(I'm Bacck... again...)

So, what do you suppose the other creatures of "Arabian Nights" might be like?

I'm back. I was listening to the soundtrack for the "Nightmare Before Christmas", and got this idea.

Samhain and Necros:

Samhain is the embodiment of Halloween. He lives in a dark temple deep in the Great and Awful Forest, full of monsters, ghouls, and other beasts, and, quite honestly, is going through a sort of mid-life crisis. He's gotten bored with his holiday, and is looking to try something new with it. Hopefully, the characters can help him out before he does something hideously stupid, ie, going to the Evil Queen, or WORSE, THE ROTTEN KING.

Necros is a bogeyman who works for Samhain. More information on him is coming later.

Jack of the Lantern. Pumpkins just won't scare anybody anymore. He needs to think about something new. Something fresh. Kids heads are about the right size, I guess...

Iron Hans(Iron John, as he is known in some places). He is sick with the humans who hate him for his iron skin. In his foundry in the forest, captives are bathed in molten steel so they can know his pain. His army of Charred Ones is growing with every passing moment.

Lycaon. A barbaric, cannibalistic king who was cursed with lycanthropy because he proved to the gods that he was not worthy of being human. His brood of werwolves still prowls his ruined kingdom.

That's what pops to mind right now. I just came back from a trip to the Negev and I am really tired. I might have more ideas tommorow.

Good night.

I think Winnie the Pooh and friends would be interesting. No, they wouldn't be demented. In fact, they'd be the last truly good fairy tale creatures left in the Checkerboard Kingdom. The Hundred Acre Woods could be like a safe haven for the kids during the adventure.

As I mentioned in a different part of the board, Queen of Shadow, Queen of Light, and Valentine from MirrorMask would make pretty good NPCs. Valentine would actually help you until he gets bribed by someone. But he would come back a few scenes later(...maybe).

And how about the Brothers Grimm themselves? You could say that after they collected or created or whatever the Grimm Lands, they decided to live there themselves. But after the Rotten King came into power, they were forced into hiding. Now they are the only characters that know his true weakness.

RhinoBarbarian said:

Yeah, What do you suppose they all might be like? Also, what do you suppose the creature that convinced the Brothers to undertake their quest, Melusine, might be like? (Yes, it's me, the guy who started this forum. I can just never remember my original password or username...)

Another thing my dad and I came up with is the Rotten King employing the Pied Piper of Hamelin as a "Child-Catcher", since, mostly, no child in their right mind would want to see the Rotten King.

Halloween said:

Also, what would their traits be? Where would they live?

Well, it's pretty obvious where Winnie the Pooh and friends would live. The Hundred Acre Wood. The Rabbit wood have a high 4-H trait. Tigger would be amazing at Cool tests(because, let's face it, he is the man). Piglet would totally have the Cute as a Button ability. The Owl would have an extremely high Book Learning grade. For the rest, I'll have to sit down and really think about it. But I'll let you know as soon as I have something.

As for the Brothers Grimm, as the creators(for lack of a better word) of the world in which they live, all their Traits except Imagination, which would be 0, would be 12th grade and they could use any ability that does not require Imagination that any character or creature in the Grimm Lands can use. Sure, they may be extremely powerful. But since they have no Imagination(The Rotten King did something to seel it away so they couldn't reshape or affect the world anymore) they can't do anything to stop The Rotten King. That is why they need the kids. Maybe it is the Brothers Grimm themselves that brought the kids to the Grimm Lands.

As for Melusine, what if she is like a vampire, but instead of feeding on blood, what if she feeds on fear? The original dark and horrific nature of the Grimm Fairy Tales was perfect to scare people and give her more to feed upon. Which may also be why very few of the inhabitants of the Grimm Lands kill an adventurer outright. Maybe Melusine has a bit of sway over their lives and uses them to promote terror to feed her hunger.

Sweet... What would their personalities be like?

The Brothers Grimm would be very dark and disturb characters. Having seen their beloved fairy tale land be ravaged by The Rotten King from within and by people's belief in fairy tales waning from without, they fell into despair. In fact, now that I think about it, it is probably those reasons they have no more Imagination and nothing The Rotten King did(directly anyway). Being the creators of the Grimm Lands, they could simply say a few words and The Rotten King would be gone. But they no longer have faith in humanity, or any living thing for that matter.

Melusine could appear as a number of things. Since she feeds on fear, she can change her shape, or maybe just make it seem like she has changed her shape, into something a character fears more then anything. Gameplay wise, if this happens, the character being affected will have to make a Pluck test. The difficulty is upto the Narrator. In her natural form, though few ever see that, she would look like a bizzare angel. Beautiful golden tipped wings. A flowing, white robe tied to her waist by a golden rope. While her skin would besilky and smooth to the touch, the emotionless look of her eyes, the hardness of her gaze, and emptiness of her voice would leave all but the bravest warriors shaking in their boots.

