Dragonsfoot Magazine Adventures--Call Out

Two orcs

Officially better than you, according to PoN
Whenever I include a monster race that I want my players to find "alien enough", I make them speak in a language that can't be understood without magic.
I take the exact opposite approach, having monsters clearly speak their alien minds. It's very much in the style of Jack Vance, where the predatory deodands will knock on your door and plead with you to open it because they are hungry. Scrutability makes them more playable too as there is levers to pull to get diplomacy going (or it's possible to realize no compromise is possible). Last session, the players ran into some spell spiders and got a friendly reaction roll. After a bit of back and forth they decide to trade away a scroll for silver and having one of the spell spiders guide them invisibly to another location in the dungeon. The spell spiders have human-like hands and fondle their fangs when they get excited.

Mage: Can I inquire, master Weaver, what will you do with the scroll? Eat it?
Spider: You insult me, wizard. Like all civilized people we eat only liquified flesh.
 

DangerousPuhson

Should be playing D&D instead
Oh you can absolutely do that too, but if I want genuine "what the fuck are these guys all about?" reactions, I take verbal communication off the table.

Imagine if your spell-spiders came at the players with smiling faces, arms outstretched, hands full of silver, pointing fervently at the party's bags and pouches. Or better yet, if they lobbed a silk bag full of silver at the party's feet and made "unfurling" motions with their hands. Certainly makes for a memorable encounter, even if it runs the chance of the party misinterpreting the action as hostile.

I find it really detracts from the "alien" nature of the creatures if they speak Common/English and can just easily explain their actions and intents. Sure the intent might be weird (like "are you gonna eat the scroll?"), but that's a weird intent, not necessarily a weird creature. Normal creatures can have weird intents too.

If I go to movies, the most alien-seeming creatures are usually non-verbal - the Xenomorph, the Thing, the Predator, the Blob, etc. When they can vocalize and explain stuff, it kinda kills the weirdness vibe (picture how much more alien the blue natives from Avatar seemed before you heard them speaking English, how strange they were before they could explain how their world works).

I'm not saying that you can't run weird, alien creatures with communication; I'm just saying I find it easier to convey the atmosphere of weirdness if they can't communicate verbally.
 
Last edited:

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Sorry Malrex, I know I was suppose to switch gears but...

Ta Dee! The major muscles of the arm!

Pencil & Pen (scanned)

arm1.jpg
Using GIMP to smudge in lazy half-tones for a more "painted" look

arm1a.jpg
(thank you cyberspace)

Yo! Orcs! I am gonna pump...you up!
 
Last edited:

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Quick & dirty. Kinda regressing to comic-book style.

I was working on pose/legs...but they sucked---so I cropped them off!
Just can't get the foreshortening right.

orc4.jpg

The left hand should probably face away from the viewpoint, too.
Save me from my own foolishness, oh spirit of Jack Kirby!
 
Last edited:

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
Yeah, he's meaner looking. The black nose make him look like a bugbear (well, from 2e forward, anyway).
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
I lighten the nose (in original posting) to reduce the acute case of "dog face", per your suggestion.

So many monster "rules" to learn!

Thanks.

EDIT: ...and then I went the other way and darkened everything. ?!? Up yours Peter Jackson! ;P
 
Last edited:

TerribleSorcery

Should be playing D&D instead
I really like this dark one. Has lots of flavour buddy! Put a few hints of dungeon wall in the background and what more could a guy want?
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
I really like this dark one. Has lots of flavour buddy! Put a few hints of dungeon wall in the background and what more could a guy want?
Thank you!

And that is exactly what I was thinking...needs some sort of vast subterranean strata to spark the imagination.

Although, I think I probably will leave that sort of expansion to the next iteration---the one for the magazine. But I desperately want to tap into that "out of the darkness crawls..." vibe if I possibly can. Sometimes skulking in tunnels beneath the surface of the Earth falls too easily into becoming just another trip to the super-market (wearing swords). We forget how the dark used to scare us.

Truly, it's been a blast trying my hand at something new.

EDIT: Aw heck! I put a dash of stonework in...just couldn't resist.
 
Last edited:

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
I've looked at this a bit and have finally hit upon what's wrong --- the large shield, sword, and background portal makes the orc look small, almost like a halfling.

It's like that fleet of ships in Hitchhiker's Guide that went to exact revenge on the Earth for Arthur's careless turn of phrase, but due to a mix-up in size was eaten by a small dog.

Another mental step in the learning process.

Also, a concept for goblins...
goblin0.jpg
 
Last edited:

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
I've looked at this a bit and have finally hit upon what's wrong --- the large shield, sword, and background portal makes the orc look small, almost like a halfling.
I don't agree, I like all but the background, which doesn't look like stonework to me. The sword is big but the hilt is a hand-and-a-half. The chield might be a bit big but I don't think it makes him look small.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Beoric. Good to know. I think the shield is probably the biggest offender. You might not see the rocks on your monitor the same way I do with my brightness pretty high. Not stonework, per se, just some quick rounded stones making a (half) arch. Admittedly a low effort. I'll work on that too. Thanks.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Another 3D model, raytraced for reference --- skeleton model lit by an HDRI cave light-capture

skeleton.jpg

and after pushing the contrast up and switching to sepia tones

skeleton1a.jpg
 
Last edited:

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Found this sketch on-line --- I think this is Malrex's (and many others) Platonic Orc.
orc-bad.jpg

Between that and the WoW CGI version (which all look like Thanos with tusks) I get "orc as Hollywood actor".
Not a fan.
 

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
Regular orc is he was bald?
Less human looking. That one looks like Clancy Brown with prosthetic teeth. Maybe make the jaw protrude, and the chin wide, beyond the range of human variation, nose-and-mouth more snoutlike, tusks can sometimes be over the top long, nonhuman skull shape.

orc15.jpgorc3.jpgorc elf.jpgOrc M 18 - Copy.jpg

The last guy is more of a half-orc because of the human skin tone.

EDIT: This guy is a pretty good platonic orc for me. Or these guys if your orcs are more savage.

orc f7fb862f9ed5f3256b1e2eedc73254bd.pngorc 50.jpg
 

Attachments

Last edited:

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
@Beoric: I like #3 (your half-orc) the best --- most gorilla. Also grey instead of green.
Found one more in pencil (less hair)
creature-concept-web.jpg
 

DangerousPuhson

Should be playing D&D instead
I've always liked the looks of Warhammer fantasy orcs ("Greenskins"). They're not Hollywood, but they're definitely orc-looking.


 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
BLAH!
I inflict more crappy amateur practice-art upon your unsuspecting eyeballs! You cannot un-see it!
fig1.jpg

EDIT: @TerribleSorcery...now censored to hide the disturbing lack of man-parts.
I think of the GIF time-elapsed progression: middle-school doodle --> comic book layout --> romance novel cover :)
 
Last edited:
Top