I've been going through all things Terrinoth, and adding all of the named NPCs I can find. There are a TON of them. I may not have too much info on each, but I also included the reference card where applicable (Whether Descent, Runebound, Runewars, etc.) I know for us, we plan on using actual existing named NPCs a bit, so thought it might be fun for others as well.

Here's my link for it.

https://www.scabard.com/pbs/campaign/235523/folder/263802

Enjoy!

Note, reference card is typically in the "Character Sheet" tab, since it was convenient.

Some of the thoughts/links I've just posted to this discussion might help- I'm planning on using many of them in my adventure series I'm currently working on:

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/299679-missing-12-heroes-from-conversion-kit/

I'll definitely look through it, to see if any you have that I don't. I'm still working through some of them, but most should now be there. Mostly just going through the ROT book to see any oddball mentions. Have you looked at my list?

5 minutes ago, IamGazrok said:

I'll definitely look through it, to see if any you have that I don't. I'm still working through some of them, but most should now be there. Mostly just going through the ROT book to see any oddball mentions. Have you looked at my list?

Yes, and impressed - good to see I'm not the only one obsessively scouring the archives and my Terrinoth games for useful nuggets for RPG use and epic lore-spanning adventures (and a few people say it's not that inspiring a setting - they're so wrong)

Between us all we could eventually end up with everything character/monster/npc wise covered.

There is of course also 'the ancients' (I think from the Isheim-set old version adventure for Runebound) but bringing space travellers and sci fi/ sci fi tech into it kinda feels wrong for the fantasy setting (hi tech armor - why???) so personally I tend to pretend that thing never happened Arvel's awesome though and that might have been her debut (not totally sure), also like the non-sci fi characters that featured in this game and others.

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2009/1/9/welcome-to-isheim/

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38643/runebound-frozen-wastes

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/38643/runebound-frozen-wastes/images

I have them in the Bestiary. For me, it's more like the work of ancient dwarves...like the ones in Skyrim. Though I do muck around a little with Spelljammer (D&D in space)....I plan to severely limit any references to it.

9 minutes ago, IamGazrok said:

I have them in the Bestiary. For me, it's more like the work of ancient dwarves...like the ones in Skyrim. Though I do muck around a little with Spelljammer (D&D in space)....I plan to severely limit any references to it.

They should maybe be in such community resources for completeness even though they feel a bit off-genre

Did you catch the other things from that old expansion? Might be worth checking with the BGG Frozen Wastes images.

Every time you think you know all things Terrinoth you find something new

Like the idea of the snow viper- looks like a comfy blanket/ is really a deadly snake-entity in the snow (well hidden!)

Yep. Archellus even added the snow viper

7 minutes ago, IamGazrok said:

Yep. Archellus even added the snow viper

Which I discovered just after this post, Archellus has also been great for diving deep into the lore.

The Pegasus is a yeron to the Latari- maybe have it as both names with one in brackets. Ah, you've got it- do you think they're different creatures or the same creature with different names? Hadn't considered the different creatures option til now.

Did you find an image for the dimora from the canon or is it non-FFG- I couldn't find much on the dimora outside of the RPG materials?

I assume they are different (at least going by canon artwork). In the ROT book, the FFG art on page 174...the larger version of this pic has a traditional pegasus pictured flying. There are some older references to pegasi too, in other terrinoth products that came before it.

The dimora is not a canon pic. I don't believe one exists, so I found something as close as possible to the description. My players always need visuals. (and it's my own pet peeve).

4 hours ago, IamGazrok said:

I assume they are different (at least going by canon artwork). In the ROT book, the FFG art on page 174...the larger version of this pic has a traditional pegasus pictured flying. There are some older references to pegasi too, in other terrinoth products that came before it.

The dimora is not a canon pic. I don't believe one exists, so I found something as close as possible to the description. My players always need visuals. (and it's my own pet peeve).

I've wondered ever since the Genesys sourcebook if dimora were a 'species' for a future release- maybe a Descent game that got scrapped or/and the 'new' project that FFG are currently working on....

Lost Legends and the new characters and at least some of the redesigns for those heroes not used from 1e to 2e Descent suggested to me something elementally themed and I'd wondered if the dimora played into this. Lots of subtle hints- Mad Carthos' new art having a sword similar to a fae sword / dagger but a different colour, slightly echoing Varikas' weapon, the elementalist in LL and how it fits these missing D2e characters, the fact the dimora are a similar type of entity to the fae....

I might play with this elemental idea in some way.

The four unused characters in RTL had various other echoes to the ones missing from D1e, even down to Shadar's triple-tied hair, so I think some things linking them were planned. Hope they make it over to the new game....

It's a fun puzzle to try and spot these sometimes subtle potential links!

