dumb. This goes back to the fucking thing of "No black people in fantasy media", In the same way, it's stupid for fantasy stories to revolve around white people characteristics in fictional species and people in that world- not including all the rest of diverse human characteristics POC people have it's crazy. The biggest problem here is why the fuck all Viv's sinners characters (main characters designed by her) that are supposed to black (or mixed like Alastor) have 0 characteristic. THEY ARE HUMANOID, THEY AREN'T EVEN ABSTRACT OR AN ANIMAL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. She didn't want to draw that nor change designs, and wanted to justify the whole concept of Alastor even using Voodou.

HOW ARE ALL THE ANGELS THAT VIV WANTS TO BE BLACK (black voice actors specified, or are race specified) HAVE NOTHING??? LIKE HELLO THE 'I'm such a nice angel character girl' HAS SPIKY STRAIGHT HAIR??? SHE IS AN ANGEL AND BLACK, WHY DIDN'T YOU DID HER HAIR TO BE CLOUDS- It's THE EASIEST SHIT YOU COULD’VE DONE.

BOOM! A FUCKING TROLL FROM A KIDS MOVIE WITH DIFFERENT HAIR. BOOM! THE FUNK TROLLS ARE SO EXPLICITLY BLACK CODED.

---

-

Bro, you know this whole thing of people with textured hair have to forcefully straighten their hair or wear wogs to a job... because people consider it ""Unprofessional"" cause racism? The erasure and discrimination of POC people and their features is a problem. That's why it is important to people represent all of those things:

(Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur)

The only reason of why Alas tor is even mixed is purely cause Viv used the Voodou symbols because she thought they were creepy and edgy. It's sucks that all the angels and sinners that are supposed to be black have nothing.

[stitching-in-time]

Finally caught up on Star Trek: Prodigy, and I truly think it's the best of the new Star Trek series. It has the strongest first season of any Trek show since Voyager, and it both respects the Star Trek universe and expands on it beautifully.

As an animated series, it has a grand scale and visual beauty that's unmatched in all of Star Trek. This show is breathtakingly gorgeous! All the design work is top notch; the character designs especially are truly different and unique and completely break the 'basically humanoid aliens with bumpy foreheads' mold.

For all that people seem to ignore it because it's a kids show, I think it has the strongest and most thoughtful writing of all the new Trek shows. The premise of child slaves escaping a mining asteroid in a stolen Starfleet ship is actually the darkest of any Trek series, and there's as many heartbreaking moral dilemmas to chew over as any Trek series ever gave us. But it captures the optimistic, humanist spirit of Star Trek far better than a show like Picard does, because unlike that show, it's not trying to be dark to be edgy or cool, it's trying to be honest and to find hope and light amidst dark circumstances. Hope that a better future is possible is what made Star Trek edgy in the first place, and as the world gets more cynical, holding onto that ideal is infinitely more punk than cynicism could ever be. Prodigy gets that, and it respects the history and lore of Star Trek while building on it. It was clearly made by people who've actually seen Voyager, and actually know and like Captain Janeway, because what we see of her here feels like the Janeway I grew up with. It's like getting to see an old friend again, having new adventures, while still being the same person she always was.

I do like all the other new Trek series, except for Picard, and I feel like for the most part, they've been very strong, and in keeping with the spirit of Star Trek. But Prodigy has this special mix of being tied directly to the old stuff while adding something entirely new. The epic scale of the first season's story arc was amazing, it is one of, if not the, best season finales I've ever seen in all of Star Trek. I'm grew up on the 90s shows, which will always have my heart, but Prodigy is such a mind-blowing expansion of that whole universe, I'm honestly astounded and grateful that someone used my old faves to make this epic new thing, which hopefully will bring an entirely new audience to the old stuff.

Despite the fact that there's lots of deep lore references that us grown up Trekkies can pick out with delight everywhere, the story of the main protagonists is self contained, and doesn't actually need any previous familarity with Star Trek to understand. Since the main characters don't know what Starfleet or the Federation even is, the audience can discover that along with them. It's such a genius concept, and it works so well! I honestly cried watching the season finale, it wrapped up the season's worth of story and character development so well, and set things up for an exciting new season. The characters are so well defined and lovable already! It has humor, it has adventure, it has heart, it's a classic Star Trek found family story!

I just can't rave about Prodigy enough, it exceeded all my expectations and then some. Everyone who loves Star Trek, please go watch it! Everyone who loves animation, please go watch it! Especially if you love Captain Janeway and Voyager, please go watch it! I want as many more seasons of this show as I can possibly get, so we need to keep streaming it so Netflix sees how popular it is and decides to make more.

I guess I'm in the category of old Trekkies now, so believe me when I say this show is what Star Trek is all about! Please please please give it a chance and you'll love it too!!!

[gillyeowalters]

I love the small things about Warframe's design so much. Like, the Duviri architecture.

[Spoilers!]

The houses obviously are just wall parts of the Zariman, arranged to look like settlements/towns. The same goes for many of the harvestable plants, that also mimic Zariman design elements (especially noticeable with the cactus-like Ueymag, that has an unnaturally symmetrical shape, mimicking the often repeated tuning fork-shape).

Duviri has multiple bioms, plains, snowy mountains, a desert, but they are all way too small to exist naturally.

All this paints the picture of a world created by the mind of a child, who might have never seen anything else but the inside of a spaceship. They might have never seen other architecture, so all houses have to look like they were ripped straight out of the Zariman's structure. They know that mountains and deserts exist, but they do not understand their scale, so they become just one more small piece of Duviri. Just like cartographs back in history they fill the unknown of their world with set pieces and the skeletal structures found all over Duviri lend themselves for a comparison to this "Here there be dragons" mindset.

