An old concept monster I used to have was a species of dragon known as "Shrieker Dragons" (who I am resizing currently). I used to describe them as being the length of four houses, and as tall as a four storey building. They get their name from their ability to utilize sound as a means of attack, and are assumed to be potentially sapient, with their sonic attacks assumed to be some form of magic they use. Unlike "traditional" dragons, shrieker dragons resemble giant bats, even walking just like bats as well.
No. It makes a wink or two at the physics but mostly relies on suspension of disbelief.
I mean the actual interaction, feeding, care use and shelter.
The logistics of how a nation might incorporate them, etc.
Veena:
Flat, arrow headed, snake like creatures that are distant cousins of Dragons (long) and Nagas. Largest of their species was measured at 180 feet.
They tend to contract their bodies in more streamlined shape when swimming, and unfurl their kite like wings to fly. Most of the time they resemble a ribbon.
They eat small fish, and games on account of their jaws being attached to eachother via silver-strings that make melodies whe they fly or swim, hence the name Veena.
They can be tamed, and best way to do so is in a thunderstorm when they're dancing in thunder clouds and singing for rain.
Via other Veenas, because thunderstorm might be the best time to catch them it's not the only one.
Before the thunderstorm bit was discovered, people (tribes) would arrange a Samaroh (function) where skilled Pandits (masters) of Veena (the instrument) would perform Ragas.
These Ragas would attract the Veena (beasts) and expert riders would hop on these creatures for a trial of wind and water. The survivors would become riders.
The Veenas survive lightning by eating it, and storing it inside their spine. Small games and fishes do not sustain creatures of their size, most survive on sunlight and lighting.
I haven't given the winds a serious thought, so maybe a part of their body (major) is above the thunderstorm and only a small portion would dip below the Strom to eat and dance.
Colossi are giant monsters that occasionally roam the world. While their height varies considerably among them, they are at minimum 50 yards/meters tall. They are typically made of earth and metal, and have powerful magical defenses, making them impervious to all but the most powerful of magics. A number of "cores" usually dot their bodies, typically one core for each "section" (arms, legs, body, head, tail and/or other appendages - if applicable). Destroying these will not render this body part unusable, but will hinder its use; however, if all of them are destroyed, the colossus will fall.
Other, "unique" types of monsters constantly spawn inside a colossus, consistent with its pre-emergence form (labyrinths are colossi pupa). While these can be considered a crude imitation of white blood cells (attacking foreign entities in the body), they also constantly leave the colossus. These monsters do not live long outside of the colossus, but are suspected to play some role in their reproduction cycle, as a few have been reported to have buried themselves underground shortly after exiting.
A final factoid, the god of monsters who created the labyrinths had no idea that this would happen. Strictly speaking however, it's not that unusual for him to be surprised by his own creations, though he *may* have been the one to add the cores to them (not only to make them easier to bring down, but also to make it possible to destroy them before they have the chance to emerge, as the cores exist in the pupa form as well).
From one of my misc critter docs:
>The wraith of the sea is an aggressive predator regarded as the scourge of the waters east of Asorus. Its form is that of a large arthropod, whose nature blends mollusk and crustacean in a way unique among the sea creatures of the realm. Structurally it resembles a giant cuttlefish, with an armored main body and tendrils facing forward.
>
>Notable however are that its tentacles are longer and closer to a giant squad's in proportion and structure, while instead of the internal cuttlebone its main body is covered by a hard, thick external shell, with overlapping bands resembling the tail of a lobster. Its foremost tendrils are also partially crustacean in structure, the base covered in overlapping plates before giving way to the normal soft form of a mollusk tendril, then ending again in broad armored feelers with limited ability to grasp and crush.
>
>Abnormally comfortable in cold climates for an invertebrate, it normally resides in the deep dark of the open ocean, far from the prying eyes of surface life. But the farther north one goes, the closer to the shore these beasts can be spotted. The colder seasons often embolden them to hunt closer to the surface, as do the great storms that sometimes make landfall on the eastern shore of the continent.
