Lord Agragax Presents: The Fantasy Realm of Escalonia

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

My first World Anvil articles for Escalonia have been published, on Lizardkin and Calderon humans no less (the main reason it's taken me so long to do this is because I didn't realise you couldn't edit your articles after you've published them )

@Scalenex I've tried to paragraph it to avoid wall-of-text syndrome, but I can't make any promises

 

[Scalenex]

(the main reason it's taken me so long to do this is because I didn't realise you couldn't edit your articles after you've published them )

Oh I have edited my published articles A LOT.

A good start, but you got a little over 24 hours to write 10,000 words if you want to participate in World Ember this year.

These articles look like they are about 1000 words each give or take.

The secret is linked articles. It's very easy for Lizardkin to get exiled for their crimes right? Make an article on who is the judge who sentences exile. Make an article on how exiled Lizardkin cope, where they go and what they do. Has anyone every regained their honor with a quest in exile?

You mentioned the Lizardkin tribes don't fight much anymore. A historical article on their past wars would be of interest.

You mentioned different Lizardkin tribes. You use the ethnicity template to detail those tribes, then go back and edit the Lizardkin species article to add links in the "include ethnicity" section.

 

[Scolenex]

I think you got 10,000 words of lore on page one and two of this thread. Put in on your World Anvil (with paragraph spacing and subsection headings), throw a few bamboo forests in your four quandrants, and you are good to go.

 

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

Make an article on how exiled Lizardkin cope, where they go and what they do.

Done! You can see it here

 

[Scalenex]

Done! You can see it here

 

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

Thanks to a tip-off from @Scalenex, I'm considering entering the latest World Anvil contest sponsored by Hero Forge. Here's the model I have designed for Thrax:




He's wielding his own stone sword in his left hand and the metal sword he receives as a gift from the Silversword tribe in the other.

I'm especially impressed by the fact that Hero Forge had a Lizardfolk template, especially as I was able to give him a crest that could be coloured red. The only thing was I couldn't get the eye colour painter to work, so Thrax has rather glazed eyes that make him almost undead. Also the model's snout is rather short for what I had envisioned for Thrax, but it's a good representation of him otherwise.

 

[Scalenex]

The only thing was I couldn't get the eye colour painter to work, so Thrax has rather glazed eyes that make him almost undead.

Hmmm, I had no problem customizing the color of Nilen's eyes. More options than I knew what to do with.

 

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

Hmmm, I had no problem customizing the color of Nilen's eyes. More options than I knew what to do with.

There were lizard eye patterns available to give Thrax proper eyes, but for some reason whenever I selected one and tried to click on his eyes the brush cursor would appear with a red X beside it saying it wasn’t possible to do so, even though I was targeting the Eye region every time

 

[Scalenex]

There were lizard eye patterns available to give Thrax proper eyes, but for some reason whenever I selected one and tried to click on his eyes the brush cursor would appear with a red X beside it saying it wasn’t possible to do so, even though I was targeting the Eye region every time

Don't use the paint brush for the eyes. Color options are subheadings of the "choose your eyes" function

They don't let you paint the eyes because it's hard to select a small iris. Humanocentric but what are you going to do.

 

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

Recently I've been ruminating over two more races for Escalonia. I'm debating whether to add them to the Supercontinent or to put them in another landmass to the east of the Supercontinent that is only discovered after the Great Dracon War (I'm not spoiling anything about when that will happen).

A Race of Owl People: The Tytoss
About a week ago, about 10:00 at night, I saw a wild tawny owl for the first time. It sat in the big ash tree we have in our back garden for a long time, then swooped low over the garden next door to us and away.

That night, I was inspired by that owl. I wanted to include an owl faction in Escalonia, so I have come up with the Tytoss (from a blend of Tyto, the first prefix of the Barn Owl's latin name, and Protoss, though they won't share much resemblance with the Protoss of Starcraft). Unlike the Rhacids, the other main avian race in Escalonia, the Tytoss will be more owl than humanoid, with wings that allow them to fly, though I'm contemplating giving them a pair of arms as well to allow them to wield weapons, making them one of two six-limbed races (alongside the Insectoids). The Tytoss will be a steadfastly easier race to introduce to the Supercontinent because if their society is almost entirely based in trees, where most of Escalonia's races live on the ground, their settlements will be in forests rather than on open plains. Most Escalonian races don't live in forest (with the Dhaverroth Elves being the one real exception), so Tytoss settlements can be dotted all around the Supercontinent without much clash with other races. Of course Tytossi whose tree-settlements are within other factions' territories will have a lot more of a problem than others, but it all depends on the race in question. Tytossi are pretty much absent from the barren and desolate north, where trees are a lot less prevalent, and from the sweltering hot south where their thick feathers insulate them too much.


