Heylo! I’m so pleased with the results of the last look at the Forge that I thought I’d have another go at it, this time in one of the specific fields (BeastForge). Skip down below if you just can’t wait. 8^P

Before getting down to business, though, I’d like to talk a little more about what a great tool it really is. Sturgeon’s Law holds, in that many of the word combinations won’t feel especially usable or evocative, or just won’t fit the feel of what you’re looking for. And that’s fine. Anything at all that grabs your attention can be locked in; anything that doesn’t move you can be changed or rewritten.

I’ve been using it for a while, too. Way back when I needed to make a new adventure-area map in a relatively sort time-frame, I whipped up Sella Island in part thanks to this tool: specifically, I believe that the Forge is what gave us the Dull Valley, the Upper Kin and Grey Pages, the Gate of Dusk and the Moon-Stair.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I give you:

One of these things is not like the others… and took significantly more time and revisions to reach the current state.

A Shard Rat appears, at first, to be nothing more than an ordinary Rodent of Unusual Size. Alas for the poor soul who fails to realize that that this creature’s power, when threatened or angered –and their tempers are so very short – is to explode itself, even in mid-leap, into a flailing hairy cloud of jagged-toothed normal rats. Dozens of them. The process by which this swarm re-forms into one large Shard Rat is hardly for the faint of heart either, to be honest. 

Wash Ants are so called because of their tendency to catch living prey and “wash” it in a nearby pool of water, even carefully engineering their burrows to include washing-holes near both the entrance and the food-storage chambers. It has been theorized that the purpose of this behavior is to drown the victim, or to knock away as much surface debris as possible. It may be worth mentioning that these ants are as large as horses and perfectly willing to prey on people.

The insidious Blood Runner Fly, on the other hand, is not a natural animal at all, but rather an alien being summoned by the shamans of certain gods. The flies are typically used as spies, for they can understand any language, but can be enticed by shallow pools of blood, which they are drawn to and seem to enjoy frolicking around in. Aside from this habit, the best way to distinguish them from normal insects is to ask them odd questions about emotion and philosophy; this invariably drives the Blood Runner Fly into a rage and betrays its identity.

Finally, the fabled Strong Elk is a powerful beast, headstrong, seldom tamed and never domesticated, expensive and dangerous to keep in captivity – yet it is more desired as a pet by warlords and princes than any other animal of its size. You see, as a cousin of the Goofy Elk, this creature actually fills those it gazes upon with great strength. This boon fades over the next day or so – often leaving the affected with strain and fatigue to deal with from their exertions while under the influence – but a few royal princes have been raised and trained with regular Strong Elk exposure, leaving them both unexpectedly strong in their own right… and addicted.

…And thus ends my second excursion into public Forging. I rather enjoyed some of the results I got while fiddling around, too; don’t be surprised if there’s some more of this later on.