What does... look like?

[nauta]

In line with Visualizing Zalanthas, which answers a lot of these, I thought a thread like this might be nice.  (Basic rule, however: if it isn't in the help files, that's probably for a reason, so don't post pictures of rare things not in help files.)

So, let's start:

What does a goudra look like/most closely resemble?  I always thought goudra were ferrets, but then I looked a little closer, and the thing is four cords tall (~ 5 feet) and 5 cords long (6.25 feet).  Are these R.O.U.S.'s?

[Delirium]

[path]

Are these R.O.U.S.'s?

I don't think they exist.



Edited to stay on topic. What do the chalton look like? How does it manage those six legs? Has it a hide like an elephant? Is this basically a six-legged, ivory-tusked sand hog?

[BadSkeelz]

Chalton are six-legged antelopes in my mind.

[path]

Chalton are six-legged antelopes in my mind.

a wild, horned chalton
A large, six-legged creature stands here, its beady, black eyes rolling
as it gazes around. Its thick hide is a sandy tan in color. A pair of long,
curved ivory horns, measuring about a cord in length, sprout from its
forehead. They are smooth and glisten faintly yellow in strong light. Its
short, pointed ears stick out next to these horns. Its long snout ends with
a black, leathery nose.

[nauta]

A wild, horned chalton is here, grazing on the grebel grasses along the slope of a crescent dune.



(This, by the way, is a male Saiga Antelope.)

According to the help file:

"These six-legged antelope-like creatures..."

[evilcabbage]

cabbage christ that is adorable i want one now.

[path]

That is cute! I thought duskhorn were the antelope-ish ones. Are carru more like moose or deer?

[BadSkeelz]

Duskhorn and Chalton are both antelope-like, though Duskhorn have sturdier and fuller horns.

Carru definitely have a Elk-like look to them. Their mdesc also describes them as looking "quite peaceful" (or something to that effect) for some reason.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Knight_Megaloceros.jpg

[nauta]

[MeTekillot]

Duskhorn and Chalton are both antelope-like, though Duskhorn have sturdier and fuller horns.

Carru definitely have a Elk-like look to them. Their mdesc also describes them as looking "quite peaceful" (or something to that effect) for some reason.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Knight_Megaloceros.jpg

I think carru have mouths full of viciously sharp teeth, too.

[Beethoven]

And I think carru have paws.

[nauta]

Nope, carru -- according to the mdesc --- have (a) bony ridges running from the base of neck down their spine; (b) wickedly sharp claws; and (c) dagger-like fangs for teeth.  So, a caribou on a bad drug trip?

And here is a picture, according to Dark Sun:



That's a carru in the back there, and an aprig in the front.  However, in Dark Sun, carru are described as follows:

Carru resemble Brahman cattle because of the large humps
immediately behind their heads. These humps are fluid
storage sacs, but don't inflate and deflate Carru are a drab
gray color and have a soft hide. Their heads are covered
with a tougher hide to protect the skull. Carru have two
brown eyes set in the front of their heads for good forward
vision. They have poor peripheral vision and a poor sense of
smell. On adult males, two horns curve out from the forehead
and sweep forward to in front of the eyes. Females
have much shorter horns that project straight forward from
the skull.

The Armageddon carru have, as mentioned, sharp everything.

[Beethoven]

Well, I was just going by the fact that it says "you stab a carru very hard on the paw" or whatever

[manipura]

Well, I was just going by the fact that it says "you stab a carru very hard on the paw" or whatever

Yep.  I was going to post this last night and then just didn't bother.
I think there's a bit of a discrepancy when it comes to how a carru is written (mdesc) and the echoes you actually get while fighting.

[gotdamnmiracle]

Well, I was just going by the fact that it says "you stab a carru very hard on the paw" or whatever

I always just assumed this was an allegory for hoof. You get it with chalton and duskhorn (I think) too.

[Totally]

Goudra have three toes?  Therefore sloth.

[Reiloth]

Kagor:



Kagor straight chillin':

[Delirium]

Kagor don't care

[Reiloth]

Kagor don't care

I wish we saw more Kagor randomly hunting and finding and killing snakes in the Red Desert. That'd be awesome.

