jb. 20 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Typically in cRPGs, it seems the very large beasts (eg dragons) are all carnivores, or so aggressive that they attack on sight. This is contrary to what we observe in our world, where most very large animals (mammoths, elephants, whales) are herbivores, and for good reason; big animals need a lot of food. Plants are much more readily available than meat, and they don't try to run away from you, so you can make do with a slower metabolism. In PE I'd like to see the occasional massive beast wandering around eating leaves and not attacking you on sight. You may choose to fight it and gain xp, but it could be an extremely powerful creature, and there may be a herd of them. Story possibilities are here too, such as angering the local druids by poaching, or working with them to stop poachers. Thoughts? (apologies if this has been posted before. threads on this forum go by so fast it's impossible to keep track of them all) 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Macbeth 95 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Pretty cool idea actually. Wouldn't mind a triceratops wandering the woods! Quote Chronicler of the Obsidian Order; for the pen is mightier than the sword! Link to post Share on other sites
kenup 232 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Well, whales, dependant on the species, can eat anything. In fact they mostly eat fish. But I do like the idea of non attacking on sight large herbivores. Though I don't see why they should be "extremely difficult". Lions have a nice way of dealing with elephants, especially the little ones. I don't see them being hard for trained warriors, possibly with magic and firearms(however primitive). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Orogun01 2,848 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I support killing giant vegans hippies. 2 Quote I'd say the answer to that question is kind of like the answer to "who's the sucker in this poker game?"* *If you can't tell, it's you. Link to post Share on other sites
jb. 20 Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 But I do like the idea of non attacking on sight large herbivores. Though I don't see why they should be "extremely difficult". Lions have a nice way of dealing with elephants, especially the little ones. I don't see them being hard for trained warriors, possibly with magic and firearms(however primitive). Sure, they need not all be extremely difficult; a range would be ideal. But it'd be nice if there were some that were very tough. Although your party may have weapons and magic, the beast could have some form of magic as well, even if it's just a supernaturally tough skin. In our own world, I'm imagining an armoured warrior attacking a rhinoceros, and it seems like an ill-advised venture. If the people in the PE world can have exceptional abilities, it's only reasonable that some animals do too, and they needn't all be aggressive. Sidenote: I didn't know that lions would attack elephants. At least, fully grown ones. Gonna google it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kai 88 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I like the idea, also would make sense for various people to try and use them as a mean of warfare with various levels of success. Or having a druid spell "summon giant herbivore" with a 25% chance that the beast simply ignores the enemies and starts to eat some plant instead. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Macbeth 95 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Creatures like this were a cool concept in Risen: they only became hostile if you attacked them or became too prominent on their territory. Felt kind of natural. Quote Chronicler of the Obsidian Order; for the pen is mightier than the sword! Link to post Share on other sites
kenup 232 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) But I do like the idea of non attacking on sight large herbivores. Though I don't see why they should be "extremely difficult". Lions have a nice way of dealing with elephants, especially the little ones. I don't see them being hard for trained warriors, possibly with magic and firearms(however primitive). Sure, they need not all be extremely difficult; a range would be ideal. But it'd be nice if there were some that were very tough. Although your party may have weapons and magic, the beast could have some form of magic as well, even if it's just a supernaturally tough skin. In our own world, I'm imagining an armoured warrior attacking a rhinoceros, and it seems like an ill-advised venture. If the people in the PE world can have exceptional abilities, it's only reasonable that some animals do too, and they needn't all be aggressive. Sidenote: I didn't know that lions would attack elephants. At least, fully grown ones. Gonna google it. Well, it might be cheetahs, I'm not sure. But I do remember a feline species hunting elephants in a documentary. You make a good point. But the same can be said about natural predators in PE. A rhino is definitely a hard target, an elephant isn't as much. Edited October 15, 2012 by kenup Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kabaliero 128 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) Large harmless insects! Edited October 15, 2012 by kabaliero Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rjshae 9,649 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Well, it might be cheetahs, I'm not sure. But I do remember a feline species hunting elephants in a documentary. Yep, I remember that. There's a lion pride that specializes in taking down elephants. Some will also go after giraffes, which is dangerous work since a giraffe kick can cave in a chest. 1 Quote "It has just been discovered that research causes cancer in rats." Link to post Share on other sites
jb. 20 Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 Well, it might be cheetahs, I'm not sure. But I do remember a feline species hunting elephants in a documentary. I think I just watched that on youtube, and the commentary grossly overplayed the situation... yes, seven lions attacked a lone adult female elephant, but they were unable to bring her down. I don't think they make a habit of it, especially if there's more than one elephant, which is usually the case as females travel in groups. Male elephants travel alone, but they are much larger than females (up to twice the weight) and more aggressive, so lions seem to steer clear of them. It's quite common for lions to attack a young elephant though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wirdjos 134 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Well, it might be cheetahs, I'm not sure. But I do remember a feline species hunting elephants in a documentary. I think I just watched that on youtube, and the commentary grossly overplayed the situation... yes, seven lions attacked a lone adult female elephant, but they were unable to bring her down. I don't think they make a habit of it, especially if there's more than one elephant, which is usually the case as females travel in groups. Male elephants travel alone, but they are much larger than females (up to twice the weight) and more aggressive, so lions seem to steer clear of them. It's quite common for lions to attack a young elephant though. Lions hunting elephants didn't make much sense to me either considering what a hippo can do to a lion. Like Macbeth mentioned with Risen, I like the idea of giant herbivores because it sounds like it would make the world feel a little more natural. And honestly, I would like it if the world wasn't constantly trying to kill me for once. That gets a little old after a while. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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