How do you make a mythological monster matter in your game of DnD? We look at Medusa the Gorgon and other Greek and Roman mythology to figure out how to use the poetry and imagery of monsters in your ttrpg session! The Monster Manual will give you stat blocks, abilities, and ecological information, but this falls short of the storytelling that I like in my games! Download the MONSTROUS Preview Packet: www.thecloudcurio.com/monstrous
This is why I enjoy this channel: A lot of think on and a lot to digest. This reminds me of the Dragon Disciple in 3rd edition and how humans slowly evolved over time into dragons of their own with that prestige class. It was fun to have a character go through it and develop a mythical origin story overall.
I love the idea of a giant turned into a mountain from Ovid’s description. It gives the possibility of a really cool setting for a dungeon crawl where the interior of the giant has turned to stone creating its organs into caverns. Maybe they have to travel through his GI tract to reach its head which houses some kind of treasure or final boss.
For what it's worth, goblins in my setting are highly mutile and all look different. They come in five different categories, but only they can tell one from another with any certainty.
I often find the dogmatic adherence to taxonomy to be... fine, I guess. But ultimately, unfulfilling. I think it really depends on the individual and the game we're playing. WoTC is trying to make a Big Mac. If you sit at a table in Seattle VS one in Austin or Newark, you can be sure you're getting the Big Mac experience. It's consistent, you know what you're getting, most importantly it works! For some, this may be sufficient. I've known creatures of habit in my day, in fact the game I played from the 90s off and on until the recent passing of our DM (GNU Colby) there was a guy who brought literally the same thing to game night every Sunday, for literal years. I get bored though, and eventually want something a little different. And I witnessed this in action one night when our DM decided to throw a curve ball at the party, a gaunt and hooded creature in tattered robes he mistook for an undead. Turns out it was actually a Psionicist, and he was not prepared at all for the ensuing mental melee. It was a fun night, and the guy cried fowl. Because the image the DM used was for a specific type of undead from one of the extended pieces of material TSR put out in the early 90s when they were producing 20 books per month. The DM said, "this is the artwork I used, because that's roughly what it looks like." then he held up a sheet of graph paper and said "this is the creature you fought, and it says nowhere on the page that it's undead." Old Reliable was absent the next week, but back after that. This time with Hot Pockets and chips rather than his usual Frisco Burger and Curly Fries. In the years since, he's embraced the ethos that the game books are more what you call guidelines rather than law. And experiences with him improved from there. It was a classic case of a misalignment as Colville might put it, and no one knew there was a problem until it became one. I guess what I'm saying is, both approaches are valid. WoTC has a product they're making, and they decided their approach and for some adherence to that approach is the way. For others, they want something different. And there's nothing wrong with that, we're all built different. No big D. We just need to manage expectations and play the mixed metaphor where it lands. Happy New Year Young Crow.
Every time i need to do some world building or other dnd/dungeon master stuff, i just have to go se if Map Crow has any new contentup. Its just a hot spring of inspiration. Love from Denmark ❤
Thank you so much! I've been investing in some upgrades slowly, and they are really starting to show, I think! Still lots to learn and improve, I'm sure, but I'm happy it's starting to show!
I've been running Numenera for a few years now and have really liked being "freed" from those classical monsters and having encounters which are approached with wonder and excitement instead of assume meta knowledge.
I think this a super great point. I am currently writing an industrial era magic world where science is just taking hold and the grim dark accult creatures are really challenging scientists. It creates a really great mystery and lots of room for interpretation. And I cannot wait to try it with my player.
"I'm an artist, I'm a tinkerer, and I enjoy fixing things that ain't broke!" I love this!!! I also really enjoyed your point about falling in love with your own ideas, simply because they are your own and you get to tell a story built on your own experiences. As a child I was often scared to share my own original ideas and concepts with other people, but now, I'm at a point in my life where I'm confident enough to no longer be afraid to share my creativity or my perspective!! :D
These sorts of ideas really bring a freshness to the game, getting past “realism” in creature or monster design can open the doors to some amazing enemies. Always love your mixture of philosophy, history and also allowing a the DM to have their own rule of cool that are woven into your videos. Hope to see you get back into the live streams on here when you find the time.