So if the Brothers no longer have faith in anything, why did they (potentially) summon the kids?

Also, what could bring the Grimms' hope back?

Also, what do you suppose Melusine's personality might be like?

Also also, where would the Brothers live?

LOL! So many questions. Thanks for pointing that out about the Brothers Grimm and summon the kids. Guess I didn't really think that one through. As for the rest of your questions, why not try to come up with a few ideas yourself? I mean, I don't mind sharing my own. But I find it to be a lot funner and better for the gaming group to come up with your own ideas rather then using someone else's. I am sure you can think of tons of things if you just sit down and think.

Perhaps some part of the Grimms hasn't given up hope, and believes that today's kids, who are more open-minded, can save the Grimm Lands. They might be able to regain hope if they hear about some of the things the kids have accomplished. Not sure about Melusine, but I think that the Brothers Grimm might live somewhere in the Checkerboard Kingdoms...

This reminds me of a book I used to read as a child. It is about a young girl, who buys a bunch of bananas on the market and eats one, that actually turned out to be of red color. Afterwards she finds herself trapped in a fairy tale kingdom, where she meets numereous characters from the Grimm fairy tales.

She even meets the Brothers Grimm, who roam the countryside of the kingdom in a old motorcycle and help her to leave the fairy tale world.

You see, this thing (while not scary) is great inspirational stuff for Grimm (at least for those who speak german). Take a look:

www.wor.com/shopping/shopexd.asp

www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/3401041738/ref=dp_image_text_0

I think the Brothers Grimm rather be traveling than staying in a fixed location. Perhaps they search for the children they called. Maybe they are trapped themselves and can only leave the Grimm Lands if outsiders (like the SCs) agree, that they stay in the Grimm Lands on their stead.
Maybe only one of them searches for willing children, while the other one watches over an ancient, big tome called „Kinder- und Hausmärchen“ - the original book the Brothers wrote back then. It could be hidden in some place in the Grimm Lands (it's secret center location). This place cannot be reached using the Beanstalk – children must find another way, as it always lies in the opposite direction of the location they are moving towards. Hmm... maybe there is this „stepping through mirrors“ kinda stuff.

I also thought of intruducing „The Wind in the Willows“ to the Grimm Lands.

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_in_the_Willows

Perhaps it is a walkin upright and talking animals kingdom in the Checkerboard Kingdoms near the Great and Awkward Forrest. I'd like to keep the main characters friendly, while the weasels and maybe some wolves rule the country. The other animals could be forced to stay in their homes and wait for some sadistic carnivores, who rob their children to eat them in the course of one of their great bankets. Mole, Ratty and the other ones might actually form some kind of resistance against this reign of terror.
Oh yeah, and maybe the ruler of this country is indeed the Frog King. When the princess kissed him, he didn't turn a prince but mere a humanoid toad creature – and this ugly frog likes to be in the company of young beautiful girls. Beware, popular kids...

Other characters here could be the Bremen Musicians, who sought a refuge in the „Willow Lands“ or Reineke Fuchs (Reynard the Fox), who introduces the children to the problems there.

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynard

For the „Tales of 1001 Nights“: Why not make a specific country in the Grimm Lands, where these stories could take place.

I thought of a country called „The Endless Sands“, which is always the far south of the location the children are travelling. Then there might be the „Land of Eternal Winter“, which is a snowfilled, chilling country, that is always the far north of the location the children are travelling.

I have a Grimm campaign starting, in which I lead the children to those „Winterlands“. These harsh nations have a slightly russian flair and are ruled by the cold-hearted Snow Queen (from the tale of Hans Christian Andersen). She creates loyal servants by piercing their very hearts with magical ice crystals, that draw all emotion away from them. Her right hand is a childish boy named Kai, who was once a child from the Real World, but has been lured into the Grimm Lands by the promises of the Snow Queen – his sister Gerda followed him and is now on a eternal quest to find a cure, that could bring back the warmth to her brothers heart.

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Queen

And there is one. There is a little beggar girl in one of the richer cities of the „Lands of Eternal Winter“, who tries to sell matches to pedestrians – and is beaten every night by the nuns in her orphanage for failing to sell even a single match. Now, that the winter becomes harsher every day, she has fear to return to the orphanage and strays the streets of the city to find at least one who buys the matches. She doesn't eat, doesn't drink, doesn't sleep until she has found one.
What she does not know is that the matches have magical powers. A fire lit by one of them is the only thing that can melt the ice in the hearts of the Snow Queens Victims.

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_Girl

I already introduced my troupe to the story: they stumbled into the Grimm Lands, were attacked by the ice wolves of the queen and were then saved by... well... Santa Clause. Okay, probably he is more like the german Saint Nikolaus than the Coca Cola mascott – he has beaten the wolves up with a crozier. He is kinda sad, that many children no longer believe in him and before the Snow Queen took the crown of the northern lands, he was the ruler of a land, in which every day was christmas day. Now he needs the children to help him make the „Winterlands“ the friendly place they once were.