Children build and recreate what they know all the time to learn and better understand it, but also to express their wishes and creativity. This gives the idea of a child, confined in space, wishing to get to be somewhere else, visiting the places they have heard of.

We get to see quite a few rather large settlements in Duviri, but the amount of houses and people does not seem to match. In general, only very few people seem to be roaming the streets. This is not an adult doing extensive worldbuilding, this is a child with a lot of building blocks but very few dolls building a world on which they can project their emotions and memories onto.

Most of Duviris normal inhabitants are just decorations, not existing to be characters, but because a town "needs to have people in it". They are not defined by who they are, but by what they do- and what they do is react to the player, sit around, talk and cower in fear when enemies approach.

The simple shapes of the buildings are very close to the concept of real life building blocks. Paedagogic toys often are simple, to allow for easy handling and more creative freedom.

The theme of death is also omnipresent. Every animal resembles a carcass build from metal plating and even the Dax enemies are skeleton-like, the Gladius' helmets lower part even resembling a rabbit skull. We obviously know how the story of the Zariman ended and the skulls and bones might be just an indicator of potential danger, but what if the skeletal design of Duviri's inhabitants are not supposed to indicate not (just) death, but an infinished state? They are walking skeletons, yet missing a skin, their shape, just like the fractured bodies of the townspeople, not fully formed out in the child's head. Since the townspeople are humanoid though, they look more finished, while all the child might have ever seen of sheep, cats, dogs, horses and owls could have very well been just pictures in a school book, maybe next to a diagram of their underlying anatomy (after all, one of the few things we get to experience of the daily life on the Zariman, is school).

There is also an enemy called the Dax Herald. A Herald was a specialist in ceremonies, making sure that they were held correctly (besides also having diplomativ tasks). Their head resembles a security camera, adding a layer of oppressive social norms normal humans certainly suffered under in the orokin empire

[canadianno]

you wanted questions about your au?

VERY WELL!

EXPLAIN THE EVOLUTIONARY TRAITS THAT GAVE GRASSWORMS TIDDIES

/pos

:)

GIVING YOU THE BIGGEST HIGH FIVE RN!!!!

Get comfy because I'm about to explain allllll my utter bullshit. I threw together some images to go along with this explanation as well!

TLDR: Worms in my AU retain more features from their wild counterparts than others, including women having a heavily padded chest since they're the ones jumping around above ground and that's what they'd land on.

THE LONG EXPLAINATION BELOOOWWWWWW LETS FUCKING GO!

OKAY SO! To start off this explanation we need a basic understanding of how the evolution works in my AU. In my AU there are domestic animals, and wild animals. Domestic animals are what the characters are- anthropomorphic. They usually stand upright, usually have more humanoid features, and they're 'conscious' the same way humans are.

Wild animals are what those animals are actually like in, yknow, the real world. So a wild bird would just be a normal bird (for us.) A wild squirrel would be a normal squirrel, ect. ect.

In my AU, not all animals have a wild counterpart. There are a lot of animals who have zero wild counterparts, and the animal exists exclusively domestically. Most big land animals are like this- there's also a higher percentage of mammals that are exclusively domestic than any other kind of animal.

There are also loads of animals that do have wild counterparts! These animals are usually smaller. Birds, bugs, amphibians, small mammals, and fish- bugs and fish have the most few domestic groups, simply because of the environmental challenges.

Now, onto the worms specifically!! There are lots of different kinds of worms, but since this ask was specifically referring to Leshy, I'll be using his kind as the example.

In the AU, worms are one of, of not THE most genetically close wild/domestic category of animal in the world. This is because a wild worm and a domestic worm start out nearly the EXACT same! Of course- a worm with domestic parents starts out usually larger, with larger external limbs and a bigger brain, but they still both start out the same. Worms hatch underground and spend most of their early first few years almost completely burrowing. Worms are born with both arms and legs, but they're weak and usually don't get used much- they're also born with fuzzy, soft faces.

In a wild worm, as they age they lose the fur/foliage on their faces and it becomes tough and wood-like. They usually completely reabsorb their hind legs with age, usually keeping the front arms- but they're kinda like T-Rex arms, where they're more for decoration than anything.

In a domestic worm, in order to become domestic they kinda have to. BE domesticated. To achieve the bipedal form of an adult domestic worm, worms must be taught to walk on the hind legs, which builds muscle and bone mass- preventing them being reabsorbed. This process is usually guided by adult domestic worms, who track down the babies in the first stage. A fully grown domestic worm never loses the fur/foliage around the face, due to not burrowing constantly.

Of course, now you're thinking "okay okay, you've told us the difference between wild and domestic, and you've explained that both those kinds of worms are very close genetically, now why do they have boobs???"

And the answer is . They don't! Wild worms have bug-typical sexual dimorphism where the females are much larger than the males. In the wild, male worms tend to stay underground, burrowing, and you don't usually see them, while female worms traverse above ground- in the game they'd be the green worms you fight in darkwood. And, as you may know if you've played the game, those worms hop around after you, and land directly on their fronts. In wild worms, females have a heavily padded 'chest' area, designed to protect important internal organs from the full impact of landing.

This trait carried over to domestic worms!!! Men are usually shorter, with shorter tails, and women are usually taller with a longer tail and a heavily padded chest! They aren't boobs at all, simply a collection of fat tissues around the chest area. If worms were to evolve further away from their wild counterparts that trait would be one of the first to go, but for now it's socially considered a female trait!

So, when Leshy realized he was trans, he fucking . Took it out. On his own. And walked into Shamuras room covered in blood like it was no big deal, and mildly traumatized them because they thought he was dying or something.

