Favourite DM Creature?

ADDF_Toxic · Post by **ADDF_Toxic** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 2:49 pm

What is Conflux II?

Post by **Ameena** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 3:13 pm

A custom dungeon designed by Zyx. The layout seems very confusing and complicated, there's nasty mobs (nearly all poisonous

) and pit traps and stuff all over the place, loads of "threads" to the story, and loads of ways to finish the game. You'll be wanting to save a lot or get used to starting again...tough stuff but worth it I'm sure, once you get somewhere in it. I've not gone back to it for a while but I'm sure I will one day. I helped actually, I made the hints for the Hint Oracle

.

sucinum · Post by **sucinum** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 5:02 pm

vexirks are looking cool. what else do you demand? non-magenta worms are ok, too.

ADDF_Toxic · Post by **ADDF_Toxic** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 4:13 am

I knew that name sounded familiar!

MonDesIrSar · Post by **MonDesIrSar** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 3:24 pm

1. Red Dragon.
Gorgeous physical appearance and great edibility (which makes it a nice long stay over there at CSB)...

2. Oitu.
Nobody mentioned those brave giant pet spiders..? They´re just hilarious. Could have been adapted from some psychedelic Japanese cartoon show.
I love to cast Oh Ven and hit´em on the head while they furiously whistle and poke at me for the last time in their lives.

3. Giggler.
When that unique labial sound is heard you must think quick and react even quicker. The little sucker brings some action into the game, just when you thought you found a good place to rest...

Boy, ask me about CSB..

TotalDarkness

Simon · Post by **Simon** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 4:00 pm

Why is the red dragon a dragon? It seems like you automatically think it's a dragon, yet it doesn't actually look like a dragon. It doesn't have any wings, and it's all hunched up. It looks more like a fire spitting lizard than a dragon.

I'll continue to call it dragon though:)

Post by **PaulH** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 4:16 pm

Many lizards are also called 'dragons': some do have wing like structures while others (Komodo dragon) do not. I think its possible to have a wingless dragon. Like Beo said, not much use for them in a dungeon if you are of that size!

ADDF_Toxic · Post by **ADDF_Toxic** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 4:45 pm

I thought it was the Komodo dragon without wings. And I see the new guy MonDesIrSar is here! Hello man!

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:36 pm

Don't blame me, I think it was Ameena that said it. And the hint oracle calls it a dragon, and it breathes fire, so there we go.

Then again, perhaps it isn't a dragon, and it's really pissed off that everyone calls it a dragon, and that's the only reason it attacks you. I wonder, if a party went 'Argh, a huge red lizard, possibly a dinosaur!' if it would let them passed?
Instead they go 'Argh, a dragon' and it goes 'Gah' and starts shooting fireballs.

Post by **Ameena** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 7:44 pm

It doesn't have to have wings to be a dragon - look at Chinese Dragons for example. And if you've ever read the Xanth books, not all the dragons there have wings - even the Gap Dragon's wings are only vestigial.
Dragons are probably SHOWN with wings more often than without, that's all. After all, it adds to the feeling of majesty, strength, power, all the kinds of things you might associate with that species.
And also as Paul H said - there are many Terran (Earth

) lizards named "dragons" who don't have wings - bearded dragons, water dragons, and the aforementioned Komodo dragons to name a few.
Ooh look at us, we're getting all debatey (new word

) aren't we...

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 8:34 pm

I think everyone is wrong except me, I just have to try and remember what I actually thought about it now : )

Selie · Post by **Selie** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 8:47 pm

If I'm not mistaken, people in fantasy communities tend to use "wyrm" for what is essentially a wingless dragon, right? I think they just do it to avoid confusion when talking about monsters, going by D&D handbooks, etc - but it's perfectly acceptable to have a lizardy creature without wings and call it a dragon. Hell, I've seen "dragons" that look more like dinosaurs to me, but ... I think it's all in the creator's intent.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 8:57 pm

Lol, in D&D handbooks, if I remeber right, wyrms had wings, they just didn't have front legs nor breath weapons : ) Oops, or am I thinking of wyverns?

Post by **Ameena** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 8:57 pm

I generally know Dragons and Wyrms to be the same thing. Wyverns, on the other hand, ARE different, but still dragonkind. And Drakes are also dragonkind, but are generally a lesser version of dragon - smaller, weaker, possibly less intelligent (depends on the story). And if you've ever read the Dragonlance books there are creatures called Draconians too. But they're only in Dragonlance - generally "draconian" means "relating to dragons"

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 9:02 pm

I wouldn't count Draconians for many reasons, even though they are directly related to dragons : )

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:21 pm

Beo, what you are thinking about are Wyverns. The D&D handbook calls very old (and thus, very powerful) dragons Wyrms. Dragons are classified in about a dozen age categories, and the last two are Wyrm and Great Wyrm. And Draconians are very cool - though I don't like Dragonlance as much as most of my friends do.

