Ant Island? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Ant Island? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Passivearmada
07-01-07, 10:37 PM In my campaign world, there is a group of uncharted islands the PCs might encounter. On one is a human city. Nearby is an island that is a big ol' anthill, home to a big Formian colony. I wanted the queen to be a badass psion able to communicate with the PCs saying things like "you are nearing my domain, outsider" and "what is it you are seeking?" while theyre on their boat. i know Formians are extremely imperialistic, so i thought id put 'em on an island.
Now- are they intelligent and desperate enough to build boats from the wooden trees to get to human city on a nearby island? or will they swim there? can ants swim?
this proposes several other questions, such as "can Formians be killed by a giant magnifying glass?"
"or even a little one?"
"do they have a weakness to giants' feet? :rant::detect::rant:
just kidding.
but the first two questions were serious.
Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
Dielzen
07-01-07, 11:05 PM I'd say that they would, indeed, perceive a nearby city as a threat, and attempt to wipe it out.

In addition, the Queen, with a "standard" 20 INT would more than likely formulate a long-term strategy that could include boats/rafts.

However, Formians don't live on the Material Plane as a general rule, they're outsiders (and as such, don't need to breathe, so they could walk across the ocean floor).
Lord Karsus
07-02-07, 01:36 AM -And, how's this for a good location?:

"The Isle of Gargantuas (Near Wa) is an island of giant monsters. War rages constantly between the insectoid gargantuas and the reptilian gargantuas while earthquakes and volcanic eruptions lay waste to the earth around them. The island is ruled by a krakentua, an intelligent monstrosity with the body of a man and the head of a kraken."

-Those insectiod gargantuas can be your Formians. And, those repliian gargantuas can be your next plothook!

-As for those three questions: Yes, yes, and maybe.
MarkusTay63
07-02-07, 04:26 AM The Gargantuas are too big to be Formians. Unless, of course, you are trying to say that everything on the island is of proportionate size, in which case the Gargantua Ants would be about our size. I'd hate to see the dragonflies. :D

There is a race of human-sized ants in Maztica, created as protectors of something or other. It is possible they have reproduced and settled a nearby Island (and if you wait just two months, you may even get a map to place them on). ;)

Lastly, I have to laugh at your question. Ants are the ONLY creatures beside man to use boats. In order to cross rivers in Africa, army ants go up into trees along the bank and nibble off leaves, which thay then board and float across the river. They are the only species besides apes and man to use tools.

The giant magnifying glass gives me a really evil idea, for a crystal lens set atop a jungle pyramid. :devil:
Light_Colonel
07-02-07, 08:14 AM However, Formians don't live on the Material Plane as a general rule, they're outsiders (and as such, don't need to breathe, so they could walk across the ocean floor).

Outsiders breathe, but do not need to eat or sleep (although they can do so if they wish). Native outsiders breathe, eat, and sleep.http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/monsterTypes.html

I would say yes, Formians are smart enough to build boats. They would no doubt enslave any native islanders and set them to work on it.

I don't think they would though. They seem to me, far more likely to tunnel under the sea floor and pop up right in the middle of town. (or all over the town, hitting many locations simultainiously)
Slayergnome
07-02-07, 08:29 AM -And, how's this for a good location?:

"The Isle of Gargantuas

Thats ironic. I made a prime world called Gargantuas like years ago that is filled with gigantic creatures and the only medium sized city there is ran by powerful wizards who hide their city in a dorment volcano and mask it with illusionary spells. Thankfully i'll finally get to use it in a epic game I am running. So that is way cool.
Lord Karsus
07-02-07, 10:18 AM The Gargantuas are too big to be Formians. Unless, of course, you are trying to say that everything on the island is of proportionate size, in which case the Gargantua Ants would be about our size. I'd hate to see the dragonflies. :D

-Gargantuas are actually a race?

