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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore
USA
1151 Posts |
 Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 01:51:54
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...writing adventures for my players in the non European settings I play in.
I mean, I just wrote in a Medusa into a Maztica adventure I am writing and I was thinking to myself “what the heck would the Greek myth-based Medusa be doing here in an Aztec based land?”
I just feel like there are so few creatures to fill every niche and you need an explanation for everything. Even when figuring out just the basic layout of a home, I have to research how Aztec homes were built. If I want realism and remain respectful and true to the cultures I am borrowing from I really need to do my due diligence.
Has anyone who is not from a particular area, but who has DM’d in a FR non European based region come across this issue? If so, do you have any advice?
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Follow the Maztica (Aztec/Maya) and Anchorome (Indigenous North America) Campaigns on DMsGuild!
The Maztica Campaign
The Anchorome Campaign |
Edited by - Seethyr on 14 Sep 2020 01:52:24
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4689 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 02:10:22
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Well a Medusa could be on vacation so encounter is random.
However if you want Monsters of South American ancient empires, I do not believe D&D has many. Inca or Aztec lore might have some creatures of dread however I do not know the myths. Some research might provide you the monsters you seek, either in current material or that you can devise to the rules version you are playing. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 02:34:56
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Re-skin, re-skin, re-skin...
The easiest thing I have found is that I look at the Mythology of a setting; then I find a creature that sounds cool (as far as its description and such goes) and then I take an existing stat-block from a monster and merge the two together.
As for your Medusa in an Aztec-like setting, go for a "child of Tezcatlipoca". I'm not familiar with Maztica honestly...but you could call the creature a Tezcatlipoca...because that god had dominion over Earth/Obsidian.
This serpentine monster could transform people into Obsidian. Basically make it look a lot like a Yuan-Ti maybe...but substitute it's hair with snakes and BAMMO...new monster to throw at your players.
Seriously, anything you can think of can be made into something that already exists stat-wise.
To be more fair to your players though...maybe leave some clues here or there about monsters you are going to introduce that could turn them all to stone!  |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 02:51:18
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It may require more work to find them, but there are third-party gaming supplements that take fantasy beyond western Europe into other parts of the world. I saw a Kickstarter for one recently, Lost Lands: Tehuatl -- "Mesoamerican Expansion for Frog God Games' World of the Lost Lands" -- that may be up your alley.
I've seen other stuff like that, too, in other places, though I can't offer more info because it's not something that generally grabs my attention. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 14 Sep 2020 02:52:17 |
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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore
USA
1151 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 03:09:47
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Some great ideas, thank you!
The funny part is there is a goddess named Coatlicue with a skirt of snakes. Making a Medusa one of her creations with just a cosmetic change really works! |
Follow the Maztica (Aztec/Maya) and Anchorome (Indigenous North America) Campaigns on DMsGuild!
The Maztica Campaign
The Anchorome Campaign |
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ElfBane
Learned Scribe
USA
285 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 08:20:21
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| Basilisk type creatures should fit well in a hot climate like Florida... I mean Maztica. |
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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore
USA
1151 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 13:12:16
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quote:
Originally posted by ElfBane
Basilisk type creatures should fit well in a hot climate like Florida... I mean Maztica.
I think every creature I throw at my players for now on will be “Maztica-fied” somehow. The basilisk in question will have a different gaze effect, different appearance, etc.
Something that appears more like this...
https://www.deviantart.com/quinn-red/art/The-Beast-of-Mona-735755252 |
Follow the Maztica (Aztec/Maya) and Anchorome (Indigenous North America) Campaigns on DMsGuild!
The Maztica Campaign
The Anchorome Campaign |
Edited by - Seethyr on 14 Sep 2020 13:14:02 |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6361 Posts |
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ElfBane
Learned Scribe
USA
285 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 15:32:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
quote:
Originally posted by ElfBane
Basilisk type creatures should fit well in a hot climate like Florida... I mean Maztica.
I think every creature I throw at my players for now on will be “Maztica-fied” somehow. The basilisk in question will have a different gaze effect, different appearance, etc.
Something that appears more like this...
https://www.deviantart.com/quinn-red/art/The-Beast-of-Mona-735755252
OoooH! That's cool! The flanged tail suggests that in may have been born in the water, and as it matured it came to land. |
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 15:37:39
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Snake-like people are common in Mesoamerican cultures (snakes were their "dragons", after all). From memory only, I remember Bachué* and her husband/son, as is a local myth (the creation myth of my ancestors, btw ).