Post by **PaulH** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:38 pm

Wyrms in Wizardry look nothing like dragons, more like leeches! I guess the names have different interpretations depending on who uses them.

Warhammer has all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures as well.

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:41 pm

Interestingly, in Magic: The Gathering, there are lots of "wurms" - giant worms actually, but according to the designers "basically dragons without wings".

ADDF_Toxic · Post by **ADDF_Toxic** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:08 am

Well, lots said while I was sleeping! First, beowuuf, you said maybe it's attacking us because we call it a dragon. Good point. And now the wyrm thing...I have heard dragons called wyrms before, I thought it was a type of dragon (Komodo Dragon, Chinese Dragon,etc. That's all I know except wyrm and Red Dragon! I mean, Big Red Lizard)

Post by **Ameena** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:34 am

Yes I'd forgotten the "wurm" spelling...there are Wurms in EQ, they are like giant lizardy things with really long heads and tails, no wings, very tall, but still considered dragonkind.
If you've ever read "The Hobbit" I think on the map there is a label in the northwest corner...can't remember how it starts but the end bit is "...whence came the great wyrm", referring to Smaug, who most definitely is a winged dragon

.
I think we could go on about this for some time, eh

. I think the definition of dragons, wurms, wyrms, wyverns, and anything else draconian is dependent entirely on the world in which the story is set. Pernese dragons, for example (the Pern book sby Anne McCaffrey), are only called so due to the mythical Earth creatures they resemble - they were bred up from tiny lizards (known as Fire Lizards) who are less than the length of your arm.

zoom · Post by **zoom** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:01 pm

I am not very good at making it comprehensible/clearly structured-anyway hope it´s no pain to digest and not too much reading

there is this archaic german? expression "Lindwurm", in mtg(tm) it is translated as a "craw wurm". In online dict it is referred to as wyvern.
ANyway:

the first part "Lind" is maybe derived from a tree.
We here use Linde or Lindenbaum (you employ lindentree or limetree or basswood)
maybe it is referring to where it lives?
or maybe just to make the "NibelungensagA"(a myth) more logical, with the leaf that falls... siegfried the dragonslayer encounters a lindwurm there to get the treasure of the dwarves.
whatever.
A "Wurm" is sth. you use as a living bait when fishing.(same as a worm) hence the picture of no wings, maybe even no legs!!
So a lindwurm is a giant version of ??
By the way_ in the myth the worm isn´t very bright.

Or no legs at all and just wings.like firedrakes. they are small.yeah.

Wyverns fly and use their tailstings to poison their prey.
they have legs but just one pair.AT least so i remember d&D!
I do not think that it is the same like a Lind worm, is it?

I say dragons have thick magic scales, are big, have loads of treasure and maybe are always touchy(i.e hungry, sleepy). they hatch from eggs.
and they are pyromaniacs.

So better think twice what pet you want!

What about Jabberwocky/the Jabberwock. is it a Wyrm or a Dragon or a Wurm? Or a Drake or a wyvern? or..

I mean it could be that some words are appropriate and others are just derogatory; THus a person that hates ?DRAGONS? could refer to them as scaled worms that spits fire and some one who awes ?DRAGONS? could call them mighty beasts that breathe ashes and exhale fire.

JUst take the ice dragon. Not very logical, if you think about it.
Lizards like warm temperatures. No they like it hot.
Was there a spelling error in Hissssa, Lizar? of Makan?!
or did it just look cooler to make him lizar instead of a lizard...

ADDF_Toxic · Post by **ADDF_Toxic** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 2:38 pm

I did notice that spelling error, but at first, I thought it was because they couldn't fit lizard of makan in 12 spaces(or whatever the limit for the title/last name)

Post by **Ameena** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:39 pm

The limit is 15 letters, and that's how many are in "Lizard of Makan" so if it's a dliberate omission (which I always figured it was), it's not for that reason.
And dragons are magical - if they want to be able to breath fire, water, ice, acid, smoke, steam, or anything else, why not?

. If the most popular depictions of dragons show them holed up in some cave somewhere, surely a place like that out of the sun where they sit on cold shiny gold for centuries isn't particularly warm? Unless there's a stream of lava running underneath the floor or something...ooh, a natural underfloor heating system

.

ADDF_Toxic · Post by **ADDF_Toxic** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:58 pm

I always forget that limit!

Post by **PaulH** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 4:30 pm

There is a brand of mountain bike caled 'carrera' who named all their models after things of this kind. We have Vulcan, Kraken, Gryphon, Fury, Jaberwocky, Bugaboo, Zelos, Stormbringer. Pity the bikes were pants.

