So, I love our new water buffalo friends. I want to make one for a campaign; the problem is I do not speak Tagalog, and many sources I've seen for real life stories are either in Tagalog or frustratingly brief. Most English sources just say 'this is just a minotaur from the Phillipines' and it's annoying.
So, to both answer players who wonder 'why aren't they a heritage for Minotaur, what makes them different enough to warrant being a whole ancestry' and also 'what are some stories to draw inspo from', does anyone have suggestions or some cool lore?
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Oh wow- I missed this announcement but I am very excited. I assume this is in the Tian Xia book?
I am not fillipino, but I have friends who are. One I've consulted on monster stuff before says that in a way it is quite similar to the minotaur in that there is really only one "official" myth, but popular culture has taken it an ran with it. The One Unique Thing is there jeweled earrings, which it seems like feature in the art.
I haven't read that much, but given that they are described as "Full Moon" and "New Moon" I would assume that looking into myths regarding the cycle of the moon would give you some inspiration. My friend is unaware of any particular connection between traditional sarangay and a moon myth, but they are pretty prevalent throughout that part of the world.
Oh wow- I missed this announcement but I am very excited. I assume this is in the Tian Xia book?
I am not fillipino, but I have friends who are. One I've consulted on monster stuff before says that in a way it is quite similar to the minotaur in that there is really only one "official" myth, but popular culture has taken it an ran with it. The One Unique Thing is there jeweled earrings, which it seems like feature in the art.
I haven't read that much, but given that they are described as "Full Moon" and "New Moon" I would assume that looking into myths regarding the cycle of the moon would give you some inspiration. My friend is unaware of any particular connection between traditional sarangay and a moon myth, but they are pretty prevalent throughout that part of the world.
Oh cool, thank you! Yeah this was in the Tian Xia stream last night. The jewels are indeed a part of them; and much like you, I seem incapable of finding anything but 'it is a minotaur'.
Considering we're getting minotaur in Howl of the Wild, it REALLY seems like they could have been a heritage the same way Ant Gnolls are for Gnolls/Kholo. Don't get me wrong, I love Sarangay as a concept. Water Buffalo have a special place in my heart as one of those animals, like moose, that you simply do not want to make upset, ands I'm super down for more cultural representation.
It's just hard to find what makes them unique enough as a mythical entity to be an entirely different ancestry, and one of the 6 slots in the entire book (likely the last time in 2e we'll get Tian-specific ancestries). They also, much like Kashrisi and Goloma, will be exceptionally cool in concept but likely never show up in any real way in lore or adventures. It makes them feel almost like they don't -really- exist, and that's sort of sad.
2e is rapidly approaching the OH GOD THERE'S SO MANY ancestries situation with, let's be honest, not nearly enough support for many of them. (I'm looking at you, Grippli, tree frogs who suck at jumping and climbing) So, both mechanically AND lore-wise, I feel like we really gotta make the ones who get in have extremely unique and stand-out concepts.
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I mean, we're sitting currently at 36 ancestries and 14 versatile heritages (post-Remaster, when Half-Elf/Half-Orc became the Mixed Ancestry VH and Aasimar/Tielfing/Aphorite/Ganzi fused to become the Nephilim VH). We're getting 6 more ancestries in Howl of the Wild, and 6 more ancestries and 1 more VH in Tian Xia Character Guide. And then there's the new VH in Player Core 2. So after all those books, we're looking at 48 ancestries and 16 VHs.
And then there's Starfinder 2E's playtest right around the corner, and with it being 100% compatible, that's another handful of options you can sprinkle into the mix. We're definitely at the point where there's more options than you can shake a stick at, for sure.
(And as for Grippli, they were confirmed to be the 8th ancestry in Player Core 2 and renamed to the Tripkee. Hopefully they'll get their feats and abilities looked at and expanded!)
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I feel like there is enough even in just the two images we have seen to imply that this is going to be different from a minotaur. It seems like they are going to be connected to the moon, possibly more mystical, celestial ideas.
(I am very excited to hear that that frog-folk are sticking around!)
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I think "big or average Hellenistic bull-folk with ties to demons and mazes" and "average or small Filipino bull-folk with ties to the moon" are plenty distinct.
Nagaji, Sekmin, Vishkanya, and snake Beastkin can all coexist just fine - why balk at two kinds of cow?
I think "big or average Hellenistic bull-folk with ties to demons and mazes" and "average or small Filipino bull-folk with ties to the moon" are plenty distinct.
Nagaji, Sekmin, Vishkanya, and snake Beastkin can all coexist just fine - why balk at two kinds of cow?
It's not that I'd balk at it, it's that even in real life stories, it is described as essentially just a minotaur with jewels it protects instead of a labyrinth's treasure. It's not like literal snake people, naga-borne ophidians, venomous humans, and part were-snakes are inherently the same.
They all have distinct real life or Golarion based lore that highly differentiates then. Meanwhile, articles for sarangay literally call it 'a minotaur'.My post was 'what makes them different in a lore/myth sense' and not 'we can have two of the same animal-themed humanoid.' I was curious about myths relating to them that show how they are different since they are a real world myth and not something unique to Golarion.
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I'm in agreement that there is space for both. I also think it would be fun to have a mixed cultural family of Minotaurs and Sarangay.
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From what I very recently read on the net about them, in RL myths, Sarangay are very similar physically to Minotaurs.
They are tall, strong and fast.
Apparently they have powers of protection thanks to their jewels. And Sarangay might have power over elements such as wind and water.
So, much more mystical than Minotaurs.