I need to start thinking about taxonomy in my games. I read the article too, and your reflexions about it are really interesting. Also, I love the new intro animation.
The GAMEMASTER should have his own "taxonomy" that he understand completely, after all he is supposed to understand perfectly the world he creates, so he needs to classify his monsters in order to make them work during gameplay. But the PLAYERS do not know that. As characters of the world, they should not unlimited knowledge on every creature in it. That's why you should not say "It's a dragon" which comes with a lot of preconceived notions, you instead either show a drawing of the monster or you describe what the characters see. I think that's why the Witcher is so beloved, because it both : Witchers use an almost scientific method to eradicate monsters, and yet there are multiple mythical monsters that defies common sense.
I get where you are coming from. But many players know the monster taxonomy as well as the GM. Anyway, it really comes down to what everyone at the table is excited to do. I’m sure oftentimes that’s not what I’m describing in my videos. Haha
The blog post on "Taxonomy" has been reshaping my thinking since I first read it. Taking it to a meta level (e.g. RPG genres and families) opened my eyes quite a bit.
Love love love this interperatation of Medusa, I'm always down for some tragic horror! I'm also keenly aware how deeply-rooted this reliance and adherance to taxonomy is in rpg spaces, particularly dnd. I feel like it's caused so many problems over the years
Really like this Kyle... Use your own interpretation! I'm working a lot with Gnomes, and I think they generally are seen as jolly little fellows, but I'm twisting that, and allowing them to be what they want to be - and they might just be BAD!
Thank you Kyle for another awesome video that makes me think many thoughts that can not be adequately conveyed in a RUclips comment! I have been thinking a lot lately about how over classification of things makes fantasy less fantastical, leaving less room for imagination. Game Designer Soren Johnson said, "given the opportunity, players will optimise the fun out of a game" which makes me wonder: are fantasy nerds taxonomising the mystery and wonder out of fantasy? Hidetaka Miyazaki's game design philosophy was greatly influenced by reading fantasy and sci-fi novels in English as a child. He could not fully understand them at the time and so simply let his imagination do the rest. What resulted were the Dark Souls games (and their ilk), some of the most imaginative and mysterious works of modern fantasy. Gaps in our knowledge are where fantasy and imagination thrive!
I use the descriptions of the monster manual more than I use the stat blocks. Goblins are cowards who use ambushes and group tactics, only attacking if they have the superior numbers and not coming out of the 3/4 cover unless forced to. Gellats paralise anybody that touch it and cover them extremely quickly in their goop to suck them in. Once you are paralised, you (and your non-magical equipment) are out of the combat and take damage each turn until your party members pull you out (at risk of being sucked in themselves) or kill the Gellat. But it will always move towards heat sources, it is how it hunts. Not even instinctively, just as a physical-chemical reaction, it jiggles aimlessly until it finds anything warmer than the ambiant temperature. Anything that can fly and has some sort of ranged or swooping attack will never come down into reach of your melee weapons (except when swooping, in which case you might get an attack of opportunity at disadvantage).
I like taxonomy. I think knowing about a creature’s habitat, diet, reproduction, survival strategies, and so on enrich your understanding of it as a complete and unique creation. I don’t see these sort of “scientific” details about how and why zombies eat brains, for example, as somehow limiting the storytelling potential or the sympathy we have for such pitiful things. If you say, as in Return Of The Living Dead, that zombies are aware of what’s happened to them but are compelled to eat living brains because the fleeting moments where they experience the fresh memories of a living person gives them a short reprieve from the incomprehensible pain they’re in as they are forced to feel their bodies rot, I don’t think it robs them of horror or mystery. I think it makes them all the more terrifying. That zombies are suffering more than we are and are addicted to murder is tragic beyond belief. Taxonomy is itself a form of poetry.