EDIT: I guess I should've checked Kara-Tur Monsterous Compendium. The reptilian Gargantuas are Godzillas, and the insectioid Gargantuas are Mothras.
Passivearmada
07-03-07, 12:15 PM thanks guys for your info so far. i figured that since formians are generally neutral, and humans are pretty lawful, in most cases, that the PCs could help them become allies. you see, the plot is, two of the PCs are seeing this old man, but then he just disappears. he is like a ghost of this long dead wizard named Renkano. Renkano battled this demi...demon named Gandrax long ago. since Gandrax is immortal on his small little plane, Renkano died of age on the Material Plane, and Gandrax seeks to control the Material Plane of this world (called Entaviz). He sees the PCs as the only who can stop him, and tries assassinating them all along the way. They find this out ,and that Gandrax has been possessing figures of power, to further throw the continents into political turmoil, and that leads to war. After a great war, who wouldn'y worship the only one left that can pick up the pieces? (thats Gandrax). The PCs must stop the war by killing the possessed (or unpossessing them), and forging alliances between all the warring states, so they can have allies when it comes to a part where they need to raise an army to combat Gandrax. I was thinking that the queen of the Formians could be the possessed one of this area, but then i figured that she prob. has too high a will for that. so i turned to her most trusted general (bum, bum, bum). Now that i know Formians can use boats (and create them) or just swim, i plan on planning an all out invasion. The PCs will need to find the general, and kill him, cause hes somehow disabled the queen- if they do, all will be saved! and the Formians and men will sign a treatie. :) hooray peace. i have lots of other stuff planned for this campaign and have actually considered splitting it into multiple campaigns. two ppl in our group are new and like the idea of D&D, so i want to give them a campaign that'll keep 'em on the edge of their seats, you know, as a good start for future roleplaying.
oh, and MarcusTay63, i feel offended by your laughing at my question. ;)
and sorry i didn't rent A History of Ants at the library. :P
MarkusTay63
07-03-07, 12:44 PM Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you. I just found it amusing that of all the races you could have used, ants are the only one that would use boats. It was just one of those 'irony' things.

And BTW, thank you for finally allowing me to use that useless piece of information I learned from a video watched in 6th grade. I've been holding onto that gem for 31 years and now I can finally flush it from memory. ;)
Fabius Maximus
07-03-07, 02:01 PM -Gargantuas are actually a race?

EDIT: I guess I should've checked Kara-Tur Monsterous Compendium. The reptilian Gargantuas are Godzillas, and the insectioid Gargantuas are Mothras.
One wonders why people don't like Kara-Tur...
Lord Karsus
07-03-07, 04:26 PM One wonders why people don't like Kara-Tur...

-Beats me...
MarkusTay63
07-03-07, 04:42 PM THAT island is one of the better ones. :rolleyes:

There are literally hundreds of really weird ones, all around that area. One of them is called 'Poison Island', and the natives float an inch off the ground. Its hard to tell that from the sea, and anyone who lands there and steps foot on the ground dies instantly. The natives think its funny as hell.

There are more, but you get the idea.
Fabius Maximus
07-03-07, 04:54 PM THAT island is one of the better ones. :rolleyes:

There are literally hundreds of really weird ones, all around that area. One of them is called 'Poison Island', and the natives float an inch off the ground. Its hard to tell that from the sea, and anyone who lands there and steps foot on the ground dies instantly. The natives think its funny as hell.

There are more, but you get the idea.
Well, at least it's somewhat original. Not some blatant rip-off of some stupid giant monster movies.

Well, since the whole of Kara-Tur is a rip-off of western asia clicheés, I'm not surprised that Gojira is in it, too.
Lord Karsus
07-03-07, 04:56 PM The natives think its funny as hell.

-I wonder why? They are the ones who then have to deal with the dead corpses all over the place.
MarkusTay63
07-03-07, 06:03 PM They gotta eat somehow... :yuck:

There is a Giant Space turtle in SJ called Gammaroid based on the Japanese Movie Monster Gamora, and there is a three-headed dragon too somewhere (can't recall) based of of King Ghidra, so K-T isn't the only setting borrowing from some 40-50 year olds love of old monster movies.

Ohhh... I almost Forgot Isle of the Ape... :rolleyes:

Very early 1e adventure featuring a giant gorilla on some uncharted island.
Passivearmada
07-03-07, 09:09 PM yeah, im planning out a world with bunches of islands and no real continents. one that im not sure if its already taken is like humanoid wasps. they wield spears and speak in a clicky buzzy kinda way.
Dark Wizard
07-04-07, 01:47 AM Well, at least it's somewhat original. Not some blatant rip-off of some stupid giant monster movies.

Well, since the whole of Kara-Tur is a rip-off of western asia clicheés, I'm not surprised that Gojira is in it, too.

