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7th Ed. What’s it like to be a Lizardman?

Discussion in 'Lizardmen & Saurian Ancients Discussion' started by Lounge Lizard, Mar 8, 2009.

  1. Lounge Lizard
    Jungle Swarm

    Lounge Lizard New Member

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    In the context of writing a short story from a Lizardman’s perspective:
    There was some philosopher (I forget the name) who wrote a paper “What’s it like to be a bat?” Can a human brain even comprehend such a thing? Everything we think comes from a human sense of reality.

    Would it be best to think in pictures or even invent an alien like language far removed from anything we already think of as language?

    Without taking LSD (or maybe), it would be interesting to see if anyone could come up with something…

    Sorry if this is all too bizarre. I suppose it would be easier to think of a Dwarf or Elf or such like.
     
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  2. Kingin
    Skink

    Kingin New Member

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    Feel like that Lizardmen would have feelings and have same emotions like Humans do, but act differently. Also I always feel that Lizardmen have connection to their Spawn Brothers and have a bond.
     
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  3. hellbreaker
    Troglodon

    hellbreaker New Member

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    well, they might not have all the same feelings, saurus getting depressed because there friend died... yea right.

    But they might have a different kind of understanding, might clarify why I think that lizardmen shouldn't get sad because of someone death.

    We get because of death due to that we need to reproduce, lizardmen don't they just spawn. and because of this they do not either need love, but love and compassion is two different things, so compassion they could have plenty of.

    but also they got another kind of understanding, and hence therefore could get sad/angry/happy with other things.
     
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  4. Aparach
    Troglodon

    Aparach New Member

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    I think I'm leaning towards some sort of "Jurasic Park" kind of language. The skinks making some kinds of raptorish sounds, the Carno; a loud T-rex roar and the saurus something inbetween... The Slann, I guess, is making a drowsy kind of "Jabba-the-hut" sound, only a bit less talkative and more serious :p .

    As for the emotions I think the lizzards are higly primitive, with strong instincts that guide them to fit in in their society, and therefor is in most ways not alike humans at all---> instintically driven instead of emotional. Oh and with primitiv I mean in no way dumb or unintelligent. I would guess a saurus to bee probably as intelligent or maybe a bit less intelligent than an orc, a skink as intelligent as a goblin and the slann twice as intelectual and intelligent than any living(or unliving) beeing. you can say the slann makes up for the lack of intelligence by other lizards as they guide their minions like demi-gods. Higly primitive, yet sofisticated like the astecs or egyptians if you wish.

    This post can be a bit self-contradictory, but I think you guys get my veiws. It's way past midnight here so bear with me ;)
     
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  5. Kingin
    Skink

    Kingin New Member

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    Well because they do stuff that are Beast like doesn't mean their less intelligent then a Orc. With what I been reading in the book, the Slann can talk to the other races in their own language maybe jaba the hut style or something more Powerful. I feel like that Saurus have brother in arm type Bonds fighting and surviving with each other, but also know what they are supposed to do. Like Temple Guard they are a spawn of saurus that leans more toward protecting and being more concern with the Slanns. I don't see the Lizards as mindless walking reptiles but they do think, and Learn and to Survive and some other stuff.

    With the Emotions, I feel like that they have emotions that are close to ours but different. I think a Saurus might be able to have more of a Bond with their Spawning Brothers then the others. Like Chapters of Space Marines I see them like.

    My 2cents
     
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  6. shahryar
    Kroxigor

    shahryar Member

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    on the spawning bond thing

    Think the clone troopers from the new clone wars cartoons and that'd be pretty close

    as for language I think a slightly more hiss based version of mayan.
     
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  7. Caneghem
    Carnasaur

    Caneghem New Member

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    Lizardmen are all born with a pre-ordained purpose, and it would stand to reason that they wouldn't be burdened with too many unnecessary emotions.

    Skinks: would be the most rewarding to write about, since they are the ones who do the communicating. They take up all sorts of duties and are generally a diverse and intelligent group.

    Saurus: Duty above all, and a sense of military kinship. Respect for valorous deeds of other saurus. They're not unbreakable, so obviously they retain some sense of self-preservation.

    Kroxigors: More like pack-animals. Probably get satisfaction from building and moving things.

    Slann: Attempting to follow the will of those long gone, by remaining eternally focused and meditative.

    I think you could write interesting stories about each "caste" in lizardman society. Sure, you won't be writing any love stories, given how lizardmen spring from pools. However, you can create internal within any of them by presenting them a situation or circumstance in which they are unable to fulfill their appointed purpose. The story can still be compelling, so long as you can convey how important it is for a lizardman to fulfill his purpose.
     
  8. hellbreaker
    Troglodon

    hellbreaker New Member

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    If we leg it, we can live to fight another day! -slugga boy Dawn of war.

    hehe.
     
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  9. lupercal
    Kroxigor

    lupercal New Member

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    as far as psyche goes don't forget the DoW lizzies they can obvisoually have agendas that are relatable to humans
     
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  10. DonkeyHotep
    Temple Guard

    DonkeyHotep New Member

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    Read the 5th Ed codex for lizardmen, it gives a good clue to how the skinks operate. In one of the fluff pieces Marco Columbo allies with the slann against the Dark Elves. The Slann asks him 3 questions. Have you seen any gigantic godlike snakes in your homeland? How big is the ocean on your maps? How do you "new ones" make more of yourselves? Marco columbo says, no big snakes, this big, and err... um...

    The slann tells him, okay good, that means sotek is underground whooping Skaven, all according to plan. Good, those are the numbers we have also, all according to plan. Hmm, I don't know what loud music and alcohol have to do with making more people but that's what this dwarf said also so.... all according to plan.

