Re: Scrab discussion from Ask the Staff

[Ender]

Scrabs are taken from Dark Sun.  I found a neat picture of one from the old Athas Monsters Manuel

SCRAB: A legless, locust-like intelligent race with evil natures and vile reputations.


Though this iteration of the scrab I believe looks very different from the Zalanthan Scrab which is described to look very similiar to a mantis and can be mistaken for one at a distance.

Here is also a good link for various Athasian animals.  Like the scrab, many are very different from their Zalanthan counterparts, and many probably don't translate at all.

http://www.silverblades-suitcase.com/darksun/index.html#monstersofathas

[Cegar]

Well, I know a bit about Dark Sun, but I never heard referene to a scrab, so I figured it came from my beloved game. Thanks.

[Marauder Moe]

I thought scrabs were vaguely humanoid-looking insects?  Two arms, two legs, walked upright?

[Larrath]

I thought scrabs were vaguely humanoid-looking insects?  Two arms, two legs, walked upright?

Yeah.  Zalanthan scrabs and Athan scrabs are different, since that one in the picture looks nothing like a mantis.

[Rhyden]

I always thought scrab came from the beetle; scarab. Guess not.

[spawnloser]

Athasian...not Athan.

[Anonymous]

I always thought scrab came from the beetle; scarab. Guess not.

I always thought 'sand crab = scrab' which explained the pincers and all the legs.

[Lazloth]

Scrabs are taken from Dark Sun.  I found a neat picture of one from the old Athas Monsters Manuel

Oddworld's scrabs are much cooler than Dark Sun's (imo).

[Manhattan]

i loved oddworld

also, what the fuck does a scrab look like. their mdescs suck balls and i cant figure out what its describing. a beetle, or what?

fuck, let me write that shit.

[Cale_Knight]

I've always pictured scrabs as giant-sized earth beetles.

[Anonymous]

http://www.silverblades-suitcase.com/darksun/index.html#monstersofathas

Oh my god..... I didn't know arm resembled darksun this much. gasp....... At first i thought it was an ARM page untill I read johzials were thieves.

[Angela Christine]

CRODLU: Imagine a cross between a velociraptor and a 12' high ostrich. Big fast, mean riding beasts.

DWARF BANSHEE: dwarves have a focus, if they betray their mission or fail dishonourably they are cursed to return as zombie like creatures.

I want a crodlu!  Crodlus now!

Also, I want dwarves to turn into zombies.


Angela Christine

[Rindan]

I personally always though that scrab came from scarab.  Incidentally, I always assumed the scrabs looked like big scarabs.

[Manhattan]

none of you answered my question. i demand an answer now. *little kid*

[Tamarin]

Isn't crodlu one of the words the peons from Warcraft II say when you click on them too much?

[HaiWolfe]

also, what the fuck does a scrab look like. their mdescs suck balls and i cant figure out what its describing. a beetle, or what?

I dunno, I always kind of imagined scrab as looking kind of like black-shelled mantis: tall and upright, numerous lanky legs, segmented body parts, a big head, but with large crab-like pincers.

[LauraMars]

I always thought scrab was a kind of cookie or candy.  Or that thing you did when you're losing your grip on something.  Or remnants.

[bloodfromstone]

I used to picture them as beetle-crab things. More recently, after more carefully reading their info, I picture them as very shining, angular, skinny creatures that are built similar to a mantis but walk on multiple limbs. When I say angular, I mean like N64/Starfox graphics angular. Like mostly made out of crude, sharp triangles. I don't think this is at all what they're supposed to look like, but they look pretty cool in my head, so I guess that counts for something.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

i loved oddworld

also, what the fuck does a scrab look like. their mdescs suck balls and i cant figure out what its describing. a beetle, or what?

fuck, let me write that shit.

Write up a description of a scrab the way you see it, and submit it to the Staff. If they like it, they will put it in in place of the current one.

[Anonymous]

I like to think of them as Red Beatles. But I also think of Tembos as bears. I am like that.

[Malifaxis]

Imagine all the scrabple... livin life in peace... ooohh oooohh wooo-oooo, ooooo-ooooo-ooooo.

You might say I'm a dreamer... but I'm not the only one.

[Tlaloc]

Ratlons are probably the closest thing Arm has to Crodlu, actually.

[Agent_137]

I suppose due to the similarity of spelling, I've always imagined them as large, more upright versions of the scarab beetle, and the mdesc doesn't do much to dispell this idea.

