by John Payne
Sometimes I want the players to feel like they are in a place that is different. I don’t mean different in a disturbing way, but in a way that can make them say to themselves that they are not in your “typical” fantasy world anymore.
In literature, an overused trope is simply reskinning a familiar creature in different looking flesh[1]. For example, a book may feature a race of short, stocky fellows with beards, that like caves and axes, are generally grumpy and have an eye for stone masonry. They are not dwarves. No, they are Fjordians or Schenectadians, but whatever you think, they are not dwarves.
Having said that, they should be a way to just tweak something without having to invent a set of mechanics, skills, feats, edges, or some other aspect your system of choice of employs. It should look different and be different, at least a little. Here’s one idea for a different set of beasts of burden. Why beasts of burden? They are probably one of the first things the characters will see when they approach town.
The inspiration for these creatures comes from my son. He recently purchased a bag of plastic bugs from the zoo. Each bug is about four inches long and pretty detailed. I thought that the lack of anatomical correctness would be a problem. For my son, however, it was the source of a set of new creatures. He picked up the ant-like creature and began describing the ettl and what it could do.
So, in order to give proper credit, my son’s contributions to these creatures are:
One kind has eight legs instead of six.
The name, ettl.
One kind flies in the air.
One kind carries very heavy things.
Ettls are the good bugs.
Taking those elements and tweaking three common work animals will give you this:
Ettls
Ettls comprise one of several types of creatures that are similar to ants in appearance. They can live just about anywhere except arctic and cold climates. They prefer to live in large grasslands, where wild ettls are frequently spotted. Domesticated ettl are usually seen in tropical areas where their tremendous strength is employed in the building of massive stone structures.
Ettls are vegetarian – they eat grasses and flowers. Domesticated ettl will eat small fruit that is slightly overripe. Even wild ettls rarely attack. They flee whenever possible and will fight only to protect their young. Female ettl are typically 25% larger than the males and will lay four to six eggs per litter.
Socially, ettls do not exhibit many of the traits characteristic of ants. They do not form social groups amongst themselves and do not build nests. It is rare to see more than four adults together in the wild. Ettls are very easy to domesticate and do not appear to fatigue despite working several hours at a time. Ettl ranchers claim that these creatures like the hard work and need a strong figure to provide the structure and order. They say the need for a stong figure is analogus to an ant colony’s need for a queen ant directing the workers. Although believed to be a superstition by scholars, many believe that women make the best ettl ranchers.
Ettl Cahin
These eight-legged creatures are the predominant type of domesticated ettl. Although slow moving, an individual ettl can drag loads close to ten tons. These gentle brutes are often used to take large stones from the quarry to a building site.
Ettl Chasan
These six-legged creatures more closely resemble ants that any of their kin. Using specially crafted harnesses and plows, Chasan are used for plowing new fields. With their strength, they are able drag the plow through even the rockiest of areas.
Ettl Tuey
These two-legged ettl are known for their running speed. They are built more like ostriches with large, powerful legs. Although they eat a very large amount of food in comparison to horses, they are faster and can run for very long stretches. They are the preferred mounts of messengers who ride them all night to reach far-flung destinations.
What about the ones that can fly?
Here’s where a little imagination can give you something that is different.
Ettl T’at’Ti
These four-legged creatures are used as flying mounts by the royal military. These creatures do not appear in the wild, but appear to result from selective breeding and magic.
Suggestions for using the ettl
Ettl are designed to be beast of burden by a temple-building civilization. They are a distinctly non-magical means to transport huge stones from the quarry to the temple building site. It would be common to see thirty or forty ettl cahin in a single line carrying large stones behind them.
They can, however, be used as a replacement for beasts of burden in any society. Using the superstition that women are better ettl ranchers provides many social plot hooks where ettl are used.
Before signing off, let’s add one more little thing to make these creatures interesting: they are immune to psionics. With that little fact, outsiders may have a reason to attack these creatures in an attempt to harvest their exoskeletons.
I’ll give Swords & Wizardry type stats for all four later this week. But now it’s your turn. What can you come up with? How would you improve the ettl? Are there other creative twists that would make them interesting?
[1] Editors Note: This is sometimes refered to as “shemping”, or “Fake Shemp“. There’s an excellent couple of articles on shemping in RPGs over at Uncle Bear that are worth checking out.
Thanks for posting this John. I like these guys and actually want to find a way to use them in a campaign of mine. Hmmm Now just to figure out how.
Thinking on this actually gave me the idea for my next (or rather first) post too! So another thank you for that!
Thanks for the compliment. I’ll provide Swords & Wizardry stats for them later this week as well as a quasi-setting for them. I’ll help put them in your campaign, if you like.
I actually found a neat place to put them inside of my 4e campaign world. Not sure if the players would normally head in that direction but I’d like to find a way to fit them into the goings on. Thanks for the offer to help though!