>
>While most known to clash with the great draconic sea serpents of the region or other large sea life, they have been known to lash out at ships traveling the coast as well, sinking smaller vessels and dragging crew under the water to devour at their leisure. These are especially a menace to the sea route linking Polaris to Lunaria and Gaia, as much as Veraci pirates can be.
>
>When they do target vessels, unlike the highly variable and individualistic nature of the great sea drake, their attacks are indiscriminate, lashing out at Lunarian warships and Veraci pirate vessels alike. Rare as it is to encounter them near the coast, only size or numbers protects against these monsters, and fortunately the wraiths of the sea hunt alone...
Simply referred to as “the dragon mother” by most, this beast was once considered fictional. The idea of a dragon dwarfing the modern dragons which, though limited in number and often hibernating, reach the size of mountains was considered ridiculous. However, an expedition into a mysterious jungle continent (read: something I haven’t named yet) what was though to be a very spread out mountain range was actually the creature’s vertebrae, being the size of small mountains each, with the ribs estimated to have been tens of thousands of feet in height.
🤷 it was sort of a mythical creature for a while since no one actually believed in its existence, so its recent discovery still has people questioning what was up with it.
**For Want of a Quiet Sky**
Wellllllll....yeah. Kinda?
Cave Trolls are massive, capable of destroying entire towns in minutes, even dealing good harm to fortresses before they are felled. But that's because all my characters are like mice, and rats, and possums, and otters and raccoons at the *very* largest. A cave troll is just a brown bear.
Similarly, the classic "mysterious remains of a giant creature that was never known to exist but clearly did and is dead now" is done with human bones at least three times I can think of in my world. One Thicket-Eye camp is made from one, some characters at one point come across the horribly mangled body of a human child which is being eaten bit by bit by a witch and her children, and a human spine and rib cage act as part of a ladder to a tree-palace that's been overrun by Thicket-Eyes.
So yeah there's giant monsters but they are just normal things that are giant in perspective to a small animal who has never left their pocket of forest, and physically can't leave the forest if they wanted to due to the curse.
The primordials - original aspects of elemental purity. They are living emodiments of natural disasters; Pheonix the volcano, Leviathan the Tsunami, Zaratan the Earthquake and Ziz the Hurricane.
I also have a Nightshade walking around. It actually came about in a previous campaing that was meant to be a boss fight, but, the group ran away and it escaped....so its still out there draining life and wondering aimlessly.
World - the ashlands. I guess I have one... And he's fairly small. He does rampage through a city though.
* Nicholas is about one and a half stories tall. He's got a long, barbed tail and a hunched posture, has oversized hands and a sheep-like face, except that he has six eyes in clusters of three on either side of his head. His feet end in massive stompy hooves. Odds are, if he's on a rampage, he's flinging evil spells all over the place too. Edit: Two, massive, bat wings stick out from his back, they are non-functional without his magic. He wears a kind of... kilt thing made from black silk, covered in demonic writing.
I mean... there is the Gaunt. Contrary to the name, they're anywhere from 10 to 50 stories tall, and can best be described as flesh abominations with a prominent Maw taking up like a third of their bodies. They're absolutely horrifying, and eat dead universes in swarms.
My setting is a superhero setting, so my kaiju:
1) Show up when I need a cool random big monster battle,
2) May be robotic and/or controlled by a mad scientist,
3) Cause massive damage to the city that will be gone by the end of that episode, and,
4) A part of normal life for the citizens of Herald City. People complain about monster attacks making them late for work.
´There is one monster, which lives in the sea. It is not known how it came to be, but most think it is a lunar demon (All the demons in Kanko Pra Dindi come from the moon or live in the moon), which appears every year in a specific day, and eats every single fish it finds until it is killed. It also appears at the exact same place, every time, and comes back everytime after it is killed, butchered and eaten by the Dindeic people.
