film series of "suffering is a cyclical process where people in pain are imperfect and inflict that pain on others, even on a massive scale, and the only way to break free from all that rage and pain is pure love baby"
star wars said baby girl it's not about deserving the redemption it's about stopping the horror, because no one who deserves a redemption actually needs one, and love isn't about deserving
Monsters reimagined for Hill Giants please. You always have good ideas for making monsters more interesting.
Monsters Reimagined: Giants
I've always found it odd that from a conceptual perspective hill giants and ogres were pretty much the same thing: big dumb cavemen sorta brutes that were only really differentiated on a purely numerical level, but otherwise interchangeable. They were presented as savage, uncultured idiots, the danger posed by their incredible strength only undercut by their stupidity. Trolls were in the same boat, but at least had the aesthetic and mechanical difference of being a) green b) able to regenerate, where as ogres n hill giants could pretty much be described as "big ugly stupid people"
TLDR for the chances: I'd let ogres monopolize the space of primordial powerhouses, and instead bring giants back to their fairytale roots, as magnified versions of people one could expect to encounter in a story, their power and importance physically reflected by their stature in comparison to the heroes. This larger than life narrative importance would be well served by a connection to the feywild, which not only highlights their role in folklore but helps to excuse the logistics of the giant's day to day life/living situation.
What's wrong: "Big, Ugly, Mean and Stupid" is an archetype we come to early in life, both because it's been a mainstay of culture since culture was invented, and because as nerdy youngsters we invariably fall prey to the bullying of one ogre or another, usually by someone who outmatches us physically but has an undersized sense of empathy.
While I'm not going to play armchair psychologist and say that d&d's enduring enemy roster of B.U.M.S. is specifically included in the game to let us get vicarious revenge against our childhood tormentors, I do think it's interesting that for most of the early to mid game humanoid opponents that physically outmatch the player characters are all depicted as misshapen, intellectually stunted sadists, almost biologically incapable of learning or appreciating culture.
This is what's iffy about most B.U.M.S monsters, in that their being "primitive" is directly tied into their lack of intelligence and wickedness, usually presented on some scale of caveman to subhuman hillbilly. Meanwhile, we know that "intelligence" is completely unrelated to your level of progress up the arbitrary designated civilizational tech tree, and saying that X or Y type of creature lives in squalor because they're inherently too stupid to build anything reeks of scientific racism.
Likewise, While most of the other giants have been given interesting cultures based around their "element" ( ice giants are viking raiders, fire giants are industrialist ironmongers, cloud giants are fancy) all that hill giants seem to have is the fact that they're dumb, which creates a lot of negative space when we get rid of that biological determinism.
What's worth saving: Honestly? Not a lot. I've mentioned before how in an attempt to fill out d&d's early game monster roster, the designers grabbed every name of a mythological critter they could think of, threw stats and a super-rough backstory on it, and left it at that without any actual attention to how to differentiate these creatures. Iterations on these concepts led to them digging in on particular, factors, which leads to the sameyness among the B.U.M.S monsters we have today. What honestly is the difference between a hill giant and an ogre that’s just BIGGER than average?
The mythological concept of a "giant" though is ripe for exploration, as giants always seem to live beyond the boundaries of of the mundane world, whether they live in places beyond the maps, or in the distant past as a mythical “first people” that built all the ruins and landmarks that exist on scales larger than current means.
I also think there’s merit in tapping into that power imbalance inherent to giant kind, as people that are just BIGGER than the protagonist. Having an opponent that reduces a hero to the comparative strength of a child or small animal lets us play with power dynamics that audicenes have all struggled with an internalized throughout their life, allowing them to overcome their bullies in a way that escapist fantasy should be all about.
How do we fix it: The idea of giants existing “elsewhere” puts them squarely in feywild territory for me, which lets them have big personalities befitting of their stature, unbound by mortal reason. The giant who fishes by the edge of the lake is quiet and placid, spotted over centuries as a local legend. The giant who lives in the castle on the hill is a brutal tyrant, demanding tribute and hostages, and crushing any warrior who challenges him into paste. The lairs of giants are liminal spaces between the real and the fantastical, with oversized pests that creep out into the wilderness and upset the locals.
Giants in this way can be caricatures of normally mundane archetypes, blown up larger than life, albeit somewhat unaware that their proportions make them all that different than those around them. The giant huntress that strides through the woods bagging bucks like rabbits doesn’t acknowledge that there’s anything strictly odd about her proportions, or that her bow wreaks damage like a siege engine. she’s just bigger and better than the poor mortal who’s been tasked with beating her in an archery competition.
Another image of my good boy gone bad. This time fully decked out in winter themed plate, complimentary of his new White Dragon boss Pruina. He still thinks he’s doing good, keeping everybody safe, even as the regime grows more oppressive.
Haven’t posted in a bit, but I thought my most recent commission was too good not to share.
Orphino:
Race- Dragontortleborn
Class- Rune Knight Paladin multiclass
Breath Weapon- Steam
Awesome- Yes
The Dragon Tortle is part of an elite team of people called the Crystal Ribbon, meant to protect their country by any means necessary. Sometimes that involves unintentionally eating soup that contains dragons and getting emotional scars from it.
Hey guys I'm opening sketch commissions please dm me if interested (if not, just reblog is a big help!!)
5 usd - headshot
10 usd - halfbody
15 usd - fullbody
Additionals:
+10 usd - complex
+5 usd - nsfw (will be discussed in dms)
+3 usd - pets
Twice the price for extra character (except for the other additionals)
Rules:
I can pretty much draw anything except mechanical stuff, complicated clothing patterns and tattoos, and anything that has to do with poop and vomit any disgusting stuff
Note: Please do not rush me!! I have school going on and if I take too long on ur commission just update me but do not rush me!
Do NOT ever ask me for a discount. Even if you are my friend.
Sir Bird the Knightengale!
Wearing the smart looking and automatic bravery belt, this handsome avian boldly flaps and slashes into danger! Chivalry knows no bounds for this buff and benevolent bird as the belt automatically knighted him the second he slung it on!
The Past-assin!
With his time-tools and chronomantic pince-nez, this dapper destroyer takes out meaningful memories from his targets! What was your password again? Where did you leave your phone? All thoughts slaughtered by this supernaturally specific swordsman!
The four main gods for the DnD campaign I’ve been writing up. I’m so excited about them. In order, Left to Right, Top to bottom, there is Inferna, Pasi, Vura, and Vana.
Inferna is the Goddess of Fire, Creativity, and Justice. Pasi, Goddess of Nature, Travelers, and Merchants. Vura, Goddess of Water, Death, and Chaos. And Vana, God of Air, Life, and Balance.
The Gargoyles!
Affluent and accursed , this group of noblemen experimented on themselves with monstrous elements in order to overpower the fiends. A taste for blood and the odd howl at the moon quickly escalated into becoming the worst creatures of them all!
Tombslinger!
The greatest grave-jacker ever known! With his pair of digguns and an armor set made from tombstones, this grim graveyardigan can exhume a burial mound in seconds flat! He makes sure to wear the more powerful rings he finds to keep him combat ready!
Lunq the Planet Peeler!
Wielding one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy is Lunq the Planet Peeler! His globe-gutting greatsword has to be kept in a Schrödinger’s Scabbard to simultaneously exist and not exist to keep our reality from being peeled apart!
Hello again! Here’s another ocean related warlock patron, this time instead of what lies beneath the waves, the Dread Pirate sails them! I absolutely love warlocks if that wasn’t apparent since I make a lot of them. The versatility of their design and the story hooks inherent in their pact just draw me to the class. Hope you enjoy!
