Mermaids
 

...Oh, okay, mermen, too.

Vertical tails (as in fish), or horizontal tails (as in mammals/cetaceans)? :) What is your preference?

Re: Mermaids
 

I do not go in for the whole cutesy 'My Little Mermaid' crap. :) I like the fish-tailed mermen and merwomen who take up weapons and fight the sahaugin. :D There are a couple of Magic: the Gathering cards with this kind of depiction that I am rather fond of. :)

Re: Mermaids
 

Ha ha, well, I like mermaids any way they come, as long as they are comely :)

Actually, I saw a bit of one of the Harry Potters a few days ago, where there were some (homely) mermaids with vertically aligned fish-tails... so, I thought that maybe it was possible (to draw), after all... (I have until now always been fond of the horizontal type.)

Re: Mermaids
 

If the fin was vertical, a human upper body would not make sense. With a vertical fin, you would also need a horizontally slender body with a great vertical dimension. Without such a body, flapping with the fin would not result in effective propulsion. As an alternative, mermaids with a vertical caudal fin would need a very high dorsal fin and additional anal/pelvic fins. A horizontal caudal fin would work much better with a human upper body...

Here some ideas concerning evolution of mermaids:
Possible are a mammal-back-into-water scenario or an intelligent-fish/shark-develops-hands-and-breasts scenario. The first one could happen due to sea-level rise (as in the Jurassic/Cretaceous), when almost a dozend of terrestrial vertebrates developed marine forms), while the second could happen due to low sea-levels or e.g. periodic lake drying...

Re: Mermaids
 

I prefer the third option - created by the gods. :D:D:D

I don't worry a lot about evolution or scientific advancements playing/running an AD&D game. Now that is not to say that I don't like rule systems to explain the physical world - I just don't think those systems need reflect this world's systems. :)

Not so much about mermaids or minotaurs, etc, but I'm concenerned that gnomes and Gond (in the Forgotten Realms) support technology and advancement, and yet conveniently the only time it appears is when it will help the story along. Why isn't there indoor plumbing? Why is steel only used for swords? :ninjas:

Just my two cents on why I like what I like. ;)

NTW, hi Dinonykos! (And Uatu of course. :D)

Re: Mermaids
 

Created by gods or not, a mermaid should be able to swim in a stylish manner. :D
Of course, in a fantasy scenario, you don't need evolutional mechanisms to explain things like mermaids or chimeras.

I don't know much about the magic abilities gnomes. If they are good in magic stuff, then thinking: "Shall I solve this problem with magic or technology?" may leed to a mental blockage.

Re: Mermaids
 

Actually, I saw some footage of swimming iguanas lately - and they interestingly flap themselves sideways (as per fish), even though they are basically finless vertebrates, looking quite graceful when they do it.

Perhaps we can invent a new swimming stroke called "iguana style" and add it to the Olympics :D

As for the Realms, well - the Realms is sort of the ultimate hodge-podge campaign setting... They have all sorts of arquebuses and muskets, as well as the fabled technological island of Lantan, which isn't detailed anywhere :D . The gun powder needed for guns is considered magical, though, which is sort of their explanation for how things work...

Re: Mermaids
 

Well, to resolve this, I've begun work on a new magical spell. After I've created a mermaid, I will report back. :D:D:D

For the gnomes, that is a good point, at least for 2e and later, in 1e, gnomes couldn't be magic users. Bugt, Gond rewards those who come up with new technology, you would think that there would be all kinds of new inventions. As a DM, I've dealt with this in a couple of ways, including ignoring the matter, but also including there being other powers at work that stifle the new inventions, or hide them away (kind of like the arc of the covenant at the end of the first Indiana Jones movie.)

When it comes down to it, as a player I would accept either kind of mermaid and do it with a smile if the DM had an answer for why they were that way. :) I just prefer the vertical aesthetically. :D (Maybe I like it b/c it's the opposite of 'My Little Mermaid' and 'Splash' [the movie with Daryl Hannah].)

Re: Mermaids
 

Gnomes always had illusionists, though (unfortunately that class was not included in the Gold Box games, making them rather useless). Illusionists got rather nice spells, like the prismatic spells, etc....

Ha ha... I saw Splash as a kid, but I don't remember much of it...

Re: Mermaids
 

The acting was not the best in Splash. I guess I would have liked it better if I had found Daryl Hannah more attractive. Oh well. :)

I don't see illusionists being competition for the tinkers. I barely see illusionists being competition for hedge wizards. :D

Re: Mermaids
 

So long as we got the mermaids, they can swish their tails any old way they want to....it's kinda like arguing over the skin tone of a Hobgoblin, really....

Re: Mermaids
 

Hobgoblins definitely have an orangish tone to their skin. ;) Well, some take a more ruddy tone, but not lighter than orangish. :D:D:D

I want merhobgoblins. :)

Are merfolk human and fish, or elf and fish? Mightn't there be different races of merfolk to represent the above? Mightn't there be different races of merfolk, some who have 'cute' horizontal tails, and some who have 'bas-ass' vertical tales? :D:D:D

Re: Mermaids
 

I don't remember finding Daryl Hannah attractive, either :D Perhaps it was the times or something!

Hobgoblins actually probably should have been diminuitive, nice goblins (from folklore). I think Gary made a mistake back when...

