[As far as I can tell, the marodin only appeared in Dragon 292, in a Greyhawk gazetteer article. I say “as far as I can tell”, because they have pretty heavy Google camouflage, with their name being one transposed vowel away from the dwarf god Moradin. So it’s possible that they were mentioned without being given stats at some point beyond Dragon 292, but I can’t find the reference.
I actually really like the marodins, as they fit into multiple rare categories: good plant monsters, druidic monsters, and pacifists. Of course, in a game like D&D where combat is the norm, pacifism is somewhat rare, but it’s nice to see a take on a good aligned creature that isn’t the violent xenophobe but they hate the “right” humanoids that is all too frequent in earlier D&D.]
Marodin
CR 1 NG Plant
This humanoid mass of seaweed has several mismatched eyes at the front of its head. A groove something like a mouth runs along its lower face and down its neck.
Marodins are peaceful creatures composed of animate algae. Their whole body is a sensory organ, and they can detect the faintest ripples in water or changes in salinity. Marodins live in areas permanently below the tidal lines, but may survive in either fresh or salt water. They come ashore primarily to gather wood, bone or other materials with which to make tools, or to seek out rare foods like fruits or nuts. A marodin above water begins to dry out, and becomes desiccated and helpless in little more than an hour.
Marodins are omnivores, but most of their diet comes from plant material. Marodins value peace and tranquility, and rarely if ever start fights. They prefer to move their colonies in order to avoid hostile creatures either above or below the waves. Those of a more war-like aspect are seen as deviant, and are often shunned and exiled from their homes. They carry spears for self-defense, especially against creatures that cannot be negotiated with, but these are primarily fishing tools.
The magical tradition of marodins is heavily slanted towards druidism. Leaders of marodin colonies are almost always druids, and even the youngest marodin possesses some skill with druidic magic. They carve pieces of driftwood and shell with spells as if they were scrolls, and always have a few of these on hand in case of emergencies. Similarly, magical items that are waterproof are the trade goods marodins value most, and gaining these is usually the goal on the rare occasions marodins seek out surface folk.
Hey. If people aren't aware, Microsoft admitted they know who you and where you are at all times and will give your info to the police.
They have a Global Device Identifier (GDID) Tracker that functions as a fingerprint for your PC that can surpass VPNs, proxy servers and countries. Although it can't survive a clean reinstall of Windows (it can survive updates), because Microsoft forces you to go to the internet and log in into a Microsoft account, they will be able to get to you.
Microsoft kept it secret and it was only found out when the FBI tracked a hacker thanks to the information Microsoft gave them.
You should be paying attention to this, and possibly consider moving away from Windows. If a government, especially the US government, doesn't like you for some reason, this could be seriously concerning.
This article specifically notes:
For journalism, activism, or domestic abuse situations, skip Windows and use Linux routed through Tor instead of a commercial VPN. A GDID doesn’t care which VPN you use, only that it’s still the same Windows installation.
GDID is the persistent Windows ID that helped FBI trace a Scattered Spider hacker despite VPNs. Here's how it works and how to limit it.
Other important quotes:
What has researchers uneasy is everything else the case reveals. Costin Raiu, a well-known malware researcher, asked on the Three Buddy Problem podcast how much of this exists on other platforms, and whether it is linked more permanently to hardware. Matthew Hickey, another security researcher, called Windows “surveillance software”.
Two things back that up:
There’s no consent screen. A GDID gets assigned when you sign into a Microsoft Account. Apple’s advertising identifier needs an App Tracking Transparency prompt and a visible reset; Android’s works the same way. GDID has neither, and a Windows reinstall only gets you a new number Microsoft can still get back to the same account.
Then there’s activation. Massgrave, the group behind Microsoft Activation Scripts, notes that Windows setup sends hardware info to Microsoft and gets identifiers back, the same tokens later used for Store access and licensing: “It’s impossible to prevent Windows from getting a GDID without breaking activation and UWP app[s].” Anyone who lost a license after swapping a motherboard has already met a smaller version of this.
Something foul grew within our city, it poisoned the water in the well. Out of the festering growth, a homegrown militia with stockpiled weapons emerged. The Federal government rushed in to contain the tendrils of insurrection, but they failed. The rot went deeper than they realized. A botched raid turned into an all out civil war. As explosions and fighting rocked the city, the National Guard was summoned to facilitate an evacuation. Endless fighting engulfed the streets, and you and I were caught in the crossfire.
Then, one night, "The Flash." Stars cascaded out of the sky, leaving behind streaks that burned bright and brighter. Until the entire city was subsumed in light. As quickly as it came, the light vanished, leaving behind only uncertainty. Chaos followed. No one knew if this was some new horrible weapon, or an unseen phenomenon. That night was one of the longest of our lives.
In the morning, we woke up, expecting evacuation, only to find that the city was cordoned, quarantined, cut off. Communities were ripped apart as the border wall fell between them. You ventured out, with the noble pursuit to protect our neighbors. I asked you to stay. I don't know if you heard me. And then the power went out. I tried to find some comfort in the silence. The momentary ceasefire.
But in the darkness, I only found your empty shape. I ventured out into the night to return you to me- But I left too late. I searched. And I searched. But you were always out of reach. And I was so scared, and so tired. I returned home, and hoped that soon you would too.
You didn't.
Instead, I heard the echo of your voice, over an impossible distance. The voice you're about to hear belongs to a dead man.
Pacific is the absolute driving force behind this project! You might know him from every single horror podcast ever. So you know it's gonna be well-written and beautifully produced!
the idea that restrooms, locker rooms, etc need to be single-sex spaces in order for women to be safe is patriarchy's way of signalling to men & boys that society doesn't expect them to behave themselves around women. it is directly antifeminist. it would be antifeminist even if trans people did not exist. a feminist society would demand that women should be safe in all spaces even when there are men there.
btw this is maybe the single most key distinguishing feature of the terfy strains of radical feminism, the seed all the rest of it springs out of: they have absolutely no faith in the ability of feminism to actually destroy patriarchy. they do not think feminism can truly build a better world. they cannot really even imagine that possibility. they think patriarchy is an inevitable natural consequence of unchangeable biological facts, and therefore the goal of feminism can only be to mitigate the worst effects of patriarchy, not to get rid of it.
they can imagine a society where women get some designated safe spaces without men around. they cannot imagine a society where the presence of men is not inherently a danger to women.
The Ecclesiarchy just snatching up random guardsmen to forcefem into sisters of battle
It's the most ethical and holy way to get new Sororitas when your usual tithing sources are running low. The Ecclesiarchy is very clear about this in several pamphlets, especially Feminisation & Purification: Readying Body and Spirit For War.
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