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Originally posted by The Sage

Perhaps you could tie the Dragonking into this, somehow...

The entry for the magical Dragonking's Eye artifact -- referenced in Volo's Guide to All Things Magical -- suggested an alien entity that came from "beyond." Eric Boyd continued with the reference into CoS:W and made a more solid connection to the Far Realm. The Far Realm focus on House Wands was "barely hinted at" in VGtATM, as I recall, too, so that might be another angle you'll want to play, given your focus on the Sword Coast.

However, with regard to the Dragonking's Eye... since the defeat of the Dragonking [after it was released by Marcus Wands], it's been noted that the alien god's release has resulted in an unusual effect occuring in the Realms. Strange entities from the Far Realm have slowly began appearing within the local vicinity of individual members of House Wands, and almost always at random.

So, for the most part, it would seem as though the Wands family have garnered some rather "undesired" attention from the bizarre creatures of the Outside Realm. Perhaps something else you might be able to use.

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Originally posted by Markustay

I'm not big on Aboleths, but I have managed to re-tool them, and all other aberrations, into something I prefer.

They are all one 'race' (if such a thing even applies to aberrations), but with different tasks/specialities, sort of like the Bugs in Starship Troopers (great novel... crap movies), or like the Moties in A Mote in God's Eye (fanastic book by Larry Niven... I love most anything he writes).

So its not so much a 'race' in the modern sense of the word, but more like a genus (in the same way we and Apes are both related to some proto-sapien). Most of the redesign was done with my own setting in-mind; I had to re-think a lot of stuff so that I could use some of the D&D IP without using the actual names (because I intended to do my own thing with everything). I understand Paizo took a similar route (although my stuff is quite different from theirs).

However, in a way, its also still a single race - they evolve from a common pupa/larvae into something resembling a squid, and from there evolve into different specialized forms. Ergo (my) aberrations are the perfect candidate for racial leveling, as opposed to 'class', because with them, it amounts to much the same thing. For instance, some of the 'squiddies' develop eyes on the tips of their tentacles, and eventually learn to levitate - that would be a proto-beholder. As they gain in power (level), they develop the various eyestalk abilities (and can even grow more stalks).

So, even though I am not a huge fan of Lovecraftian horrors, I have made them into something I would use in my D&D games (I have tons more lore about them, but I am saving that... just in case).

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Originally posted by EytanBernstein

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Originally posted by Markustay

I'm not big on Aboleths, but I have managed to re-tool them, and all other aberrations, into something I prefer.

They are all one 'race' (if such a thing even applies to aberrations), but with different tasks/specialities, sort of like the Bugs in Starship Troopers (great novel... crap movies), or like the Moties in A Mote in God's Eye (fanastic book by Larry Niven... I love most anything he writes).

So its not so much a 'race' in the modern sense of the word, but more like a genus (in the same way we and Apes are both related to some proto-sapien). Most of the redesign was done with my own setting in-mind; I had to re-think a lot of stuff so that I could use some of the D&D IP without using the actual names (because I intended to do my own thing with everything). I understand Paizo took a similar route (although my stuff is quite different from theirs).

However, in a way, its also still a single race - they evolve from a common pupa/larvae into something resembling a squid, and from there evolve into different specialized forms. Ergo (my) aberrations are the perfect candidate for racial leveling, as opposed to 'class', because with them, it amounts to much the same thing. For instance, some of the 'squiddies' develop eyes on the tips of their tentacles, and eventually learn to levitate - that would be a proto-beholder. As they gain in power (level), they develop the various eyestalk abilities (and can even grow more stalks).

So, even though I am not a huge fan of Lovecraftian horrors, I have made them into something I would use in my D&D games (I have tons more lore about them, but I am saving that... just in case).

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There's a similar concept to this in the anime series The Slayers. There is a race of beings known as Monsters that have a wide variety of powers and abilities, but are all governed under certain specific rules.

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Originally posted by Markustay

Thanks. I know a little about Starcraft, even though I never played it (I'm a big Blizzard fan). The Zerg sound like they are superficially based on the other Scify races I mentioned (I guess that's a common theme in Scify, which is probably why I went there with my aberrations). I am also thinking about Species 8472 from Star Trek - the only race that ever made the Borg crap themselves (if Borg even do that). More along the lines of where they come from (Fluidic Space - I picture the Far Realms part of the universe being something akin to that). Throw in a little War of the Worlds and Independence Day for goals and its pure win (a locust-like race that invades normal space to drain its resources).

I will have to look into The Slayers, Eytan - I am unfamiliar with that one. Thanks for pointing it out to me.

Oh - and I can't help myself - I have to give away one more thing from my version; the 'squiddies' (second form) can devour a human head and attach itself to the victim's body... those are my Illithid.

The aberratons are psionic, and can literally 'steal' DNA* (and memories) from creatures they touch (and adapt abilites/appendages/etc from victims). 'Shifters' (Dopplegangers) are actually human-Aberration hybrids. Its a little more complicated then that, but you get the idea. I've tied it all to vamps and lycanthropes as well.

For a guy who dislikes aberrations, I tied some of the most basic premises of my world to them. I wanted a 'scientificy' explanation for why most anything can interbreed, and also for things like feats (which can grant supernatural abilities at higher levels). Basically, 'Morphic Blood' was my version of Plaguescars/Cinnabar Inheritor/Dragonmarks (and why PCs are 'special').


*This part is somewhat similar to what the aliens do in the Alien movies, and as a counterpoint to the aberrations, I've turned the Gith into Predators.

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