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I'm not into the deformations and cannibalism either but I like the other ideas.

The other idea, the honor and ancestral worship one, is cultural and not physiological. My suggestion was physiological.

So let's use Goa's idea for Dwarves' bodies and the original version's culture as one of many.

Works for me.

-thumbs up-

I'm pretty sure that's what I've been screaming about this whole time.

Poor Communication Kills.

My vague irritation momentarily clarified into genuine annoyance that rose like a ice berg over my sea of apathy.

Awesome!

And yes, everyone, I'll give my votes tonight! (sorry haven't been feeling well.)

I should too.

Anduriel, The Sangrophage Yes

Warlocks Yes

Ashbleidd, The Blood Guardian Yes

The Celestial Struggle (between Anduriel and Ashbleidd) Yes

The Tale of The Hero Of Light Yes

Dragon aspect or The Aspected Yes

Repair-mages Yes

The Primal Blade Yes

Ken, The god of swordsmanship and blades (The Broken god) Yes

Dominion Ethnicity and race Yes

Orremna Yes

The Seven Unnamed Isles Yes

The Nobody Atoll Yes

"Really, no one's ever come back from that place? Well, now I'm just curious." - Emperor Hrod, days before returning to his exasperated minion in a box.

"I can see forever!!!" - Emperor Hrod, right after he came back in a box.

The vocal arts Yes

Mystic Curses 01 (Die of a Broken Heart) As people mentioned, this is not a thing to be voted on.

Musical Magic Yes

Death Curses Yes

Dwarves Yes

Iziko Shajaku "The Rising Tide of Blades" Yes

Ozris Garl'gezmond "Thunder Cry" Yes

Gabrella Ness VI "Prince of Arms" Yes

Freybjorn Querk "Dragoknight" Yes

Anima Elfs

The Beast-folk are beasts imbued with humanoid essence, although the Lycanthrope have spread into humanoids imbued with bestial essence. Before them though was a proto-Beastfolk, the race of the Animelf, which later became the source word for animal and itself was simply shortened to elfs (As opposed to the Sylvan who often are pluralized as elves). Their race is itself believed to be the result of genetic experimentation with bestial essence into humanoid body, but it seems an entire culture, possibly a whole race, willingly subjected themselves to the changes. Of course, this is only likely if the experimentation began early enough in the very cradle of this race's original birth, which itself unlikely for several reason, but if not then the remnants of their original race have no been identified or no longer exist for some reason, possibly outright absorbed into the human race.

Their body is covered in very light and form fitting layer of fur that almost looks like skin. Sometimes though, it may be skin, or scales, or feathers. Their eyes have absolutely no norm, ranging all of the place, and tails, there or not, and wings even, are just as variable an affair. They always have long pointed ears, usually mammalian, feline, but that isn't hard or fast. Their legs are often like the humanoid norm, but claws, paws and hooves also are a go. Their faces are nearly always flat, as opposed to snouted, and off the humanoid norm, but feline features, beaks, entirely carnivorous or herbivorous mouths and other things may be there. They or may not have hair, but head tentacles and all other kinds of features, are not unheard of. They are usually of very plain colors, monochromatic or on the spectrum of brown, but you also will be getting bright neon colors.

While they have taller and shorter specimens, and entire breeds too, their mean height conforms to the humanoid norm. Breeds tend to identify as their breed just as much as they do as elfs and some elf breeds are mistaken as whole races. Mortal dwarfs and brownies might be elf breeds, might not be. A good way to tell is that further more, anim elfs' mean lifespan and lifecycle, with exceptions of certain breeds, conforms to humanoid norm. Elfs can be told apart from beast-folk in that elfs do no truly look like a anthromorphic version of animal, nor do they normally possess traits of any one animal or a normal animal.

Along with any ability they may gain from parts they have, nearly all elfs have animal-speech. Notably, brownies have this but mortal dwarfs do not (Unless they have a Gift for it).

Seelie, New Breeds, Mongrels

Not a breed of anima elfs, more of a threshold label. Seelie is itself the root word of 'silly'. Seelie are elf breeds that have began to draw somewhere a little further from humanoid shapes, multiple heads or limbs, taurian or naga bodies, or a combination of any of these things. New breeds can spring up as long hidden genetic patterns makes themselves known and in societies of 'mongrel' elfs then one might end up with individuals who are a breed all their own.

Inspiration for this idea

Dn D's and Dominic Deegan's mongrel-folk, World Of Warcraft's draenei, James Cameron's na'vi, that bird race from Wind Waker, DMFA's mythos, Star War's twi'lek and togruta.

Why Seelie?

GOA, you always crack me up. Really, Hrod is quickly becoming our project's pet character. Do you have a picture of him?

My votes:

• Anduriel, The Sangrophage: Yes
• Warlocks: Yes
• Ashbleidd, The Blood Guardian: Yes
• The Celestial Struggle (between Anduriel and Ashbleidd): Yes
• The Tale of The Hero Of Light: Yes
• Dragon aspect or The Aspected: Yes
• Repair-mages: Yes
• The Primal Blade: Yes
• Ken, The god of swordsmanship and blades (The Broken god): Yes
• Dominion Ethnicity and race: Yes
• Orremna: Yes
• The Seven Unnamed Isles: No. I have some doubts about some of them eg. a city next to an active volcano!?
• The Nobody Atoll: Yes
• The vocal arts: Yes
• Musical Magic: Yes
• Death Curses: Yes
• Dwarves: Yes, but we need a final, definitive take.
• Iziko Shajaku "The Rising Tide of Blades": Yes
• Ozris Garl'gezmond "Thunder Cry": Yes
• Gabrella Ness VI "Prince of Arms": Yes
• Freybjorn Querk "Dragoknight": Yes

Will tally the votes tomorrow.

edited 9th Feb '12 3:17:25 PM by Sijo

-Cough Pompeii cough-

Sijo: Image a skeleton. Now do or do not dress him up in evil robes, evil armor, evil crown with optional blinking red eye(s).