On the Descent thread you asked 'Do you have a link for the new images for Laughin Buldar and Aurim? I haven't seen those, not even in searching.' - I'm not sure (as you can imagine some info gets lost in all the research), but I know some of the art I've seen I've only seen in the 'Realms of Terrinoth' sourcebook- so there could be images in that not in any of the games (although some images are in the various games), this is why I really hope FFG will allow more of the art to be used in Foundry projects in future, although things for obvious reasons may prevent this such as the terms agreed with the artists/ wanting to keep it for their own product solely.

.... just searching dimora nuggets now (keeping it separate so it's together)

"When the Aymhelin Forest was torn apart by war between the Fae and Dimora" - just a mention - https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/10/18/allies-of-the-aymhelin/

Couldn't get any specifics but they may be in Legacy of Dragonholt (one of the few games not yet in my collection)- one article in a language other than my own on the game mentions 'dimora', so they 'could' be in it, perhaps without a picture- anybody with the game who knows please chip in! I hope to have it soon. But then the same applies to 'Heroes of Terrinoth' (I delayed getting both to get some older items while I still could!), there's also an article on that with 'dimora' in... These mixed results are often spam sites that put random linked words in to please search engines though.

I did find out the name might originate from residence/abode in translation/origin but with how much of a blank it got game-wise I've not hit gold yet....

As an aside looking at Battlemist things have evolved (aka improved) a lot since then *smiles* plus subtle geek-find _ Mennara has two r's on the gamebox! Quite a few other things changed since too checking the old images from Battlemist and Diskwars.

https://boardgamegeek.com/image/491545/battlemist

Ok this was supposed to be all dimora but the flying Uthuk- might have to use this equipment idea! https://boardgamegeek.com/image/4107300/diskwars

... and still finding new stuff like the blood spider and orc torch-throwers (how many entities are there- Diskwars alone adds loads to the mix, including some odd ones *smiles*) https://boardgamegeek.com/image/1282122/diskwars

or this great Ru take on a catapult (a human catapult to launch the Ru Airgliders (this reveals that's what the above are) even further https://boardgamegeek.com/image/166150/diskwars

Annoying that some people don't get the concept of photos being in focus though- can't read what some things are!

OOH Excited moment- could THIS be our elusive dimora??? The description says it introduced the K'yrth faction. Could they be dimora? Certainly plausible, and k'yrth sounds a lot like earth, we need to find someone who had/has this Diskwars set (or we need FFG to tell us) as the internet gave me absolutely nothing to conclude this theory, for dimora or K'yrth (The Wastelands), I actually really like this critter, even if it's not one of the dimora can we beg FFG to bring it back with a similar look! https://boardgamegeek.com/image/854120/diskwars

As for other entities, anyone feeling brave (I don't own any Diskwars sets) *passes out* https://boardgamegeek.com/image/166193/diskwars

FFG- you need to do some more Terrinoth Genesys sourcebooks and cards Although Diskwars was multiple publishers- don't know if they'd have any rights problems for that content.

question for the Terrinoth experts. The hero called Zyla is she a pixie ? a fae or half fae (if there is such a thing) from what i could gather in the old rune bound is refered to a an ice pixie ? If its a pixie is its supposed to be really small or more elf like in size ?

9 hours ago, Archellus said:

question for the Terrinoth experts. The hero called Zyla is she a pixie ? a fae or half fae (if there is such a thing) from what i could gather in the old rune bound is refered to a an ice pixie ? If its a pixie is its supposed to be really small or more elf like in size ?

Zyla is a fae entity /being/... now although indeed seems to have started off as merely an ice pixie- there are allusions to this in the older artwork- she seems to have an ice shield/sword there, but is now described as having an eldritch sword (eldritch= weird and sinister or ghostly) - note that the new art for Mad Carthos suggests he too now has a similar sword, I've wondered if Varikas does too, I'm thinking is there some connection maybe.

However as "The Fae are mysterious, primordial creatures that reside in the Aenlong." (ROT) this ghostly/ icy concept still fits- if you think of Zyla and the fae in the way I'm leaning towards- having a connection with the ghostly/otherworldly/primeval/always-been-there origins of things, then the cold void of space means there's quite a case thematically for the fae, including Zyla, effectively being both, Zyla's also of the cold void origin point of things.

The fae are implied very much to be immortal but in the sense of being some sort of first / original creature/entity outside the limits of mortality (ROT goes into more detail)- and already many centuries old, as discussed before the fae are a quite specific take on things like pixies/fairies etc and different to these other traditional creatures in folklore. ROT implies they're never to be trusted, Zyla is therefore some kind of exception having joined heroes at times, but she's left as still something of a mystery.

