They kinda come of as if some force or entity tried to make some lizardfolk more like mammals, and succeeded but the result was something much hungrier and smellier (which is a fair cop). Could also be a curse meant to b
inspired by @tyrantisterror talk on the difference between reptiles and mammals.
More inadvisable premises for low-level Dungeons & Dragons adventures:
- The party has been hired by a local inkeeper to clear a infestation of
giant rats out of their basement. Upon investigation, however, the rats demand parley, and produce documents which – they allege – establish that they themselves are the legal owners of the inn. As far as any player character in possession of appropriate skills is able to determine, the documents are genuine.- A group of townsfolk ask the party to liberate them from their terrible
wizard-king. When confronted in his private sanctum, the
“wizard” breaks down and confesses that he’s a failed apprentice who’s
been running a Wizard of Oz scam with the aid of a few minor
cantrips. He begs the party not to expose him, claiming that the
countryside is home to a band of vicious marauders who’ve only refrained from ravaging the town because they believe he’s the real deal.- The party receives the opportunity to enter themselves into a region-wide martial tournament whose returning champion has promised to bestow her magnificent enchanted blade on anyone who can best her in single combat. The usual tournament shenanigans are afoot, of course, but the true intrigue is that the champion is really just a luckless merchant who’s been possessed by the malicious intelligence of her sword – and it’s looking to trade up to a better host!
- A village is afflicted by an apparent curse that’s transforming plants, animals, and eventually people into grotesque monsters. The victims typically aren’t dangerous or hostile – just terribly confused. It’s eventually discovered that a local hedge witch has been improperly disposing of failed personal enhancement potions, and the resulting trasmutative effluvium has tainted the village well.
- An evil sorcerer has crafted an army of unstoppable behemoths of iron and bone to rampage through the countryside spreading terror and devastation as a prelude to eventual conquest. However, the sorcerer in question is a member of a very, very small race, so the behemoths in question are only about three feet tall.
I have no idea why any of these are ‘inadvisable’.
(I’ve stated before my idea of having hobgoblins having a sort of inborn mental toolkit for architecture, likely artificially induced in their genesis by an ancient race trying to “uplift” goblins. Hobgolbins thus believe they have a duty to “civilize” the world.)
The hobgoblins empire has in a surprise turn, become a proponent of the lizard folk race.; a shocking change their previous repeated genocide attempts in the name of “protecting trade routes”
While a few attempts seemed successful, in some areas the population mysteriously recovered despite the high number of confirmed kills.
The trick was that lizardfolk young do not require parental care to survive.
The young, mistaken for nonsapient pets and escaping the destruction, were able to rebuild; completely from scratch in the few cases where all adults had been successfully killed.
Possibly in an attempt to save face , the empire has thus decided that like themselves, lizardfolk are one of the few “inherently civilized” races , like themselves.
The few lizardfolk communities that have been integrated are treated condescendingly, but as having more potential than other non-hobgoblin races, even getting preferential treatment over other varieties of goblinoids
And another question on the matter- is the goblin-wolf the only possible combination? Or can someone found a way to unite other races with other beasts? Can there be more “barghest like” demons?
And there is one more mystery, who the barghest experience all too painfully, and others probably don’t even consider- How is it, to leave with Hunger, constantly inside you? Always desiring, pushing, insisting? How does it feel that for you to live, you must erase all shred of existence from others? How is it to feel the world hates you? The gods hate you? Thatyou have no place, neither on the material plane or another? And the cruel catch- that in order grow stronger, protect yourself, advance like others do, all that waits you is madness and death? Is it a wonder they hate everyone else, SOOOO much?
Scholars believe these weirdos herald the end of the multiverse by entropy.
Personally, I agree with Bogleech these guys should not be a natural part of the rust monster life cycle, but I do like the idea of them having a connection.
My favorite idea is they are descended from dragons who were cursed into the form of rust monsters, and managed to partially beat the curse, creating a new variety of dragon, with a larval stage almost indistinguishable from rust monsters.
also make the wings more like shrimp fins and less butterfly
Personally I would put them on the material plane and make them sort of unwanted self-help guides with ulterior motives: they want to free you of your material possessions… by eating them.
A cleric isn’t out to make people turn away from their current gods necessarily, but trying to make the case to integrate their god into the existing local pantheon.
I really like the idea of local pantheons for villages and kingdoms: consisting of gods, spirits, demigods , fae, and a slumbering eldritch abomination or two. And any demon or such posing as a god of course.
Zooming in more is the possibility of family pantheons, which includes what would be “small gods” of Terry Prattchet, and ancestor worship.
This also is helpful for sandbox settings and not requiring the DM to hammer out every god in their cosmology.
I should also note that in polytheistic religions, while temples may be to devoted to a single god in general, they may also include rooms and shrines to others.
A PC cleric’s exploits in a foreign land might be rewarded by the DM with a new shrine added dedicated to the player’s deity. The DM can even let the player dictate what the shrine should consist of.
I’ll plan a bigger a post on this when I’m not busy, but D&Ds fire newts being a militaristic society feels like it wouldn’t necessarily work in every setting unless they have a good defensive geographic stronghold.
Personally, I think the best way to do them is to make it so they need hot springs or artificial equivalents to breed (as 5e seems to be doing), and the societies are built around protecting these spawning grounds (which they do not seem to be doing). Some may turn to evil gods that are good at causing fear for such means of protection, and that can spiral into an evil society, helped by a disdain and lack of empathy for life not heat resistant. However I expect earth shaping magic to also be a big part of their way of life.
Their raiding culture as written does make sense if they are a secure civilization have a low infant mortality rate ; its a response to having more individuals than they know what to do with. And so they send them out to gain glory (and thus prestige and mating opportunities) or die.
If they drive too many prey/marks/sacrifices populations away from within easy reach of their home though, they might turn to more “legitimate” methods such as adventuring and mercenary work.
There’s also more economic methods of gaining the resources they need to protect their way of life.
What I’m proposing is: fire newts not part of empires actnig as the owners of hot spring resorts. They allow use the hot springs that aren’t suitable for spawning due to either relatively low temperature or poor location for safety concerns from predators. The money is then funneled into magical defense of settlements deeper within their territory away from the resort.
tldr: Firenewts who have secured their settlements against threats have two options: either practice population control or declare endless war against outside. And since they live around volcanoes they can’t be easily rooted out.
I’m currently thinking more alliances between communities than diverse communiteis, but those are good to
Troglodytes and Warforged; the smell shouldn’t harm them and warforged are inedible. Could hopefully mellow out the troglodytes.
Lizardfolk and dwarves: based on a mutual love and understanding of the quality of stone tools for butchering purposes. Sure metal can be mass produced and repaired, but stone tools can give a better quality cut. The dwarves trade stone to the lizardfolk in return for spices and dyes they can’t get elsewhere. I mean, they could tell other races of the secret Lost World their allies live in, but why shake things up?
I encourage others to leave their own ideas in the comments
edit Got another
Ogres oddly enough, are one of the few “monstrous races” that don’t find halfling flesh all that its cracked up to be. This makes alliances slightly easier than one would expect; these team-ups are generally mutual defense arrangements with the halflings providing insurgents and the ogre providing muscle. (based on an idea I saw on rpg.net that halflings use Scooby-Doo style plots to run off troublemakers and preserve their peaceful way of life.)
Monsters and Stuff 