...and then there's
this nameless and unheralded webcomic:
https://plus.google.com/photos/101835000681552189605/albums/5631467774702112033/5631467772493722754Never attribute to magic what can be explained through mundanity:
...and suddenly the details of merfolk reproduction become perfectly clear:
Why
don't good, non-deranged wizards ever create a beneficial species like this?
Just ask any outdoorsman: No matter how much you love Mother Nature, there's always
something in the natural order that pisses you right off. (Yes, chiggers and poison ivy, I'm looking at you.)
I love me some undead. It's one of my Dungeon Master quirks.
See, that's my one beef with Tolkien (well, that and
the grossly belabored scenery porn): Entire races that are evil for evil's sake. At least
try to come up with a psychological reason for that inclination! Orcs? Social conditioning in a perverse culture which identifies bullying, robbery, rape and slaughter as virtuous displays of strength. Undead? Dim memories of their former mortal lives, twisted by their tormented state into sheer envy and hatred towards the living. Individual Evil-friendly mindsets? Vengeance without restraint, irrational hatred and bigotry, arrogance, unchecked thirst for power, lack of a sense of consequence, lack of a sense of personal responsibility, the aforementioned envy or spitefulness ("I suffered, so why shouldn't
everyone else suffer too?"), an aggressive Messiah Complex ("I am the one sent from On High to cleanse our world of undesirables!" "...and what exactly constitutes an 'undesirable?'" "Do not question the righteousness of your savior!"), and so on. And in the case of created creatures which were created to be evil, we should examine the motives of its creator (although the creation
should be examined as well. Is it truly self-aware? Is it genuinely malevolent and in willing agreement with its master's motives, or is it simply unaware that its actions are malevolent and thus is likely to turn away from evil if somehow enlightened?).
You should
always be able to answer the question of "Why is this guy evil?" with something besides "He just
is, okay?". And ideally, you should be able to apply the same standard to Good, Law, Chaos, moral Neutrality and/or ethical Neutrality as well. Rant ends.
Eh, this right here is just sloppy DM work. It should be like the rote about a bunch of incredibly lifelike statues in one location being hints that a medusa is nearby: If you're wandering around and you see specks of rust everywhere (like the crumbs and dregs from a meal that you simply couldn't eat down to the last molecule...), a bunch of jumbled wooden planks in every doorway (those being the remains of a door after
something destroyed the door's hinges, latch(es), doorknobs and/or handles, bolts, nails, screws and any riveted iron bands holding all those planks together...) and missing metallic fixtures (including locks, bars, chains and sconces) where such metallic fixtures should normally be, then there's probably one or more rust monsters nearby. Upon seeing such signs, either make ready to deal with a rust monster or turn around and GTFO.
Seriously. To hell with
Twilight.
Hey, I've used sahuagin
aplenty! They're my go-to enemy aquatic race of choice! Isn't that right, Karnoz and Keitha?
Yes,
I've used shriekers too.
(Remember when these forums had a little clicky by each post where you could get a direct URL link to that post? You know, so you could click the link and go directly to that post, not just to the beginning of the page on which that post appears? Why don't these forums have that feature anymore?)
Subject: Fun with Dungeons & Dragons 
Fri Jun 29, 2018 11:14 pm
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