And that is the. End of my ramble <3 thank you for listening to me yap on and on and on about my stupid silly headcanons!!! If you have any questions you want clarified feel free to send em in!!!

[egg-witch]

As usual I am thinking too hard about the biology of fictional characters so. Thoughts I am compelled to share about Boothill below

Canonically he has synthetic, blue blood. This would cause his skin tone to seem quite strange and greyish. Extra so if he's as pale as he is in-game but this would still be apparent with most darker skin tones as well. Man's gonna be looking a bit like a zombie

The intent here is debatable but I also choose to interpret that same line to mean that he does *not* have a synthetic heart - the original's still in there, just running on new juice

Related to this and also the fact he can seemingly have a bullet explode in his mouth without serious repercussions I am going to assume that his skull and whatever else would be left of his skeleton have been enhanced or replaced (having human bone marrow in there making new blood cells would likely mess with things if they replaced that whole system)

This is very funny to me because it seemingly means instead of just putting his brain inside a whole synthetic body the doctor went to the trouble to keep his original face, despite replacing/augmenting his teeth, eyes, tongue and, one can extrapolate, his entire damn skull. He was ready to give up everything except his pretty complexion I guess...

(Unless his face *is* synthetic and intellitrons just have no desire for a realistic human face with the capacity to emote? The rest of boothill's body seems flexible in a way that would suggest a good synthetic equivalent to human skin, so... it's plausible)

Speaking of, I really do not subscribe to the idea that he can't feel anything from the neck down. Do you know how hard it'd be to do anything as a human with a meat brain (or even as a robot for that matter) without any haptic feedback? If they have the technology to make him a whole new body that has equal or better mobility and general function than the old one then they can make it feel things, I promise. Probably not in all the same ways human flesh can feel things, especially if a lot of it is rigid plating, but it'd still be conductive to heat and electricity at least

I know the reason his model is that way is bc it's just a different texture on the same default character model, hence it bending and stretching like a soft body - building, rigging and animating a humanoid body that truly moves like a rigid machine would be an absurd amount of work and also limit the visual design, his canon design straight up would not be able to move or work if all those parts really were rigid no matter how you approached it lol. but it is very hot and looks cool which is what really matters. so I've settled on most of the "plating" being tough but still somewhat flexible, not actually metal but an advanced synthetic material of some sort. and then material more like an artificial skin between joints and in the parts that need extra stretch and flexibility. he's harder (and heavier) than a human but he's not a tin can

Based on screwllum's dialogue that he can and does eat regular food (but the phrasing implies that he could also eat other stuff? And there's that exchange from one of the light cones where ruan mei makes a joke about him having to drink machine oil) and the implication that the doctor who gave boothill his new body was an intellitron, I think boothill must have something similar - he can still eat normal food but also process other things. Idk if the fuel hatch on his back is a redundancy then or what. Could just be that nobody anticipated he'd think gasoline tastes good lmao

(side note while it's kinda implied in game that his weird tastes are a result of an augmented mouth and tongue I like to think he was always like that. He was eating rocks out of the garden as a kid and licking rusty old coins and stuff u can't convince me otherwise)

(also this is getting off track but this guy clearly has some kinda fixation on like. machinery. I think even though he did it for unrelated reasons he thinks his cyborg body is very hot and probably also has a little bit of a thing for intellitrons ngl. which is interesting given his history and the associations one would first assume he'd have with that kind of technology and aesthetic, but. can't fault a guy for knowing what he's into)

Whoops this got super long

Stay tuned for the sequel, "KC analyses boothill's personality way too seriously"

[alienarthouse]

A bit of a change of pace from my typical scifi spec bio, but I’ve been drawing a lot of fantasy art lately and started thinking about my goblins again.

In my D&D homebrew/original high fantasy world, Fulcire, the goblinoids (a family consisting of such species as the goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears) are distinct from the humanoids, having evolved from a different common ancestor. They are the older of the two families, having evolved somewhere between 20,000 and 70,000 years earlier. Goblins were the first of the family to evolve in their modern form, making them the oldest intelligent mortal life on the plane. They alternate between quadrupedal and bipedal stances, are opportunistic omnivores, surviving on a mix of gathering and scavenging, but never actively hunting. Before the modern age of city-building, they kept migratory paths that they traveled across over the span of several years. These days, though, they tend to live more sedentary lives in the isolation of deep wilderness, because where their’s and humanoid’s paths cross, a fight almost always seems to end up breaking out.

More fun facts below:

- As a weird quirk of their evolution, goblinoids are better able to understand large numbers as a concept than humanoids. Where the humanoid mind struggles to imagine numbers into the thousands, tens-of-thousands, and beyond, goblinoids do not. This is theorized to be due to the fact that goblinoids evolved from an animal that had a herd-like social structure, rather than a pack-like one. An individual could need to know hundreds to thousands of other people on a personal level, and those that could work in such large numbers tended to be the most successful members of the herd, eventually selecting towards this particular quirk. As a result, Goblins and goblinoids are fantastic trend-spotters, and have both a fantastic memory and a quick mind for mathematics. It’s no coincidence that their agriculture requires keeping careful track of plant and animal populations across wide tracts of land over many years, and figuring out how to manipulate them season-by-season to the benefit of both themselves, and for the local ecosystem.

