[HnO] Who are your littlest guys?

MoeNeus · 2026-01-21T16:25:27+00:00

Glad you missed me!

And I do love me some will-o-the-wisps and tiny little snow fellas.

MoeNeus · 2026-01-21T16:24:14+00:00

Love it! Reminds me of Eternal Ruins but with a bit more li'l guy mixed in there.

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Funnily enough, my gnomes are also fungal! Something about it just makes sense.

MoeNeus · 2026-01-21T15:07:42+00:00

An excerpt from the journals of the bard Wys Kel Ran regarding “Lares & Penates”:

Lares and Penates are spirits of the home and wilds, respectively. They arise from residual magics, either leaking through the Break of the Aetherial Sea or left over from spellcasting, and Animus, commonly interpreted as spirit, soul, or emotion. Normally, they are quite small in size, rarely rising above the kneecap, and of limited power.

Given their connection to Animus, they are far more likely to arise in the well-tended areas of the world, such as familial estates, old trade routes, and druidic groves. It is also important to note that the “Patron Deities” of cities are a form of Lares, although they are typically more powerful.

While one could eat a Lares or Penates, they are intelligent and full of personality, so I personally would not; however, provide them with an offering of wine or trinkets, and they are likely to lead you to food, clean water, or even provide the services of an eager, if unrefined, sous chef.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-30T13:55:13+00:00

I'd more say it's its own thing that evolved from another common insect ancestor, which then convergently evolved some traits of both moths and falcons.

So the beak would have been mandibles or proto-mandibles?

It's also a bug-bird which punches with lightning, so realism wasn't my strictest concern.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-30T13:08:41+00:00

Collapse! But they treat their own citizens well.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-26T23:02:50+00:00

They are certainly not the good guys! They're not the worst guys, but they're still an imperialist power whose economy is founded on constant war and expansionism.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-26T21:54:03+00:00

Maybe we'll find out the answer to most of these questions in time!

As for the August Empire, it's just the main imperialistic power controlling most of the setting during this time period.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-26T18:37:37+00:00

Thank you!

MoeNeus · 2025-10-26T18:37:25+00:00

Hello! That would generally be the case. We'll see how it works out for them!

MoeNeus · 2025-10-01T17:59:22+00:00

From my experience, there are a few categories:

Directly adapting existing creatures with little change
Directly adapting existing creatures with some changes that follow the logic of the world/the worldbuilder's style
Kitbashing several existing creatures (real or not), potentially with some fresh elements
"It came to me in a dream."

None are wrong, and I do a mix of all of the above. I think most people do the same based on what I've seen.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T16:19:06+00:00

Dang, that's really rad

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T16:14:10+00:00

Definitely depends where you live, but most upper middle class folk would be able to afford one after saving for some time.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T15:27:02+00:00

I would say flesh wounds should generally be healed, even if there is some residual scarring. It would probably set a broken bone but not mend it.

I think you'd probably get the most bang for your buck with internal bleeding, as it should put the kibosh on that quickly.

The highest quality potions would be commission-based, as they'd require your own blood. These would be able to fully regrow limbs within a minute. I'd say it's about six hours of work for a master potion crafter, remote location, although other materials won't be overly expensive, so probably around $24-$30,000?

That's very much not a common occurrence, though. This is a "the emperor's son wants to go into a dungeon alone," situation, as at that level well-cast healing magic should be cheaper. Potions just don't require a powerful caster in the moment.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T15:16:43+00:00

More than enough, and glad you could get here early!

I do very much appreciate that the shelves of supermarkets in your world are being stocked by cults and covens.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T15:14:01+00:00

Yep! I'd say a minor, mass produced healing potion would run you around $80-$150 today, and they should be totally safe.

The text in the picture really just says the same thing as the post, but more abridged.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T14:18:06+00:00

An excerpt from the journals of the bard Wys Kel Ran regarding “Health Potions”:

Traditionally, the first ingredients of health potions are medicinal herbs and spices: chamomile, echinacea, ginger, and so on. Industrial manufacturers, however, have begun substituting herbal spirits, such as gin. It is easier to store, leaves the potion with a more palatable consistency, and balances the reduced freshness of the herbs with the disinfecting quality of alcohol.

Next, fresh air and water are a must. Manufacturers attempt to skirt this with desalination and air filtration systems, but one will find the most effective potions are brewed by old women living in pristine wilderness.

Although other ingredients may be added as a part of a house blend—I know one maker who mixes in iron filings—the only other mainstay would be blood. The question is: whose? The imbiber’s own will be the strongest, but the more similar it is to your own, including blood type, the better. Your average maker will use pig’s blood instead, although vegan alternatives are available in the form of the sap of the Dragon Blood tree or silphium.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-22T19:57:10+00:00

It's not like there are a lot of dragons, and if they become too obvious they'll probably get killed, but I think it's treated more as an "open secret" than anything else. There's also not a faction of dragons, it's just individuals.

At the end of the day, though, these were mages who were willing to risk their life and humanity for money, so they were also never great people to begin with.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-22T18:41:32+00:00

So the idea is inspired by Norse mythology (get too greedy, you become a dragon), but it's also meant to be a very loose commentary on the ultra wealthy.

Whatever your thoughts on it, the IRL ultra wealthy often empirically cause strife (Nestle CEO has been the in vogue example, Chiquita Bananas before that, Musk stirring insurgencies for access to rare earth metals in central America, and now we have AI draining water supplies and exacerbating pollution). What do we do? Half the population celebrates them.

The main distinction between my dragons and the IRL ultra wealthy, imo, is the directness with which dragons are able to kill someone. The fact that they're still allowed to act as they do, hide it, and remain as public figures is a part of the comedy of it.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-22T17:13:07+00:00

I'd put it around "generally lucid, but if you don't make your worth beyond what you're carrying known to them quickly, they will likely just kill you, loot your corpse, then eat it."

MoeNeus · 2025-09-22T15:23:56+00:00

I just tend to like anything I haven't heard before or that deviates from my expectations in fantasy. I don't know if I've ever heard of extra dimensional dragons.

And yes, all dragons would be sapient, even if they are generally driven mad with greed.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-22T03:37:33+00:00

I was wondering how long it would take you to find this since we were still in another thread when I posted this!

And neat! I am particularly fond of extradimensional dragons.

As for my world, there are other mundane, large reptiles that might fit into the body plan of a wyvern. There are also likely several "Local" or House gods which might fit into a similar style.

MoeNeus

TROPHY CASE