[Fantasy] On the Origin of Magical Species: A Wizard Did It

The Colonel · 03-17-2022, 06:19 AM

I've previously used the wide range of D&D monsters specifically designed to guard dungeons (mimics, that thing that pretends to be the floor, the one that pretends to be the ceiling, etc.) as precisely that - biothaumatologically engineered security systems purpose built by a precursor culture. Likewise, weird stuff like gryphons, manticores, chimerae, hydrae ... as engineered war machines. Ghouls were also a bio-weapon.

That said, we can overdo "a wizard did it" ... the owlbear was always said to be such, but in the real world, evolution gave us a furred, beaked, egg laying creature with venomous spikes in its butt, so why shouldn't another world have a furry, beaked, egg laying primary carnivore?

03-17-2022, 06:19 AM	#20
The Colonel Join Date: Jul 2006	Re: [Fantasy] On the Origin of Magical Species: A Wizard Did It I've previously used the wide range of D&D monsters specifically designed to guard dungeons (mimics, that thing that pretends to be the floor, the one that pretends to be the ceiling, etc.) as precisely that - biothaumatologically engineered security systems purpose built by a precursor culture. Likewise, weird stuff like gryphons, manticores, chimerae, hydrae ... as engineered war machines. Ghouls were also a bio-weapon. That said, we can overdo "a wizard did it" ... the owlbear was always said to be such, but in the real world, evolution gave us a furred, beaked, egg laying creature with venomous spikes in its butt, so why shouldn't another world have a furry, beaked, egg laying primary carnivore?