With the sizes that creatures like dragons can grow up to, gargantua are not that strange in a D&D world. It just has to be done right, some original thought put into it, which there obviously wasn't at the time.
Lord Karsus
07-04-07, 06:03 PM It just has to be done right, some original thought put into it, which there obviously wasn't at the time.

-With original ideas, I'd have no problem with something like this. I was actually just thinking about how this could be "cleaned up" in the Kara-Tur Re-Dux.
MarkusTay63
07-06-07, 03:24 PM There would need to be an entire 'giant ecology' on the island, very much like what was done with the new King Kong movie. Otherwise, the Gargantua would run out of food VERY quickly.

I was thinking on this just last night, because I was looking in pirate lore and came across 'Minimal Island', a small island in the Inner Sea with tiny little versions of creatures (a'la Gulliver's travels).

Maybe, through some sort of magical backlash or weird primeval deific meddling, the two islands are located directly opposite of each other on the planet's surface, and one pulls all the 'bigness' from the other.

It's a stretch, but I would like to figure out a connection somehow. (plus. they really aren't opposite each other , maybe if the little island were on the Swordcoast).
Lord Karsus
07-06-07, 06:48 PM -What I was thinking is that we eliminate the Gargantua race, period. The island has large lizards and what not, and the native Humans (primitives) worship lizards. They believe that every once and a while, their deity manifests (One Gargantua) and wreaks havoc. Thus, we have a single Godzilla-like creature that is the Terrasque of Kara-Tur.
MarkusTay63
07-06-07, 11:22 PM A cool thought -

The Terrasque actually showed up at some point in the past, and the people of the island prayed to their god for help, and he manifested as Krakentua.

The two fought, stepped on a bunch of buildings and a Mobil station, and Krakentua saved the day, making him a sort-of weird local hero-god. He actually didn't do it to save human lives - once the humans brought the other creature to his attention he got all 'territorial'.

If we go this route, then we can also throw in the giant spider from the OA Monster Manual - the one that's the size of a town. Krakentua could have fought that thing off as well, further establishing himself as a hero. The funny thing is, he really doesn't give two __its about 'puny' humans.

So no Gargantuas, just over-sized versions of creatures (Dire?) and one great big lug.

Or we can have him battle the giant pirate goddess Calypso. ;)
Lord Karsus
07-07-07, 07:33 PM So no Gargantuas, just over-sized versions of creatures (Dire?) and one great big lug.

-That's what I was thinking. Maybe there can be a few miniature versions of the giant creature- Gargantua-Spawn?
MarkusTay63
07-07-07, 08:14 PM Right... keep them 20-30 feet tall (or long) at best, with insect versions ranging from 10-20 feet.

A 15' Dragonfly would still scare the cr@p out of me! :eek:

You could find a VERY primitive form of mountain giant (a large shaggy Hill Giant) here as well. I figure if we don't make the Gargantuas any bigger then the average giant it makes more sense and doesn't over-tax believability,

In fact, this entire ecology could have been set-up as way of feeding the Dragons early on. The massive size of the Oriental Dragons would require quite a bit of food, so perhaps this island was devinely created to keep the wyrms from eating the people/livestock?

Just a thought.
Lord Karsus
07-07-07, 08:17 PM -Maybe we should C&P all of this to the Kara-Tur Red-Dux? ;)
MarkusTay63
07-08-07, 03:19 AM Probably. ;)

I'm all over the place with my chaotic ramblings these days.
Passivearmada
07-11-07, 05:45 PM about the Formians...
if possessed, would they turn against their possesser and remain loyal to the queen, cause i know that ants are like that.
or are they still easily manipulated, and feirce loyalty is abandoned?
MarkusTay63
07-11-07, 05:52 PM Given the 'psionic' nature of insect communication, I think as soon as they were 'plugged back in' to the Hivemind, they would get medieval on your hiney.

If they were 'out of range' of the Hive mother, insects will join any other 'hive' (ie, any group) with a strong leader. Their basic instinct is to follow orders, so if they aren't getting them from the queen, they will take them from someone else.

Ants and other insects (bees in particular) have been known to join other hives in these circumstances, even if of a different genus.
Ioulaum
07-11-07, 05:58 PM A cool thought -

The Terrasque actually showed up at some point in the past, and the people of the island prayed to their god for help, and he manifested as Krakentua.

