In the history of the game, has there ever been a 'proper' name assigned to blink dogs and/or displacer beasts? You know, the way 'orca' is a step up from 'killer whale'?
If not, any suggestions?
The inspiration for the displacer beast is Coeurl in A.E. Van Vogt's story "Black Destroyer". Coeurl is the individual's name, but it could be taken as a name for the species.
(http://www.icshi.net/sevagram/images/illus/black1939-2.jpg)
Not sure blink dogs have a proper name, i think they were created whole cloth as a deterrant to displacer beasts at some stage in the early days of the game...i could be completely wrong though.
Canis Gygax Nicto
Xeno-Pseudopanthera Vogt Conniveo
Threadjacking from "proper" names to Linnaean species names...
Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;858227Canis Gygax Nicto
Xeno-Pseudopanthera Vogt Conniveo
Naah. Only if you assume the original description depict a particular subspecies.
Canis conniventes and
Xenopanthera mendax would be the easy way outs.
If you want a "homage", well, I think the right forms would be adding an "i" to the name.
Canis gygaxi and
Xenopanthera vogti.
Sorry for the threadjack. Loved the idea of giving monsters scientific names at least since Shadowrun. :)
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;858198In the history of the game, has there ever been a 'proper' name assigned to blink dogs and/or displacer beasts?
Tinkles and Gary!
They punish the wicked then break into song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbra-rKXzk4
Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;858227Canis Gygax Nicto
Xeno-Pseudopanthera Vogt Conniveo
:D
great. i know what i'll be using in my game.
didn't one pf product feature 'real' coeurl and not d&d appropriation?
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;858198In the history of the game, has there ever been a 'proper' name assigned to blink dogs and/or displacer beasts? You know, the way 'orca' is a step up from 'killer whale'?
If not, any suggestions?
bah...orca is a step backwards. "Killer Whale" is so much cooler.
Nothing official I recall. Though I believe somewhere in one of the books was the elven name for the blink dog. Tihta Huan was the closest I got with a D&D elven translator..
Thoa works for the Blink Dog as it is one of the early names for the Cape Hunting Dog which is what the Blink Dogs were sometimes described as.
Coeurl works for the Displacer Beast. That is as noted by a poster above the name given in the book it is derived from. I am pretty sure it was given an elven name too at some point.
Quote from: Ghost;858465bah...orca is a step backwards. "Killer Whale" is so much cooler.
They prefer Murder Dolphin now-a-days.
Why are the compound names so bad? They work and some names are like that when they are translated. Plus we have all these descriptive names.
Turkey Vulture.
Ant Lion.
Duck-Billed Platypus
Praying Mantis
So, Blink Dog and Displacer Beast for me are fine. Not everything needs a one-word name.
Quote from: JRT;858477Why are the compound names so bad? They work and some names are like that when they are translated. Plus we have all these descriptive names.
Turkey Vulture.
Ant Lion.
Duck-Billed Platypus
Praying Mantis
So, Blink Dog and Displacer Beast for me are fine. Not everything needs a one-word name.
They also fit in
perfectly in Forgotten Realms. :banghead:
Quote from: Phillip;858201The inspiration for the displacer beast is Coeurl in A.E. Van Vogt's story "Black Destroyer". Coeurl is the individual's name, but it could be taken as a name for the species.
Thanks for beating me to pointing this out; A.E. Van Vogt is one of my favourite authors.
//Panjumanju
Quote from: JRT;858477Why are the compound names so bad? They work and some names are like that when they are translated. Plus we have all these descriptive names.
Turkey Vulture.
Ant Lion.
Duck-Billed Platypus
Praying Mantis
So, Blink Dog and Displacer Beast for me are fine. Not everything needs a one-word name.
This. Crom's hairy nutsack.
And originally UFOs were called "foo fighters."
And in the mid 1970s the bomb release on a B-52 was called the "pickle button."
Quote from: JRT;858477So, Blink Dog and Displacer Beast for me are fine. Not everything needs a one-word name.
I believe a one-word name would work a little better if speaking versions of these creatures with a slightly more developed society were referring to themselves.
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;858583I believe a one-word name would work a little better if speaking versions of these creatures with a slightly more developed society were referring to themselves.
Early edition of White Dwarf had an article for playing a blink dog as a PC. Or more aptly a blink dog pack. You started out as one and through EXP expenditure add first to the dogs HD and damage. then once fully grown at 4HD, each additional purchase adds pack members. Up to 16 total.
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;858583I believe a one-word name would work a little better if speaking versions of these creatures with a slightly more developed society were referring to themselves.
Except the problem with that is many names are rarely created out of whole cloth. Many place names and "common" species names are created by combining descriptive words in a language. For example, Quebec is "where the river narrows" in a native tongue. A lot of common animal names are like that.
For these particular animals, there's no culture so I doubt they have a language of their own (blink dogs are "semi-intelligent" if I remember correctly). We would assume that they would be named by the popular culture (the "common tongue"), and thus in these cases the compound species name works well. Only wizards and sages would try to put them in a sort of evolutionary taxonomy akin to biologists and the latin words today.
Quote from: JRT;858624For these particular animals, there's no culture so I doubt they have a language of their own (blink dogs are "semi-intelligent" if I remember correctly).
Nah, they had Average intelligence in AD&D. We used to take Blink Dog as a common bonus language and go "yip yip bark arf" at each other.
We were easily entertained back in the day.
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;858583I believe a one-word name would work a little better if speaking versions of these creatures with a slightly more developed society were referring to themselves.
They would presumably use a word in their own language, which I imagine sounding feline or canine.
Wasn't there an elven hound in the game's history that had a distinct name? I can't remember where I think saw that. I could just steal that probably and use coeurl for int-buffed displacer beasts.
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;858659Wasn't there an elven hound in the game's history that had a distinct name? I can't remember where I think saw that. I could just steal that probably and use coeurl for int-buffed displacer beasts.
Cooshee, after Gaelic
cu sidhe.
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;858659Wasn't there an elven hound in the game's history that had a distinct name? I can't remember where I think saw that. I could just steal that probably and use coeurl for int-buffed displacer beasts.
Coushee I believe or some simmilar spelling. One of the Dragon articles added some more. Like a underdark adapted dog and some others.
Quote from: Omega;858751a underdark adapted dog
If this isn't called "underdog" I will be sorely disappointed.
Quote from: Phillip;858662Cooshee, after Gaelic cu sidhe.
Oh dear, that's rather silly sounding, isn't it? I mean yes, the premise of a blink dog 'culture' is silly too, but that name wouldn't help.
Quote from: The Butcher;858779If this isn't called "underdog" I will be sorely disappointed.
Dragon 117.
Gith Dogs = Kaoulgrim & Szarkel
Cave Dogs = Xotzcoyotl (probably before the whole FR "underdark" name caught on.)
Feywyrd Dimdark Underbelow Woofbarks of the Misplaced Monarchies.
Quote from: Omega;858788Dragon 117.
Gith Dogs = Kaoulgrim & Szarkel
Cave Dogs = Xotzcoyotl (probably before the whole FR "underdark" name caught on.)
Can't begrudge a good Nahuatl name.
Quote from: Phillip;858883Feywyrd Dimdark Underbelow Woofbarks of the Misplaced Monarchies.
(http://o.kyber.io/src/1354233642910616.jpg)