Playing in the world of the Willow movie.

[Maz]

Ok I understand what you guys are saying about it being a pretty standard fantasy setting. It's just when I think high-fantasy and not-rare magic, I think of D&D/DF settings or Warhamemr Fantasy or stuff like that. Lord of the rings is also more high fantasy than Willow. But anyway, thats not the point of this thread.


As for the brownies. As I said upthread, they are put in charge of guiding Willow to his destination, a quest which is more or less "end of the world stuff". Why would the faery queen not put two of her most competent brownies to be guides? Why would she send 'the stupid ones'. This is why I think the race as a whole has a low IQ (but not will or Per).

Also thanks for the RPM magic suggestions. I have heard it mentioned A LOT but never got around to trying it out.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Maz

As for the brownies. As I said upthread, they are put in charge of guiding Willow to his destination, a quest which is more or less "end of the world stuff". Why would the faery queen not put two of her most competent brownies to be guides? Why would she send 'the stupid ones'. This is why I think the race as a whole has a low IQ (but not will or Per).

Also thanks for the RPM magic suggestions. I have heard it mentioned A LOT but never got around to trying it out.

As I mentioned earlier, I don't think the whole race has a low IQ, nor do I think those two have low IQs either. They were likely chosen because they're experienced scouts; the "stupidity" we see (as comic relief) can be chalked up to Cultural Familiarity penalties and/or either Clueless or Oblivious, as far as Daikini and Nelwyn standards are concerned. They're also likely the most adventurous of the brownie tribe, and volunteered rather than being told. A grand adventure awaits, and these two step forward because to stay behind is boring. That Rool has Absolute Direction (even when drunk!) helps, of course.

From what I've seen, brownies tend to be quick on the uptake and can think on their feet, hunting in packs and able to train birds such as owls as mounts. That does not imply a low IQ; quite the opposite, in fact. They startle easily, but put yourself in their sandals: They're the size of mice, basically; we'd be skittish around folks 10x our size who can squash us by stepping on us. That's just good survival instincts.

As I also mentioned above, I'd consider giving all brownies a level or two of Outdoorsman. If you insist that they're a universally stupid race (to which I've seen no evidence, btw), the Outdoorsman will offset a lot of those penalties.

I would also consider Super Jump for them, as they made some leaps in the tavern that were out of proportion to a human their size.

[tanksoldier]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

We only have two examples of the Brownie race though, so it is impossible to generalize. They could have been the idiots of their race or the geniuses, we do not know.

It is a basic rule of scientific observation that an observed subject is assumed to represent the norm absent strong evidence otherwise. You don't see a beetle and assume it's an extraordinary beetle, a rare species or strange mutation...
you assume it's an ordinary beetle, perhaps of a kind you've never seen before. Only after years of research and never seeing a similar beetle again might you hypothesize that it's some kind of strange beetle.

In this case the Brownies sent two guardians to protect Willow on a mission to save the world. At worst we might assume they are average Brownies, but the circumstance might cause us to suspect they are extraordinary, the best the Brownies have to offer. We certainly wouldn't assume they are below average.

[Flyndaran]

Or default Brownies may be smart enough to not do something suicidal. It takes an "adventurer". Maybe the only two of that mentality are of the overall reckless foolish variety.
Bravery is easy to cultivate when you aren't in danger of getting eaten by songbird every dang day.

[tanksoldier]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Or default Brownies may be smart enough to not do something suicidal.

Staying home and letting the world end would be suicidal.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by tanksoldier

Staying home and letting the world end would be suicidal.

To be fair, the world wasn't in danger of "ending"; Bavmorda was conquering the known world, and the child Alora Dannon was prophecied to be part of her downfall. The big danger was slavery to a powerful tyrant, who may have extended her lifespan through magic.

Though there may be more in the books, which IMO should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

[Culture20]

Originally Posted by tanksoldier

In this case the Brownies sent two guardians to protect Willow on a mission to save the world. At worst we might assume they are average Brownies, but the circumstance might cause us to suspect they are extraordinary, the best the Brownies have to offer. We certainly wouldn't assume they are below average.

And why not? Perhaps in Brownie society, the dim witted are venerated. When a great Nelwyn hero shows up, the dummies must attend to his needs so that the Brownies don’t steal the Nelwyn’s thunder.
Or perhaps it is their way of emulating the great hero Jar-Jar Binks of the stories from a long time ago. The Gungans sent their idiot!

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by tanksoldier

Staying home and letting the world end would be suicidal.

Fighting an unwinnable battle is a much clearer "suicide". And obviously, as in most epic fantasies, the big bad was an unbeatable foe.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Culture20

And why not? Perhaps in Brownie society, the dim witted are venerated. When a great Nelwyn hero shows up, the dummies must attend to his needs so that the Brownies don’t steal the Nelwyn’s thunder.
Or perhaps it is their way of emulating the great hero Jar-Jar Binks of the stories from a long time ago. The Gungans sent their idiot!

And the drunken master Darth Binks fooled everyone into thinking he was just a clumsy idiot named Jar-Jar... ;)

[Flyndaran]

The bumbling but goodhearted fool is a storybook trope for a reason.