But don't count the Saurials out! By giving them funding for a massive combeback. Then they are our only hope to combat the other scaled ones from Thymanthor by busting their warriors with the original scaly paladins. The elite Bladeback Teatonic Warrior Squadron will scatter those dragonborn (espacially those with sonic breathweapons) armies when supported by rogue Flyers tossing javelins and Bladeback Magic artilery disrupting their ranks. The 15th century spellscarred Dragonbait will mention his sword onward in the silent charge and he will know it is good, and so will the saurial army!
I don't know weather they are native or were once from the Saurial homeworld - they were detailed in the Living Jungle Campaign, and I unfortunetly can't find any of it around anymore... anyone with some old Polyhedrons might have know more. The only thing I am sure about is that the eastern ones are much more primitive, living in jungle tribes (I believe the four groups form seperate tribes, unlike the way they live in Faerûn).
Anyway, it seems weird to me that the Lacerials have been around on Toril forever (or at least they think so), so I have postulated that instead of the Lacerials coming to the Realms, it was really the other way around.
Homebrew Lore:
Show
WAY back in time, probably around the time of the Days of Thunder, a Sauroid race evolved on Toril. This race was actually made up up several very different species, and one of them - known as the Sarrukh - became dominant. Eventually, the other four groups became oppressed by the more magically powerful Sarrukh, who treated their 'lesser' kin like slaves. Shaman from the four got together to solve the problem, and decided to perform a powerful ritual that would request of their Saurian gods a new home.
Their prayers were met, and they were gifted with a new kind of translocation magic - one that would allow them to exchange places with creatures from another young world. But all were not willing to leave their homes, and those that refused instead fled into the deepest jungles to hide from the wrath of the sarrukh, when they found their servants had abandoned them. For the many that left, they were able to build anew and create an idealistic society of peace of prosperity.
None gave much thought to the small, apelike creatures that took their place back on Toril. ;)
WAY back in time, probably around the time of the Days of Thunder, a Sauroid race evolved on Toril. This race was actually made up up several very different species, and one of them - known as the Sarrukh - became dominant. Eventually, the other four groups became oppressed by the more magically powerful Sarrukh, who treated their 'lesser' kin like slaves. Shaman from the four got together to solve the problem, and decided to perform a powerful ritual that would request of their Saurian gods a new home.
Their prayers were met, and they were gifted with a new kind of translocation magic - one that would allow them to exchange places with creatures from another young world. But all were not willing to leave their homes, and those that refused instead fled into the deepest jungles to hide from the wrath of the sarrukh, when they found their servants had abandoned them. For the many that left, they were able to build anew and create an idealistic society of peace of prosperity.
None gave much thought to the small, apelike creatures that took their place back on Toril. ;)
Homebrew Lore:Show
WAY back in time, probably around the time of the Days of Thunder, a Sauroid race evolved on Toril. This race was actually made up up several very different species, and one of them - known as the Sarrukh - became dominant. Eventually, the other four groups became oppressed by the more magically powerful Sarrukh, who treated their 'lesser' kin like slaves. Shaman from the four got together to solve the problem, and decided to perform a powerful ritual that would request of their Saurian gods a new home.
Their prayers were met, and they were gifted with a new kind of translocation magic - one that would allow them to exchange places with creatures from another young world. But all were not willing to leave their homes, and those that refused instead fled into the deepest jungles to hide from the wrath of the sarrukh, when they found their servants had abandoned them. For the many that left, they were able to build anew and create an idealistic society of peace of prosperity.
None gave much thought to the small, apelike creatures that took their place back on Toril. ;)
Will there be any mention of them at all in 4e?
Interestingly, Saurials are not reptiles, just like dinosaurs - both are warm-blooded, so there may actually exist some sort of connection there in the distant past.
Personally, I liken the Sauroids (Saurials, Lacerials, AND Sarrukh) to the Sleestak form the ancient TV series Land of the Lost, if anyone remembers that.
I guess that makes the Terraseer Enik the Altrusian. :D
I never understood the dinosaur craze . . .
dinos, ninjas and pirates.. it has something to do with the 80s kids that were brought up on television.
Interestingly, Saurials are not reptiles, just like dinosaurs - both are warm-blooded, so there may actually exist some sort of connection there in the distant past.