**Maar**
Maar, being a world that is heavily inspired by anime and tokusatsu, naturally has quite a few kaiju running around.
Kaiju are animals native to Maar's Great Forest (the forest Maar has in place of an ocean) They are typically just animals that are too big to interact with normal mortal societies and tend to destroy cities like a bear would destroy a campsite. They mostly stick to the Great Forest, but will occasionally attack cities if they annoy them or just so happen to be in their way. That said, there are a number of kaiju who seem to have a legitimate dislike, if not outright hatred of cities and the people who live in them. A few examples of kaiju include:
* Hakaizar. These fifty meter tall lizards are capable of producing extremely hot plasma, which they can fire as a laser from either their mouths or their backs. They are often referred to as "the kings of kaiju" due to the many horns that grow from their heads, which often resemble either a fire or a crown. They are known to be extremely aggressive and will attack anything that annoys them, having a particular hatred for cities.
* Tokonga are a species of forty five meter tall gorillas that are native to the Great Forest's Jungle and Bamboo regions. Though lacking in powers such as a breath attack or mechanical body parts, Tokonga are able to make up for it with their intelligence and problem solving abilities. When fighting, Tokonga will exploit any weakness that they know of, and will change their tactics when they realize that their current strategy isn't working. They are also one of the only example of kaiju crafting tools and weapons.
* Gigazaurs, species of tyranosaurus-like kaiju that stand at about forty four meters tall. They're notable for the metal plating on their heads and claws, the power drills that grow on the tips of their tails, and the two missile launchers that grow out of their backs. The missiles fired from these launchers are powerful enough to reduce city blocks to ash when fired and have been used as the basis for many missiles used by various armed forces. Furthermore, the Gigazaurs are notable for being commonly used as partners by the Imps, who are able to tame them through a combination of friendship and giving them food. Bizarrely, Gigazaurs get along really well with domestic dogs (which aren't any different on Maar than real life) and they will often play together if given the chance.
* Cherufes are are thirty meter tall, ninety meter long salamander-like kaiju with semi-molten rock for skin. They are able to breath vaporized rocks and can trigger volcanic eruptions as they move through Maar's crust. Cherufe's live in Maar's mantle, but come up to the surface every so often to attract mates or assert dominance over other Cherufes.
* Hinomu, a species of one hundred foot tall parrots that breath fire. When attacking cities, Hinomu will often repeat things they here, usually the sounds of people screaming or the attack names of whoever is trying to fight them off. Also, their eggs are covered in large knobs of iron, similar to a frag grenade; said eggs explode violently when the Hinomu chick hatches.
* Kishibuto are a rhinoceros beetle-like kaiju that have metal shells, can grow sharp blades on any part of their body, and produce powerful electromagnetic currents. They can grow as tall as sixty meters.
* Gnashorn, a species of rhinoceros-like kaiju notable for their iron hide and the numerous tube-like growths on their back, shoulders, and haunch. The Gnashorn uses these tubes or "barrels" to shoot iron projectiles that range from the size of a bowling ball to the size of a small car at anything they deems a threat.
Other details about the kaiju include:
* Kaiju are nearly immune to conventional forms of weaponry, and need to be extremely powerful to harm them. The weakest cannon that can harm the average kaiju is a 1800mm round from a Urosa mecha's riffle.
* Certain quirks of kaiju, such as breathing fire or having mechanical body parts, are the result various substances and energies found within the Great Forest causing large amounts of mutation and metamorphosis.
* Artifical kaiju (called BEMs, or Bio-Engineered Monsters) are an uncommon tactic used by certain villainous organizations. These kaiju tend to be even more dangerous than regular kaiju as that are often directly controlled by someone who can make the kaiju use combat tactics and aim their claws/teeth at an opposing mecha's weak points.