'Fall of the dark star' is all about star shards that can corrupt and a fallen star from which they splinter which many prophecies foretell- Zyla has this prior knowledge, in "Fall..." she too has the potential to be corrupted - think she was chosen as its hero for that reason. Perhaps the star, the primordial and the fae/Zyla are all linked by the 'original magic' that is in those particular shards (they're a take on shards different to that of the ones from Timmoran's shattered magical orb) As Zyla has a thirst for defeating evil maybe she has some sort of caretaker role linked to her fae origins- but maybe lacks the complex cognitive skills to understand it fully (it seems she acts in a fairly disconnected, unconcerned, primeval way) the chaos of the fae and similar entities echoes that of the beginnings of time- there's a suggestion that they, the dimora and perhaps others, are the 'less refined' earliest lifeforms (everything I've mentioned from ROT is from memory so to be sure look it up in ROT, it's along those kinds of lines).

As the fae have chaos magic I imagine this to be the chaos /starbound magic echoed by the shards of the dark star and thematically to be similar to the idea that the origins of worlds and life (such as the big bang, stars forming, the fiery chaos of early planets etc) are quite chaotic and destructive, very primal and unforgiving, yet essentially so- the touchpaper/spark of life and livable/living worlds. Which for me is the logic behind the character choices made for Zyla.

Maybe Zyla's keeping the more destructive sides of such power in check (thematically makes sense for her to be seeking to take down demons!)... https://descent2e.fandom.com/wiki/Treaty_of_Champions

echoed by 'she’s eager to pit her strength against a demon lord.'

There could be the possibility that she's not as primal as all the fae as she seems more able to interact with other species than it is suggested would normally be the case for the fae, but I think this is down to what interpretation players decide to bring to things. Maybe she's a sort of evolution of the fae becoming a stage or more closer to a fully formed lifeform? Still not there as a fully-formed flesh-based entity " figures can move through Zyla, but cannot end their movement in the space she occupies. " (d1e), but perhaps closer than many of her kind. ROT implies you'd never see the fae's true form and would be terrified if you could, which fits her ghostly qualities.

https://descent2e.fandom.com/wiki/Zyla

https://www.descentinthedark.com/_z_/zyla.php

I'm working on something (one of my many fan projects!) for Genesys RPG and Descent inspired by 'Fall of the Dark Star' and 'Treaty of Champions' which features Zyla and some of my interpretations of these ideas.

Yep, she's definitely a fae now, as canon, but wasn't so much in earlier versions. And normal sized.

I've got a pretty long writeup on her. https://www.scabard.com/pbs/campaign/235523/character/263828

Due to her very alien appearance (ver Gueillrmo del Torro-like), I definitely plan on using her in the campaign soon, as an occasional ally and foil for the party. It really hits home that Terrinoth is not your typical fantasy world. And that's what drew our group to use it.

I also think of Zyla as having a few of the characteristics of the mythological character/ deity to some Kali- obviously they are very different characters but there are levels on which she's that kind of entity- there are quite a few overlaps. So I think it has that universal good/evil; life/death; opposing forces theme where these wilder, raw forces of nature and the universe try to balance each other out in a sort of ongoing tug of war/ conflict.

The thematic sense of Zyla certainly fits this aspect of Kali: "The name Kali means... force of time. When there were neither the creation, nor the sun, the moon, the planets, and the earth, there was only darkness and everything was created from the darkness. The dark appearance of Kali represents the darkness from which everything was born " (Wikipedia from Harding 1993)- I think Zyla and the dark shards are the same sort of concept. Not being able to see the fae's true form makes sense- they are a paradox- both from a time when nothing had form and a time when it does. A time when Zyla exists and a time where she doesn't. An unfathomable bridge between a time- and realm- of a chaotic jumbled mix of pieces of a jigsaw and a time- and realm- where those pieces have somehow formed into something it's possible to make some sort of sense of.

A lot of characters in popular culture have been inspired by these kinds of characters of faith and folklore, fairytale and legend. So I think Zyla's a clever modern take on some of these.

So I'd also say the fae aren't actually evil per se- they're just such a raw beginning of life, so close to that cold, chaotic void before life that their powers and magic and mindset has that unpredictable, somewhat chaotic, sometimes cruel because of that 'untamed nature', primal fury. So they can perhaps seem or act evil as they act from all that intensity and impulse.

They simply don't behave with a human mindset, so you kind of have to approach it this way. In Zyla's case, it seems she at least does have SOME of that mindset (for now) in joining the heroes....but who really knows the whims of the Fae?

FYI, I'm in the process of breaking up my "Official NPCs" folder into subfolders for easier lookup and use. I'm basically breaking them all up into "Heroes" (the playable heroes in Descent, Runebound), "Villains in Terrinoth" (adversaries), "Rulers" (such as Barons, leaders of cities, nations, etc.), "Military Leaders" (the leaders in the various militaries of Mennara), "Named NPCs" (allies, lesser mentioned but named NPCs), and "Roles" (for cards that were more role based like local bandits, casters, etc. versus actual named folks).

It will take a while. I did the A's so far this morning....lol.

EDIT: B's now done. Only 24 letters to go....lol.

Finally finished with this!