tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750858425589737642.post4212150046301120104..comments2024-03-27T10:43:30.532+00:00Comments on Known World, Old World: Paying the Index Card Tax...Andy Bartletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06683770320671028815noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750858425589737642.post-82406889852149846002014-03-27T14:48:42.492+00:002014-03-27T14:48:42.492+00:00Absolutely agree on the languages thing--it always...Absolutely agree on the languages thing--it always struck me as odd that, say, gnomes or elves would be able to automatically speak the language of their hated enemies. That'd be like saying every American in 1963 spoke Russian. No, obviously there's some non-hostile interactions going on as well. <br /><br />Nicely observed on the belt-pouch money thing, too.David Larkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04133630988557116729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750858425589737642.post-47634979480215399492014-03-26T23:21:47.739+00:002014-03-26T23:21:47.739+00:00Ah, there we go: http://drbargle.blogspot.co.uk/20...Ah, there we go: http://drbargle.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/humanoid-relations.html<br /><br />More or less as above, but I forgot about what reaction rolls might imply about a D&D world, but did throw in suggestion that the fact that demi-humans know a wide range of humanoid languages suggests that they are engaged in more interaction than they admit to - it is difficult to learn a language if you're not speaking to someone who can speak it, and it isn't worth the bother if you aren't actually going to use it.Andy Bartletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06683770320671028815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750858425589737642.post-33347106476433134302014-03-26T23:17:24.779+00:002014-03-26T23:17:24.779+00:00I've always enjoyed settings in which the evil...I've always enjoyed settings in which the evil humanoids are capable of some degree of interaction with human societies. I think it comes too much Fighting Fantasy, especially Port Blacksand. I've posted (somewhere) making the case that the presence of purses of small change - presumed to be legal tender in human settlements - on creatures such a goblins, as suggested by D&D treasure tables and stated in the published modules, implies that goblins are regularly interacting with at least some humans.<br /><br />I'd add in the fact that according to the D&D reaction table many people encountering goblins will be getting a 'friendly' reaction to make it a watertight case! Andy Bartletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06683770320671028815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750858425589737642.post-55872029805549407862014-03-26T22:55:28.606+00:002014-03-26T22:55:28.606+00:00What I've basically settled on is: goblins as ...What I've basically settled on is: goblins as an underclass/outcast society (and taking the Birthright approach of simply making hobgobins "big" goblins and bugbears "really big" goblins, rather than dividing them up into three different societies) that can actually manage some level of interaction/transaction with human society when they're not otherwise raiding or up to no good; orcs as savage, wizard-spawned beastmen; and kobolds in their latter-day, 3e-inspired form of degenerate dragonkin. <br /><br />Ergo, of the three types, PCs are most likely to encounter goblinoids unless dealing with evil wizards and their orc minions (or feral orc tribes out in the wastelands), or unless tangling with a dragon cult, in which kobolds will almost certainly be involved, or else traversing some particularly dank and forgotten ruins, where kobolds are likely to turn up like cockroaches.David Larkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04133630988557116729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750858425589737642.post-49864202337894024742014-03-26T22:33:56.540+00:002014-03-26T22:33:56.540+00:00I do sometimes worry, though, that all my humanoid...I do sometimes worry, though, that all my humanoids are much of a muchness. <br /><br />I don't worry too much about it, mind. But it would be nice if I could settle on something distinctively 'gobliny' as opposed to 'orcy' or 'koboldy'.Andy Bartletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06683770320671028815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750858425589737642.post-5572070574394960972014-03-25T22:51:37.091+00:002014-03-25T22:51:37.091+00:00Love those goblin encounters. I treat goblins in m...Love those goblin encounters. I treat goblins in much the same way in my campaign--they're not monsters, per se, just second-class citizens trying to make their way in the world. Consider these swiped, and I'm looking forward to the next installment!David Larkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04133630988557116729noreply@blogger.com