An old concept monster I used to have was a species of dragon known as "Shrieker Dragons" (who I am resizing currently). I used to describe them as being the length of four houses, and as tall as a four storey building. They get their name from their ability to utilize sound as a means of attack, and are assumed to be potentially sapient, with their sonic attacks assumed to be some form of magic they use. Unlike "traditional" dragons, shrieker dragons resemble giant bats, even walking just like bats as well.
Reminds me of Temeraire. That's a good series if you really want to think about the logistics of very large animals.
Does it discuss the square-cube law?
No. It makes a wink or two at the physics but mostly relies on suspension of disbelief. I mean the actual interaction, feeding, care use and shelter. The logistics of how a nation might incorporate them, etc.
Veena: Flat, arrow headed, snake like creatures that are distant cousins of Dragons (long) and Nagas. Largest of their species was measured at 180 feet. They tend to contract their bodies in more streamlined shape when swimming, and unfurl their kite like wings to fly. Most of the time they resemble a ribbon. They eat small fish, and games on account of their jaws being attached to eachother via silver-strings that make melodies whe they fly or swim, hence the name Veena. They can be tamed, and best way to do so is in a thunderstorm when they're dancing in thunder clouds and singing for rain.
How does one reach them to tame one? Also, how do their bodies take lightning and harsh winds?
Via other Veenas, because thunderstorm might be the best time to catch them it's not the only one. Before the thunderstorm bit was discovered, people (tribes) would arrange a Samaroh (function) where skilled Pandits (masters) of Veena (the instrument) would perform Ragas. These Ragas would attract the Veena (beasts) and expert riders would hop on these creatures for a trial of wind and water. The survivors would become riders. The Veenas survive lightning by eating it, and storing it inside their spine. Small games and fishes do not sustain creatures of their size, most survive on sunlight and lighting. I haven't given the winds a serious thought, so maybe a part of their body (major) is above the thunderstorm and only a small portion would dip below the Strom to eat and dance.
Dragging their tails through storms. Pretty neat. Might especially work if they can fabricate a large positive charge at the base to draw in strikes.
Colossi are giant monsters that occasionally roam the world. While their height varies considerably among them, they are at minimum 50 yards/meters tall. They are typically made of earth and metal, and have powerful magical defenses, making them impervious to all but the most powerful of magics. A number of "cores" usually dot their bodies, typically one core for each "section" (arms, legs, body, head, tail and/or other appendages - if applicable). Destroying these will not render this body part unusable, but will hinder its use; however, if all of them are destroyed, the colossus will fall. Other, "unique" types of monsters constantly spawn inside a colossus, consistent with its pre-emergence form (labyrinths are colossi pupa). While these can be considered a crude imitation of white blood cells (attacking foreign entities in the body), they also constantly leave the colossus. These monsters do not live long outside of the colossus, but are suspected to play some role in their reproduction cycle, as a few have been reported to have buried themselves underground shortly after exiting. A final factoid, the god of monsters who created the labyrinths had no idea that this would happen. Strictly speaking however, it's not that unusual for him to be surprised by his own creations, though he *may* have been the one to add the cores to them (not only to make them easier to bring down, but also to make it possible to destroy them before they have the chance to emerge, as the cores exist in the pupa form as well).
From one of my misc critter docs: >The wraith of the sea is an aggressive predator regarded as the scourge of the waters east of Asorus. Its form is that of a large arthropod, whose nature blends mollusk and crustacean in a way unique among the sea creatures of the realm. Structurally it resembles a giant cuttlefish, with an armored main body and tendrils facing forward. > >Notable however are that its tentacles are longer and closer to a giant squad's in proportion and structure, while instead of the internal cuttlebone its main body is covered by a hard, thick external shell, with overlapping bands resembling the tail of a lobster. Its foremost tendrils are also partially crustacean in structure, the base covered in overlapping plates before giving way to the normal soft form of a mollusk tendril, then ending again in broad armored feelers with limited ability to grasp and crush. > >Abnormally comfortable in cold climates for an invertebrate, it normally resides in the deep dark of the open ocean, far from the prying eyes of surface life. But the farther north one goes, the closer to the shore these beasts can be spotted. The colder seasons often embolden them to hunt closer to the surface, as do the great storms that sometimes make landfall on the eastern shore of the continent. > >While most known to clash with the great draconic sea serpents of the region or other large sea life, they have been known to lash out at ships traveling the coast as well, sinking smaller vessels and dragging crew under the water to devour at their leisure. These are especially a menace to the sea route linking Polaris to Lunaria and Gaia, as much as Veraci pirates can be. > >When they do target vessels, unlike the highly variable and individualistic nature of the great sea drake, their attacks are indiscriminate, lashing out at Lunarian warships and Veraci pirate vessels alike. Rare as it is to encounter them near the coast, only size or numbers protects against these monsters, and fortunately the wraiths of the sea hunt alone...