[nauta]

The snakes are called Angks -- http://www.armageddon.org/help/view/Angk -- which I visualize as a whipsnake.

http://cabezaprieta.org/reptile_page.php?id=1243

[Reiloth]

+



x



=

Bahamet. Except you know, mean and bitey.

[gotdamnmiracle]

The bottom, to scale, is essentially what I picture a gurth to look like. Probably more sand colored, but that would be the only change.

[nauta]

What color is the silt sea?

[Jihelu]

What color is the silt sea?

I've always imagined grey.

[BadSkeelz]

Silt Stew is described as having the colors of the sea, which in addition to grey also includes yellows, browns, reds, and black. I do picture the overall color of being a brownish-yellow grey, like pumice.

[Hauwke]

Ive imagined it as being a very bone grey sort of color. Not quite whitewashed not quite grey.

[IntuitiveApathy]

Well, I was just going by the fact that it says "you stab a carru very hard on the paw" or whatever

Yep.  I was going to post this last night and then just didn't bother.
I think there's a bit of a discrepancy when it comes to how a carru is written (mdesc) and the echoes you actually get while fighting.

I could've sworn that carru hide in game is brown coloured, not grey as per the description..

[azuriolinist]

I could've sworn that carru hide in game is brown coloured, not grey as per the description..

Wait, where does it say it's grey? I thought the mdesc of a carru mentions the hide being a golden brown/dark brown.

[Hauwke]

That does sort of throw out those well known pieces of armor you can buy in a certain place

[Armaddict]

Not sure if I know the exact pieces you're talking about.

Are you sure they're not dyed, though?

[manipura]

Well, I was just going by the fact that it says "you stab a carru very hard on the paw" or whatever

Yep.  I was going to post this last night and then just didn't bother.
I think there's a bit of a discrepancy when it comes to how a carru is written (mdesc) and the echoes you actually get while fighting.

I could've sworn that carru hide in game is brown coloured, not grey as per the description..

Grey?  What?   

If you're meaning the reference to carru being grey in that post on the first page...that description is taken from Dark Sun, not from Arm.

[valeria]

Pretty sure every description I've seen of the silt itself is grey.  But the silt has a bunch of fun colorful things hiding in it.  So looking out over the Silt Sea, there is probably more color.

[path]

Pretty sure every description I've seen of the silt itself is grey.  But the silt has a bunch of fun colorful things hiding in it.  So looking out over the Silt Sea, there is probably more color.

Yes. Grey as ashes.

[evilcabbage]

carru are a brown or golden-brown color.

[IntuitiveApathy]

Grey?  What?   

If you're meaning the reference to carru being grey in that post on the first page...that description is taken from Dark Sun, not from Arm.

Ah, thanks!

[Majikal]

Here's a silt horror in the silt from darksun.


Reddish-beige + grey? Seems about right to me. The silt in arm is described more greyish if memory serves.

[Jihelu]

Here's a silt horror in the silt from darksun.


Reddish-beige + grey? Seems about right to me. The silt in arm is described more greyish if memory serves.

I feel like silt in Dark Sun is more natural, not really, than in Armageddon.
Or maybe I just feel like its more sandy.
In Arm I feel like silt is more gravely

[gotdamnmiracle]

So reread the IG carru description. Sounds to me more like massive antlered badgers. Or maybe a caribou belted with gamma rays.

[Jihelu]

So reread the IG carru description. Sounds to me more like massive antlered badgers. Or maybe a caribou belted with gamma rays.

Yeah Carru are fucking weird looking



Chalton are pretty tame looking tbh
I'd have one as a pet.

[RogueGunslinger]

Tame right up until the moment they ravage your tent.

[a french mans shirt]

I always thought chalton were supposed to look like six-legged longhorn cows.

[Hauwke]

I always envisioned them as 6 legged goats of sorts.

[gotdamnmiracle]

I always envisioned them as 6 legged goats of sorts.

Yeah. Brown non-bearded goats.

[Jihelu]

I just straight think of them as gazelles.