So, as Dalor said, just re-skin your medusa into something Bachué-like and done.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachu%C3%A9 |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
Edited by - Zeromaru X on 14 Sep 2020 15:38:08 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11830 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 17:52:31
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Like others have said, you can reskin a lot of traditional creatures. However, you can also replace them with something that's similar but different. This is why I was so focused on non-traditional monster humanoid races in the northern section of Anchorome. Shatjan for instance fill the niche that minotaurs would fill for "good" minotaurs. The Urskan bear folk can fill the niche for bugbears and ogres (for the evil ones), but for the good ones they can fill the role that a noble and strong race (like dragonborn) might fill. The idea of medium sized rather than small Hybsil can fill the role of centaurs, but you stick them in the woods more often (that being said, I also like the idea of centaurs imported from Faerun developing a society in modern Anchorome. The tiny kercpa can fill the role that sprites would normally fill (minus the ability to turn invisible, they'd need to use hide). The raccoon folk can take the roles that the "short ones" or gnomes would normally fill, so that you don't have to have halflings everywhere (though having some forest gnomes and halflings available for a player if they want them doesn't hurt either). The size small "foxiytaurs" or tauric fox folk can fill the roles that traditional playful "fey" races like satyrs, korred, etc... might fill.
To note, a lot of the below ideas, I was placing in Katashaka, but they can easily work in Maztica
Similarly, with monsters, we've already seen that a dragonne can fit in Maztica. However, so can a displacer beast. So can a peryton. Along the same lines, so can something like a griffin with yellow parrot feathers and leopard spots.... or a toucan's beak, black feathers, and a panther's body.
I also wouldn't be surprised to find things like a tabaxi civilization in the deep jungles of the Payit that's fairly civilized (i.e. equivalent to the other civilizations of Maztica), and maybe it also includes "tiger folk"/rakasta. If I were to find Rakshasa ruling that society, I wouldn't be surprised at all, and if those Rakshasa were demanding sacrifices of captured human hearts, it would absolutely fit.
I could see wemics who were not leonine, but rather leopard, tiger or panther bodies. Maybe they are led by or visit a city of sin led by lamias (who have cat bodies as well). Where I was planning to use this in Katashaka though the lamias were more traditional and had different types of lower bodies (i.e. cat, goat, antelope, etc...), and that they "entertained" tauric folk of many types (wemics, antelope hybsil, prime bound bariaurs, etc...). (Of course lots of lamias were more like lamia nobles with serpent lower bodies too, and you could do something with that as well).
I could see harpies who are the cursed form of women who abused love and were cursed by Kiltzi or Eha.
One thing I've also been noting is the idea that "plumastone" and "glassteel" are both somewhat similar. The idea that the spellweavers used a special crystalline technology, as do the thri-kreen, makes me think there should possibly be something about the continent as pertains to crystals. It might be interesting if the petrified forms of your medusa's victims were crystalline... and possibly useful as a component in crafting when ground up. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Seethyr
Master of Realmslore
USA
1151 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 20:36:59
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Like others have said, you can reskin a lot of traditional creatures. However, you can also replace them with something that's similar but different. This is why I was so focused on non-traditional monster humanoid races in the northern section of Anchorome. Shatjan for instance fill the niche that minotaurs would fill for "good" minotaurs. The Urskan bear folk can fill the niche for bugbears and ogres (for the evil ones), but for the good ones they can fill the role that a noble and strong race (like dragonborn) might fill. The idea of medium sized rather than small Hybsil can fill the role of centaurs, but you stick them in the woods more often (that being said, I also like the idea of centaurs imported from Faerun developing a society in modern Anchorome. The tiny kercpa can fill the role that sprites would normally fill (minus the ability to turn invisible, they'd need to use hide). The raccoon folk can take the roles that the "short ones" or gnomes would normally fill, so that you don't have to have halflings everywhere (though having some forest gnomes and halflings available for a player if they want them doesn't hurt either). The size small "foxiytaurs" or tauric fox folk can fill the roles that traditional playful "fey" races like satyrs, korred, etc... might fill.