This has to be one of my favourite pieces yet i love how bizarre it is and i have to say i do come to your channel looking for things to inspire my world building and this has done it perfectly!! ps im sorry to be the snobby latin guy but metamorphoses if its by ovid as supposed to kafka is spelt with an 'e' like when we plural crisis to crises or helix to helices.
Thank you! Yeah, a Goblin video will definitely happen this year! Actually, if you watch the bit during the credits, you can see me sketching out a concept for them!
As always the art and ideas here are truly inspiring. I can only conclude here that the reason you don’t have 1000 times the views is because you make such unique videos with a passion that only a few can appreciate, which makes who’ve come across your content all the more lucky. I will be checking out monsterous and signing up to your Patreon. This monster series has especially been my favourite just because it’s a little dose of inspiration each time, and if you ever carry on the theme of taking and tweaking existing tropes then I’m sure there’s villains, Heroes, places, items and worlds that I’d like to see your take on! Whatever it is you make though I’m happy to watch.
Thank you so much! RUclips is a weird thing, but I’m absolutely delighted with the response I’ve gotten so far! I’ve only been at it for about two full years, so who knows where the future will take the channel!
This is a greatly resonant video for me in particular, at this time in particular. See, recently ive been really getting into fantasy ttrpgs, and by extension the fantasy genre as a whole, but the thing is, my background is from a very science fiction-y, paleontology/biology and various other sciences focused creative mindset. the very premise of so much of what makes fantasy is so...utterly beyond my comprehension in so many ways. the sort of worldbuilding and writing solutions i often see fantasy come to are just...unfathomable to me. my mindset up to this point has been built around my sort of habitual need to find some kind of explanation for every aspect, no matter how small, in no small part due to the fact that i view this world very much having an explanation for every possible thing. this is, however, incompatible with what i find to be so fascinating, special, and fittingly enough, magical about fantasy as a genre. the whole conversation about what taxonomy does to that...ineffable "magic" to mythological monsters and creatures is so immensely fascinating to me for this reason. as im still learning how to work with this genre, this video will most certainly stick out in my mind. i happen to particularly love your content so much because you manage to strike that gold of what really makes storytelling so magical. in this video specifically, you really touch on a view of monsters that i honestly REALLY resonate with. see, being that i also sort of live with the belief that all things are beautiful, its kind of strange to consider a party im dm'ing just sort of mowing down whatever being i bring before them, meanwhile every time i even THINK about implementing some sort of creature monster or npc, im thinking about how a non hostile encounter could go, what sort of interactions i would have if i were a solo party member, what sort things ID try. call me a bit of a pacifist, but ive always found the idea of befriending some kind of big fantastical monster, and understanding them far more interesting than just the process of ending its life. idunno, maybe it has something to do with how i approach most concepts and situations in life, my sort of deep rooted instinct to learn and understand and adapt and such, but i find it interesting. anyhow i doubt youre gonna see this let alone read it but i really just wanted to drop my thoughts on this whole topic because its so immensely fascinating to me, and really struck a chord with me creatively.
I often say that mythology in truth, cannot be made into a visual (movies, art, etc.) because it's subject matter is of the unseen. That is why it's so difficult to make images of it. Myth tells us about the ultimate truth; not the perceptions of the mind. That said, I very much enjoy your approach and have myself left the 'taxidermy' method long ago. Goblins, dwarfs, elfs, giants, and dragons all need to have sublime mystery to truly give us awe. I reject all these 'know it all' answers to d&d monsters. You want an elf? Hold on to your hat in my game because you'll be in for a surprise!
This was great. I love the word encounter to describe critical action points in RPGs, but it conveys to me a more unwieldy experience than is implied by the surety of a list of monsters and their abilities. I think your focus on reacting personally to the various aspects of a monster might help me remain in that unwieldy mode of experience that I'm after.
Yeah! I think that's a great way to put it. Stories, especially improvised stories, can be truly unwieldy. That is often seen as a negative thing in games, but for the style I like to play, I prefer to invite that messiness into the story!
I prefer to call them "scenarios" versus "encounters". I throw together an interesting creature, gadget etc., No idea how players will "solve" it, see what happens.