- Goblin clothing and fashion is quite unique when compared to humanoid clothing. Goblins do have a taboo against nudity in most cultures, but the structure of their body means that what they must cover differs. All goblinoids are mammalian, though their breast tissue is on their stomach, not their chest. To have an exposed belly, then, is considered appropriate for men, but not women, in Goblin societies (this, of course, can vary depending on societal practices regarding nursing, but that’s a whole different topic). An exposed chest, meanwhile, is commonly considered a sign of bravery in warriors, though more often than not warriors will wear chest-plates in real combat. Everyday styles, such as an exposed chest, are designed to allow for ease of movement in both bipedal and quadrupedal stances. The classic shirt, as humans style it, tend to pull and rub at a Goblin’s shoulders, which are structured more like that of a very flexible cat than a human. A lean towards functionality does not stop Goblins from accessorizing, though, covering clothes in embroidery, beadwork, and decorating with anything that shines or makes a nice jingling sound. Patterns and motifs may stem from Goblin folklore and history, or may be adopted from other species’ cultures. Clothing style is not restricted based on sex in any case other than when it comes to nudity in a particular culture, but it is common for those with magical ability to wear styles that differ from those who do not.

- Goblins have brightly pigmented skin, ranging from green to yellow to red, with the depth of color believed to signal good health. They may very rarely have striped or spotted patterns on their skin, but if not painted-on, this tends to be the result of an individual having some hobgoblin or bugbear ancestry, rather than a naturally occurring pattern. Compared to humanoids, they have an extended hairline, which starts lower on the forehead, extending down the neck and back, and across the shoulders. It often stops at the low-back, but it is not unheard of to have a furred tail. They range between 2.5 to 3.5 feet in height when standing bipedally, though are taller when their ears are taken into account. They are mammalian, and give birth in litters of 1-3 pups per season. Goblins have retractable claws, and their teeth fall out regularly across the seasons, though they only fall out all at once if a Goblin is in truly dire health. Lost teeth are often given as a sign of affection to family, friends, and/or lovers. While Goblins may not be religious, they are often spiritual, and keeping a loved one’s tooth is thought to help keep track of them, in life and in death. In fact, when a particularly beloved Goblin passes, when they are interred below the roots or in the hollow of a tree, they are often buried with great numbers of living Goblin’s teeth, so that they may find and recognize one another again in the world beyond.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

What does a traditional family/House dynamic look like, especially in terms of children?

[Does the whole House live in one large building, or is the House more of a common family space? Are children usually cared for by their parents, or is child minding more of a communal responsibility along the lines of "it takes a village to raise a child"? Etc.] < please treat these questions as additional questions like the ones on a school test that the teacher puts in to make sure that the student understands the original big question. I only included them so you could know what I meant when I say "House/family dynamic", because I know that can be confusing

Gosh, I wish you'd have written my exams.

What does a traditional family/House dynamic look like?

Houses are both residences and familial hubs containing a lot of related Gallifreyans. Here's what the dynamic typically looks like, especially when it comes to raising children:

🏠 Brief House Overview

First, a bit of context - Gallifreyan Houses are huge, often sentient structures. They're designed to support entire extended families, often containing multiple generations.

Interior Design: Houses often have high ceilings, large rooms, and sprawling corridors. This setup is on purpose - designed to make newly loomed Gallifreyans feel like children (many loomlings are created with fully-grown adult bodies).

Living Spaces: Houses contain individual bedrooms, communal living spaces, and operational facilities such as the Loomshed. They also have their own crypts for dead House members.

Animated Features: The Houses often have animated furniture, which, if not properly trained, might chase people around. Paintings whisper at passing cousins, and Druges, large automated humanoid servants, roam the premises, performing various duties.

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Family Dynamics

Gallifreyan families tend to be large and very hierarchical, with cousins, aunts, uncles, and other relatives living under the same roof. There's a strong thread of communal responsibility and shared upbringing when it comes to childrene (childe = singular, childrene = plural):

Childcare: Childrene are typically cared for by a combination of their parents and other relatives. Parents are present and will look after their child, performing the usual trips out to the galactic zoo or whatever.

Education: The responsibility for education and upbringing is communal, with older House members playing a significant role in brainbuffing (the educational process designed to shape young Gallifreyan minds). This is supported by the help of Avatroids - mechanical beings who were (basically) enslaved by the Time Lords. The boy Doctor had his own personal Avatroid named Badger, whose job it was to protect and educate him.

Communal Responsibilities: Given the House's size and structure, childcare is often a collective effort. The extended family takes part in guiding the children's education and development, with the aim of instilling a sense of duty and obedience ie. House values.

🧒 Children and Brainbuffing

As mentioned, childrene undergo brainbuffing, a rigorous educational process that equips them with a ton of knowledge before they step out into the big wide world. This process involves both formal schooling and informal training at home.

Early Education: During the first eight years, childrene are educated in writing, culture, mathematics, and science, surpassing the knowledge level of many human college students. Extended family members play a significant role in this process.

Traditional Activities: Despite the emphasis on duty, childrene can happily engage in activities like lushberrying and playing with onion dolls. However, there are no playgrounds on Gallifrey due to the focus on obedience.

Communal Upbringing: The entire House contributes to the upbringing, fostering a strong sense of community and collective responsibility.

🔥Then Comes Life

At the age of eight, children are snatched away from all of this and put into Chapter Academies away from their Houses and families for around 200 years. Bummer.

🏫 So ...

Gallifreyan Houses blend family living with communal responsibilities. They focus on fostering a sense of duty and service, with a significant emphasis on education and discipline. While parents play a crucial role in raising childrene, the communal approach ensures that every child has a network of support and guidance throughout their early years, which is then completely turned on its head.

Hope that helped! 😃

More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[kit-n-kamoodle]

Hey, there! I’ve been following you a bit and I love how you do such detailed work in your pieces and especially in your fantasy work! I’ve been meaning to ask if you have any advice when it comes to drawing Minotaurs? I really adore how you design & draw them! They’re really visually pleasing and I hope you have a great week! :D

;_; THANK YOU!! that means so much to hear!