The two fought, stepped on a bunch of buildings and a Mobil station, and Krakentua saved the day, making him a sort-of weird local hero-god. He actually didn't do it to save human lives - once the humans brought the other creature to his attention he got all 'territorial'.

If we go this route, then we can also throw in the giant spider from the OA Monster Manual - the one that's the size of a town. Krakentua could have fought that thing off as well, further establishing himself as a hero. The funny thing is, he really doesn't give two __its about 'puny' humans.

So no Gargantuas, just over-sized versions of creatures (Dire?) and one great big lug.

Or we can have him battle the giant pirate goddess Calypso. ;)

Note: one of the monster Gozilla fought on Monster island was a Giant Spider.
MarkusTay63
07-13-07, 02:14 AM A fellow fan of the Daikaiju genre, I take it.

I do remember the giant spider; it was one of the more realistic creatures.

Have you ever seen the poorly dubbed one where they actually dubbed the monsters as well? I think it was the one with the 'growing robot', Jet jagua (sp?), the title of which was Godzilla vs Megalon.

Godzilla and Gigan are traveling to Tokyo across the sea, and they are arguiing and sound like two Jewish old man.

It was funny as hell. :D
Swiftblade
07-13-07, 10:14 AM I have to ask this, it is not meant as an insult Passivearmada, but I have seen you post on several of the boards here, and you constantly say you are not using FR as your world, yet you constantly seek FR info?
I am horribly confused as to this, are you seeking just general knowledge or are you seeking FR knowledge, cause the two do have differing themes and rules. If FR, cool, keep it up, if general, you could ask us, but for more accurate info seek out the general DND boards.

Thanks.
Passivearmada
07-13-07, 09:42 PM yeah, swiftblade, no offense taken, itrs just that i like the realms and i feel most comfortable here in these forums. i feel like im not creating anything new when i play in a world i didnt make. im full of ideas that cant be put into Faerun because its all set out. i dont know why i use the FR forums, i just dont really like the d&d forums for some stupid strange reason. is this a problem, and i need to go, or is that alright?
MarkusTay63
07-14-07, 03:42 AM You just wanna hang with us 'cause were cooler. :D

... and the more the merrier. ;)
Passivearmada
07-14-07, 11:00 AM absolutely, marcus tay- and no sarcasm. i feel that the FR people are the veterans that i'll learn the most from. i want to be an author as a primary proffession, so DMing is a good exercise.
Lord Karsus
07-14-07, 05:50 PM You just wanna hang with us 'cause were cooler. :D

-It's true, it's true.
Swiftblade
07-14-07, 11:54 PM Sounds good, but if you think that all of Forgotten Realms is set in stone, it is far from that.

There are several continents that have no layout written up, one of which actually looks like North America across the ocean to the west of Evermeet.

So, actually you could have your own homebrew with FR still in use in your world actually.
Passivearmada
07-15-07, 11:00 AM i though all of toril was mapped out, because i used to think faerun was all the realms. then i saw a map of toril, and was kinda surprised. i was considering making my campaign world many miles west of the Sea of Swords. i could still do that, because we're not too far into the campaign. i was considering introducing new gods and godesses, though.
to further promote the self creation idea, i could move all the way past that continent to the west of faerun, anbd off the map of toril, and maybe you'd need a new continent map for my campaign. but then why even place it in the realms if it's so secluded? as, i'll figure something out.
MarkusTay63
07-15-07, 02:22 PM When I first started my Realms campaign, I envisioned the map of the Flanaess (the main continent of GH) where Anchorome is now. It actually works out perfect, with the Northmen in the NE, and a Maztica-style continent to the south (Hepmonland). I did this because I was used to running GH, but wanted to move much of my ideas to the 'new' FR world back then.

I still think it fits perfectly, and I've even seen a map somewhere online showing both campaign worlds on the same globe.*

At a later date, I turned the map of the Savage Kingdoms sideways and used it as the coast of Anchorome, which also worked out fine.

You can pretty much do what you want to the other areas, but if I were you I would use Osse - its the only landmass that has next to zero known about it.