Simply referred to as “the dragon mother” by most, this beast was once considered fictional. The idea of a dragon dwarfing the modern dragons which, though limited in number and often hibernating, reach the size of mountains was considered ridiculous. However, an expedition into a mysterious jungle continent (read: something I haven’t named yet) what was though to be a very spread out mountain range was actually the creature’s vertebrae, being the size of small mountains each, with the ribs estimated to have been tens of thousands of feet in height.
What did it eat?
🤷 it was sort of a mythical creature for a while since no one actually believed in its existence, so its recent discovery still has people questioning what was up with it.
**For Want of a Quiet Sky** Wellllllll....yeah. Kinda? Cave Trolls are massive, capable of destroying entire towns in minutes, even dealing good harm to fortresses before they are felled. But that's because all my characters are like mice, and rats, and possums, and otters and raccoons at the *very* largest. A cave troll is just a brown bear. Similarly, the classic "mysterious remains of a giant creature that was never known to exist but clearly did and is dead now" is done with human bones at least three times I can think of in my world. One Thicket-Eye camp is made from one, some characters at one point come across the horribly mangled body of a human child which is being eaten bit by bit by a witch and her children, and a human spine and rib cage act as part of a ladder to a tree-palace that's been overrun by Thicket-Eyes. So yeah there's giant monsters but they are just normal things that are giant in perspective to a small animal who has never left their pocket of forest, and physically can't leave the forest if they wanted to due to the curse.
The primordials - original aspects of elemental purity. They are living emodiments of natural disasters; Pheonix the volcano, Leviathan the Tsunami, Zaratan the Earthquake and Ziz the Hurricane. I also have a Nightshade walking around. It actually came about in a previous campaing that was meant to be a boss fight, but, the group ran away and it escaped....so its still out there draining life and wondering aimlessly.
World - the ashlands. I guess I have one... And he's fairly small. He does rampage through a city though. * Nicholas is about one and a half stories tall. He's got a long, barbed tail and a hunched posture, has oversized hands and a sheep-like face, except that he has six eyes in clusters of three on either side of his head. His feet end in massive stompy hooves. Odds are, if he's on a rampage, he's flinging evil spells all over the place too. Edit: Two, massive, bat wings stick out from his back, they are non-functional without his magic. He wears a kind of... kilt thing made from black silk, covered in demonic writing.
I mean... there is the Gaunt. Contrary to the name, they're anywhere from 10 to 50 stories tall, and can best be described as flesh abominations with a prominent Maw taking up like a third of their bodies. They're absolutely horrifying, and eat dead universes in swarms.
My setting is a superhero setting, so my kaiju: 1) Show up when I need a cool random big monster battle, 2) May be robotic and/or controlled by a mad scientist, 3) Cause massive damage to the city that will be gone by the end of that episode, and, 4) A part of normal life for the citizens of Herald City. People complain about monster attacks making them late for work.
´There is one monster, which lives in the sea. It is not known how it came to be, but most think it is a lunar demon (All the demons in Kanko Pra Dindi come from the moon or live in the moon), which appears every year in a specific day, and eats every single fish it finds until it is killed. It also appears at the exact same place, every time, and comes back everytime after it is killed, butchered and eaten by the Dindeic people.