To note, a lot of the below ideas, I was placing in Katashaka, but they can easily work in Maztica
Similarly, with monsters, we've already seen that a dragonne can fit in Maztica. However, so can a displacer beast. So can a peryton. Along the same lines, so can something like a griffin with yellow parrot feathers and leopard spots.... or a toucan's beak, black feathers, and a panther's body.
I also wouldn't be surprised to find things like a tabaxi civilization in the deep jungles of the Payit that's fairly civilized (i.e. equivalent to the other civilizations of Maztica), and maybe it also includes "tiger folk"/rakasta. If I were to find Rakshasa ruling that society, I wouldn't be surprised at all, and if those Rakshasa were demanding sacrifices of captured human hearts, it would absolutely fit.
I could see wemics who were not leonine, but rather leopard, tiger or panther bodies. Maybe they are led by or visit a city of sin led by lamias (who have cat bodies as well). Where I was planning to use this in Katashaka though the lamias were more traditional and had different types of lower bodies (i.e. cat, goat, antelope, etc...), and that they "entertained" tauric folk of many types (wemics, antelope hybsil, prime bound bariaurs, etc...). (Of course lots of lamias were more like lamia nobles with serpent lower bodies too, and you could do something with that as well).
I could see harpies who are the cursed form of women who abused love and were cursed by Kiltzi or Eha.
One thing I've also been noting is the idea that "plumastone" and "glassteel" are both somewhat similar. The idea that the spellweavers used a special crystalline technology, as do the thri-kreen, makes me think there should possibly be something about the continent as pertains to crystals. It might be interesting if the petrified forms of your medusa's victims were crystalline... and possibly useful as a component in crafting when ground up.
Really enjoying these ideas and some of the others as well. This has me wanting to make a second Maztica Monster Manual which has a whole section going through every monster in the manual and other supplements, while offering changes - both cosmetic and statwise. |
Follow the Maztica (Aztec/Maya) and Anchorome (Indigenous North America) Campaigns on DMsGuild!
The Maztica Campaign
The Anchorome Campaign |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 20:56:35
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| Reskinning works in a pinch, but I'd see what third party stuff could be found for Mesoamerican settings -- because the odd critters I've seen in D&D, drawn from other parts of the world, were often very strange, from a Eurocentric point of view. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11830 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 21:28:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Like others have said, you can reskin a lot of traditional creatures. However, you can also replace them with something that's similar but different. This is why I was so focused on non-traditional monster humanoid races in the northern section of Anchorome. Shatjan for instance fill the niche that minotaurs would fill for "good" minotaurs. The Urskan bear folk can fill the niche for bugbears and ogres (for the evil ones), but for the good ones they can fill the role that a noble and strong race (like dragonborn) might fill. The idea of medium sized rather than small Hybsil can fill the role of centaurs, but you stick them in the woods more often (that being said, I also like the idea of centaurs imported from Faerun developing a society in modern Anchorome. The tiny kercpa can fill the role that sprites would normally fill (minus the ability to turn invisible, they'd need to use hide). The raccoon folk can take the roles that the "short ones" or gnomes would normally fill, so that you don't have to have halflings everywhere (though having some forest gnomes and halflings available for a player if they want them doesn't hurt either). The size small "foxiytaurs" or tauric fox folk can fill the roles that traditional playful "fey" races like satyrs, korred, etc... might fill.
To note, a lot of the below ideas, I was placing in Katashaka, but they can easily work in Maztica
Similarly, with monsters, we've already seen that a dragonne can fit in Maztica. However, so can a displacer beast. So can a peryton. Along the same lines, so can something like a griffin with yellow parrot feathers and leopard spots.... or a toucan's beak, black feathers, and a panther's body.
I also wouldn't be surprised to find things like a tabaxi civilization in the deep jungles of the Payit that's fairly civilized (i.e. equivalent to the other civilizations of Maztica), and maybe it also includes "tiger folk"/rakasta. If I were to find Rakshasa ruling that society, I wouldn't be surprised at all, and if those Rakshasa were demanding sacrifices of captured human hearts, it would absolutely fit.