Exilixi: Because it's a play on 'silly'.

edited 9th Feb '12 4:45:57 PM by God_of_Awesome

Why?

Because I wasn't really sure if to include the possibility of two-heads and taurian bodies on the Anima Elfs. While it fit the theme of them being sort-of beast people, it strayed to far from the elf archetype, just a bit much. Seelie is another name for fairy, who are usually tangentially connected to elfs and can have bizzar forms.

I think you may be mixing up your mythology. Seelie is the Scottish name for those Fair Folk who are friendly to humans (in this case, "friendly" means only playing pranks, as opposed to stealing children and slaughtering families.) Fairies also had a pretty definitive form, namely, tall, pale, and ethereally beautiful.

You mean the city that got buried under volcanic ash? Yeah that was a smart choice of location.

Like this? [1]◊

edited 9th Feb '12 6:27:18 PM by Sijo

But it's fairy, ya? Ah well, it can be nixed.

"Minion! Whadya think?"

"Extremely gaudy, sir."

"It makes me feel batty. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Hilarious, sir."

Ok, now I want to know more about Hrod's minion.

Hm, I imagine the animal races would probably be fairly tight, historically, on account of facing the same prejudice from non-beast races.

Ogre

Ogres have a tendency towards musculature, their physiology lending purposefully towards them to easily gain muscles. They are taller then the humanoid norm, a lot taller. The mean height is about ten feet, seven feet is consider really short and going up to fifteen is not unheard of. Their skin dwells around green, blue, red and gray of various shades that can be as pale as nearly white to damn near black and they tend to be hairless.

Ogres show the rigors of age aesthetically, in about the same pattern and the same span as the humanoid norm, but they do not seem to suffer from age. They in fact get stronger and so does their anti-magic aura. All ogres seem to dampen the aether around them and possibly as an effect all of them seem to be autistic, regressing further and further as they grow. They have an earned if not entirely accurate reputation of stupid brutes.

Black Empire Facts #3

Geography and Races

The Black Empire resides in the southern equator. To the south are the Black Lands, a mountainous region, and to the north something warm although not yet established. No races seem to have originated from here but great many seem to have migrated there and into the surrounding lands. The Black Lands are home to black-skinned ogres and sylvan live beneath the earth, a breed of duegar of the element of fire, earth, magma and steel whose skin is black and hair is fiery red in the mountain and in the savannah valleys lived humans who resembled them all to a degree (Hrod looked like Ganondorf). The southern border of the Empire gets a lot of ethnical spill over from there although the actual south end of the Empire is more hilly except for the west side; the mountains of the Black Lands are just the beginning of a mountains the curl from the bottom of the continent around the west edge and then curls back the other way to end with one giant mountain by itself.

The Black Lands end south of the Empire's borders but the mountain range does not, continue up the west coast surrounded and festered with forest. Here, nations of Mortal Dwarfs and Anima Elfs, sometimes monoracial or dual racial, and of course human ones too. Under Black Imperial rule, the entire region has been declared under the Sector Governance of the diarchy of the Houses of Korknomortor and Miajalzix, a Mortal Dwarf and Anima Elf family that hate each other but agreed to co-rule under Hrod's hand. The mountain range and forests curl back towards east but tampers out before it even makes it a quarter of the way then gives one last hoo-ra with a great big giant mountain surrounded by a thick subtropical magic forest, the Meikyuu Forest. It's population is primarily more sylvan and red-skinned horned ogres with humans that have a thin but pervasive beast-folk heritage.

This manages to mostly surrounds a large flat plain although their is a big gaping hole to just east of the Meikyuu Forest that leads to beyond it the most northern edge of the Empire. The plain was host to a great number of kingdoms, mono and multiracial, and that normally still reflects today. Their are some nomadic nations, mostly brownie and trolls. They are not recognize as sovereign as the Meikyuu Forest but they don't exactly pay taxes either. The very northern border is sometimes called the White Lands: Here pale orcs and sylvan roam amongst Sierra Dessert like landscape and light skinned people here reflect that heritage.

The Black Hole

The Black Empire's super maximum security prison and built on top of it is the Black Palace. Hrod believes in having his throne sitting right on top of the most dangerous people he rather keep an eye on. As a result, the Black Palace is not actually in the capital, since he also rather keep them away from the populace. It named for a magic well located in the bottom that has several interesting properties. Namely, anything that falls in never leaves, not even by dying because one does not age or hunger down there. Anyone Hrod tosses down there falls down into the darkness and a splash is heard, and that's all that is ever heard again. They find themselves in a pocket dimension where the ground is constantly submerged in at least three feet of water and the only light source is a great big hole in the sky where light from the outside world pours through but it never gets any closer no matter how high you go.

While I find the basic concept concept of the Anima Elf (a race with unstable genetics) interesting, the name is confusing, unless these are meant to be our new take on Elves? In which case I'd say its too wild a variant. But with a name change they'd be OK.

I'll comment on Goa's latest post later, I'm too tired to read right more now.