You can even plunk down one of the non-main Eberron continents where you like; I'm partial to Xen'drik myself, but Sarlona is cool too. It's a big world, so do what you want for your homebrew, and have a ready explanation why it seems 'Realmish'. ;)

*Edit: found it HERE, (http://www.geonomicon.com/portal/) on Brian's site, just scroll down.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Passivearmada 07-01-07, 10:37 PM	In my campaign world, there is a group of uncharted islands the PCs might encounter. On one is a human city. Nearby is an island that is a big ol' anthill, home to a big Formian colony. I wanted the queen to be a badass psion able to communicate with the PCs saying things like "you are nearing my domain, outsider" and "what is it you are seeking?" while theyre on their boat. i know Formians are extremely imperialistic, so i thought id put 'em on an island. Now- are they intelligent and desperate enough to build boats from the wooden trees to get to human city on a nearby island? or will they swim there? can ants swim? this proposes several other questions, such as "can Formians be killed by a giant magnifying glass?" "or even a little one?" "do they have a weakness to giants' feet? :rant::detect::rant: just kidding. but the first two questions were serious. Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
Dielzen 07-01-07, 11:05 PM	I'd say that they would, indeed, perceive a nearby city as a threat, and attempt to wipe it out. In addition, the Queen, with a "standard" 20 INT would more than likely formulate a long-term strategy that could include boats/rafts. However, Formians don't live on the Material Plane as a general rule, they're outsiders (and as such, don't need to breathe, so they could walk across the ocean floor).
Lord Karsus 07-02-07, 01:36 AM	-And, how's this for a good location?: "The Isle of Gargantuas (Near Wa) is an island of giant monsters. War rages constantly between the insectoid gargantuas and the reptilian gargantuas while earthquakes and volcanic eruptions lay waste to the earth around them. The island is ruled by a krakentua, an intelligent monstrosity with the body of a man and the head of a kraken." -Those insectiod gargantuas can be your Formians. And, those repliian gargantuas can be your next plothook! -As for those three questions: Yes, yes, and maybe.
MarkusTay63 07-02-07, 04:26 AM	The Gargantuas are too big to be Formians. Unless, of course, you are trying to say that everything on the island is of proportionate size, in which case the Gargantua Ants would be about our size. I'd hate to see the dragonflies. :D There is a race of human-sized ants in Maztica, created as protectors of something or other. It is possible they have reproduced and settled a nearby Island (and if you wait just two months, you may even get a map to place them on). ;) Lastly, I have to laugh at your question. Ants are the ONLY creatures beside man to use boats. In order to cross rivers in Africa, army ants go up into trees along the bank and nibble off leaves, which thay then board and float across the river. They are the only species besides apes and man to use tools. The giant magnifying glass gives me a really evil idea, for a crystal lens set atop a jungle pyramid. :devil:
Light_Colonel 07-02-07, 08:14 AM	However, Formians don't live on the Material Plane as a general rule, they're outsiders (and as such, don't need to breathe, so they could walk across the ocean floor). Outsiders breathe, but do not need to eat or sleep (although they can do so if they wish). Native outsiders breathe, eat, and sleep.http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/monsterTypes.html I would say yes, Formians are smart enough to build boats. They would no doubt enslave any native islanders and set them to work on it. I don't think they would though. They seem to me, far more likely to tunnel under the sea floor and pop up right in the middle of town. (or all over the town, hitting many locations simultainiously)
Slayergnome 07-02-07, 08:29 AM	-And, how's this for a good location?: "The Isle of Gargantuas Thats ironic. I made a prime world called Gargantuas like years ago that is filled with gigantic creatures and the only medium sized city there is ran by powerful wizards who hide their city in a dorment volcano and mask it with illusionary spells. Thankfully i'll finally get to use it in a epic game I am running. So that is way cool.
Lord Karsus 07-02-07, 10:18 AM	The Gargantuas are too big to be Formians. Unless, of course, you are trying to say that everything on the island is of proportionate size, in which case the Gargantua Ants would be about our size. I'd hate to see the dragonflies. :D -Gargantuas are actually a race? EDIT: I guess I should've checked Kara-Tur Monsterous Compendium. The reptilian Gargantuas are Godzillas, and the insectioid Gargantuas are Mothras.