In terms of drawing minos, I think the biggest thing I've found to make an impact is being really particular in their neck and facial region, especially that bovine face shape! Cows and their cousins have such fun, long, blocky and sloping features that are a real treat to draw but a bit strange to grasp at first if you're used to drawing other animal/furry faces like canines and felines. my mental shorthand/reminder I like to use is building off the base shape of a thick wedge... like a big block of cartoon cheese.

I also personally prefer giving minotaur fairly thick necks. their heads tend to have a lot of heft to them (especially if they have big horns), so I find that keeps them feeling like they can actually support that weight, and gives a more graceful transition to the more humanoid body!

[quirkwizard]

Which HxH nen abilites from villians/antagonists could be easily converted into a quirk?

Could you make a quirk based on forgemaster’s from the castlevaina show? Not necessarily the part of reanimating corpses, just a quirk that makes monstrous looking creatures.

Honestly, I couldn't find much for villain's powers. Most of them were can't work, are uninteresting, or have already been covered in some fashion. The only option was the Chimera Ant Queen. And while I can't exactly see using corpses to make monsters, I can try other ways to make it work.

I see it working as an Emitter type Quirk that allows the user to start growing an egg inside of their body. The user can impart traits to this egg via the food they consume. The user can then produce this unique egg from their mouth. After a period of time, the egg will then hatch into a monster based on what the user ate. These monsters can come in all kinds of shapes and abilities, ranging from animals the size of cats to eight-foot-tall humanoid beasts. The user has a minor influence over the final result of their creation. These creatures are tied to the user, able to follow their vocal commands and the intent behind them. This gives the user an immensely versatile ability, able to make and unleash all kinds of horrors upon the world. They design fighters for themselves, station them as guards on their behalf, make tactics with a squad of monsters, design beasts to counter their foes, or simply make the new designer pet. Though these eggs will need time to develop and grow before they grow into monsters, taking days, weeks, or even months before they are ready. The process of growing these does take a lot of resources from the user to gestate them, specifically a lot of food from their user to build and fuel them. This can make any loss huge for the user. A possible name for the Quirk could be "Incubate".

[roserysttrpggarden]

PETA tried to make D&D subclasses and I critique them

Hi there

So, this wasn't a post I anticipated making but just this week PETA (People for the "ethical" treatment of animals) put out three subclasses for 5th-edition (with two accompanying magic items and spells) and cause I have nothing better to do, I wanted to critique (And laugh at) them in a overly long blog post, without further ado, let's start with the first of the three subclasses: The Circle of Empathy Druid

First off, the theme of this subclass is already funny cause druids whole thing is taking to animals but i'll let it slide for now

As for the class features, the circle spells are really good since they get both conjure animals and conjure woodland beings on the same spell list. It's a bit odd that they get three second level spells, but as you'll see later I doubt they payed much attention to 5e subclass formatting. Empathy connection is a really funny feature because not only did the designer forget to give an action trigger (Notice how there's no line that mentions using an action, bonus action or anything to use it) and based on how the text is written its implied you can only use the ability upon gaining your subclass, the other funny thing is that by rules as written, you can establish the connection between a humanoid and say, a rat, then dunk the rat in boiling water, or break its legs, and the humanoid will feel the rats pain, so you can effectively torture someone by torturing an animal. Does that completely go against the subclass's theme? Yes, is it funny that you can do that? Also yes!

Persuasive Resonance is a lot of fluff for what's essentially a mass charm you can infinitely spam (Notice there's clause that states you can use it x number of times per long rest.) Enchanting address is both very clunky and overpowered, it's a very potent control ability that, ironically, is way stronger if you don't have any animals around, cause the feature states they "Must use actions that benefit and protect animals for 24 hours" and it has doesn't have a limited number of uses too, combine this with a divination wizard you could very easily shut down any humanoid you want. Besides that the protective instinct feature is weirdly worded, I feel like the last sentence should read "if the humanoid is within 5 feet of the animal, they become the target of the attack instead" it's also interesting that the creature you use this one has a choice of their saving throw, dunno if it's a good thing, but it's interesting. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum: Natures mirror is kind of funny, but also basically useless in combat, I guess it can get around invisibility? the +2 to wisdom and intelligence checks is situational, but could.

To close out my thoughts on this subclass, it's really funny that this is the only subclass of the three that tries to capitalize off of the 2024 PHB, Onto the next subclass!