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaus

I'm sorry for all the links... I was not sure if everyone knew the fairy tales I am reffering to

Greetings

Jiba

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet... Me likie... What do you suppose the creatures of Wonderland might be like?

Speaking of Christmas and Saint Nicholas, did anybody hear read the Nail Gaiman poem "Nicholas Was"? It has a very, very dark twist on the original myth that has a very Grimm feel to it. I got scared. I guess if I was another person in another place I would have get even more scared(Being an Israeli jew I know what Christmas is or what Santa Clause is... But I never "grew up" on those tales. I alwayes kind of knew him as a saint who was "disniefied" by someone so that he could tell children to act like good christians so they can get gifts. It actually kind of disgusted me. Than again, I am just weird.)

Actually, the figure of an old man (or in some cultures woman), who brings gifts to the children is much older than the Saint Nikolaus myth (or at least I think so). In the old german and austrian traditions, Santa Clause is accompanied by an ugly-looking, feral man (his name's Knecht Ruprecht), who punishes the bad children, while Santa rewards the good ones - good cop, bad cop.

Hmm, I wonder what the Pinocchio story might be like, when "grimmyfied".

Or even the works of Lewis Carroll?

PS: Regarding Pinnochio, I think Fox and Cat might now work for the Ferret's Nest (in case you didn't know, the Ferret's Nest is a great Thieves' Guild, which exists in hundreds of different Checkerboard Kingdoms, as well as in the Great and Awful Forest and on different ships on the Sea. They're mostly happy when they're the center of attention.). Either that, or Fox and Cat might have been blackmailed into working for the Rotten King, who holds Fox's tail. (For those of you who don't know who Fox and Cat are, they're known as Foulfellow and Gideon in the Disney movie). Also, Pinnochio might be a lying, scheming puppet with a desperate need for adoration. he hates his wooden body, and wants to be a real boy. Much to the Cricket's dismay, he's become convinced that he can only become "real" if he eats teh flesh of enough kids.

Here's one set of characters I'll bet you were probably be expecting:

The Knights of the Round Table:

King Arthur Pendragon, like most folks in the Grimm Lands, has gone mad and has turned somewhat evil. However, he has developed a unique coping mechanism: A split personality. In his mind, it is the Black Knight who threatens Camelot, the Black Knight who has allied with the Rotten King, the Black Knight who must be defeated. It has not even crossed hs mind that he may BE the Black Knight.

Patsy: A loyal servant in the service of King Arthur, Patsy is one of the few who knows King Arthur's secret, but has been bullied by the Black Knight into silence.

Sir Lancelot: A French knight, Sir Lancelot is quite heroic, and is in love with a princess named Herbert. He is also slightly homicidal.

Sir Galahad: Formerly a peasant, Sir Galahad is an advocate to democracy, having heard of it from some REal World folks.

Besides the original Knights of the Round Table, some Knights from other Checkerboard Kingdoms have joined, including (but not limited to):

Sir Despereaux Tilling is a great knight from the Checkerboard Kingdom of Dor. He is kind, honorable, courageous, and always tells the truth. He is also an upright, talking mouse. He is so brave, that most people in the Grimm Lands, who have often become quite used to lunacy and cowardice, think he may be mentally ill. Currently, he's on a quest to right the wrongs of the Grimm Lands, and the Knights of the Round Table may be quite useful.

Pinnochio is a psychopathic serial merduerer. He is fond of killing children so he can gather their skins to wear so he can feel more like a real boy. He also enslaved Geppetto to build for him brothers and sisters who will serve him and love him. Unfourtunately Geppetto himself is no wizard, and all he can do is hope that someone will save him befor his monstrous "son" discovers.

As for Lewis Carrol... WOW. This is AWESOME. We must think about the Jabberwock at once.

Undoubtebly, one of the most feared creatures in the Great and Awful Forest is the vile and fiercelicious Jabberwock. Horribly mad, and madder now that he's been "repaired", the Jabberwock's great strength is now matched by his intellect. The story of the Jabberwock begins after he was badly wounded by the beamish boy who would become the king of Headless Heights. Half-dead, only one thing was keeping the Jabberwock alive at that time: Hatred. It was in this condition that Clockmaster Serge found him, and thus, Serge turned the monstrous Jabberwock into a crazed clockwork cyborg. One of his claws has been replaced with a Swiss-army style appendage, his legs are stained with oil as much as blood, fire bellows in his chest, as his inner furnace pumps blood throughout his body, as well as lubricant. Wings reminiscent of something Da Vinci might have done allow him to become airborne. Finally, eight mighty smokestacks thunder mercilessly, belching smoke into the sky. The Jabberwock wants one thing: Revenge. He's not sure how much time has passed, so he mostly attacks people who remind him of that CENSORED-ing boy...

villaineuva said:

Well, that's my idea for the Grimm interpretation for the Jabberwock might be, anyway...