Find Familiar

When I first started this blog, I talked about how part of what I'd be using it for is as a place to "think out loud" regarding my attempts to create a campaign setting for D&D  (or other fantasy RPG systems). Ironically, I've only been posting those thoughts if I've felt like I had "enough" for a post, or felt like I could tie it all into a topic or theme — if I could make it feel coherent. But you know what? The times I need a "thinking space" the most is when it's not  coherent, when my thoughts aren't  nicely packed up into a complete and well-themed post. This is one of those times. Brain dump incoming. Tieflings! Lots of people like them. I like them. They're cool, they're fun, they're colorful. Some folks play them as edgelords, some enjoy a sort of rebellious "I'm bad but not really" vibe, some people just wanna be purple. Interestingly, they have this built-in association with fiends, but I do...

Elves and dwarves are probably the two most iconic protagonist races in modern fantasy, from Tolkien to D&D and everywhere in between. In fact, that pair is so  iconic that elves and dwarves go beyond actual elves and actual dwarves, showing up (by different names) in entirely different genres. For example, elves and dwarves exist in Star Trek  in the form of vulcans and klingons, respectively. The vulcans are portrayed as high-brow, robe-wearing intellectuals with old traditions and an affinity for the finer things in life. Elves. Meanwhile, klingons are loud, drink ale that's too strong for other folk, have a warrior culture, and are generally regarded as brash and unrefined. Dwarves. Elves and dwarves even make an all-human appearance in Avatar: the Last Airbender . There's an episode early in the series where the main group needs to cross a canyon, and find themselves babysitting two tribes of displaced refugees who can't get along with each other. The Gan Jin t...