D&D Monsters: Merfolk

Merfolk are, like centaurs, one of those races that a very common in fantasy settings, but that seem to be present in RPGs largely because they feel like the sort of thing that ought to be, rather than because actually anyone uses them much. Mythically, they are an ancient concept, appearing in tales dating back to the very dawn of civilisation, although, naturally the details vary across time and culture.

Fantasy worlds in literature often include merfolk, although they are often only mentioned in passing. They exist, for example, in both the Narnia and Harry Potter books, and they have become somewhat more popular of late, often in horror films. Some of these versions are inspired by the relatively benign folk of Hans Christie Andersen's The Little Mermaid, while others reflect humanity's ambivalent relationship with the sea, and our perception of fish as 'ugly'. Earlier myths often do a bit of both, with a particular theme being that mermen are ugly and wont to drown sailors, while mermaids are sexy and seductive.

D&D Monsters: Troglodytes

Having looked at the lizardfolk a few months ago, I'm going to (more briefly, I suspect) look at the other low-level race of reptilian humanoids in D&D: the troglodytes. Like lizardfolk, troglodytes have no real counterpart in mythology or legend.

Having said which, the term, which literally means "cave-divers" in Ancient Greek, is an old one, and was used to refer to a purported human tribe by Herodotus back in the 5th century BC, and by other authors since. It's often used to refer to cave-dwelling subterranean races, such as H.G. Wells' Morlocks, and even has its place in modern taxonomy as a part of the scientific names of a number of creatures (most notably chimpanzees and wrens). But none of these things have any real connection to the race described by Gygax, for which, so far as one can tell, he simply borrowed the name.

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1E

Troglodytes, as described in the original Monster Manual, are a reptilian humanoid race distinguished from lizardfolk by a number of features. Their feet are more digitigrade (that is, they stand on their toes, but not on their heel), their tail and snout shorter, and their head more rounded. They are also slightly shorter, but more heavily built, and have a large crest on their head supported by a row of spines - while lizardfolk now have a head-crest as well, this did not appear until 3E, making it perhaps the most obvious physical difference at the time.

They live only in subterranean caverns, as one would expect given their name, and hate all human life. (From context, this probably means mammalian humanoids in general, rather than humans specifically). They have a similar intelligence to the more bestial lizardfolk, and don't wear any form of clothing or armour, with only a few belts to carry their primitive stone tools and weapons. Despite being chaotic, they live in communities averaging a hundred or so individuals, with chieftains and other leaders, but perhaps little in the way of formal organisation or customs.