Something more Familiar: The Gnolls
More recently I read a very interesting article about hyenas in a wildlife magazine that dispelled a fair bit of mythology about them. This made me think of Gnolls. Gnolls aren't that widely used in fantasy settings, presumably because hyena-people are relatively unusual compared to the usual fantasy races. They originated in D&D, obviously, but the only other media I've seen them in are Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Frostgrave (where they conveniently have a plastic kit that could easily be used as the basis for a Gnoll army in my upcoming Escalonia wargames rules - this tipped the balance in me wanting to have them in my world).

In D&D and Warcraft, Gnolls are portrayed pretty much as furry Orcs - evil, feral, violent, bullying and prone to infighting. This is in part probably due to movies like The Lion King where hyenas are demonised as cruel, cackling minions.

I'm not having that with my Gnolls (partly because I have two Orc races already). It's true that hyena society is quite rough (young are born fully-furred and with teeth, and have been known to kill their siblings as soon as they are born), but I would say it's no rougher than that of other predatory animals, like any of the predatory cats (in fact hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs, despite the appearance).

The idea of real-world hyenas being a matriarchal society, with females having more testosterone than males, is an interesting one, and would help set my Gnolls apart from the other races (the only other truly matriarchal race I have at the moment are the Medusae), and I have thought of using cues from the Nightsisters from the Clone Wars. While Gnolls aren't a complete conceptual match with the Nightsisters (Nightsisters are lithe and sinuous and focus on guerrilla warfare while hyenas are broad and brawny creatures so would see that as cowardice), the female-dominated hyena society certainly has parallels with the Nightsister clan structure.

 

[Scalenex]

In D&D and Warcraft, Gnolls are portrayed pretty much as furry Orcs - evil, feral, violent, bullying and prone to infighting. This is in part probably due to movies like The Lion King where hyenas are demonised as cruel, cackling minions.

I believe gnolls existed in 2nd edition which was before the Lion King but they grew in prominence in 3rd edition and beyond (which was after Lion Kingdom.

In a lot of ways, they are orcier than orcs. Like most things I incorporated from D&D, I toned down gnolls for Scarterra but I kept the essentials.

Scarterran gnolls are among the least mentally stable sapient races in Scarterra.

In D&D they cannot be reasoned with at all. They are one dimensional physical bad guys. D&D gnolls are intricately bound to savage predatory demons. Not scheming clever demons.

In Scarterra, gnolls were a collaborative project between Greymoria and Maylar to kill elves and other enemies. Pretty quickly Maylar took over and Greymoria washed her hands of gnolls.

Scarterran gnolls are very good at surviving harsh environments but they do not have enough grasp on tactics to be able to fight wars of attrition against civilized opponents (like the much more successful orcs), so they were wiped out in most Scarterran lands but they are firmly entrenched in the Great Colassian Desert and other harsh wastelands relying on their survival skills and rapid rate of reproduction to keep them alive.

EDIT: The owl people are a cool idea, but I don't have any constructive feedback or ideas on this yet, so I'll get back to you later.

 

[Scalenex]

That night, I was inspired by that owl. I wanted to include an owl faction in Escalonia, so I have come up with the Tytoss (from a blend of Tyto, the first prefix of the Barn Owl's latin name, and Protoss, though they won't share much resemblance with the Protoss of Starcraft). Unlike the Rhacids, the other main avian race in Escalonia, the Tytoss will be more owl than humanoid, with wings that allow them to fly, though I'm contemplating giving them a pair of arms as well to allow them to wield weapons, making them one of two six-limbed races (alongside the Insectoids).

In my opinion, wings plus four limbs should be limited to very magical creatures such as dragons, angels, demons, and pixies.

I would think long and hard before you make owlmen have two legs, two arms, and two wings, especially since you said you wanted them to be "more owl than humanoid." A six limb variant sacrifices realism in order to make them more humanoid.

If you change your mind and want to make them more humanoid, that's your call. There is no wrong way to make a fantasy race. I'm just saying that "I want them to be more owl than humanoid" and "I want to give them six limbs" is like saying "I want to go on a diet" and "I going to each a large chocolate cake by myself." You can have a diet or a cake, but you cannot have both.

One option is to give them hands and arms with wings underneath them. This would make them less agile flyers than real owls, that's probably fine. Humans are less agile climbers than real monkeys.

Another option is to give them humanoid like dexterity on their feet.



