Loren’dil ideas

[Flyndaran]

They really do make plushy everything.

[dataweaver]

It’s possible that not every race from Loren’dil made it to Yrth in significant numbers; so if you want to include races besides the Halflings, Minotaurs, Centaurs, and Giants, you can. Ellyllon, for instance.

Loren’dil has one very significant difference from Earth: it has at least four native sapient species. Drastically different species, where interbreeding isn’t even a consideration. Of the four known, the Halflings are by far the smallest and weakest. If they’re the dominant race of the planet, then they have to have something else going for them. Why aren’t they bullied by the Minotaurs, for instance?

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

It’s possible that not every race from Loren’dil made it to Yrth in significant numbers; so if you want to include races besides the Halflings, Minotaurs, Centaurs, and Giants, you can. Ellyllon, for instance.

Loren’dil has one very significant difference from Earth: it has at least four native sapient species. Drastically different species, where interbreeding isn’t even a consideration. Of the four known, the Halflings are by far the smallest and weakest. If they’re the dominant race of the planet, then they have to have something else going for them. Why aren’t they bullied by the Minotaurs, for instance?

In my version, the Halflings have at least two things going for them:

• superior social cohesion and cooperation
  
• more advanced tech level (developed as they are the most likely to live in towns that could become industrial centers, the most likely to mine, the most dexterous with tools, and the most in need of labor saving devices)

They certainly were bullied by the Minotaurs. Now they can shoot the Minotaurs with rifles.


Minotaurs are hardly the smartest of races, but they are smart enough to realizes guns and other Halfling innovations can be very useful. I'd expect well-equipped Minotaurs to carry blackpowder weapons as well as their traditional axes. Magic-resistant, they might be especially keen on adopting tech that gives them an edge. Still, -2 to IQ doesn't suggest a rapid arte of technological advancement to me.
A Minotaur can carry a bigger firearm than a Halfling can manage.

Note on Hornhead psychology:
Banestorm suggests that Minotaur Berserk and Bloodlust seem to be genetic. Loner can be bought off. I thought it might be fun to say that the pressures of being forced onto a reservation have allowed more Minoaturs to buy it down to Uncongenial. Or not. Maybe it's cooler to leave them similar to the ones on Yrth?


Minotaurs have Absolute Direction. That should probably be brought into this somehow. Briar mazes?
Dungeon-like homes?
Minotaur scouts for hire (they have Perpheral Vision and Acute Hearing, too)?


OTHER RACIAL POSSIBILITIES:

I'm not married to my TL5 Halflings as the dominant race, though I do like Hobbits with rifles and bottled pickles and mantel-clocks.
:)

Other races not taken to Yrth by the Banestorm seem possible, sure.
Ellylon would make sense.

Banestorm suggests that the Medusa may have come from Loren'dil, but nobody knows for sure.

Sphinxes may originate there.

[combatmedic]

I'd also be down for a lower TL version.

We could have TL 3 with early gunpowder tech, of course. Fireworks, primitive land mines, perhaps the pot-de-fer or the petard, and so on. That would yield a different flavor from Yrth without making Loren'dil high tech.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

I'd also be down for a lower TL version.

We could have TL 3 with early gunpowder tech, of course. Fireworks, primitive land mines, perhaps the pot-de-fer or the petard, and so on. That would yield a different flavor from Yrth without making Loren'dil high tech.

Rocket Launchers?

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

G@A notes:

Ooooooohh, shiny!

Found it:

DF - Loren'dil (G&AINC's Version):

Tech Level: Mostly 3 (4 w/Retarded Guns for Hobbits and Fire Giants; 0 for some Forest Giants, isolated Centaurs, and Barbarian tribes)

Available PC Species: Centaur (Donkey, Goat, Nightmare, Pony, and Zebra Tribal Subspecies), Faun, Giant (Forest), Hobbit, Leprechaun, Manticore, Minotaur, Pixie.

NPC-Only Species: Giant (Fire), Giant (Frost), Giant (Storm).

Available Classes: Any except Cleric and Holy Warrior. Wizards allowed but very nerfed and not recommended.

Mana: Mostly Low, with pockets of None and Wild more common than Normal, High, and Very High. The latter three are almost always strongly aspected, and often accompany a region of tremendous unnatural devastation.

Sanctity: None for anybody except Druids.

~~~~~

Sapient Species Templates:

Hobbits are Halflings, re-named because, "Half of what, exactly?" and re-named that, specifically, because I'm kinda lazy sometimes. I used the DF version of the stats in all cases of conflict here and below, but the Banestorm versions are fine if you prefer them for verisimilitude. A treetop-dwelling subspecies exists in some regions that has a different culture but is more-or-less identical in stats, except with TL 0 and the addition of Brachiator and Super Jump x1.

Forest Giants are your run-of-the-mill Yrth Giant. I used Fauns, Leprechauns, Minotaurs, and Pixies as-is from DF3. Local legend commonly holds that Hobbits, Forest Giants, and the four common Centaur tribes evolved naturally, but that the rest of the sapients (as well as some extinct exotica such as the Tree Centaurs) were created outright as cannon fodder by various sides in the great magic war that depleted the mana and killed or knocked-out the local gods thousands of years ago.

~~~~~

Centaur (Hobbitoid) (Pony Tribe) [50]:

Choice Professions: Barbarian, Martial Artist, Scholar

Marginal Professions: Thief

Image: A large creature with a Hobbitoid upper body sprouting out of a pony torso where the neck should be.

