| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| EltonRobb |
Posted - 15 Feb 2025 : 03:23:37
So, the Saurials. Finheads, flyers, hornheads, and bladebacks. The Saurials feature in certain Forgotten Realms novels. Do you still use them in your campaign? If not, why? |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 22 Feb 2025 : 02:31:49
quote:
Originally posted by Athreeren
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Alias gets the ability to speak with and understand Dragonbait and other saurials. And it's full-on verbal communication.
Well, it's as developed as a verbal conversation, but I believe the spell gave her means to emit scents too.
Yeah, that too. I'm just saying she was able to have conversations with saurials in their own fully developed language. She was entirely fluent in their language, so if one of them had any inclination to mention the sky being very different, there wouldn't have been any language barriers preventing her from understanding it. |
| Athreeren |
Posted - 21 Feb 2025 : 13:00:37
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Alias gets the ability to speak with and understand Dragonbait and other saurials. And it's full-on verbal communication.
Well, it's as developed as a verbal conversation, but I believe the spell gave her means to emit scents too. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 21 Feb 2025 : 02:03:18
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
I don't think you can take dragonbait's "comments" for anything... the man "talked" via smells, so everything that I can recall about him was somewhat similar to me talking with a smarter version of my dog. Granted, there may have been some telepathy or somesuch, and I also have never read all the alias books either. Nor am I pushing for this being the definitive "that's where they're from".... just saying if someone said that's where they're from, I'd shrug and go "could make sense".
Alias gets the ability to speak with and understand Dragonbait and other saurials. And it's full-on verbal communication. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 20 Feb 2025 : 15:39:44
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Some people have theorized that the saurials come from Abeir... But I don't buy that one. Abeir wasn't a thing when the saurials were introduced, and when Elminster is on their world and is scried on, there's no mention of the sky being anything than standard-issue blue.
But, is the sky specifically mentioned at all?
It's not, but Elminster is attacked by flying creatures, and this is seen by the people scrying on him -- so it must have been visible.
Also, there were plenty of opportunities for the saurials, especially Dragonbait, to comment on Toril's sky being different, if it was in fact different from theirs.
So with multiple opportunities to comment on a silver sky, and no such comments, I conclude the sky over the saurial world was more or less the same as the sky over Toril.
And as I noted before, Abeir wasn't a thing at that point. When the novels featuring saurials were written, the world was called Abeir-Toril and one of the authors of those novels was the guy that put Abeir in front of Toril to move the world name to the front of the list in the OGB.
I don't think you can take dragonbait's "comments" for anything... the man "talked" via smells, so everything that I can recall about him was somewhat similar to me talking with a smarter version of my dog. Granted, there may have been some telepathy or somesuch, and I also have never read all the alias books either. Nor am I pushing for this being the definitive "that's where they're from".... just saying if someone said that's where they're from, I'd shrug and go "could make sense".
BTW, that might be one reason that people might consider NOT playing a saurial that people often forget. They don't talk. They emit complex smells that their people can interpret. For people that were playing the Kenku by the previous rulesets that they could only talk via mimicry (which is at least talking... not "smell talking"), this might be fun.... or it may be too stressful. Granted, there are workarounds that people could definitely do, but then its still a workaround, and someone might negate said workaround somehow and debilitate the character as a result.
From FR Wiki on them about their language and names
Saurials were physiologically unable to speak any language found on Toril. Their voices were naturally pitched too high for most humanoids to hear, and frequently humans assumed them mute. Saurials punctuated their speech with scents that defined emotions and bird-like chirps. Interestingly enough, the saurial language had some commonalities with Draconic, making it possible for dragons to communicate with saurials. Some fey could also hear saurial voices, and while they didn't necessarily understand the language, they could understand the emotions associated with the scents.[29] It was possible for some dedicated individuals to train themselves to speak in audible tones, allowing them to communicate in the languages of Toril.
Other creatures could interpret some of the common, stronger scents to understand the mood of a saurial. The scent of sulfur meant confusion, the aroma of roses meant sadness, lemons communicated pleasure or joy, baked bread indicated anger, violets meant danger or fear, honeysuckle meant tenderness, wood smoke conveyed devotion or piety, tar stood for victory, and the smell of ham meant nervousness or worry.
Saurials did develop a form of writing that was very simplistic in appearance. They carved lines and etches on sticks. This form of communication was mostly used by spell-casters and for record-keeping. Saurial wizards used notched sticks as spellbooks, some people unfamiliar with saurial language confused those spellbook sticks with staves.
