tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post7571076270843771171..comments2024-03-28T00:53:49.609-07:00Comments on PLANET ALGOL: What Fairy Tales Have Taught Me About Demi-Humans & MonstersBlairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884401206802336531noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-16179298998194063722012-01-08T16:06:06.496-08:002012-01-08T16:06:06.496-08:00Kudos! I tend to think of the non-human races in m...Kudos! I tend to think of the non-human races in much the same way.gdbackushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09245941451462450346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-70728071264646701762012-01-07T06:38:17.626-08:002012-01-07T06:38:17.626-08:00To be fair, if they were invisible we can't kn...To be fair, if they were invisible we can't know whether or not the ninjas were there.huthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502682297320819595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-60816949084939549622012-01-06T15:59:07.445-08:002012-01-06T15:59:07.445-08:00Conan, Gandalf, the Gray Mouser, Rambo, Darth Vade...Conan, Gandalf, the Gray Mouser, Rambo, Darth Vader, Snake Pliskin, Batman, James Bond, King Arthur, Alexander the Great, Merlin, Solomon, Moses, Musashi, and Indiana Jones all have something else in common:<br /><br />None of them were ever ambushed and murdered by giant white wolves, skeleton horses, or invisible ninjas.<br /><br />So I don't think that part of the argument really holds a lot of water.<br /><br />Also: John Carter? Elf.Johnstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10416183152348428399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-18515973517380919842012-01-06T11:49:28.274-08:002012-01-06T11:49:28.274-08:00richard raises a very cool point, but I think the ...richard raises a very cool point, but I think the term "demi-human" becomes misleading because elves, dwarves, and gnomes are not beings that stradle both worlds the way the mythic hero does; they are beings entirely from the otherworld. "Demi-human" then is kind of a misnomer, it works for half elves and maybe halflings(?), but not the other races.Night Wizardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04741828334718644911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-65771403138399179242012-01-06T05:43:27.864-08:002012-01-06T05:43:27.864-08:00Gilgamesh, Jesus, Superman (that is, changeling) a...<i>Gilgamesh, Jesus, Superman (that is, changeling) and pretty much anyone from Greek myth.</i><br /><br />Yeah, but their hold on the world of humanity is tenuous and doomed to be severed.huthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502682297320819595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-78977942110445809782012-01-06T04:18:42.271-08:002012-01-06T04:18:42.271-08:00But your standard hero with a thousand faces is a ...But your standard hero with a thousand faces is a demi-human - generally supernatural on his (dark) father's side, he is special because he stands beyween, and can draw power from, two worlds. I'll see your Solomon, Moses and Bond and raise you a Gilgamesh, Jesus, Superman (that is, changeling) and pretty much anyone from Greek myth. Vader's an interesting case because of course he was Luke's Dark Father for the first 20 years or so - his supernatural connection to the mysterious world of Jedi destiny - until the prequels when we got to learn what a bunch of old women they were, and then Anakin turns out to be some sort of unstable spontaneous creation, a kind of Star Wars Bobby Fischer. <br /><br />Unless both I and Opossum101 have totally misread your intentions here and fallen into your trap, in which case well played, sir.richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517340075234811323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-16446237050126038922012-01-06T01:51:18.715-08:002012-01-06T01:51:18.715-08:00but they should have hokey, folksy names like &quo...<i>but they should have hokey, folksy names like "Green Jack," "Weeping Annie," or "Big Ted."</i><br /><br />Their names end up that way at the end. My highschool dwarf started with something big and unpronouncible and compound and ended up with just 'Splinter.'huthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502682297320819595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-68212606460038815672012-01-06T00:33:45.509-08:002012-01-06T00:33:45.509-08:00just take care. merlin is a tiefling. or worse!
...just take care. merlin is a tiefling. or worse!<br /><br /><br />[quote]Merlin's traditional biography casts him as a cambion: born of a mortal woman, sired by an incubus, the non-human wellspring from whom he inherits his supernatural powers and abilities.[\quote]opossum101https://www.blogger.com/profile/14918781180223282882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-28703044857104321442012-01-05T18:12:06.153-08:002012-01-05T18:12:06.153-08:00I am in this camp as well. I'm struggling as t...I am in this camp as well. I'm struggling as to whether following this line of thought to its logical conclusion means that I should only allow human PCs. Really, if a player can play it, it doesn't end up feeling very alien.<br /><br />I have a working draft where dwarves => engineers, elves => fighting magic-users, and halflings => rangers. It still allows a reasonable diversity of player options, and covers all the B/X mechanics. It's looking more and more attractive, but I haven't committed yet.Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6886547051691715141.post-51980460007928366542012-01-05T18:01:32.256-08:002012-01-05T18:01:32.256-08:00Well said.Well said.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18031181424520125213noreply@blogger.com