To say that medusa attracted Athena's ire through no fault of her own seems to miss the fact that (as I understand it) she claimed to be more beautiful than Athena. Hence her being cursed to be so ugly those who look on her would turn to stone. Unless you have a very different source on her origin from mine, surely you can't have missed that she committed The Cardinal Sin of classical myth: hubris.
Yes, there are different versions of the story where she was assaulted in Athena's temple, then punished by Athena for that happening. That their are so many versions of the story out there is one of the problems with applying taxonomy to mythological creatures. Depending on the story you want to tell, you might choose a different version or influence. Turning Medusa into a species of medusa's makes that more difficult.
The best, most creative, and most inspiring ttrpg channel i know, hands down. I love your stuff, your huge arsenal of ttrpg and art experience shines through a lot.
@@mapcrow Boy, that's a relief. I love your creativity! My dad always said that the people who went back to the original sources of fantasy always wrote the best fantasy, Tolkien as a prime example. I'm gonna back Monstrous once my finances are a little more stable. Can't wait! I'm already preparing to use your version of witches in my campaign.
The rule of taxonomy is darwinism. Things change, evolve and come in many shapes and sizes, despite similarities there is no singular identity, there is range. Not one turtle but many turtles, not one human but many humans, not one fish but many fish. Stories about them vary, as interactions with them vary. When you appear before what it is, it may and very well could be very different than what you have heard. Only what is known matters. What do you know? Nothing, this is the first time you have encountered this. Break the mold. Build from better foundations. The world, the worlds, the imagination vary. Explore every point of it all. There is no one dragon, no one gorgon, no one medusa. Unless you are using some Greek setting hell hath bent on medusa from a singular source. You'd have to stick to that single source though cause ya, like Kyle says, there is not one depiction nor interaction. Here is the real fun part, there was not one medusa. They are gorgons, there were many, and each one was "similar" but not "identical". Food for thought. Have fun creating. Break the molds people. Be consistent with inconsistency. Keeps things fun and fresh and new. Create. That is why we play, what the imagination is for.
I as well have aged wrists drawing for over 30 years. Had to have some surgery on my hands over the years as well. If you want a few links for some other cool wrist/drawing items (not sponsored) I can get you to several options to take a peek if you are interested. They are all pretty cool. I also work with adults on occasion that have "trouble" with hand and wrist from varied reasons and they seem to really help. If you want, not required. Love what you do. Keep up the great work. I also agree with your video description 100%
How do you make a mythological monster matter in your game of DnD? We look at Medusa the Gorgon and other Greek and Roman mythology to figure out how to use the poetry and imagery of monsters in your ttrpg session! The Monster Manual will give you stat blocks, abilities, and ecological information, but this falls short of the storytelling that I like in my games!
Download the MONSTROUS Preview Packet: www.thecloudcurio.com/monstrous
@dietcola Because Disney has a history of making good movies which doubled as propaganda that practically all of us grew up on to some degree?
Great entrance and really loved the logo animation. I can tell it will be a great video as well.
Thank you so much!!
Always excited to see Map Crow in my notifications - crazy how consistently high quality this channel is
Thank you so much for the kind words!! I really enjoy sharing these videos with people and I work really hard on them!
This is why I enjoy this channel: A lot of think on and a lot to digest. This reminds me of the Dragon Disciple in 3rd edition and how humans slowly evolved over time into dragons of their own with that prestige class. It was fun to have a character go through it and develop a mythical origin story overall.
I love the idea of a giant turned into a mountain from Ovid’s description. It gives the possibility of a really cool setting for a dungeon crawl where the interior of the giant has turned to stone creating its organs into caverns. Maybe they have to travel through his GI tract to reach its head which houses some kind of treasure or final boss.
Wasn't that in Xenoblade?
For what it's worth, goblins in my setting are highly mutile and all look different. They come in five different categories, but only they can tell one from another with any certainty.
