I've always been inspired by the Saint Beasts found in East and South East Asian mythologies. Not the vapid, meaningless, predictable elementals often found in traditional fantasy, but primal mythic beings, with both intentionality and idiosyncratic features.
These mythic beings correspond to the four generated elements found here, and maybe I'll do another post for the other four here.
Was going to add some specific adventure hooks or flesh these out further... but then I didn't, but hopefully the adventure hooks are at least implied.
I was also going to give them names, but at this time haven't found a naming convention that feels right.
Song-glass Elemental
Domain: Information, Communication, Music, Patterns
Like a chicken if it kept its down and other adolescent features into adulthood. Mostly invisible except for a puff of down, or when dancing to the sounds of song-glass which it nips from its coat and munches on for fun. A deceptively wise and powerful being whose wisdom must be inferred slowly and patiently by those who care for it.
Popstone Elemental
Domain: Energy, Movement, Transience, Cacophony
A fitfully lucid-dreaming cocooned antlion-dragon, its minute myoclonic jerks setting off chain reactions of popstone explosions. Irritable and impatient, prone to fits of rage, yet full of wisdom and good intent. It will grant wishes to those who remove disturbances interrupting its sleep, or even frivolously to those creating disturbances if it will make them go away. While the latter approach may be easier, tread lightly.
Godrend Elemental
Domain: Sustenance, Cuisine, Social Clubs, Wellness
A shriveled bullfrog melting unxiously in an indigo stew of its own fat, from which it is inseparable. It communicates through the consumption of its stew or the absorption of its fat through skin. Wealthy beyond measure and endlessly giving to those who enter its exclusive grace, demanding in return only the illusion of mutual respect and friendship in the face of its graceless self-centeredness. Nonetheless, it means well, in its own way.
Shadowbrine Elemental
Domain: The Unknown, Engineering, Science, Creative Inspiration
Slick and silky bits of marine snow, glowing pickled pieces of fish, eel, whale, and cephalopod, in an inky swirl of shadowbrine. Left alone, it creates powerful constructs like cosmic dams, destructively and without purpose, or beautiful useless things always just beyond the ken of mortal understanding. Under careful supervision it can produce benevolent wonders, but it is demanding and difficult in its communications.
All of these are awesome. I liked the original idea and I like how you've extended it here. I'll have to look into the Saint animals - I don't think I was aware of them! I like the fact that these creatures have goodwill, and as in much of your material that there are plenty of options for interacting with them aside from combat.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Oh ya the Saint Beasts when I learned about them in an internet rabbit hole in middle or high school deeply inspired me. And also ya I really like creating circumstances where PCs have to deal with intelligent forces, individuals or systems, much more powerful than themselves, and it's not about like fighting them or even overpowering them in some way, but learning how to work with them or leverage them in your favor. Likely because that is something I struggle with in real life lol.
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