Florent · Post by **Florent** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 4:35 pm

ADDF : How can you forget such an important aspect of the game ? I mean, who doesn't know that ? Come on !!!

Just kidding right ?

zoom · Post by **zoom** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:03 pm

Since ad&d there are many different dragon types known: green red. the slim blue ones.ect.(long ago artists depicted dragons /1586,1320)
If the dragon has wings the cave in which it resides should have an opening, preferrably in the ceiling and big enough for it to pass through.
IF so, the sun and moon could shine into the cave.Our dragon gets some warmth in there, as well as an occasional shower.

Naturally a dragon searches for an adequate "cave" . I mean there are not that many a caves, are there? Maybe it even has to move a lot in it´s lifespan! The treasures lure a lot of uncomfortable company to the cave, so it better be hidden well. Remember the eggs? Not good.

It could just borrow its own cave or at least a few tunnels (with its claws and or magic) or search for a really nice place, to its notions(lava, glacier, bog, underground, vulcanos/crater, deserts, mountains with surrounding food/cities? or the sea/clouds)

Being magical they could e.g. radiate heat, cold ect. easily so as to warm or cool down the place they inhabit or occupy.Maybe the coins just warm up

or cool down:(

I was refering to(red/fire) dragons as lizard like creatures: Lizards, just like ants, do need some heat to motor their movement. They stock up on some sunshine before they can/do move.
They often sleep. maybe it is too cold!

It seems they are no plain lizards so yeah, why not make an arctic dragon...
Of course a red dragon could live in an arctic world but it would not be quite convenient I imagine . If it radiated some heat, it would eventually sink into the sea, or live in a certain low level maze, be freezing nevertheless or just be constantly in an even moodier mood.

What about the Jabberwock? anyone?

Post by **Ameena** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:59 pm

Well the colour of a dragon need not have any influence over its abilities. For example, though you'd think a blue dragon would be concerned with ice or water, in Dragonlance they actually "exhale" lightning. But generally, yeah, red dragons are assiociated with fiery breath.
Zoooom - an opening in the ceiling may not be a very good idea - imagine how flooded the cave would get when it rained, unless there was some kind of drainage thingy. Either way, the dragon would get wet. Well, maybe he/she wouldn't mind.
Oh, another thing about dragons is their social behaviour - this is another aspect which varies widey between stories - sometimes a lone dragon dwells for centuries, eons, in a single cave, apparently, just sleeping on a bed of hoarded treasure from their younger days and roasting anyone stupid or foolhardy enough to wander in. On the other hand, some dragons may live in communities of many, laying eggs in a large communal hatchery-cave. Pernese dragons are all linked, mentally, and so they feel it when one of their kind dies.
And as for the Jabberwock...we did read through that poem once at school. I remember a couple of lines - "Twas mimsy and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe..." and "Beware the Jabberwock, my son...", but as far as I can remember it was just a nonsense poem, wasn't it? With made up words and thus perhaps intended to draw a picture of the Jabberwock however you interpret those words. There's a creature called the Jabberwock in a game called "Alice" (that's Alice as in Wonderland, the game takes place in her mind and it's like Wonderland gone wrong - all the creatures are warped and twisted and you use a variety of weird weapons to take them out). He's huge, spindly arms and legs, long neck, purple eyes I think...and wings...I think they're either tattered or skeletal though. Not played it for a bit.
Hmm post getting a bit long now eh? We seem to be stuck on dragons out of all the mobs of DM lol.

ADDF_Toxic · Post by **ADDF_Toxic** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:24 am

I am not sure how I can forget that! And I am getting old and grumpy!! I just got a second older! Even though I'm only 14, AH! ANOTHER SECOND OLDER!!!AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

zoom · Post by **zoom** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 4:19 pm

Seems you´re a dragon expert, Ameena!

Thanks for effort on the Jabberwocky. I didn´t know it was a poem-always thought it was like a really famous beast like Nessie.
All I knew about jabberwock actually was from Monty Python!!

What i found rather cool was the fact that blue d&d dragons are 100 feet long but only 4 feet wide
(sth. like that, they are long and slim; not broad) I mean imagine such a creature.
It gives you a different picture than the one of a normal dragon, normal being here the dungeon master dragon;)

Did someone notice the similarity of the dm dragon and a dog? The way it holds its foreleg is the same dogs hold theirs! Same goes for the head.

Well, to be back on topic, what´s my favorite dm creature?
Maybe the lone rust monster in the rat level.
Nice company for once! Doesn´t hurt you---> no stress.
Good. Please refrain from killing the moving obstacle!
(does it actually damage you ? i forgot.)