Passivearmada 07-03-07, 12:15 PM	thanks guys for your info so far. i figured that since formians are generally neutral, and humans are pretty lawful, in most cases, that the PCs could help them become allies. you see, the plot is, two of the PCs are seeing this old man, but then he just disappears. he is like a ghost of this long dead wizard named Renkano. Renkano battled this demi...demon named Gandrax long ago. since Gandrax is immortal on his small little plane, Renkano died of age on the Material Plane, and Gandrax seeks to control the Material Plane of this world (called Entaviz). He sees the PCs as the only who can stop him, and tries assassinating them all along the way. They find this out ,and that Gandrax has been possessing figures of power, to further throw the continents into political turmoil, and that leads to war. After a great war, who wouldn'y worship the only one left that can pick up the pieces? (thats Gandrax). The PCs must stop the war by killing the possessed (or unpossessing them), and forging alliances between all the warring states, so they can have allies when it comes to a part where they need to raise an army to combat Gandrax. I was thinking that the queen of the Formians could be the possessed one of this area, but then i figured that she prob. has too high a will for that. so i turned to her most trusted general (bum, bum, bum). Now that i know Formians can use boats (and create them) or just swim, i plan on planning an all out invasion. The PCs will need to find the general, and kill him, cause hes somehow disabled the queen- if they do, all will be saved! and the Formians and men will sign a treatie. :) hooray peace. i have lots of other stuff planned for this campaign and have actually considered splitting it into multiple campaigns. two ppl in our group are new and like the idea of D&D, so i want to give them a campaign that'll keep 'em on the edge of their seats, you know, as a good start for future roleplaying. oh, and MarcusTay63, i feel offended by your laughing at my question. ;) and sorry i didn't rent A History of Ants at the library. :P
MarkusTay63 07-03-07, 12:44 PM	Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you. I just found it amusing that of all the races you could have used, ants are the only one that would use boats. It was just one of those 'irony' things. And BTW, thank you for finally allowing me to use that useless piece of information I learned from a video watched in 6th grade. I've been holding onto that gem for 31 years and now I can finally flush it from memory. ;)
Fabius Maximus 07-03-07, 02:01 PM	-Gargantuas are actually a race? EDIT: I guess I should've checked Kara-Tur Monsterous Compendium. The reptilian Gargantuas are Godzillas, and the insectioid Gargantuas are Mothras. One wonders why people don't like Kara-Tur...
Lord Karsus 07-03-07, 04:26 PM	One wonders why people don't like Kara-Tur... -Beats me...
MarkusTay63 07-03-07, 04:42 PM	THAT island is one of the better ones. :rolleyes: There are literally hundreds of really weird ones, all around that area. One of them is called 'Poison Island', and the natives float an inch off the ground. Its hard to tell that from the sea, and anyone who lands there and steps foot on the ground dies instantly. The natives think its funny as hell. There are more, but you get the idea.
Fabius Maximus 07-03-07, 04:54 PM	THAT island is one of the better ones. :rolleyes: There are literally hundreds of really weird ones, all around that area. One of them is called 'Poison Island', and the natives float an inch off the ground. Its hard to tell that from the sea, and anyone who lands there and steps foot on the ground dies instantly. The natives think its funny as hell. There are more, but you get the idea. Well, at least it's somewhat original. Not some blatant rip-off of some stupid giant monster movies. Well, since the whole of Kara-Tur is a rip-off of western asia clicheés, I'm not surprised that Gojira is in it, too.
Lord Karsus 07-03-07, 04:56 PM	The natives think its funny as hell. -I wonder why? They are the ones who then have to deal with the dead corpses all over the place.
MarkusTay63 07-03-07, 06:03 PM	They gotta eat somehow... :yuck: There is a Giant Space turtle in SJ called Gammaroid based on the Japanese Movie Monster Gamora, and there is a three-headed dragon too somewhere (can't recall) based of of King Ghidra, so K-T isn't the only setting borrowing from some 40-50 year olds love of old monster movies. Ohhh... I almost Forgot Isle of the Ape... :rolleyes: Very early 1e adventure featuring a giant gorilla on some uncharted island.
Passivearmada 07-03-07, 09:09 PM	yeah, im planning out a world with bunches of islands and no real continents. one that im not sure if its already taken is like humanoid wasps. they wield spears and speak in a clicky buzzy kinda way.