    During the encounter with the skinks he figures out why the Lizardmen get pissed off and don't trade with humans typically, humans always ask for gold, and the Lizardmen believe that gold is sacred and that if humans have any they should give it to it's rightful owner, them. Fortunately, Marco Columbo figures out how to get paid when he sees a skink accountant tallying up the trades with an abacus, that uses marble sized pearls as the beads. There's a joke about how the humans traded all this stuff for a bunch of beads.

    At one point a skink even LIES TO A SLANN because he doesn't feel like the slann needs to hear what Marco wants translated and instead tells him that Marco is saying, "what a nice amulet you have", "your such a cool toad", stuff like that. As far as I've seen, Saurus probably never think anything in their whole life. As in, no words go on in their head, they don't ponder, they just do. Everything they say is from the gut, and everything they do they've all done a bugillion times before. You have to remember that saurus live for like....5000 + years? Many of those guys on the tabletop have been marching and drilling literally since dinosaurs ruled the Earth. In the Seventh edition a slann even tells Gor-Rok "retrieve" and points at something. They don't get mental domination and orders the way the Tyranids do, but the slann can give pretty vague orders and expect the Saurus to really only do one thing, Beat something to death.

    We joked about how a skink could be an asshole to a kroxigor by saying, Okay Krox, take these logs and cut them in half. Later. Good job Krox, now line them up like this and pound them into the ground with this hammer. Later. Good job. Okay Krox, now calculate the angle that would be produced between a log of this length if I lean it between these two posts..... The krox would probably growl and start pounding more posts because it has NO CLUE what you mean. Similarly, telling a saurus to pound logs into the ground is probably equally futile, like trying to get a dog to climb a tree or a cat to herd sheep. It probably accounts for their low initiative that their just so one tracked, part of initiative is fancy finaggling in combat, dashing displays of tricksy stuff that's hard to see coming.... None of that for saurus, they just whack things with sticks in the straightest possible path.
     
  11. Common Lizard-People
    Jungle Swarm

    Common Lizard-People New Member

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    This is my first post here, so ahoyhoy all!

    From looking at names and the language section in 7th ed it seems the lizzie tongue is mostly based on Nahuatl, which was more or less the official language of the Aztec people. There may be some Mayan influence as well, but I wouldn't recognize that if I saw it. Let's see, Nahuatl is actually still spoken in some parts of Mexico, so it's fairly easy to find resources on it. Since you're aiming at having them sound alien to us there is one thing to watch out for, a good deal of words in Spanish (which then became parts of English) are taken directly from Nahuatl. The first that come to mind are "coyotl" and "tomatl". Additionally, there are a great many dialects that vary in spelling and pronunciation. for example I've also seen "coyotl" spelled "kojotl". For the difference in sounds "tl" may come out like "tul" or "tla".

    By and large it's a unique enough language that even if you were to write every last bit of dialogue in Nahuatl, most folk may not even realize it's real. Now how it would sound coming from a giant lizard is a little harder to imagine but the newest book has a solid guide in there.

    In regards to behavior of the different lizardmen, my interpretation is that skinks and krox would be the easiest to write for. The little guys seem to be fairly human while their larger cousins could probably be portrayed as little more than living tools. Day to day even comes out close to our own: wake up, go to work, go to church, sacrifice a couple hundred skaven and so on.

    Saurus might be tough, but I don't see them as being mindless automatons. They clearly have an understanding of language, even if it is limited to military jargon. Even the oldest Scar-Vet probably couldn't tell you what a tomatl is. It looks like they do have unique personalities too, as in Gor-roks section there is mention of saurus getting into disputes with each other. At the same time, it's specifically concerning tactics and whatnot. My view is that saurus are almost like a person with savantism. They're absolutely ace at that one thing, but rubbish at anything else. Saurus just don't have a use for concepts that aren't related to war. So far as emotions go, I don't think there's much going on in there. While yes, they will run away from a fight, it may be more out of a tactical decision than self-preservation. That's just my guess though.

    Okee dokee, I hope these ridiculous ramblings are somewhat useful.
     
  12. Paradoxical Pacifism
    Skink Chief

    Paradoxical Pacifism Well-Known Member

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    PP demands this thread necromancy!

    Anyway, I've always thought in my opinion, that the sauri and the skinks actually have roughly the same intelligence quotient. It's just how this intelligence is used or organised in their minds that's radically different.

    Sauri, imo, would perhaps only focus on single-minded affairs that concern not only their purpose, but also their primeval instincts such as hunting tactics and navigation of their homeland jungles. Skinks would be the most relateable in that they would perceive fear (obviously not fear the same things), ambitions, hopes, etc.

    Basically, saurus will know warfare and strategy instinctually, but struggle at complex social interactions, whereas skinks would be the vice versa of this.

    Come to think of it, a comedy story that mainly involves the terse and blunt sauri mind hasn't been done yet :p
     
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  13. Scalenex
    Slann

    Scalenex Keeper of the Indexes Staff Member

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    I was going to say that this poster should have tried the fluff forum but the original post was in 2009. I'm not sure if we even had a fluff forum back then. We certainly didn't have a Scalenex.
     
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  14. pendrake
    Skink Priest

    pendrake Well-Known Member

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    What’s it like? ......cold-blooded.
     
  15. Lizerd
    Skink Priest

    Lizerd Well-Known Member

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    You hit the nail on the head. Intelligence is really relative. We humans with high amounts of reasoning and self awareness look down on other creatures. Case in point me and my own lizard.
    In reasoning and logic, I am hands down vastly more intelligent. But when it comes to say escaping or survival He is out of my league, miles ahead.
    To say he is stupid really isn’t fair. We would die in his rocky homeland in 2 days, and he could live there for over 20 years.

    With the saurus this is very similar. They have a different kind of intelligence.
     

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