I often find the dogmatic adherence to taxonomy to be... fine, I guess. But ultimately, unfulfilling. I think it really depends on the individual and the game we're playing. WoTC is trying to make a Big Mac. If you sit at a table in Seattle VS one in Austin or Newark, you can be sure you're getting the Big Mac experience. It's consistent, you know what you're getting, most importantly it works! For some, this may be sufficient. I've known creatures of habit in my day, in fact the game I played from the 90s off and on until the recent passing of our DM (GNU Colby) there was a guy who brought literally the same thing to game night every Sunday, for literal years.
I get bored though, and eventually want something a little different. And I witnessed this in action one night when our DM decided to throw a curve ball at the party, a gaunt and hooded creature in tattered robes he mistook for an undead. Turns out it was actually a Psionicist, and he was not prepared at all for the ensuing mental melee. It was a fun night, and the guy cried fowl. Because the image the DM used was for a specific type of undead from one of the extended pieces of material TSR put out in the early 90s when they were producing 20 books per month.
The DM said, "this is the artwork I used, because that's roughly what it looks like." then he held up a sheet of graph paper and said "this is the creature you fought, and it says nowhere on the page that it's undead." Old Reliable was absent the next week, but back after that. This time with Hot Pockets and chips rather than his usual Frisco Burger and Curly Fries. In the years since, he's embraced the ethos that the game books are more what you call guidelines rather than law. And experiences with him improved from there. It was a classic case of a misalignment as Colville might put it, and no one knew there was a problem until it became one.
I guess what I'm saying is, both approaches are valid. WoTC has a product they're making, and they decided their approach and for some adherence to that approach is the way. For others, they want something different. And there's nothing wrong with that, we're all built different. No big D. We just need to manage expectations and play the mixed metaphor where it lands.
Happy New Year Young Crow.
Love seeing how you apply your philosophy of art to DMing. I need more!!
Every time i need to do some world building or other dnd/dungeon master stuff, i just have to go se if Map Crow has any new contentup. Its just a hot spring of inspiration.
Love from Denmark ❤
Thank you so much!! I had the great joy of attending Fastaval in Hobro, Denmark last April! It was a wonderful time!
This is a huge quality jump, i love it! the voice over sounds great! the intro is amazing :)
Thank you so much! I've been investing in some upgrades slowly, and they are really starting to show, I think! Still lots to learn and improve, I'm sure, but I'm happy it's starting to show!
I've been running Numenera for a few years now and have really liked being "freed" from those classical monsters and having encounters which are approached with wonder and excitement instead of assume meta knowledge.
I think this a super great point. I am currently writing an industrial era magic world where science is just taking hold and the grim dark accult creatures are really challenging scientists. It creates a really great mystery and lots of room for interpretation. And I cannot wait to try it with my player.
"I'm an artist, I'm a tinkerer, and I enjoy fixing things that ain't broke!" I love this!!! I also really enjoyed your point about falling in love with your own ideas, simply because they are your own and you get to tell a story built on your own experiences. As a child I was often scared to share my own original ideas and concepts with other people, but now, I'm at a point in my life where I'm confident enough to no longer be afraid to share my creativity or my perspective!! :D
These sorts of ideas really bring a freshness to the game, getting past “realism” in creature or monster design can open the doors to some amazing enemies. Always love your mixture of philosophy, history and also allowing a the DM to have their own rule of cool that are woven into your videos.
Hope to see you get back into the live streams on here when you find the time.
I need to start thinking about taxonomy in my games. I read the article too, and your reflexions about it are really interesting.
Also, I love the new intro animation.
Yeah! It all depends on what kinda game you want!
The GAMEMASTER should have his own "taxonomy" that he understand completely, after all he is supposed to understand perfectly the world he creates, so he needs to classify his monsters in order to make them work during gameplay.
But the PLAYERS do not know that. As characters of the world, they should not unlimited knowledge on every creature in it. That's why you should not say "It's a dragon" which comes with a lot of preconceived notions, you instead either show a drawing of the monster or you describe what the characters see.
I think that's why the Witcher is so beloved, because it both : Witchers use an almost scientific method to eradicate monsters, and yet there are multiple mythical monsters that defies common sense.