Dark Wizard 07-04-07, 01:47 AM	Well, at least it's somewhat original. Not some blatant rip-off of some stupid giant monster movies. Well, since the whole of Kara-Tur is a rip-off of western asia clicheés, I'm not surprised that Gojira is in it, too. With the sizes that creatures like dragons can grow up to, gargantua are not that strange in a D&D world. It just has to be done right, some original thought put into it, which there obviously wasn't at the time.
Lord Karsus 07-04-07, 06:03 PM	It just has to be done right, some original thought put into it, which there obviously wasn't at the time. -With original ideas, I'd have no problem with something like this. I was actually just thinking about how this could be "cleaned up" in the Kara-Tur Re-Dux.
MarkusTay63 07-06-07, 03:24 PM	There would need to be an entire 'giant ecology' on the island, very much like what was done with the new King Kong movie. Otherwise, the Gargantua would run out of food VERY quickly. I was thinking on this just last night, because I was looking in pirate lore and came across 'Minimal Island', a small island in the Inner Sea with tiny little versions of creatures (a'la Gulliver's travels). Maybe, through some sort of magical backlash or weird primeval deific meddling, the two islands are located directly opposite of each other on the planet's surface, and one pulls all the 'bigness' from the other. It's a stretch, but I would like to figure out a connection somehow. (plus. they really aren't opposite each other , maybe if the little island were on the Swordcoast).
Lord Karsus 07-06-07, 06:48 PM	-What I was thinking is that we eliminate the Gargantua race, period. The island has large lizards and what not, and the native Humans (primitives) worship lizards. They believe that every once and a while, their deity manifests (One Gargantua) and wreaks havoc. Thus, we have a single Godzilla-like creature that is the Terrasque of Kara-Tur.
MarkusTay63 07-06-07, 11:22 PM	A cool thought - The Terrasque actually showed up at some point in the past, and the people of the island prayed to their god for help, and he manifested as Krakentua. The two fought, stepped on a bunch of buildings and a Mobil station, and Krakentua saved the day, making him a sort-of weird local hero-god. He actually didn't do it to save human lives - once the humans brought the other creature to his attention he got all 'territorial'. If we go this route, then we can also throw in the giant spider from the OA Monster Manual - the one that's the size of a town. Krakentua could have fought that thing off as well, further establishing himself as a hero. The funny thing is, he really doesn't give two __its about 'puny' humans. So no Gargantuas, just over-sized versions of creatures (Dire?) and one great big lug. Or we can have him battle the giant pirate goddess Calypso. ;)
Lord Karsus 07-07-07, 07:33 PM	So no Gargantuas, just over-sized versions of creatures (Dire?) and one great big lug. -That's what I was thinking. Maybe there can be a few miniature versions of the giant creature- Gargantua-Spawn?
MarkusTay63 07-07-07, 08:14 PM	Right... keep them 20-30 feet tall (or long) at best, with insect versions ranging from 10-20 feet. A 15' Dragonfly would still scare the cr@p out of me! :eek: You could find a VERY primitive form of mountain giant (a large shaggy Hill Giant) here as well. I figure if we don't make the Gargantuas any bigger then the average giant it makes more sense and doesn't over-tax believability, In fact, this entire ecology could have been set-up as way of feeding the Dragons early on. The massive size of the Oriental Dragons would require quite a bit of food, so perhaps this island was devinely created to keep the wyrms from eating the people/livestock? Just a thought.
Lord Karsus 07-07-07, 08:17 PM	-Maybe we should C&P all of this to the Kara-Tur Red-Dux? ;)
MarkusTay63 07-08-07, 03:19 AM	Probably. ;) I'm all over the place with my chaotic ramblings these days.
Passivearmada 07-11-07, 05:45 PM	about the Formians... if possessed, would they turn against their possesser and remain loyal to the queen, cause i know that ants are like that. or are they still easily manipulated, and feirce loyalty is abandoned?
MarkusTay63 07-11-07, 05:52 PM	Given the 'psionic' nature of insect communication, I think as soon as they were 'plugged back in' to the Hivemind, they would get medieval on your hiney. If they were 'out of range' of the Hive mother, insects will join any other 'hive' (ie, any group) with a strong leader. Their basic instinct is to follow orders, so if they aren't getting them from the queen, they will take them from someone else. Ants and other insects (bees in particular) have been known to join other hives in these circumstances, even if of a different genus.