Oh boy this paladin subclass sure is something. First off, it's way to easy to oathbreak with this subclass. Say for example, you come across a village that's being attacked by oh I don't know, a red dragon, you know, in Dungeons and Dragons. Since your oaths state that you "protect animals from harm" you cannot attack the red dragon in any way without oathbreaking, or what if you get ambushed by an owlbear? Can't fight that without oathbreaking, I would go on but there are so many ways to oathbreak hat the DM borderline has to build most combats around this subclass, and that's just isn''t fun. Moving on from the obvious flavor fails, the two channel divinitys are pretty good? Beasts fury sucks to read cause it swaps between flavor and mechanical text in the same paragraph, but it's basically an additional 1d6 of damage on the creatures melee attacks and frightening enemies they hit on a failed wisdom save, strong but I imagine the frightening could get very annoying especially once extra attack comes into play, an 11th-level fighter under the effects of beasts fury could possibly impose 3 wisdom saves at once (6 if they action surge) slowing the game down dramatically, it's the same issue that the topple property from the 2024 PBH has, it slows the game way the hell down. Sanctuary of The Innocent is broken, first of the radius is questionable at best, is it centered on yourself? a point you can see? Secondly, granting immunity to damage on all animals is busted when combined with summon beast, conjure animals/woodland beings or even a beast master druid, at the same time the feature doesn't specify friendly beasts so going back to the dragon example, you could end up making the boss invincible for the entire encounter. Guardians refuge is okay, the benefits are sort of decent? But I doubt you'll be fighting that many CR 3 beasts or monstrosities by 6th-level (Not to mention the feature is completely worthless as higher tiers of play) the second benefit is really vague but it could be decent if you have a druid or ranger. Unburden the beasts is a quite possibly the first harmful ribbon feature! Cause by rules as written you say, can't ride on horses, or have them pull a wagon, but it also for some reason doubles the carrying capacity of animals...Despite you not being able to use them to haul your supplies? Such a strange ability. Whispers of the wild is another ribbon that comes on too late to be decent. Humanoid handing is, say it with me folks, really strong if you have a druid or ranger in your party, it's funny that its uses per day are limited to your wisdom modifier (despite paladin not using wisdom.) For my closing thoughts on the animal liberation paladin, a lot of the abilities are strong on paper, but require you to either multiclass, or have a druid/ranger in the party since it doesn't get any way to summon animals, so even if you somehow don't oathbreak after a session, you're abilities are mostly useless! While I didn't point it out in the feature rundown, it's very noticable that the subclass does not follow the paladin subclass structure at all (3, 7, 15 and 20th level) I have no idea why! Probably because the designer wasn't paying attention!

With that mess out of the way, time to cover the last of the three subclasses: The Warden of The Wild ranger.

The spell list is fantastic, charm person, aid, hold person, dispel magic, and polymorph all on one spell list is amazing, on top of it you also get double the spells that a normal ranger expanded spell list would give, Sabotage hunt is anti hunters mark, there's really not much more to say about it other than rolling a d6 for every damage roll I imagine would get extremely annoying and slow down the game. It's odd that you don't regain a use of this feature upon completing a long rest but whatever, echo's of the wild is a crappy ribbon feature that won't work most of the time, and isn't that helpful even in situations where you can use it, I guess if you have a beast master on your teams it's really good cause you can basically never be sneaked up on but otherwise, it's not that good. Sanctuary is also really good if you have a animals but otherwise, it's alright. Purify life is decent if you really need to cleanse one of your pets (or an ally under the polymorph spell) but otherwise it's alright. The not regaining use on long rest strikes back!

Closing out my thoughts on these sublcasses, it feels very apparent that whoever wrote these really doesn't understand 5e very much (Especially clear with the oath of animal liberation) none of the subclasses follow the 5e style guide all that well, for some reason the term "Being" is used constantly when it's supposed to be creature or target, most of the features gained by these subclasses are either crappy ribbons or are features that, not only range from meh to overpowered, are also super situational to the point that you have to build your party around them.

But that is not all PETA decided to "grace" us with, as the document includes two spells and items (Which are for some reason called tools) so let's go over those as well

Liberate is pretty strong, being able to undo a charm person or confusion on a animal, and instantly breaking a cage open for animals is a lot for a 1st-level spell slot, though the irony in the oath of animal liberation not having this spell is not lost on me, crimson mark is super funny, you spend a 1st-level slot + use concentration to tell is someone is evil. What a masterful display of game design prowess! The two magic items are meh, a magic item version of liberate and a worse bag of holding, yay??

That's about all I have for PETA "attempt" at homebrew, as bad as they are, at least I got a laugh out of them, and hopefully you did too. if you wanna leave your own thoughts make sure to comment or reblog. Take care and go make some homebrew.

[flannelepicurean]

Yo, hey, also, if you're an anxious and/or stressed LGBTQ+ person like myself, and like little games about tasks, like Stardew Valley or My Time at Portia or stuff like that, check out Hokko Life.

It's one of those cute little "do things" games, and there are some things about it that I really, really love:

In a lot of these games, there's a set town structure and cast of characters. In Hokko, there are some keystone elements. But each save file has a different "town area" map that you get to build and expand your little town into. There are two residents to begin with, other than you and the shopkeepers in the main town area (separate), and THOSE COULD BE DIFFERENT. From what I can tell, there are at least 4 possible starter residents, and you can get different combinations per save file.

The days are looooooooooong. This is different from Stardew, for example, where you can feel really pressed to "get everything done" in one day. In Hokko, you have PLENTY of time. And you have the option to take a li'l nap at your house if you want to, so you can skip 2 hours or 6 hours without losing the whole damn day. Or just...take a lil nap.

There are NO GENDER OPTIONS in character creator. You start with the same starter outfit, and have 100% of the starter customization options. Everyone calls you "they/them." A good number of the residents are "they/them." You are just...nonbinary/gender neutral/agender. Periodt.

You are the only humanoid. Everyone else is basically stuffed animals. The first folks you meet are a pink elephant who looks like she maybe has vitiligo and a giraffe with a general store who has extremely Dad Jokes Energy. There are all kinds of other interesting animal folks with different personalities. My game has a green emo/skater pig who seems like they might be a stoner and possibly vegan. Definitely cares about their carbon footprint.

Everything is SO CHILL. There's not really energy to manage or anything, you don't get hungry, you don't have to run around making sure you talk to everybody enough so you don't get less popular. Even if you fail a task for a resident...nothing bad happens. Or at least, that I can tell so far. Just like, whoops. Couldn't find that fish. Oh well. I can make you that paint, though. No worries. All good.