Attributes: ST +6 (Size -10%) [54]; DX -1 [-20];

Secondaries: SM +1 [0]; Speed +0.25 [5]; Move +1 [5];

Advantages: Claws (Hooves) [3]; Enhanced Move x1 (Running) [20]; Extra Legs (4 Total) [5];

Perks: Fur [1];

Disadvantages: Impulsiveness (12-) [-10]; Selfishness (12-) [-5]; Weak Arms x2 [-5]; Weak Bite [-2];

Quirks: Agoraphile [-1];

Features: Can't Exchange Most Armor [0];

Donkey Tribe Lens [0]: Striking ST +2 (Kicking Only -60%) [4]; Willpower +1 [5]; Appearance (Unattractive) [-4]; Stubbornness [-5];

Goat Tribe Lens [0]: Fearlessness x2 [4]; Reduced Consumption x2 (Cast Iron Stomach -50%) [2]; Striker (Crushing) (Limited Arc: Forward -40%) [3]; Terrain Adaptation (Mountainous) [5]; Appearance (Unattractive) [-4]; Move -1 [-5]; Stubbornness [-5];

Nightmare Tribe Lens [+50]: IQ +1 [20]; Feature: Female Only [0]; Magery x0 [5]; Night Vision x5 [5]; Perception +1 [5]; Terror x0 (Visual) [30]; Social Stigma (Monster) [-15];

Zebra Tribe Lens [0]: Move +1 [5]; Perception +2 [10]; Chummy [-5]; Cowardice (15-) [-5]; Impulsiveness (-15) [-5];

Notes: Demographics: Pony: 50%, Donkey: 20%, Goat: 20%, Zebra: 10%, Nightmare ?

The Pony and Donkey tribes tend to get along with civilized Hobbits, despite not wanting to join them. The Goat and Zebra tribes are more isolationist, with the former inhabiting Loren'dil's few inhospitable mountain ranges, and the latter mainly existing on that one continent with the really dark-skinned Hobbits (their stripes take on the palest and darkest Hobbit skin complexions where they have no fur). The legendary Nightmare Tribe were supposedly taken from their herds and magically altered by the Storm Giants in the days before the magical war between the dead and/or slumbering gods, serving as their lackies and as the teams that drew their mighty war chariots through the sky. Whether the Nightmares of legend could grow large enough to carry a Storm Giant and fly under their own magical power or whether they could do this only with Giant magic is vigorously debated by Centaur Sages.

~~~~~

The Dread Manticore (Hobbitoid) [30]:

Choice Professions: Martial Artist, Swashbuckler

Marginal Professions: Bard

Image: A tall, thin, feline Hobbitoid that is catlike everywhere but its Hobbit-like head, bristling with natural weaponry, with red fur ranging from blood to crimson and a barbed scorpion tail.

Attributes: ST -1 [-10]; DX +1 [20];

Secondaries: Speed -0.25 [-5];

Advantages: Catfall [10]; Claws (Sharp) [5]; Innate Attack: 1pt Tox (Cyclic: Fourteen Resisted Extra 1-Second Cycles +700%, Follow-Up: Striker +0%, Symptoms: Moderate Pain & -3 HT at 2/3 HP +105%, Resistible: HT -5 -5%) [9]; Night Vision x5 [5]; Striker (Impaling) (Long +100%, Weak -50%) [12]; Striking ST +2 [10]; Teeth (Sharp) [1];

Perks: Accessory (Claws = Climbing Gear) [1]; Fur [1];

Disadvantages: Disturbing Voice [-10]; Social Stigma (Monster) [-15];

Quirks: Dichromatic Vision [-1]; Dislikes Water [-1]; Mild Sadism [-1]; Proud [-1];

Features: May not exchange lower body armor with other Hobbitoids.

Notes: The painful venom of the Hobbitoid Manticore attacks the central nervous system with terrifying supernatural speed, creating a death spiral effect with its HT penalty if it isn't shrugged off or neutralized before the victim loses 1/3 of their HP. It is quite potent, capable of staggering a Centaur or Forest Giant, but rarely fully lethal even to Hobbits, leaving the victim reeling and helpless but capable of being clawed apart slowly or eaten alive.

[martinl]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Minotaurs have Absolute Direction. That should probably be brought into this somehow. Briar mazes? .

If it's a racial advantage, it probably served an important purpose in their original environment. How about an entire biome of naturally occurring briar mazes, dominated by pastoralist alt-goat-herding Minotaur tribes? (To make it creepy, use alt-goats with vaguely humanoid facial features and mythology/biology tying the Humanoid Body/Ruminant Head Minnies to the Ruminant Body/Humanoid head herd animals.)

Recently the halflings invented steam-powered "Turnabouts" that can smash through the briars and support a half dozen halflings with rifles behind armor, plus an artillery piece. Now they rule the briar maze and use variously willing Minotaur labor to strip mine resources they want. To subvert expectations, rip off Longshanks in Wales rather than the Old West.

(The Turnabouts are essentially steam powered RotJ scout walkers, modelld after a secret find in the Emppire of Burrowton's Imperial museum. The halflings call them "Turnabouts," since (officially) they are much more maneuverable than other steam vehicles, but (really), because the halflings are damn glad to be taller than everyone else for a change.)

[lwcamp]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

RE alt-zoology:
That stuff looks cool, LWCamp. I imagine some of it would fit well. It definitely cries out for GURPS use. :)

Glad you like!

Here's another one that might work: http://panoptesv.com/Brushstrokes/Pi.../Megafauna.jpg
These were originally a concept drawing for Eve Forward's novel Animist, but they never made it into the first book and sequels seem unlikely at this point. These would be related to the River Kreigers, and fill a similar ecological role to elephants and mammoths.

Also http://panoptesv.com/Brushstrokes/Pi...s/Striches.jpg

Luke