-I'm not sure if I'm interpreting you correctly, but either way...Saurials are cold-blooded creatures. Lizards are cold-blooded creatures. Dinosaurs, scientists theorize, some were cold-blooded, while others might have been warm-blooded.
Or, they swam in bodies of water that used to be here.Saurials are not cold-blooded creatures according to the Serpent Kingdoms Web Enhancement. They don't retain heat well in the cold, but they aren't cold-blooded.
-According to the novels they are featured in, and their write-up in DRAGON, they are. Frost spells are purposefully used, as they put Saurials in a muddled stupor that causes them to slow down and "sleep".
I'm guessing the Serpent Kingdoms source is probably a little more recent, so more correct. Just love the way they've cleaved to such continuity adherence though...
-That it's more recent doesn't mean it's right. ;)
Officially, it indeed does until something contradicts it. Again. :P
-And, official doesn't exactly mean correct, either.
-Again, yes. Again.
However, that means they shouldn't have been in the SK book (or even that WE), because although they have scales, they do not qualify as 'reptilian', and therefore the Sarrukh ability should NOT work on them.
But I'm expecting a bit too much by thinking designers follow any scientific logic.
As for them being cold-blooded in 2e - BAHHHHHH! Wrong! :P
Monsterous Compendium Annual III (1996) -
Show
All saurials have true infravision. They can detect heat
wavelengths with their eyes, but they cannot see a cold object
in the dark. Although they are not cold-blooded like true
lizards, saurials are not as efficient at keeping their blood
warm as are Realm mammals. If exposed too long to freezing
air, saurials lapse into a torpor called cold sleep. They fall
asleep and their breathing slows until they may even appear
dead. A saurial's ability to resist the cold sleep is based on its
size. A 3-foot flyer succumbs to the cold sleep in three turns,
while a 5-foot finhead succumbs in five turns, and so forth. If
the saurial is bundled in insulating clothing, these times are
doubled. A saurial in cold sleep returns to consciousness within
an hour or two if it is brought to a warm place. A saurial
left exposed to freezing weather for more than a day dies.
wavelengths with their eyes, but they cannot see a cold object
in the dark. Although they are not cold-blooded like true
lizards, saurials are not as efficient at keeping their blood
warm as are Realm mammals. If exposed too long to freezing
air, saurials lapse into a torpor called cold sleep. They fall
asleep and their breathing slows until they may even appear
dead. A saurial's ability to resist the cold sleep is based on its
size. A 3-foot flyer succumbs to the cold sleep in three turns,
while a 5-foot finhead succumbs in five turns, and so forth. If
the saurial is bundled in insulating clothing, these times are
doubled. A saurial in cold sleep returns to consciousness within
an hour or two if it is brought to a warm place. A saurial
left exposed to freezing weather for more than a day dies.
I'm of the "Dinosaurs were warm-blooded' school, so it makes sense that they were warm-blooded as well, being advanced forms of them.
Then you believe they are modern day birds
I'm of the "Dinosaurs were warm-blooded' school, so it makes sense that they were warm-blooded as well, being advanced forms of them.
-Many, such as the Stegosaurus, for instance, had sails that scientists believe acted as "solar panels", among other uses, to allow the dinosaur to absorb heat, thus lending credence to the idea that they were cold-blooded.
As for them being cold-blooded in 2e - BAHHHHHH! Wrong! :P
-Notice how that doesn't say they aren't cold-blooded (it simply says they aren't cold-blooded like other reptiles, which doesn't mean they aren't cold-blooded to begin with), or remotely even mention the possibility that they are warm-blooded? ;)
The appropriate terms are ectothermic and endothermic, if you please
cold blooded and warm blooded are outdated and not accurate really. Lizards don't have cold blood
-I don't think even the stupidest kid out there actually thought that their blood would be physically cold. Maybe I'm wrong?
The appropriate terms are ectothermic and endothermic, if you please
-I believe it's Exothermic.
-I don't think even the stupidest kid out there actually thought that their blood would be physically cold. Maybe I'm wrong?
You would think but I have seen otherwise
-I believe it's Exothermic.
You believe wrong
You believe wrong
-Related, the two, but you are correct, sir.
-Related, the two, but you are correct, sir.
