Michael Gentry |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Although I understand and appreciate that it comes straight from real-world Egyptian mythology, and that it is a perfectly serviceable CR 7 encounter...
There is no way on God's gray earth that my players would be able to keep a straight face if I told them they were attacked by a "serpopard".
No, showing them the picture will not help.
Demiurge 1138 RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8 |
Adam Daigle Developer |
6 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'm tickled that the serpopard got its own thread. Ben Bruck did a great job designing the creature!
When this book was in approvals, Wes summoned me to his office where he had that page up on his monitor. He pointed at the screen and said, "Explain yourself." To which I replied, "Google it." I knew that playing the folklore card, especially with Wes, would justify me including such a bizarre monster.
Windspirit |
....
No, showing them the picture will not help.
Check THIS:
ancient Serpopard sources.Jim Groves Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4 |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The right decision was made.
The AP Bestiary should have culturally inspired monsters based on folklore. Egyptian mythology has some unusual creatures, but that was THEIR CULTURE.
Snakes and big cats were two creatures they feared mightily. What could be worse than having them combined?
If we lose sense of cultural authenticity, the game suffers. Hooray for Wes for asking questions and doing some research before he acted. Hooray for Adam for standing his ground.
Benchak the Nightstalker Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8 |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Michael Gentry wrote:....
No, showing them the picture will not help.
Check THIS:
ancient Serpopard sources.
That was actually one of the sources I looked at when writing the serpopard. :)
To the OP, if the name is tripping you up, tell your PCs they're fighting a "Sedja". I included the native name for the creature in the write up for this specific purpose. Nobody laughs about fighting a sphinx, but they might if we start calling them Womfalcolions.
Benchak the Nightstalker Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8 |
Michael Gentry |
Oh, don't get me wrong, the serpopard is great. I love the serpopard. I love that Paizo plunders real-world culture and mythology for their bestiaries. I wouldn't have it any other way. Even if I never end up using it, it makes me happy that the game has one now, all statted up.
But, yeah. "Serpopard". Say it out loud.