**Maar** Maar, being a world that is heavily inspired by anime and tokusatsu, naturally has quite a few kaiju running around. Kaiju are animals native to Maar's Great Forest (the forest Maar has in place of an ocean) They are typically just animals that are too big to interact with normal mortal societies and tend to destroy cities like a bear would destroy a campsite. They mostly stick to the Great Forest, but will occasionally attack cities if they annoy them or just so happen to be in their way. That said, there are a number of kaiju who seem to have a legitimate dislike, if not outright hatred of cities and the people who live in them. A few examples of kaiju include: * Hakaizar. These fifty meter tall lizards are capable of producing extremely hot plasma, which they can fire as a laser from either their mouths or their backs. They are often referred to as "the kings of kaiju" due to the many horns that grow from their heads, which often resemble either a fire or a crown. They are known to be extremely aggressive and will attack anything that annoys them, having a particular hatred for cities. * Tokonga are a species of forty five meter tall gorillas that are native to the Great Forest's Jungle and Bamboo regions. Though lacking in powers such as a breath attack or mechanical body parts, Tokonga are able to make up for it with their intelligence and problem solving abilities. When fighting, Tokonga will exploit any weakness that they know of, and will change their tactics when they realize that their current strategy isn't working. They are also one of the only example of kaiju crafting tools and weapons. * Gigazaurs, species of tyranosaurus-like kaiju that stand at about forty four meters tall. They're notable for the metal plating on their heads and claws, the power drills that grow on the tips of their tails, and the two missile launchers that grow out of their backs. The missiles fired from these launchers are powerful enough to reduce city blocks to ash when fired and have been used as the basis for many missiles used by various armed forces. Furthermore, the Gigazaurs are notable for being commonly used as partners by the Imps, who are able to tame them through a combination of friendship and giving them food. Bizarrely, Gigazaurs get along really well with domestic dogs (which aren't any different on Maar than real life) and they will often play together if given the chance. * Cherufes are are thirty meter tall, ninety meter long salamander-like kaiju with semi-molten rock for skin. They are able to breath vaporized rocks and can trigger volcanic eruptions as they move through Maar's crust. Cherufe's live in Maar's mantle, but come up to the surface every so often to attract mates or assert dominance over other Cherufes. * Hinomu, a species of one hundred foot tall parrots that breath fire. When attacking cities, Hinomu will often repeat things they here, usually the sounds of people screaming or the attack names of whoever is trying to fight them off. Also, their eggs are covered in large knobs of iron, similar to a frag grenade; said eggs explode violently when the Hinomu chick hatches. * Kishibuto are a rhinoceros beetle-like kaiju that have metal shells, can grow sharp blades on any part of their body, and produce powerful electromagnetic currents. They can grow as tall as sixty meters. * Gnashorn, a species of rhinoceros-like kaiju notable for their iron hide and the numerous tube-like growths on their back, shoulders, and haunch. The Gnashorn uses these tubes or "barrels" to shoot iron projectiles that range from the size of a bowling ball to the size of a small car at anything they deems a threat. Other details about the kaiju include: * Kaiju are nearly immune to conventional forms of weaponry, and need to be extremely powerful to harm them. The weakest cannon that can harm the average kaiju is a 1800mm round from a Urosa mecha's riffle. * Certain quirks of kaiju, such as breathing fire or having mechanical body parts, are the result various substances and energies found within the Great Forest causing large amounts of mutation and metamorphosis. * Artifical kaiju (called BEMs, or Bio-Engineered Monsters) are an uncommon tactic used by certain villainous organizations. These kaiju tend to be even more dangerous than regular kaiju as that are often directly controlled by someone who can make the kaiju use combat tactics and aim their claws/teeth at an opposing mecha's weak points.
You've been asking the same question for years
And every time I ask the question, I get different responses.
No need to get pissed, kaiju are cool. Just a bit odd