Ioulaum 07-11-07, 05:58 PM	A cool thought - The Terrasque actually showed up at some point in the past, and the people of the island prayed to their god for help, and he manifested as Krakentua. The two fought, stepped on a bunch of buildings and a Mobil station, and Krakentua saved the day, making him a sort-of weird local hero-god. He actually didn't do it to save human lives - once the humans brought the other creature to his attention he got all 'territorial'. If we go this route, then we can also throw in the giant spider from the OA Monster Manual - the one that's the size of a town. Krakentua could have fought that thing off as well, further establishing himself as a hero. The funny thing is, he really doesn't give two __its about 'puny' humans. So no Gargantuas, just over-sized versions of creatures (Dire?) and one great big lug. Or we can have him battle the giant pirate goddess Calypso. ;) Note: one of the monster Gozilla fought on Monster island was a Giant Spider.
MarkusTay63 07-13-07, 02:14 AM	A fellow fan of the Daikaiju genre, I take it. I do remember the giant spider; it was one of the more realistic creatures. Have you ever seen the poorly dubbed one where they actually dubbed the monsters as well? I think it was the one with the 'growing robot', Jet jagua (sp?), the title of which was Godzilla vs Megalon. Godzilla and Gigan are traveling to Tokyo across the sea, and they are arguiing and sound like two Jewish old man. It was funny as hell. :D
Swiftblade 07-13-07, 10:14 AM	I have to ask this, it is not meant as an insult Passivearmada, but I have seen you post on several of the boards here, and you constantly say you are not using FR as your world, yet you constantly seek FR info? I am horribly confused as to this, are you seeking just general knowledge or are you seeking FR knowledge, cause the two do have differing themes and rules. If FR, cool, keep it up, if general, you could ask us, but for more accurate info seek out the general DND boards. Thanks.
Passivearmada 07-13-07, 09:42 PM	yeah, swiftblade, no offense taken, itrs just that i like the realms and i feel most comfortable here in these forums. i feel like im not creating anything new when i play in a world i didnt make. im full of ideas that cant be put into Faerun because its all set out. i dont know why i use the FR forums, i just dont really like the d&d forums for some stupid strange reason. is this a problem, and i need to go, or is that alright?
MarkusTay63 07-14-07, 03:42 AM	You just wanna hang with us 'cause were cooler. :D ... and the more the merrier. ;)
Passivearmada 07-14-07, 11:00 AM	absolutely, marcus tay- and no sarcasm. i feel that the FR people are the veterans that i'll learn the most from. i want to be an author as a primary proffession, so DMing is a good exercise.
Lord Karsus 07-14-07, 05:50 PM	You just wanna hang with us 'cause were cooler. :D -It's true, it's true.
Swiftblade 07-14-07, 11:54 PM	Sounds good, but if you think that all of Forgotten Realms is set in stone, it is far from that. There are several continents that have no layout written up, one of which actually looks like North America across the ocean to the west of Evermeet. So, actually you could have your own homebrew with FR still in use in your world actually.
Passivearmada 07-15-07, 11:00 AM	i though all of toril was mapped out, because i used to think faerun was all the realms. then i saw a map of toril, and was kinda surprised. i was considering making my campaign world many miles west of the Sea of Swords. i could still do that, because we're not too far into the campaign. i was considering introducing new gods and godesses, though. to further promote the self creation idea, i could move all the way past that continent to the west of faerun, anbd off the map of toril, and maybe you'd need a new continent map for my campaign. but then why even place it in the realms if it's so secluded? as, i'll figure something out.
MarkusTay63 07-15-07, 02:22 PM	When I first started my Realms campaign, I envisioned the map of the Flanaess (the main continent of GH) where Anchorome is now. It actually works out perfect, with the Northmen in the NE, and a Maztica-style continent to the south (Hepmonland). I did this because I was used to running GH, but wanted to move much of my ideas to the 'new' FR world back then. I still think it fits perfectly, and I've even seen a map somewhere online showing both campaign worlds on the same globe.* At a later date, I turned the map of the Savage Kingdoms sideways and used it as the coast of Anchorome, which also worked out fine. You can pretty much do what you want to the other areas, but if I were you I would use Osse - its the only landmass that has next to zero known about it. You can even plunk down one of the non-main Eberron continents where you like; I'm partial to Xen'drik myself, but Sarlona is cool too. It's a big world, so do what you want for your homebrew, and have a ready explanation why it seems 'Realmish'. ;) *Edit: found it HERE, (http://www.geonomicon.com/portal/) on Brian's site, just scroll down.