I could see wemics who were not leonine, but rather leopard, tiger or panther bodies. Maybe they are led by or visit a city of sin led by lamias (who have cat bodies as well). Where I was planning to use this in Katashaka though the lamias were more traditional and had different types of lower bodies (i.e. cat, goat, antelope, etc...), and that they "entertained" tauric folk of many types (wemics, antelope hybsil, prime bound bariaurs, etc...). (Of course lots of lamias were more like lamia nobles with serpent lower bodies too, and you could do something with that as well).
I could see harpies who are the cursed form of women who abused love and were cursed by Kiltzi or Eha.
One thing I've also been noting is the idea that "plumastone" and "glassteel" are both somewhat similar. The idea that the spellweavers used a special crystalline technology, as do the thri-kreen, makes me think there should possibly be something about the continent as pertains to crystals. It might be interesting if the petrified forms of your medusa's victims were crystalline... and possibly useful as a component in crafting when ground up.
Really enjoying these ideas and some of the others as well. This has me wanting to make a second Maztica Monster Manual which has a whole section going through every monster in the manual and other supplements, while offering changes - both cosmetic and statwise.
I don't know if you saw it (I think you did), but down in Lopango I was putting a variant of a couatl that looks like a red cobra with black wings, and also a spitting firesnake. For neither one have I created anything that even resembles stats or detailed their capabilities. Both are "fire snakes" of a sort.
Here's the Lopango Winged Firecobra
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4548819
Here's the spitting firesnake. It would probably be size small
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4520117
You're welcome to use them if you like. I don't personally picture either as exceptionally powerful mind you, and my personal view was that they were where some "benders" learned how to shape fire as a type of fighting style (which some elemental monks might use, plus the rules I found on dms guild for "lacers" and "samsari").
Also, from the monster manual, green hags might live in the jungles. Perhaps they are druids ofa dark aspect of Nula and they oversee a population of girallons, flying monkeys, dire apes, as well as kamadans, displacer beasts, flying tapirs, dire tapirs and they've taken to mating with jagres as well as demons like nalfeshnee and Barlgura.
There might be a variant of "jungle dryads" that are the servants of Watil, and perhaps they were cursed into their form for cutting down some sacred trees and burning away the forest for planting. So, now these dryads must find men to mate with so that they can replant the forest with new "trees".
I note here these alternate views of traditionally "good" gods in the Maztican pantheon based on lore of the original boxed set in which the gods were all noted as having different "aspects" of themselves that might be worshipped under another name in certain parts of Maztica. So, while Nula is generally seen as good, I wouldn't be surprised to find a dark version of her that wants to act in a way similar to Zaltec, but who pushes the matriarchy over the patriarchy. I can also see a version of Watil that acts like Moander. I can see a version of Kiltzi that acted darkly after being raped by her brother. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11830 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2020 : 21:57:34
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Oh, by the way, I know that OFFICIALLY they stated that Zaltec converted humans of the Cult of the Viperhand into orcs, ogres, jagres, and trolls on the Night of Wailing. However, I personally don't see a problem with expanding that list of "what people were converted to". It absolutely would make sense to me that he might convert folks into catfolk like Rakasta/Tabaxi since he's seen as a "jaguar god", or possibly wemic like folks but less leonine. This could be the source of some of the cultures mentioned above. He might also give them a ritual to change a human into a cat person using a ritual of Hishna.
Similarly, perhaps other gods acted on that same night and converted folks. Perhaps Tezca and Plutoq were also active that night (after all there were volcanos going off, and these are the gods of earth and fire). I could see Plutoq having created the medusas you mention on that night from his worshippers. I could see Tezca summoning some slaad to infest eggs into the orcs that Zaltec had just transformed, and so maybe there's a temple to the god of fire with a number of slaad living there. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2020 : 11:08:05
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Senior Scribe Seethyr,
I have run some games, but not full on, 3-4 year campaigns as I typically do, in Kara-Tur. For me, it takes a great deal of research. It's really diving into the culture, ethics, etc. big time before I play so I get it. I do try to find the cultural comparison in the RW, research what I need to find for my questions and try to make that component as realistic as possible.
I think to understand the culture, helps understand the motivations for exactly why that "Medusa" is in Maztica. It's also really hard to get your mind tacitly wrapped around those things when you are from the U.S., the UK, Australia, etc.
I would read on the individual areas of Maztica, cross-reference appropriate Native American tribes, etc. and let the research lead you that way, as a starting point.
Best regards,
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Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring |
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