'salright. I have been volunteering at the Bronx Zoo for 18 years, I was bound to learn something
'salright. I have been volunteering at the Bronx Zoo for 18 years, I was bound to learn something
-I remembered 'endothermic' and 'exothermic' from chemistry, so...
-Do you still volunteer there?
It would be a hell of an adaption!
Figure if it was like Death Valley back then, and tempertures could of swung from above 120° to below freezing from day to night and from Summer to Winter. Having a unique way of maintaining correct body temperture in any extreme would be pretty damn cool (no pun intended).
'salright. I have been volunteering at the Bronx Zoo for 18 years, I was bound to learn something
I used to volunteer at the Long Island Game Farm, but then they caught me in the Sheep Pen and... its a long story...
being able to slowly aclimate to temperture over the course of hours or months is one thing, but having a dramatic climate shift like that would kill just about anything.
;)
Did you know that the Himalayan Glaciers are melting even faster then the one at the pole? Some strange primordial bacteria and what-not is being exposed that has lain dormant for millions of years.
Sort of like that brain-eating bacteria that 'woke-up' because of all the pig-feces being dumped into the rivers down south.
Nothing like mankind accidently bringing back prehistoric viruses.
Can't say I really buy much into this global warming hysteria... sure the world's getting warmer, no we aren't helping it much, but we don't have enough solid data on the world's climate that dates past more than a hundred and fifty years, tops. Sure we can make guesses by looking at trees and geological records, but at best we're making semi-educated guesses as to what's going on with the climate. Beyond that, that giant tsunami couldn't have done much good for the climate all by its lonesome, nor could all those other lovely geological phenomena the world has been dealing with for untold eons.
We change and alter our environment, and we should try to do better with caring for it and trying to maintain as much balance as we can manage, but this global warming stuff isn't much more than hysteria in my book. I solidly recall being told in Junior High School science class that we were heading into a new ice-age... and even have books telling me the same thing from that era, so you'll excuse me if I take it with a grain of salt.
It should be awesome - I'm bringing my binoculars. :D
Though I'll probably be bringing my binoculars as well. :D
And yet, life will continue long after we're gone... doesn't bother me in the slightest though. What bothers me is life-extending medicine to interrupt the natural cycles of living and dying... once you've bred, you've fulfilled your biological imperative and are just living on borrowed time as far as I'm concerned.
Though I'll probably be bringing my binoculars as well. :D
What says we go, Humans are a little more adaptable than your average life form, we may see our numbers reduced, but we will find some way of surviving even a prolonged ice age.
-I remembered 'endothermic' and 'exothermic' from chemistry, so...
-Do you still volunteer there?
I do
I do
-Cool. I was going to go with Rin to the Staten Island Zoo, but if you're volunteering at the Bronx Zoo, maybe we could go there, and meet up some time.
-A little less talk on global warming and whatnot, and a little more on Saurials (or, at least Dinosaurs), please.
-Cool. I was going to go with Rin to the Staten Island Zoo, but if you're volunteering at the Bronx Zoo, maybe we could go there, and meet up some time.
absolutely
-A little less talk on global warming and whatnot, and a little more on Saurials (or, at least Dinosaurs), please.
Yes, and Global Warming will lead to mankind becoming just like the dinosaurs. :P
Besides... get with the program! Dinosaurs are SO 1980's!
We don't call them that anymore - in 4e, they call them Behemoths!
They're calling them behemoths now? Seems a bit boring, but if it makes them happy. Not that dinosaur is a greatly evocative name either. Thunderbeast would work for me though. Though amusingly, some of my players wrote me a note telling me they were planning on building a skyship to go tour the jungles to the south on a hunt for dinosaurs this morning, which I found waiting in my inbox... couldn't help but laugh when I thought of this discussion. :D
-Cool. I was going to go with Rin to the Staten Island Zoo, but if you're volunteering at the Bronx Zoo, maybe we could go there, and meet up some time.
We could go to BOTH!
They're calling them behemoths now? Seems a bit boring, but if it makes them happy.
I have to admit, I like the name "behemoth." Their MM pictures are pretty neat too.
We could go to BOTH!
-Or both. Definitely both.
I have to admit, I like the name "behemoth." Their MM pictures are pretty neat too.