When you DO complete tasks, you get clothing items. And like...the first one I got was a "striped skirt" or something. And I was like, "Oh, that looks kinda-sorta-almost like a nonbinary pride flag. Cool." And then I got some yellow shoes, and a red jacket. And then a "Happy Knit Sweater," which was DEFINITELY ABSOLUTELY a trans pride flag pattern! And then a tee shirt with rainbow sleeves and a rainbow pocket? So like...THEY GIVE YOU LGBTQ+ PRIDE MERCH FOR YOUR LI'L NONBINARY PAL. And then I realized I very much had trans flag wallpaper in my house. 😂 I freaking love this.

You can MAKE YOUR OWN FURNITURE. There's a whole subset of customization and item creation where you can just...design your own furniture and decorative items from almost scratch. You unlock sets of shapes for the crafting & design table, and then you can go into a 3D design space and just...put some wooden spheres together however you want! Add a leaf shape! Put a brass "7" on it! Go crazy! And then you get to save your design and you can craft it again later if you want to make more, or sell them. It just...becomes an item in your game.

The music is super chill. Because of course.

The fishing system is good, for the way I like to play. It's very easy to see the fish, it's very easy to know when you need to "hook/catch," and following the system to reel in is easy to understand. It requires a little effort, it's not an auto-catch, but it's not stressful. It's a TASK, but not a HEADACHE. And you can do it without bait and still be fine.

There's a whole entire thing around catching butterflies. You can just frolic around all day in your pride-wear catching butterflies if you want. It's lovely.

You can save and exit at any point. SUPER IMPORTANT. Can't tell you how many times I've felt some stress about like, "AAAARRRGGGHHH, I have to get to a good spot to stop this Stardew day, or just start over again..." Nah. Hokko, you just hit escape, "Save & Exit." When you load up again, you'll be in your house, with the same stuff on hand/in your backpack.

I actually kinda also like that there doesn't seem to be a romance component? Like, that's neat and all when it is available, but I don't always want the townsfolk coming onto me just because I've given them sufficient eggs or whatever. I might have needed to do those quests to advance the plot, or get a new shovel or something. And maybe I'm not actually down to clown, homie.

Anyway, I'm thoroughly enjoying this game. Got it in the Steam Sale. I think it's not crazy expensive even regular price? My one issue that I'm running into is that the wiki for it is like...zero content. Or just not much in-depth stuff beyond the very bare basics for some of it. So when I want info or hit a snag, I been using Duck Duck Go on that biz, or hitting the Steam Forums. Not the worst thing in the world.

[adobe-outdesign]

If you haven't already reviewed them, what're your thoughts on the Seedot line? I've recently discovered I quite enjoy these Little Guys, and I'm kind of curious about others thoughts on them!

Seedot! Super simple—basically just an acorn with feet—but it's justifiable seeing as it's just there to be built upon by its evos. The brown and yellow palette is nice, and I really like the weird ringed eyes. It also has a bit of motif with the lined rings on its feet, cap, and eyes that will be built upon as it evolves.

And speaking of building upon elements, the 'dex states that Seedot like to scare other Pokemon, which ties into it gaining dark type in the future.

NIPPLES Nuzleaf is, in my opinion, a really good middle evo. Seedot is an acorn (seed) and Shiftry is, spoilers, a tree, so Nuzleaf is kind of a sapling of sorts. Instead of just looking like a smaller Shiftry however, it's this neat little humanoid creature with "pants" (note the ring motif from Seedot), a mask (continued from Seedot's eyes), a long nose, and a leaf on its head that it plucks and plays like a flute to make people uneasy. It makes a lot of sense between stage 1 and 3, but it's its own unique design and enjoyable in its own right.

My only nitpick with Nuzleaf is that Seedot has yellow eyes, Shiftry has yellow eyes, and Nuzleaf... doesn't? It's not like the white eyes look bad or anything, but it's strange from a continuity standpoint. I also wouldn't have minded some thicker black outlines around the eyes, both to make them pop but also pay homage to Seedot's ringed eyes.

Very unpopular opinion, but Shiftry is one of my all-time favorite Pokemon. I might just be biased from using one as my ace in XD, but this thing and its deranged nutcracker jaw is a great fantasy creature and I honestly can't get enough of it.

At this stage, it's clear what the line's theme is—they're tengus, yokai that live in forests and trick people. This is where Shiftry's long nose, single-heeled geta feet, leaf fans/wind-based moves, and grass association come from. It's also why it looks infuriated (tengu are usually depicted as being angry all the time). It's really solid conceptually and makes for a unique design.

Visually, the green leaves pop nicely against the plain brown body, and I really like the unexpected element of the white fur and animal ears. It also has some rings on its shoulder to bring that element through from the previous designs.

My only nitpick is that it seems very short proportionally—I always misremember it as being a bit taller than it is, but in reality its head is basically the same size as its body, which feels a bit off. Also, while the geta sandals do make sense thematically, they do feel a bit artificial and "carved"—I feel like they could've maybe given it more bird-like root feet instead, as tengu are associated with birds and sometimes depicted as such (the long nose comes from a beak, for example).

And my only other nitpick is that the line should get some kind of new form(s)! As much as I like Shiftry it's objectively pretty awful to use, with very poor stats. It already looks pretty feral—imagine a past paradox form based off of ginkgo trees, or a Hisuian form that leans into the tengu idea. It could become flying-type due to its wind/fan thing, or it could become psychic as the 'dex states that it can read foe's minds. Really, there are dozens of different spins you could put on these guys.

Anyway, the point is, I really like this line. There's a good sense of progression, each stage is distinct, the theme is clear, and the designs are straightforward. Great monsters all around.

