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[IndigoFenix]

I'll be avoiding dfhack for this mod.

Can dfhack tie a script to an interaction yet?  If so, your idea should be pretty simple to pull off.

[Meph]

Script to interaction, yes of course, for many years. It was more the balancing that I had issues with. How to avoid possession, cure it, detect it, when to trigger it... I was using PARTIED_OUT counter for that when testing, that way people that attend parties in your meeting area would trigger the invasion, in your most vulnerable area of the fort.

[Cthulhu_Pakabol]

Indigo, just wanted to post to say that I'm a huge fan of your work, this included. The magic you work with code is pretty amazing, and I love seeing you add in all these oft-underappreciated creatures. Keep it up!

[IndigoFenix]

Script to interaction, yes of course, for many years. It was more the balancing that I had issues with. How to avoid possession, cure it, detect it, when to trigger it... I was using PARTIED_OUT counter for that when testing, that way people that attend parties in your meeting area would trigger the invasion, in your most vulnerable area of the fort.

Hmm, well a possessing or body-hopping entity would be an interesting challenge.  I'll see if I can make something along those lines, then the possession effects can be modified accordingly.

Indigo, just wanted to post to say that I'm a huge fan of your work, this included. The magic you work with code is pretty amazing, and I love seeing you add in all these oft-underappreciated creatures. Keep it up!

Thanks!  Do you have any suggestions for creatures to add?

[Cthulhu_Pakabol]

Thanks!  Do you have any suggestions for creatures to add?

Well, one I was thinking of was the wendigo. Has a deer's head, is thin to the point of being skeletal, with tough, leathery skin, can fly (without wings), and lives in tundras and glaciers. All the old Native American stories about them tend to refer to cannibals turning into wendigos, but I was figuring you could simulate something similar by causing its bite to transform one into another wendigo. Would likely be very hard to kill, though perhaps they could be weak to warmth (being closely associated with ice and winter.)

Another one is the Nachtkrapp, from German folklore. It's a giant, eyeless raven with holes in its wings. If you look into its eyeholes you're destined to die, and if you look at the holes in its wings you're likely to be stricken with disease. I suppose this could function in a similar way as your gorgon code, giving you an option to not look, while having to fight it blind. If you chose to look, I suppose it'd be randomized which part you stared into.

[IndigoFenix]

Hmm, well if wendingos were originally humans, eating them would count as cannibalism, right?  Maybe that would be more thematically appropriate...

[Meph]

Another simple, mythological creature would be a naga, indian style. 7-headed snake. Would be a cool pet, you can buy them from elves, and every year it grows a new head till it reaches 7. Simple to make too, just take a snake with an interaction to transform into a n+1 headed snake after a year.

[IndigoFenix]

I would like to do Nagas, though I've never heard of that particular legend.

Perception of snakes and snake deities are interesting, Chinese loong and the South American feathered serpents are generally seen as good while the western world prefers the evil serpent and dragon, with Naga seemingly falling in the middle.  I'd like to include some kind of benevolent serpent deity without being too redundant.  DF doesn't work too well with benevolent monsters though...

[Cthulhu_Pakabol]

Hmm, well if wendingos were originally humans, eating them would count as cannibalism, right?  Maybe that would be more thematically appropriate...

Very good point- in fact, many of the legends include the idea that those who became wendigos only ate human flesh because they were starving and needed to survive. Imagine a glacier fortress, your food supply is struggling, no beasts are coming by- but one of your hunters manages to kill a strange creature out in the snow. You butcher it and allow your dwarves to feast, but they start to feel strange...

Would probably add a bit of [fun].

[IndigoFenix]

I added the wendigo as a wild animal and a curse.  They are powerful and crazed, so should be suitable for sociopathic adventurers, though pretty easy to avoid.

Also made gorgons generate through curses to keep them from going extinct too easily (and to fit the original myth).  Player gorgons may be overpowered though, since they can use their gaze without restrictions.

Also centaurs, griffons, kamaitachi, and others.

[Cthulhu_Pakabol]

Awesome!

[IndigoFenix]

Updated with Gorgons and Wendigos.

Also for this update are Kamaitachi (flying weasels with anesthetic venom slashes), Qilin, Loong, Feathered Serpents, and Griffons.

Adamant Lions are another semimegabeast based on the Nemean Lion.  Its skin and claws are as hard as adamantine.  Its skin is still flexible, though, so blunt damage will work.  Its leather has the same properties.

Golden Deer are very rare, fast creatures, sacred to the gods of the hunt.  If you see one, chase it - if you keep up the chase and get close enough, you have a chance of gaining a blessing of enhanced speed that manifests the next day.  HOWEVER, don't actually wound it or kill it, or you have a chance of being cursed with bad luck (like a mummy's curse).

Centaurs are now in and they are playable.  Their personalities are particularly interesting, being a mix of cultured and immoderate.  They are alcohol dependent and will raid fortresses for alcohol, but they also make good teachers when they do join civilization.  They are good runners and fighters thanks to their large size and hooves.  Not such good climbers, though.

Kappas have been modified, they are smaller now (about the size of children) but strong enough to wrestle with the big races.  When their head-plate is wet, they gain almost all vampire perks.  I found that you can also refill your head by spilling your waterskin on the ground and crawling through the puddle, which makes sense; although the infinite water exploit may allow you to abuse this.  They seem to have problems showing up in worldgen, though; you can increase the chances of playable kappas by increasing the savagery of your world (which isn't a bad idea if you want to encounter this mod's creatures in general).

[Cthulhu_Pakabol]

I have another suggestion, one I think would be really fitting for Dwarf Fortress: The Gashadokuro.

They're a variant of Yokai from Japan, described as fifteen times taller than the average person, and said to be made from the amassed bones of those who died of starvation. Supposedly they ambush lone travelers at night, bite off their heads, and drink the blood that sprays out. Pretty straightforward, if you ask me- guess they could be semimegabeasts. Or maybe megabeasts.



Apparently they're also supposed to be indestructible and can turn invisible, but I think that'd be a BIT too much.

[Meph]

If you take mythical monsters because there were mentioned in historical texts, legends, etc, would you consider adding mythical characters too? Icarus, a man who can fly, The monkey king, who can make copies of himself, that middle-eastern prophet guy called Jesus who can heal you and ressurect the dead...  various saints and real-life hero characters. St. Patrick would insta-kill all snakes that come in sight.

[Rammok]

Hi IndigoFenix,

Another great mod idea. I would love to include it in the upcoming Dark Ages: Chapter II, with your permission.

GM-X