Saurial Names
Saurials used their language along with a scent for their names. They used objects and concepts of value or importance to name their hatchlings, instead of using abstract names that bore no meaning. The names used for them in Common were either loose translations or nicknames. Saurials were comfortable using nicknames if they couldn't find a suitable translation when among other creatures and cultures. When around kin, they used saurial language names. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 20 Feb 2025 : 15:33:57
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Do we know anything about their home plane besides the basics?
Some people have theorized that the saurials come from Abeir... But I don't buy that one. Abeir wasn't a thing when the saurials were introduced, and when Elminster is on their world and is scried on, there's no mention of the sky being anything than standard-issue blue.
Yep, I'm one of those folks. It could be a useful "option" to do, since we already have that idea of the Sarrukh as a "Saurian" type of folk. It could easily fit with Moander affecting them on their homeworld too, as in many ways I can see him as "primordial-like".
That being said, I don't recall anything about Elminster being on their world and being scried upon.... probably due to time passing and me forgetting most of the details (hell, I just reread the Simbul's Gift in the last 2 weeks to get some details in my brain, and am surprised at how much I had forgotten). What did the thing with Elminster say about the world? |
| TBeholder |
Posted - 19 Feb 2025 : 23:20:47
Also, there's at least one more bunch of them on Toril, but they are stuck on Malatra plateau. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 19 Feb 2025 : 10:36:07
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Some people have theorized that the saurials come from Abeir... But I don't buy that one. Abeir wasn't a thing when the saurials were introduced, and when Elminster is on their world and is scried on, there's no mention of the sky being anything than standard-issue blue.
But, is the sky specifically mentioned at all?
It's not, but Elminster is attacked by flying creatures, and this is seen by the people scrying on him -- so it must have been visible.
Also, there were plenty of opportunities for the saurials, especially Dragonbait, to comment on Toril's sky being different, if it was in fact different from theirs.
So with multiple opportunities to comment on a silver sky, and no such comments, I conclude the sky over the saurial world was more or less the same as the sky over Toril.
And as I noted before, Abeir wasn't a thing at that point. When the novels featuring saurials were written, the world was called Abeir-Toril and one of the authors of those novels was the guy that put Abeir in front of Toril to move the world name to the front of the list in the OGB. |
| Zeromaru X |
Posted - 19 Feb 2025 : 05:31:07
I've never used saurials in my game (there wasn't a necessity for using one in the stories I tell), but if a player wants to play as one, I don't have a problem with it. So, I think they exist in my version of the Realms, but more like background elements, currently. |
| Zeromaru X |
Posted - 19 Feb 2025 : 05:27:33
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Some people have theorized that the saurials come from Abeir... But I don't buy that one. Abeir wasn't a thing when the saurials were introduced, and when Elminster is on their world and is scried on, there's no mention of the sky being anything than standard-issue blue.
But, is the sky specifically mentioned at all? |
| Delnyn |
Posted - 18 Feb 2025 : 23:42:33
I have not used saurials in my campaign because their presence is largely confined to the Lost Vale. The players never mentioned a word of interest in them anyway. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 18 Feb 2025 : 22:21:49
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Do we know anything about their home plane besides the basics?
Some people have theorized that the saurials come from Abeir... But I don't buy that one. Abeir wasn't a thing when the saurials were introduced, and when Elminster is on their world and is scried on, there's no mention of the sky being anything than standard-issue blue. |
| EltonRobb |
Posted - 18 Feb 2025 : 15:07:05
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Do we know anything about their home plane besides the basics?
I don't believe we've ever been given anything. The fact that there are pterafolk in the realms would definitely work as another import from their world since they very much resemble flyers, but bigger, though there's nothing canon to that effect. Then in Malatra on the other side of the world are "lacerials", but I can't rightly say what info we were given for their history.
sleyvas is right, we don't have any more details about their homeworld. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 18 Feb 2025 : 14:38:47
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Do we know anything about their home plane besides the basics?
I don't believe we've ever been given anything. The fact that there are pterafolk in the realms would definitely work as another import from their world since they very much resemble flyers, but bigger, though there's nothing canon to that effect. Then in Malatra on the other side of the world are "lacerials", but I can't rightly say what info we were given for their history. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 18 Feb 2025 : 01:35:35
Do we know anything about their home plane besides the basics? |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 17 Feb 2025 : 23:32:32
I have never used them in the past. I was however considering using them in some things, specifically in Katashaka. |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 16 Feb 2025 : 15:05:45
I liked the novels but was never a big fan of the species. In my game they remain in the vale and never had a reason to venture forth. If a player really wanted to play one, I'd allow it, but I haven't come across a player who even knew about them in years. |
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