[Ritley]

also, what the fuck does a scrab look like. their mdescs suck balls and i cant figure out what its describing. a beetle, or what?

I dunno, I always kind of imagined scrab as looking kind of like black-shelled mantis: tall and upright, numerous lanky legs, segmented body parts, a big head, but with large crab-like pincers.

Same here actually, but I actually imagine them orangy for some reason.

[X-D]

I've always seen them as more like a beetle evolving into a humanoid mammal type...or a humanoid mammal type evolving into a beetle.

Smooth in shape, gangly...more human looking then even mantis.

Think of it as like the ape part of the evolution, capable of standing upright but not doing so most times.


I should just draw a picture:)

[Seeker]

I agree their description could use a serious make-over.


Seeker

[IAmJacksOpinion]

Yeah. Scrabs are a huge part of Arm. They're early victims of newbs, they're relentlessly used as training tools for Wyverns, Militia, Bynners, and nearly every other military unit in the South. I think they deserve a better description and by gum I'm gonna write up what I think would be a good one.

Most seem to agree that a scrab would look like a Scarab (personally, this is how I viewed them too)




The game describes them as being big black bugs who move around on four hind legs while using the front pair to pick along at the ground and manipulate stuff.  

So, I'm pretty sure this is what a scrab looks like (albeit a different color). So, having had too much coffee this evening, I'm gonna write up a description right now and submit it on the double! I encourage others to do the same as I am a terrible writer.

[bloodfromstone]

They are supposed to look similar to a mantis, though. I think they're more slender and gangly than a beetle.

[Hymwen]

I've never seen a scrab, but I imagined the meat tasting sort of like crab meat.

Imagine all the scrabple... livin life in peace... ooohh oooohh wooo-oooo, ooooo-ooooo-ooooo.

You might say I'm a dreamer... but I'm not the only one.

Funny pun on a typo, but that's not a Beatles song. John Lennon wrote it after they disbanded.

[amoeba]

none of you answered my question. i demand an answer now. *little kid*

http://www.armageddon.org/general/beasts.html#scrab

Scrab : Occasionally confused for a mantis at a distance

[InsertCleverNameHere]

I know I've read the description of scrabs more than once, but 3 seconds later I always forget that they resemble mantis at all, and picture them more like scarabs. Not sure why, though perhaps it's just the word scarab and scrab are so similar, it has to do with association *shrug* Personally, I'd like them to be more like scrabs. I'd write up a desc, but we want them to look good too.

Oh and on a side note, did anyone else look at that Dark Sun page, Monsters of Athas? Clearly Arm is very similar... Templars are at the top of the list of monsters!! HA!

[Aldiel]

Anyone an artist, we need to get more picks up on the web.  Descriptions are so subjective.  I suppose I kind of like that aspect, but I really think we should have some consistancy here.  This thread somewhat proves that.

[amoeba]

Anyone an artist, we need to get more picks up on the web.  Descriptions are so subjective.  I suppose I kind of like that aspect, but I really think we should have some consistancy here.  This thread somewhat proves that.

I agree with that. Often we get, aometimes snarkily, directed to a dark sun site, but as this discussion shows, there are differences there.  Nothing like an image to build a strong mental picture of what you are killing/fleeing from/being eaten by.

[Dakkon Black]

I've done several pics for arm, they should all be up on the website.

I think I'll do a bunch more

[Cale_Knight]

Will you link to a few of yours?

[IAmJacksOpinion]

Code Select Expand

Scrab : Occasionally confused for a mantis at a distance, these large insectoids of the southern deserts lack the pack mentality and the intelligence of their far more successful cousins. While strong and dangerous, these scavenging predators are often taken down by organized hunters for their thick chitin, which is commonly used in a variety of armors. The upper-class of the south have been known to consider scrab-head as a nutritional delicacy.

Daaamn! I've read through that page a thousand times, but I've always overlooked that part. I always said to myself "Scrab, why bother to read? It's just a black beetle. Bahamet? Isn't that a Babylonian thing? Oooh. I'm gonna read that..." Now I feel retarded for not having read it.

*sob* And all these years, *sob* I went along thinking they were bugs. Well, this'll change my outlook on scrab hunting in the future.

Now I really, really wish I could draw. If I could draw like my buddies Andy or Ethan, I would totally put in my rendition of every single critter my PC came across. Actually, maybe I can coax one of those guys into doing a drawing of one...
:twisted: