[FfH II Art Team Blog]

on the note of unicorns and mermaids, i dont think FfH should include things like that, its a Dark fantasy mod, not a happy-happy-prance-around-the-flowers-hugging-ponies fantasy. however, if there was to be some dark side to such beings i would agree they would be cool, (dark side such as the mermaids being like those from harry potter and the goblet of fire movie, ie creapy and not so pretty.

The Succubaus and that lhamia rock! but a little creative criticism ;) i think the lhamia's tail should be coiled like a cobra's, and then in her movement animation do something like her uncoiling and slithering along. if the tail is coiled liek this the top heavyness wont be such a problem :)
 
Yeah, mermaids are OFTEN a dark fantasy thing rather than a "light and fluffy" kiddy story. I assume mainly because so many fish have such sharp teeth.

Never seen someone translate a Unicorn as anything but benevolent though. However, I have seen them translated as mounts for especially noble knights, and they generally kick serious butt. (Be interesting if they could be killed to get a "Unicorn horn" special equipment which can be used to get the same effect as walking across Pool of Tears)
 
Hey, unicorns are nasty poisonous pests in Exile/Avernum 3, easy to kill unless they eat narcotic herbs (which they eat quite often as they eat almost everything)
 
I would object to any other unicorns than Exile/Avernum pests. I agree with everyone who says they are not dark fantasy-compatible.
 
I don't understand how dark fantasy = no unicorns. Not that I see a real need for them. But we've got cows and pigs and such, so why not unicorns? As a resource I think they would fit in nicely. Perhaps as a replacement for Ivory. I think killing an animal for the sole purpose of decorative art and the display of wealth definitely qualifies as 'dark'. That is how elephants and Ivory work. I think Unicorns would fit the role of elephants nicely. And as a cavalry mount I think unicorns would be more fearsome than horses. I wouldn't mind seeing one of the FfH races use unicorns as mounts. But then I'd also like there to be a race which uses elks ;~)

As for merpeople, they are often depicted in a dark way....

mermaid.jpg
 
The unicorns would need to be tweaked like the ljosalfar to fit FfH

AoI had mammuths so changing ivory to unicorns might be weird.
 
heh, reminds me of the good old unicorns from Overlord (great game by the way). they were different from horses not just because of their horn, but because they were flesh-eaters, hunting other forests inhabitants for food.
 
So there are at least 3 games where unicorns aren't benevolent creatures
 
I don't understand why they are so commonly thought of as purely
gentle creatures when they have such a massive weapon on their head.
 
Because they are always pictured like that despite of their horn.
 
The princess rule: nothing that would appear on the walls on a 6 year old girl can be in FfH.

But even more than that we are really trying hard to create a unique setting for FfH. I know we steal from a lot of sources so it may not always seem like it is, but we are actually careful about what we borrow from. There is a reason we dip into Norse and Celtic mythology but not Greek or Egyptian (well we actually have two pretty major events from egyptian mythology but we have covered them up pretty well). There is a reason we delve into judeo-christian mystisim and lovecraft, but not dragonlance or hinduism.

It doesn't have much to do with what I like and dont like and I have stolen from all of those sources for different D&D games. It has to do with the underlying feel and themes of those sources, that they can be combined together in a way where it feels like a unified whole. You feel like the elves of Erebus could share a world with the cthulu inspired overlords, that a war between the demons and angels fits alongside dwarven golem makers. And that the background stories of all these pieces come from the same place.

Thats not to say that we couldn't justify any addition we wanted to make (and maybe in some cases we have). But we try to be critical to make sure the theme of new entries seems to match everything else. We dont want to recreate the same fantasy archetypes you see in every fantasy game (this is the elf guy, this is the paladin guy, this is the magic guy, etc) but to create new characters.

Of course we do use common fantasy characters, there is to much rich mindshare out there on what an elf is, what a vampire is, what a dragon is, to not use that to our advantage. But we try make them uniquely ours.

Heroes of Might and Magic was a great series, but its big failing to me was that it feels like the factions are generic fantasy constructs. The nature guys have their my little pony monsters with leprechauns and unicorns and the undead guys have their skeletons and liches, and the human guys have their peons and knights. But there was never any real relationship between the factions. They didn't feel like they shared the same world.

Lastly, most fantasy monsters have a theme inherent in their nature. Most come from mythology and fables and their role in those stories was to personify a positive or nagative characteristic. Ogres personify gluttony, se Sez has them covered in the blood of its last meal (the creature with the eyes in its hands in pans labyrinth is an ogre and shown seated at a banguet table). Unicorns symbolize purity. Not to say that we can't break that theme and justify another version but purity isnt a very FfH theme (which is about corruption and redemption, not perfection) so we don't have much use of the thematic aspects of a unicorn.

Those are my thoughts at least. I know the temptation is to grab all the best aspects of all our favorite fantasy sources, but I dont think that always works well.
 
So, by the Princess Rule we won't be seeing any Spaghetti in the mod. Damn, have to rewrite my idea for the next design a spell contest.... What else will work for Chaos III? ;)

I know, and I thought Justin Timberlake would make a great Balseraph hero.
 
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