I get where you are coming from. But many players know the monster taxonomy as well as the GM. Anyway, it really comes down to what everyone at the table is excited to do. I’m sure oftentimes that’s not what I’m describing in my videos. Haha
The blog post on "Taxonomy" has been reshaping my thinking since I first read it. Taking it to a meta level (e.g. RPG genres and families) opened my eyes quite a bit.
Yup! Great stuff!
If anyone is curious, headless people in medieval mythological context, are called blemmies.
I really like that you have Classical influences. 😀👍
Love love love this interperatation of Medusa, I'm always down for some tragic horror! I'm also keenly aware how deeply-rooted this reliance and adherance to taxonomy is in rpg spaces, particularly dnd. I feel like it's caused so many problems over the years
Yeah! The article that I linked to really puts it nicely!
Fantastic and fun video! Monsters are supposed to be “monsters” not an easy to kill domesticated and powerless “blobs” - more than simple stat blocks
Great video. That goblin example was really good cause I had been thinking something similar myself recently
WOOOOOOOOOOOOO MORE KYLE
Really like this Kyle... Use your own interpretation! I'm working a lot with Gnomes, and I think they generally are seen as jolly little fellows, but I'm twisting that, and allowing them to be what they want to be - and they might just be BAD!
Heck yeah! Be creative and leave room for discovery!
Thank you Kyle for another awesome video that makes me think many thoughts that can not be adequately conveyed in a RUclips comment! I have been thinking a lot lately about how over classification of things makes fantasy less fantastical, leaving less room for imagination. Game Designer Soren Johnson said, "given the opportunity, players will optimise the fun out of a game" which makes me wonder: are fantasy nerds taxonomising the mystery and wonder out of fantasy?
Hidetaka Miyazaki's game design philosophy was greatly influenced by reading fantasy and sci-fi novels in English as a child. He could not fully understand them at the time and so simply let his imagination do the rest. What resulted were the Dark Souls games (and their ilk), some of the most imaginative and mysterious works of modern fantasy. Gaps in our knowledge are where fantasy and imagination thrive!
I use the descriptions of the monster manual more than I use the stat blocks.
Goblins are cowards who use ambushes and group tactics, only attacking if they have the superior numbers and not coming out of the 3/4 cover unless forced to.
Gellats paralise anybody that touch it and cover them extremely quickly in their goop to suck them in. Once you are paralised, you (and your non-magical equipment) are out of the combat and take damage each turn until your party members pull you out (at risk of being sucked in themselves) or kill the Gellat. But it will always move towards heat sources, it is how it hunts. Not even instinctively, just as a physical-chemical reaction, it jiggles aimlessly until it finds anything warmer than the ambiant temperature.
Anything that can fly and has some sort of ranged or swooping attack will never come down into reach of your melee weapons (except when swooping, in which case you might get an attack of opportunity at disadvantage).
I like taxonomy. I think knowing about a creature’s habitat, diet, reproduction, survival strategies, and so on enrich your understanding of it as a complete and unique creation. I don’t see these sort of “scientific” details about how and why zombies eat brains, for example, as somehow limiting the storytelling potential or the sympathy we have for such pitiful things.
If you say, as in Return Of The Living Dead, that zombies are aware of what’s happened to them but are compelled to eat living brains because the fleeting moments where they experience the fresh memories of a living person gives them a short reprieve from the incomprehensible pain they’re in as they are forced to feel their bodies rot, I don’t think it robs them of horror or mystery. I think it makes them all the more terrifying. That zombies are suffering more than we are and are addicted to murder is tragic beyond belief.
Taxonomy is itself a form of poetry.
This has to be one of my favourite pieces yet i love how bizarre it is and i have to say i do come to your channel looking for things to inspire my world building and this has done it perfectly!!
ps im sorry to be the snobby latin guy but metamorphoses if its by ovid as supposed to kafka is spelt with an 'e' like when we plural crisis to crises or helix to helices.
The logo animation at the start is really cool, i don't remember seeing in in later videos. Hope it makes a comeback!
