Dungeons and...Dinosaurs?
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:24 pm
Who doesn´t love dinosaurs. Who doesn´t love the greatness of them, the legend, the mystery of their extinction, the vibrant colors and the power they possessed. I love the idea of a world inhabited by creatures larger than houses and more varied than birds and most importantly, said creatures were real.
In some Dungeons & Dragons modules (pre-made adventures) and within the monster manual are dinosaurs. So along with dragons, you have Tyrannosaurs Rex and Triceratops running around some regions. There were times where we’d rather have a dragon to deal with a T-Rex.
Now, There’s an argument about dinosaurs have no place being in a fantasy world. So would it be okay to place our favorite prehistoric beast among our beloved Monster Chicks? I mean, there are some guys who have made custom profiles about dinosaur like Monster Girls, but adding prehistoric fauna to the Monster Girl’s world (or Fantasy in General) What do you think about this?
Let’s analyze this in more detail, discussing both points of view and bear with me for a while, O.K.?
Dino go home!
It’s a monster world out there, they’re naturally big and mean. There’s no creativity behind tossing dinosaurs at heroes and nobody really knows what they looked like or acted like. There’s a lot of unknowns about dinosaurs, which makes them a touchy subject. One wrong piece of information and you’ll get reamed because people love dinosaurs. You risk a lot of rage by using them.
The biggest argument that can be used against dinosaurs is that dragons exist. Dragons are alpha predators and they’re infamously territorial. They would eat a lot too and prey on big beasts when they go for meat. Anyway, the two ultra reptiles would get into fights when they got near and that fight would typically go to the dragons. You might be able to get away with the marine reptiles like Plesiosaurs or Ichthyosaurs, but the land ones would certainly be an issue of space on dragon territory.
Fuck Yeah Dinosaurs!
This is a simply argument, but it causes more anger for some reason. In a world of fantasy there are horses, dogs, cats, and all other animals that you find in the real world. There are the same plants and minerals too. Heck, there are humans in these worlds. So, it isn’t hard to consider the idea that there are a few dinosaurs around. They might be rare and in specific areas away from the dragons, but they could very well exist. The chance of them not going extinct is rather high since this isn’t Earth. They might lose a lot of territory to the magical creatures, but they can have a niche in the world. At the very least, the smaller dinosaurs could exist and not throw off a food chain.
Also, Dinosaurs have existed in each edition of the Monster Manual and have played a significant role in D&D since nearly the very beginning. In 1981, dinosaurs were a major antagonist in the module “The Isle of Dread” (which was exceptionally widely distributed as it was included with the Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set). Also in “The Bane of Llywelyn”, an early first edition D&D's module featured amazons on Pterosaur-like dinosaurs.
Uses of Dinosaurs in fantasy A.K.A. “Nothing says fun like a Stegosaurus battling a Chimera and a pack of Utahraptors ambushing a group of knights or fighting against (place here your favorite werefolk) for territory or prey!”. 1. As mounts
Many dinosaurs would make very good steeds. Some species of raptors, for instance, are large enough to carry a human as well as being fast. Selective breeding and domestication could take care of their more dangerous weapons and weed out predator traits, or you could come up with an entirely new species that keeps the general form but eats vegetation.
Then there are pterosaurs for air travel and Plesiosaurs for sea voyages (Mermaids need dinopets too! And yes, I know that Plesiosaurs are not dinos).
Also, Yuki-Onnas might need some sort of mount for long distance travels. It would be awesome (I think) to see a snow woman mounting or herding Mammoths or use Cave Lions or Saber Tooth cats as mounts. I cannot think for a better mean of transport for her and her (unconscious and almost frozen to death) would be hubby.
2. As Military Weapons/War Mounts
I mean, just imagine a Minotaur girl riding a fully armored Triceratops, or Druella and her girls using an Amphicoelias as some sort of mobile fortress a la Dino Riders.
3. As Hunting Game/Food Source/Raw Material
In the Eberron campaign, Seismosaur bacon is considered a delicacy. In Q'barra, dinosaurs are hunted by the lizardfolk. And remember Monster Hunter? Like in real life, people could take benefit from their bones and other body parts for a variety of uses (Mammoth's tusks or the complete Mammoth to be fair, were the raw material for almost everything in the ice age). Let’s imagine Lizard (wo)men carrying daggers made from T-Rex teeth. Also an omelet from a single dinosaur egg could feed an entire family.
4. As architectural/Design inspirations
Did somebody said “Triceratops head-shaped shield”? How about Spinosaur statues capable of coming to life guarding the tomb of the Pharaoh?
5. As Accidents
In order to get rid of each other, one or both factions brings/summon prehistoric beasts to their homeworld, but said beasts cannot be controlled.
6. As Ancestors of the Dragons
In Lineage 2, there was Primeval Isle, a unique ecosystem where huge animals from days long gone have survived, and although I cannot remember correctly, I believe it was mentioned that Dragons evolved from those Dinosaurs (Would love to confirm this, though)
7. As Intelligent/semi-intelligent beings
Yes, I love Dinotopia, but fancy, talking Dinosaurs? No thanks, I was thinking something more like “Aliens vs Dinosaurs” where the Terrible Lizards have reached some sort of tribal society level.