[bluenightingale]

Thread of Species Features

-if you don't know, hi I'm working on a fantasy type game called Witch Tuition, this thread is mostly to set in world building on my notable fantasy race features. Also all of these designs i will be using one way or another for my game, so im treating them like ocs lol

-dwarves, orcs and other such wont be here if they wont differ from standard fantasy

First up is the human race - the Atlans! Created by the god of magic that holds up the world Atlas As an example is the Dealer Yvonne, her purplish tinge is due to her practically hotboxing herself with potion fumes, incense, smoking and other stuff -making her poison resistant

The adaptability works similar to vaccines so an exaggerated scenario would be like: if you just drop an Atlan not adjusted to a frozen tundra, they'll freeze to death. But if they're conditioned to the environment for a few months or so, then they can walk out in summer clothes

Next are Elves! I'm open to adding more, these are the most frequent. In Order Left-Right there's: Light/Dark/Nature I'll continue in their own tweet but generally, Light Elves hail a nobility of scrying glyphs, Dark Elves live more hedonic and have cave parties, Nature is Nature

Light Elves were always the most connected to magic due to they're fey ancestry, yet the creation of telescopes by the dwarves propelled them into nobility. it allowed them to scribe constellations onto glyphs and runes, teaching other races to properly harness magic and riches

Elf and Dwarven relations greatly deteriorated after the production of telescopes, dwarves responsible for the creation did not see a modicum of the credit for the creation by the light elves. The dark elves invade the mountain and underground spaces. and nature elves are neutral

Originally light elves, they transform through a ritualistic scorching after the discovery of eldritch beings beyond the constellations This discovery led them to be influenced by the beings, so as their own society, they decided to live more for themselves and party a lot

Dark elves within their own civilizations are pretty open to other races Despite light elves looking down on them, dark elves don't hold malice, as it would transfer to their own children. They also don't force the ritual on their kids, most do just choose to undergo it

Nature elves live more secluded societies after finding primordial magics, some of which transition to druids The first druids were the fae creatures attuning to the chaotic lands of the fae, the rituals to become one very much depend on the planet’s primordial magics

All fae creatures have a unique inner flame that connects them to the fae, which is why fae creatures live longer, especially when within said realm. The primordial magic that allows nature elves to attune to nature, instills elves to view beyond themselves, hence the androgyny

-to reiterate these are just common of their societies, but a nature elf can be rugged and not that, light elf can be down to earth n such also the ears are definite

3rd are Daemen! They are the cursed firstborn to those who either make deals with devils or slay powerful demons. The curse is meant to keep their mark on the mortal world so they still have a connection to return Here is a rival concept for the example

Here's the patterns of each domain, realistically it could be any demon powerful enough to cast a curse or devil lucky enough for a contract these examples are the most common of their domain's strongest demons. I also didn't forget her tail it's just not visible

realistically also, the demon invasions could be ended completely if after a few years nobody makes devilish contracts and adventurers who kill demon generals just don't settle down, but that's why it hasn't they gotta play cheap, you always lose something against the demons

Part of the Hybrids are the humanoid Animal Race, they take on physically any of the animal aspects they inhibit

animal human hybrid type of people would still be classified under a hybrid, tho they are exceptionally rare since, most don't want to marry animal hybrids

Elemental Hybrids (Hybrid is more of an umbrella grouping) share ancestry with primal fae spirits of the land

Water and Fire elements can control their temperatures and become amorphous at will outside of cold environments

Air and Earth elements can bend air and earth with ease

(The Water and Fire hybrids I thought would be really cool, hopefully i can use them in the future. Their names are Diana and Layla and rival dancers :> )

Finally Half Giants! Descendances of actual giants who live more nomadically. Half Giants collectively live in harsh environments, born with birth markings said to be their individual destinies

For this example is the Carpenter Orin, who'd sell you decor, display cases and such

[dateamonster]

how do you think fairy genes work? Cause like Griselda doesn’t have a spot of bark on her? Unless those are clothes

genuinely u are going to open up a whole can of worms here.

so to get this out of the way, idk how much thought good ol george lucasfilms put into any of this. the most likely explanation is that from a design perspective he thought it was funny for the tall lean imposing bog king to have a short squat screechy mom bossing him around in contrast. but because i like to have fun and enjoy myself, i have my own thoughts about their lack of resemblance.

when the fandom, as much as there was one, was active, there was a sorta popular theory about the bog kings father being a fairy or part fairy, which i personally like as well. it would explain why his build resembles the more humanoid fairy build and why he looks so different than many of the other goblins, though to be fair there seems to be a lot more biodiversity among goblinkind. a forbidden romance between griselda and a fairy might also explain why shes so unbothered by the idea of the bog king falling in love with marianne, and it fits with her very classically romantic true-love-conquers-all worldview.

additionally theres a throwaway line at one point where griselda mentions bog king resembling his father, which could support the idea that he gets more of his looks from him, and another similarly jokey line later where griselda mentions being hot in her youth. while goblin beauty standards are demonstrably different from fairy ones, i dont think its impossible that part of the visual difference between her and bog king is due at least in part to her age. im also not sure how fairy/goblin lifespans compare to humans so its entirely possible imo that shes been around for a long time.

if you really want to get into it theres also the question of why some goblins such as bk are more insectoid in appearance while others appear to be reptilian, amphibian, or.... mushrooms. with the exception of the mushrooms who seem to inhabit a specific biological niche of their own, my impression is that none of the goblins are like literally the animals they appear to be in terms of species, but have evolved certain appearances and physical characteristics to suit their environment. so a bug looking goblin and a froggy looking goblin could still have a kid because theyre both. goblin. and the kid would simply develop whichever features were most dominant, or in some cases maybe a combination of both.

so yea i basically just think bk looks more like his dad, whoever he is or was, but i also think its possible griselda looked different in her youth as well and that contributed. i guess its also entirely possible that bog kings just adopted, but i think speculating on weird goblin genetics shit is more fun!