I thought the exact same thing when I saw the anatomy of a beholder lol - they demystify too much IMO
loved this so much!! you should do a video on building better Goblins or Gnolls!
Thank you! Yeah, a Goblin video will definitely happen this year! Actually, if you watch the bit during the credits, you can see me sketching out a concept for them!
My dude this picture is worth hundreds in my book.
As always the art and ideas here are truly inspiring. I can only conclude here that the reason you don’t have 1000 times the views is because you make such unique videos with a passion that only a few can appreciate, which makes who’ve come across your content all the more lucky.
I will be checking out monsterous and signing up to your Patreon.
This monster series has especially been my favourite just because it’s a little dose of inspiration each time, and if you ever carry on the theme of taking and tweaking existing tropes then I’m sure there’s villains, Heroes, places, items and worlds that I’d like to see your take on! Whatever it is you make though I’m happy to watch.
Thank you so much! RUclips is a weird thing, but I’m absolutely delighted with the response I’ve gotten so far! I’ve only been at it for about two full years, so who knows where the future will take the channel!
This is a greatly resonant video for me in particular, at this time in particular. See, recently ive been really getting into fantasy ttrpgs, and by extension the fantasy genre as a whole, but the thing is, my background is from a very science fiction-y, paleontology/biology and various other sciences focused creative mindset. the very premise of so much of what makes fantasy is so...utterly beyond my comprehension in so many ways. the sort of worldbuilding and writing solutions i often see fantasy come to are just...unfathomable to me. my mindset up to this point has been built around my sort of habitual need to find some kind of explanation for every aspect, no matter how small, in no small part due to the fact that i view this world very much having an explanation for every possible thing. this is, however, incompatible with what i find to be so fascinating, special, and fittingly enough, magical about fantasy as a genre.
the whole conversation about what taxonomy does to that...ineffable "magic" to mythological monsters and creatures is so immensely fascinating to me for this reason. as im still learning how to work with this genre, this video will most certainly stick out in my mind. i happen to particularly love your content so much because you manage to strike that gold of what really makes storytelling so magical. in this video specifically, you really touch on a view of monsters that i honestly REALLY resonate with. see, being that i also sort of live with the belief that all things are beautiful, its kind of strange to consider a party im dm'ing just sort of mowing down whatever being i bring before them, meanwhile every time i even THINK about implementing some sort of creature monster or npc, im thinking about how a non hostile encounter could go, what sort of interactions i would have if i were a solo party member, what sort things ID try.
call me a bit of a pacifist, but ive always found the idea of befriending some kind of big fantastical monster, and understanding them far more interesting than just the process of ending its life. idunno, maybe it has something to do with how i approach most concepts and situations in life, my sort of deep rooted instinct to learn and understand and adapt and such, but i find it interesting.
anyhow i doubt youre gonna see this let alone read it but i really just wanted to drop my thoughts on this whole topic because its so immensely fascinating to me, and really struck a chord with me creatively.
Thank you so much!! I am glad that the videos I make can fire up the curiosity and creativity of others! What an encouraging message! Cheers!!
I often say that mythology in truth, cannot be made into a visual (movies, art, etc.) because it's subject matter is of the unseen.
That is why it's so difficult to make images of it. Myth tells us about the ultimate truth; not the perceptions of the mind.
That said, I very much enjoy your approach and have myself left the 'taxidermy' method long ago.
Goblins, dwarfs, elfs, giants, and dragons all need to have sublime mystery to truly give us awe. I reject all these 'know it all' answers to d&d monsters.
You want an elf? Hold on to your hat in my game because you'll be in for a surprise!
Heck yeah! The taxonomy approach really shows the wargamer roots of the game. It's all about what you and your friends enjoy in the game!
thats one cool looking art
Thank you so much!!
It's Gorbin time
That's the ticket!
What a video, absolute classic.
consistently unbelievable work, thank you for this
Glad you enjoy it! Cheers!!
This was great. I love the word encounter to describe critical action points in RPGs, but it conveys to me a more unwieldy experience than is implied by the surety of a list of monsters and their abilities. I think your focus on reacting personally to the various aspects of a monster might help me remain in that unwieldy mode of experience that I'm after.