So, what do people think of dinosaurs appearing in non-prehistoric-based fiction? Can they be in fantasy?
In some Dungeons & Dragons modules (pre-made adventures) and within the monster manual are dinosaurs. So along with dragons, you have Tyrannosaurs Rex and Triceratops running around some regions. There were times where we’d rather have a dragon to deal with a T-Rex.
Now, There’s an argument about dinosaurs have no place being in a fantasy world. So would it be okay to place our favorite prehistoric beast among our beloved Monster Chicks? I mean, there are some guys who have made custom profiles about dinosaur like Monster Girls, but adding prehistoric fauna to the Monster Girl’s world (or Fantasy in General) What do you think about this?
Let’s analyze this in more detail, discussing both points of view and bear with me for a while, O.K.?
Dino go home!
It’s a monster world out there, they’re naturally big and mean. There’s no creativity behind tossing dinosaurs at heroes and nobody really knows what they looked like or acted like. There’s a lot of unknowns about dinosaurs, which makes them a touchy subject. One wrong piece of information and you’ll get reamed because people love dinosaurs. You risk a lot of rage by using them.
The biggest argument that can be used against dinosaurs is that dragons exist. Dragons are alpha predators and they’re infamously territorial. They would eat a lot too and prey on big beasts when they go for meat. Anyway, the two ultra reptiles would get into fights when they got near and that fight would typically go to the dragons. You might be able to get away with the marine reptiles like Plesiosaurs or Ichthyosaurs, but the land ones would certainly be an issue of space on dragon territory.
Fuck Yeah Dinosaurs!
This is a simply argument, but it causes more anger for some reason. In a world of fantasy there are horses, dogs, cats, and all other animals that you find in the real world. There are the same plants and minerals too. Heck, there are humans in these worlds. So, it isn’t hard to consider the idea that there are a few dinosaurs around. They might be rare and in specific areas away from the dragons, but they could very well exist. The chance of them not going extinct is rather high since this isn’t Earth. They might lose a lot of territory to the magical creatures, but they can have a niche in the world. At the very least, the smaller dinosaurs could exist and not throw off a food chain.
Also, Dinosaurs have existed in each edition of the Monster Manual and have played a significant role in D&D since nearly the very beginning. In 1981, dinosaurs were a major antagonist in the module “The Isle of Dread” (which was exceptionally widely distributed as it was included with the Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set). Also in “The Bane of Llywelyn”, an early first edition D&D's module featured amazons on Pterosaur-like dinosaurs.
Uses of Dinosaurs in fantasy A.K.A. “Nothing says fun like a Stegosaurus battling a Chimera and a pack of Utahraptors ambushing a group of knights or fighting against (place here your favorite werefolk) for territory or prey!”. 1. As mounts
Many dinosaurs would make very good steeds. Some species of raptors, for instance, are large enough to carry a human as well as being fast. Selective breeding and domestication could take care of their more dangerous weapons and weed out predator traits, or you could come up with an entirely new species that keeps the general form but eats vegetation.
Then there are pterosaurs for air travel and Plesiosaurs for sea voyages (Mermaids need dinopets too! And yes, I know that Plesiosaurs are not dinos).
Also, Yuki-Onnas might need some sort of mount for long distance travels. It would be awesome (I think) to see a snow woman mounting or herding Mammoths or use Cave Lions or Saber Tooth cats as mounts. I cannot think for a better mean of transport for her and her (unconscious and almost frozen to death) would be hubby.
2. As Military Weapons/War Mounts
I mean, just imagine a Minotaur girl riding a fully armored Triceratops, or Druella and her girls using an Amphicoelias as some sort of mobile fortress a la Dino Riders.
3. As Hunting Game/Food Source/Raw Material
In the Eberron campaign, Seismosaur bacon is considered a delicacy. In Q'barra, dinosaurs are hunted by the lizardfolk. And remember Monster Hunter? Like in real life, people could take benefit from their bones and other body parts for a variety of uses (Mammoth's tusks or the complete Mammoth to be fair, were the raw material for almost everything in the ice age). Let’s imagine Lizard (wo)men carrying daggers made from T-Rex teeth. Also an omelet from a single dinosaur egg could feed an entire family.
4. As architectural/Design inspirations
Did somebody said “Triceratops head-shaped shield”? How about Spinosaur statues capable of coming to life guarding the tomb of the Pharaoh?
5. As Accidents
In order to get rid of each other, one or both factions brings/summon prehistoric beasts to their homeworld, but said beasts cannot be controlled.
6. As Ancestors of the Dragons
In Lineage 2, there was Primeval Isle, a unique ecosystem where huge animals from days long gone have survived, and although I cannot remember correctly, I believe it was mentioned that Dragons evolved from those Dinosaurs (Would love to confirm this, though)
7. As Intelligent/semi-intelligent beings
Yes, I love Dinotopia, but fancy, talking Dinosaurs? No thanks, I was thinking something more like “Aliens vs Dinosaurs” where the Terrible Lizards have reached some sort of tribal society level.
So, what do people think of dinosaurs appearing in non-prehistoric-based fiction? Can they be in fantasy?
)