-I've always considered 'Behemoths" something else, due to biblical and Final Fantasy interpretations, so...That's not something that will ever sit right with me. :embarrass
When I think 'Behemoths', I think of some of those incredibly cool beasties they had in Athas (Dark Sun). That setting probably had more original creatures then any other ever made (except maybe pS, and thats just a maybe).
We could go to BOTH!
I'll think about it
I like Halflings on raptors, but I'm not sure how they are going to work the new core-halfling concept into that. Its actually easier to re-do the FR ones, giving a Tidal Wave and a hundred years.
And FR Halflings ARE changing - trust me... I know these things.
Well, Eberronease halflings were already 'nomads' of a sort, so they fit the profile, if not the terrain.
And FR Halflings ARE changing - trust me... I know these things.
I am not sure why the designers didn't follow Eberron's lead here actually. They were concerned that halflings didn't have a "home terrain: so they gave them rivers and swamps. Why not the plains?
I mean they are small so can hide in the tall grass and small rocky outcroppings and are nomadic like many plains natives
Humans are all derived from nomadic horse-culutres, by-and-large.
Besides, they need to leave room in the 'savannas' for things like Centaurs or Lionmen. ;)
The Eberron treatment of all the races was at the very least inspired and one of the best things about the setting.
I really must find a long-winded post I did on another site once, where I described Eberron in great detail.
The trouble was, I was describing Iron Kingdoms... which came out first...
Its nice to win a contest with someone else's setting.
I am not sure why the designers didn't follow Eberron's lead here actually. They were concerned that halflings didn't have a "home terrain: so they gave them rivers and swamps. Why not the plains?
I mean they are small so can hide in the tall grass and small rocky outcroppings and are nomadic like many plains natives
-Well, that'd make sense and stuff. Halflings being river people, even though that doesn't really make much sense, when you think about it, is "fantastic!" however.
Besides, they need to leave room in the 'savannas' for things like Centaurs or Lionmen. ;)
And save the swamps for lizardmen
Well, nobody can 'adapt' a meteor the size of a town.
being able to slowly aclimate to temperture over the course of hours or months is one thing, but having a dramatic climate shift like that would kill just about anything.
Actually when they dropped nuclear bomb after nuclear bomb on those tiny little islands (the name escapes me as to where they tested the bombs) the only things that survived were some insects species and rats
the mammals that were present during the impact were small and able to essentially hide it out. Something a T Rex couldn't really do
Sometimes it doesn't pay to win the evolutionary battle
Actually when they dropped nuclear bomb after nuclear bomb on those tiny little islands (the name escapes me as to where they tested the bombs) the only things that survived were some insects species and rats
-And, of course, Godzilla.
-And, of course, Godzilla.
of course and that turtle thing, was it Gammara
Yeah, well, you're a Rino, so your opinion doesn't count... geez, haven't you people figured out that my opinion is the only one that matters? :P :D
My opinion counts with me.:P
-Eh, no one cares what Stigger things, and we all care what Rin thinks, so...:P
Thanks. And, both zoos sound good to me.;)
The Bronx zoo, Rin, come to the Bronx Zoo
Are there African wildcats there?
Are there African wildcats there?
we have lions, leopards (in our Jungle World) and more snow leopards (not african obviously) than you shake a stick at
Plus, the very cool Tiger Mountain
we have lions, leopards (in our Jungle World) and more snow leopards (not african obviously) than you shake a stick at
Plus, the very cool Tiger Mountain
Wonderful!
Is there a Desert World?
Wonderful!
Is there a Desert World?
Not on its own no. We do have dessert exhibits in the Reptile House and the World of Darkness, the latter of which has small cats
Not on its own no. We do have dessert exhibits in the Reptile House and the World of Darkness, the latter of which has small cats
Awww, how cute!
Awww, how cute!
Thanks and so are the cats
-I remember the World of Darkness...
not the game
-Yes, the place with the bats and the bugs and the lizards. Saurials might like that place. It's very dark.
and often a tad humid
and often a tad humid
-All the more reason for a Saurial to like it. When is the zoo going to get a Saurial exhibit?
-Eh, no one cares what Stigger things, and we all care what Rin thinks, so...:P
Feh, you all care what I say, despite your churlish act to the contrary. I know you all love me... oops, time for the meds, must be off...