Re: Mermaids
 

I had actually wondered that myself after seeing references to hobgoblins as good fairy folk. But, I've also seen some references to them that portrays them as evil leprechaun-like things. In either case, they should have been smaller. :)

For that matter, the first references to gnomes were of elemental creatures that were akin to dwarves, and very, very nasty. :) (This name can be tracked back to a particular person.)

Re: Mermaids
 

As for Ms. Hannah, I think part of it must have been the hair. There weren't a lot of good hair-dos in the '80s. :ninjas:

Re: Mermaids
 

Yeah - any way, hobs should have been nice or puny goblins :D (1/4 HD?)

Quite right about '80s hairdos, too... It wasn't pretty in Japan, either (who emulated the wrong people)...

Re: Mermaids
 

Unfortunately, the 'hip' kids are now sporting 80s hair-dos and clothes. Nothing makes a pretty girl ugly faster than shoulder pads and the flat bangs and razored sides....quite sad. :(

Re: Mermaids
 

You can take the most beautiful, sizzling, ravishing girl and do any of the following things to completely ruin it all:

- Shave her head (completely or partially)
- Make her wear really ugly clothes
- Make her wear a stupidly-colored wig (pink, blue, etc.)

I don't care HOW hot she is, if you do any of the above... :(

Re: Mermaids
 

I'm with you, except for the shaved head part. I have seen a couple of actresses with shorn locks that I thought were pretty hot - Natalie Portman for one. :)

I would also add to your list, using chewing tobacco. I think it's gross when I see anyone doing it, but a 'chick' with a hunk of chaw in her lip who's spitting every minute or so, man what a turn-off. :ninjas:

Re: Mermaids
 

Ha ha... Smoking is a turn-off for me... I don't think I have ever seen a girl chewing tobacco, actually...

Re: Mermaids
 

I grew up in the sticks. :) Actually, I don't think I ever saw a girl chewing tobacco until I was in the big city of Minneapolis. She was part of a group of people who were all dressed really nice and were using chewing tobacco, I think, to avoid going outside to smoke.

Smoking is a turn-off if I'm close enough to be effected by the smoke. :) I used to smoke myself (back in the day when my wisdom score was much lower) so I'm probably more tolerant of it than I otherwise would be. Still, the smell in clothes of cigarette smoke is pretty gross...right up there with cat urine. :ninjas:

Re: Mermaids
 

Mmm - cat urine :D But cat urine should be sterile, right?

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Yeah, and it probably doesn't give you lung cancer.

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Ha ha... Sounds healthier to me... (but hard to swallow)

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Concerning the shaved heads, I generally agree with Manikus - but it depends greatly on the shape of the head (in both genders).
Any knowledge of tobacco in ADD I should have? I a cigar-smoking goblin possible?

Re: Mermaids
 

That's a good question, Dinonykos. There is no official mention of tobacco or any other drug with the exceptions of beer/ale and wine, and maybe spirits (hard liquor).
But, in the great Tolkeinian tradition, Elminster smokes a pipe quite regularly and I believe others occasionally pick up a pipe.

It is quite possible that there are traditions of smoking that develop from the shamanistic use of certain plants (the way tobacco smoking started on earth), or by accident such as a house catches fire and the plant with the pretty lavender flower burns up and smells good and makes the inhaler feel "better". :)

As for shaved heads, you bring up an excellent point, Dinonykos. There are many men who do not look good with a shaved head. The first person that comes to mind is the lead singer of the band Midnight Oil. His heas isn't 'round' enough. I don't want it to be a circle like Charlie Brown, however. ;) The other class that pops to mind are the guys whose necks are as big or bigger than their heads, which includes but is not limited to, pro wrestlers, football players and overweight old men riding around in little electric carts at the super market. :ninjas:

Re: Mermaids
 

This brings us back to the advantages of fantasy worlds: You can invent a Nicotiana-like plant when you need it... and explain its occurence with the influence of a god/titan/monster/magician or whatever... :)

I have just seen that eggplants/aubergines contain nicotine... :D

Re: Mermaids
 

Nicotine in eggplants? In the leaves or in the fruit? Wow. I'll have to look into this. :)

For an idea I've been working on for a while, I'm inventing all kinds of herbs to supplement those found in the AD&D 1e books (which are not many). I may very well add a tobacco-like plant as well. :ninjas:

Re: Mermaids
 

Maybe I can get my coworkers to eat lots of eggplant instead of smoking all the time...

I think the Forgotten Realms has a few instances of smoking (Elminster's magic pipe), but I can't remember... Not sure about Greyhawk (Gygax smoked himself, though)...

A list of historical herbs would be a lot of fun, actually (I like this kind of thing), but my knowledge of such is too small...

Re: Mermaids
 

There are a lot of great resources for herbs, but I'm also making some up. :)

I suspect that pipe smoke in the Forgotten Realms is a lot more likely than cigar smoke which is a lot more likely than cigarette smoke. Each step of processing done to the plant makes it less likely to be seen. :ninjas:

Re: Mermaids
 

Ha ha... So what do the elves smoke, anyway?

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Well, we have to choose a word that means "happy" or "contented" and add an "isium" or "essium" (depending upon the word) to find out.

First try: blissessium
Second try: smilisium

Re: Mermaids
 

Ha ha... I like the first try...