Yeah! I think that's a great way to put it. Stories, especially improvised stories, can be truly unwieldy. That is often seen as a negative thing in games, but for the style I like to play, I prefer to invite that messiness into the story!
I prefer to call them "scenarios" versus "encounters". I throw together an interesting creature, gadget etc., No idea how players will "solve" it, see what happens.
Can we take a moment to appreciate how perfectly drawn the hands on the corpse is?
Thank you!!
To say that medusa attracted Athena's ire through no fault of her own seems to miss the fact that (as I understand it) she claimed to be more beautiful than Athena. Hence her being cursed to be so ugly those who look on her would turn to stone. Unless you have a very different source on her origin from mine, surely you can't have missed that she committed The Cardinal Sin of classical myth: hubris.
Yes, there are different versions of the story where she was assaulted in Athena's temple, then punished by Athena for that happening. That their are so many versions of the story out there is one of the problems with applying taxonomy to mythological creatures. Depending on the story you want to tell, you might choose a different version or influence. Turning Medusa into a species of medusa's makes that more difficult.
@@mapcrow Thanks.
every one of these videos are gold. i always come away feeling excited to create dnd stories
Thank you so much!!
I love the dedication and heart you put in each video, thank you so much!
Thank you for the encouraging words!! Cheers!!
The best, most creative, and most inspiring ttrpg channel i know, hands down. I love your stuff, your huge arsenal of ttrpg and art experience shines through a lot.
I'm so grateful for your after-show notes! I love your content but I'm often left wondering about the materials you use.
Careful, the new OGL is about to make your life a lot harder, if what I’ve heard is true.
I don’t rely on material from the OGL. I have a statement about this in the description.
@@mapcrow Boy, that's a relief.
I love your creativity!
My dad always said that the people who went back to the original sources of fantasy always wrote the best fantasy, Tolkien as a prime example.
I'm gonna back Monstrous once my finances are a little more stable.
Can't wait! I'm already preparing to use your version of witches in my campaign.
Ha! That opening is hilarious.
Thank you!!
Love this one, great points and great art!
Thank you so much!! Cheers!!
Amazing
love the new animation and music!
Thank you so much!!
that's a great lookin 'gator
Thank you!! It took a while to draw, but I knew I just had to... gator done! Haha!!
Kyle what have you done, you monster. LoL
The rule of taxonomy is darwinism. Things change, evolve and come in many shapes and sizes, despite similarities there is no singular identity, there is range. Not one turtle but many turtles, not one human but many humans, not one fish but many fish. Stories about them vary, as interactions with them vary. When you appear before what it is, it may and very well could be very different than what you have heard. Only what is known matters. What do you know? Nothing, this is the first time you have encountered this. Break the mold. Build from better foundations. The world, the worlds, the imagination vary. Explore every point of it all. There is no one dragon, no one gorgon, no one medusa. Unless you are using some Greek setting hell hath bent on medusa from a singular source. You'd have to stick to that single source though cause ya, like Kyle says, there is not one depiction nor interaction.
Here is the real fun part, there was not one medusa. They are gorgons, there were many, and each one was "similar" but not "identical". Food for thought. Have fun creating. Break the molds people. Be consistent with inconsistency. Keeps things fun and fresh and new. Create. That is why we play, what the imagination is for.
Break the molds. I 100% agree. Just be consistent with how you put it together, the layers.
I as well have aged wrists drawing for over 30 years. Had to have some surgery on my hands over the years as well. If you want a few links for some other cool wrist/drawing items (not sponsored) I can get you to several options to take a peek if you are interested. They are all pretty cool. I also work with adults on occasion that have "trouble" with hand and wrist from varied reasons and they seem to really help. If you want, not required. Love what you do. Keep up the great work. I also agree with your video description 100%
oh this is fantastic
Thank you so much!!
is your pencil just a stick of graphite?
It has a plastic wrapper round it to keep it from smudging too badly. But yeah, there is no wood on it.
0:55 Oh hi pursuer)