[gotdamnmiracle]

Okay, what the hell does an anakore look like? For some reason I can't determine whether it's an insect or a reptile (either being a pretty safe bet on Zalanthas).

[puella]

I just re-read a description on one, and I'm pretty sure they are the Dune Freaks of Dark Sun -- although it's pretty hard to tell based on the description.  They have (a) sandy beige skin, (b) a membranous dorsal ridge, (c) three-fingered hands, (d) wedge-like heads, and (e) a spiny tail.

[nauta]

Here's one: if you read the 'war beetle' description, it says that you can't tell its front from its back, except for two beady eyes.

But I'd always imagined the beetles as having big clacking mandibles and antennae (because of the echoes they give off).

So, what does a 'war beetle' look like?

[Reiloth]

Okay, what the hell does an anakore look like? For some reason I can't determine whether it's an insect or a reptile (either being a pretty safe bet on Zalanthas).

From the description in game, they (I think) are more human-like in appearance, less bulky, and could be mistaken from a distance as a person (which I think is part of how they lure people to their doom).

[gotdamnmiracle]

Suuper not what I expected. I thought it was closer to a burrowing insect, like something out of Starship Troopers. Well geez.

[Inks]

I was thinking giant ant-lion too.

[Bahliker]

This is close to how I always pictured them. In fact the first time I saw a bulette in a monster manual I said "no that's an anakore," though the official art wasn't as close.

[Reiloth]

All I remember is from IG, their description puts them as a humanoid, upright on two legs, and looking like a human from afar or something like that.

[Barsook]

Then this would be the closest.

[BadSkeelz]

I was thinking giant ant-lion too.

That's closer to how I picture ankhegs.

[Synthesis]

An ankheg is a ginormous beetle with tentacles.

[Jingo]

An ankheg is a ginormous beetle with tentacles.

No it's a giant coiling centipede with pincers all along it's body!

[evilcabbage]

ankheg

[Synthesis]

An ankheg is a ginormous beetle with tentacles.

No it's a giant coiling centipede with pincers all along it's body!

Derp.  I read ankheg and thought gaj for some reason.

[Jingo]

An ankheg is a ginormous beetle with tentacles.

No it's a giant coiling centipede with pincers all along it's body!

Derp.  I read ankheg and thought gaj for some reason.

Its okay. I'm just describing what I see in my headmeat.

[nauta]

I always thought baobab trees were grey.



Perhaps reflecting an orange-ish tint in the sunlight.



However, I came across a few items in game and an NPC who had 'maroon' colors, like the baobab tree of the north.

So, I guess Zalanthan Baobab trees are maroon!

[BadSkeelz]

I believe the bark of the Zalanthan Baobab is grey, while the wood is maroon. I don't think real baobab trees actually have maroon wood, or share many properties with Zalanthan ones. I haven't had much luck finding evidence of baobab crafts, for example, but that could be due to them being a remote wood.

Real baobabs also have some food applications (nuts and fruit) that aren't represented in game.

[Miradus]

Baobab planks. I imagine they have a grain similar to walnut or maybe cocobolo.




(Showing off) This is some sgian dubh I made using walnut. They're sitting on top of a block of Hawaiian monkey pod.

[BadSkeelz]

Nice. I suppose you could still call those maroon too (though in my head, that's more a wine-like color and uniform across the plank).

According to The Economist, the wood of the baobab is "soft like balsa."

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2010/07/why_baobab

The baobab is a provider. It is home to fruit bats, parakeets, weaver birds and lovebirds, and those hawks and owls of the bush that feed upon the mice that live among the baobab's roots. The baobab stores water. Its leaves and white flowers serve as salad for humans. Its black seeds are similarly edible and when cooked provide a substitute for coffee. The white pulp of the fruit can be boiled into a sherbet-like lemonade that is high in vitamin C. The husk can be used as a calabash. The tree provides no timber, its wood is soft like balsa, but the bark serves as food for elephants in times of drought and can be made into rope, roofing material, and clothing.

Fortunately for us the Zalanthan baobab is explicitly a hardwood so no foul in treating it as such in-game. I would like to see more of its resources presented, however. Maybe a focus for a dwarf to work on.