Owls have a lot of cultural mythos attached to them and not all of the myths go in the same direction. The fun thing about owls in mythology is that they are often heroes and they are often villains and they are often coldly neutral. This fits because real owls straddle the thin line between being adorable and terrifying depending on context.

Owls are associated with being wise because the Ancient Greeks had owls as the symbol of Athena, goddess of wisdom. This carried over to the Ancient Romans with Minerva and the idea of owls being wise sort of creeped into the Roman Catholic Church. Owls (at least certain owls) were also associated with Hades/Pluto. In this case owls would guide souls of the dead into the afterlife. This also permeated the mythos of the Roman Catholic Church. Not official doctrine, but a lot of artistic personifications of angels of death give them owl wings. Both benevolent angels of death taking people to Heaven and demons dragging people to Hell are often depicted with owl-like wings.

Celtic mythology and assorted northern Europenan folklore often have owls as harbingers of ill fate. The owls aren't usually causing it, the owls are warning of it. You kind of see this in owls' depictions in Grimm's fairytales.

Native American folklore has some evil monsters with owl like traits. But they are all over the map, sometimes owls are good guys. Sometimes they are neutral messengers.

If your owl people have friendly relations with the local humans, they would be excellent messengers and mailmen.

Most owls are nocturnal but there are a lot of diurnal owls including the famous snowy owl. Owls are associated with both the positive and negative aspects of night.

I will point out that the owl's head swivel ability is quite creepy when put on a humanoid package.

You can always use science for inspiration too.

 

[Aginor]

I believe gnolls existed in 2nd edition which was before the Lion King

They even were in the first monster manual IIRC. 1974, which makes them predate The Lion King by two decades.

 

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

In my opinion, wings plus four limbs should be limited to very magical creatures such as dragons, angels, demons, and pixies.

In Escalonia magic is very rare, and certainly there aren't any races that are particularly magical. The only races that have six limbs in Escalonia are those that have evolved from historically six-limbed base creatures, like the Insectoids. Of course this would not apply to the Tytoss.

I would think long and hard before you make owlmen have two legs, two arms, and two wings, especially since you said you wanted them to be "more owl than humanoid." A six limb variant sacrifices realism in order to make them more humanoid.

And yes, I realise now that the six-limb idea would be going back on my original idea.

One option is to give them hands and arms with wings underneath them. This would make them less agile flyers than real owls, that's probably fine. Humans are less agile climbers than real monkeys.

I like this idea a lot. Tarkalians are probably less proficient swimmers than real otters due to their much larger size, though they are still much better than humans. The Insectoids would be much less nimble flyers than real dragonflies or locusts, again due to their size and also due to their bipedal gait. The Tytoss shouldn't be an exception to that rule.

Owls have a lot of cultural mythos attached to them and not all of the myths go in the same direction. The fun thing about owls in mythology is that they are often heroes and they are often villains and they are often coldly neutral. This fits because real owls straddle the thin line between being adorable and terrifying depending on context.

Owls are associated with being wise because the Ancient Greeks had owls as the symbol of Athena, goddess of wisdom. This carried over to the Ancient Romans with Minerva and the idea of owls being wise sort of creeped into the Roman Catholic Church. Owls (at least certain owls) were also associated with Hades/Pluto. In this case owls would guide souls of the dead into the afterlife. This also permeated the mythos of the Roman Catholic Church. Not official doctrine, but a lot of artistic personifications of angels of death give them owl wings. Both benevolent angels of death taking people to Heaven and demons dragging people to Hell are often depicted with owl-like wings.

Celtic mythology and assorted northern Europenan folklore often have owls as harbingers of ill fate. The owls aren't usually causing it, the owls are warning of it. You kind of see this in owls' depictions in Grimm's fairytales.

Native American folklore has some evil monsters with owl like traits. But they are all over the map, sometimes owls are good guys. Sometimes they are neutral messengers.

If your owl people have friendly relations with the local humans, they would be excellent messengers and mailmen.

Most owls are nocturnal but there are a lot of diurnal owls including the famous snowy owl. Owls are associated with both the positive and negative aspects of night.

I will point out that the owl's head swivel ability is quite creepy when put on a humanoid package.

I am certainly planning for the Tytoss to be a particularly neutral and mysterious race, with very few other races knowing much about their society. Though I'm avoiding the 'wise owl' trope, I'm aiming for the Tytoss to be particularly aloof and distant from the other races, referring to them often as 'Groundlings' or 'Climbers', and interacting with them only when it suits them.

 

[Scalenex]

I am certainly planning for the Tytoss to be a particularly neutral and mysterious race, with very few other races knowing much about their society. Though I'm avoiding the 'wise owl' trope, I'm aiming for the Tytoss to be particularly aloof and distant from the other races, referring to them often as 'Groundlings' or 'Climbers', and interacting with them only when it suits them.

This works.

They might get a reputation for wisdom by being mysterious whether they deserve it or not.

Whether or not the groundlings know what the owl people want, you should know what you want.


In my world, I usually focus on small scale conflicts not epic world changing events, but I do give some thought to epic world changing events.

Flight, even limited flight is a huge advantage. A small number of owl men should be able to obliterate a group of humans with superior numbers between their flight and (presumably) night vision and stealth.

Maybe I am cynical or a closet sociopath, but whenever I create a fantasy race, I ask myself the question. "What would happen if this fantasy race faced an enemy that has genocidal ambitions?" In fact, any race that survived the Second Unmaking did face an enemy with genocidal ambitions, but I'm still mostly thinking of human or humanlike enemies, not Lovecraftian demons.

Scarterran gnomes are good at talking, but if talking fails, they are in serious trouble. Their low strength is a huge liability, even with their stealth bonuses, they would not fare well in a total war scenario against humans.

What has kept the gnomes alive so long. Well one, they are good diplomats, but just in case they have the Order of Delas. It is well known that princes that routinely murder gnomes en masse have a strong tendency to drink from poisoned cups or have their throats slit in their sleep.

The Kalazotz are one of the younger races in my world. They never faced a wide scale threat against their whole race. As of yet, they do not have an effective means to defend themselves from ordinary humans using total war tactics. That's why most of them stay in very remote areas or have allied themselves to mighty dwarf warriors.

Humans are slower to develop from child to adult than any known animal. Owls have a fairly long maturation period compared to other birds (as is the case with many raptors).

The Tytoss probably stash their babies and juveniles in tall trees.

A genocidal opponent would try to chop down their trees or set the forest on the fire.

What can the Tytoss do against this strategy?

That's essentially what killed the Grey Forest Kalazotz in my world. Their treetop homes were cut down and they were harried so they could not rest. Remember that is how prehistoric humans hunted. Human aren't faster than other animals but they are relentless trackers and have great stamina on long runs.

 

[Lizards of Renown]

Great work here mate.

 

[Scalenex]

What do Tytoss eat? How do they get it? Hunting and gathering? Fishing? Agriculture? Pastoral middle ground between hunting/gathering and agriculture?

This question should be addressed by all your fantasy races.

I notice you pick a lot of predators. Your fantasy can and should be different, but normally in most fantasy settings most humanoids are omnivores and humanoids that are obligate carnivores tend to skew towards the evil side of the spectrum.

Most of your fantasy races seem to be based on carnivorous animals. That doesn't mean the humanoid versions have to be carnivores too, but it doesn't mean that they can't be carnivores.

 

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

Great work here mate.

Glad you like it matey! Thanks awfully for the like-bomb by the way. Is any of my races in particular standing out as your favourite?

As part of my fantasy world I am developing a rank-and-flank wargame featuring all the races I present here, in part as my tribute to Warhammer Fantasy but with its own unique ruleset and gameplay. As a major rank-and-flank fan and Knight of Eight, would you be interested in playtesting it when I actually get some time to share my rules?

 

[Lizards of Renown]

Glad you like it matey! Thanks awfully for the like-bomb by the way. Is any of my races in particular standing out as your favourite?

As part of my fantasy world I am developing a rank-and-flank wargame featuring all the races I present here, in part as my tribute to Warhammer Fantasy but with its own unique ruleset and gameplay. As a major rank-and-flank fan and Knight of Eight, would you be interested in playtesting it when I actually get some time to share my rules?

My favourite is definitely the humanoid otters. A) I read Redwall as a kid and B) I just love otters in general.

I'd certainly have a look at the ruleset! Might be a while before I did anything with it as my current project is teaching my wife 8th Edition which is a bit of a lengthy project... Fire it over by all means whenever you have it ready and I can minimally give you my feedback/opinion for what it's worth!

 

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

My favourite is definitely the humanoid otters. A) I read Redwall as a kid and B) I just love otters in general.

Good choice! Even though all the races I've developed for Escalonia are ones that I like a decent amount (otherwise I wouldn't include them in my world), the Tarkalians are up there with my favourites. They were one of the very first races I developed (my first concepts of them came around when I was about 10 after I had read Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson, and are older than the concept of Escalonia itself ).

Don't want to spoil too much about them yet, but they are a largely melee-oriented army. Though they do have archers, most of their units are dedicated close combat fighters.

What about you @Scalenex? Do you have a favourite of the races I've picked?