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SotD Concepts - Part 2: Citizens of Eidolon
🕑 Added 2017-07-02 07:09:31 +0000 UTC
Speak of the Devil will take place in the city of Eidolon. And in that city, there are 5 major peoples (or Kin) that call it their home. They are the Balisk, Salir, Fae, Whisps, and Human.
Now, I know what Humans are, and what the many variations of them can be, but the rest of the kin are all from my imagination. So in order to help the process of figuring out variations we might see of each of these people, I did some concept line-ups.
These will not be the ONLY variations, but it just gives me an idea of what to think about when drawing up new characters, or filling out crowd in the background. I tried to get some good variety in there with body shapes and stuff.
Also, I figured this would be a good place to describe what each group of kin is like.
Balisk: I'd like to talk about these first, because the Balisk were originally taken from an older story of mine, Eilis of the Underground, which I'm taking a lot of ideas from for SotD. EotU was my first attempt at a detective story, it didn't work out, but I'm using pieces from it for SotD instead.
Balisks are a reptilian sort of people (in looks anyway, lets not get too pedantic about what that means), small parts of their bodies have hard sharp scales and horns, and a minimal amount of feathers on their heads and small patches elsewhere. They have tails and sharp pointed teeth as well, and black eyes with brightly colored irises.
The male Balisks are often small, with lean muscle, while the females are often taller, with more muscle mass. They are egg layers, and do not produce milk for their young. And lastly, they can produce limited amounts of flames from their mouths. In ancient times they were considered vary dangerous.
Salir: A somewhat short, stocky, amphibious kin. They have webbed feet and hands and somewhat rubbery skin. Their faces are somewhat frog-like, with antennae-like protrusions, small ear holes and nostrils.
They are known for their ability to hold in air and stay underwater for extended amounts of time. As well, they have extremely strong but lean legs that give them a very springy jump.
They give birth to small eggs, which they then store in a special sack in their throats to incubate until hatching, and then spit out the newborn.
Fae: Quite short, fairy-like people with wings that move at high speed to let them lift off the ground. Though they can't fly through the air like birds, they are able to travel short distances horizontally and vertically this way.
Unlike other kin, aside from chests and genitals, the male and female Fae are identical. Same muscle mass, same bone structure, same facial construction, etc.
Whisps: These are the most complicated kin of the bunch. In fact, this is only what Whisps look like half the time!
Whisps are a kin that are solid at night, and during the day lose their form. They can still sort of travel about, but it is very difficult for them, that is without a vessel to travel in. When Whisps lose their form, they are able to posses inanimate objects to aid them during the day. How complicated the object is can depend on what the individual has available to them. A poor Whisp may just use the day to rest and only go out at night, or posses something just laying around like a chair, though their movement would be limited. A rich Whisp may have a full mechanical body that they can use during the day.
Also, because of their strange forms, they don't eat foods like other people, they mostly gain sustenance through gasses that fit their dietary needs.
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And more...: That's not all! These are just the major kin from this one city, there could be other types of people that pass through the city, they will just be much rarer to see.
AND you might be wondering where Sunday Blackburne fits in all this. She kind of looks like a Balisk right? But not really... That's because Balisk, Salir, Fae, Whisps, and Humans all can interbreed. I know that's not too scientifically sound with all the different breeding habits and very different people types, but I think it's more fun this way. So that means as well, the stories can have all different mixes of people, not just the pure-bloods I've shown here. The mixes will also have nicknames, for instance you've probably guessed now, Sunday is part Balisk and part Human (Father: Balisk, Mother: Human) and the Balisk/Human mixes are called Devils. (See what I did there?)
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So, I hope you liked learning a bit more about the world of SotD. I can't wait to start playing around with these people! As always let me know what you think! I'd love to hear feedback. Also I'm still coming up with what to call the various mixes, like I'm thinking Salir/Humans might be Mermaids/men or something, think about who all could mix together and give me your ideas!
Comments
Lucas Scribner
Reading all this has me really excited to jump into this world. I love world building and creating lore! I know it's been a while since you posted this but incase you are still coming up with ideas for hybrids here is my 2 cents... Human/Fae = Sprite Human/Wisp = Geist Balisk/Fae = Imp Balisk/Salir = Naga or Salamander (the mythological kind) Balisk/Wisp = Gargoyle Fae/Salir = Kappa Fae/Wisp = Pixie Salir/Wisp = Siren
This looks and sounds dope as hell. While I'm happy to support everything you do, I've never been able to get really swept away by Supernormal Step even though it is a solid series with enjoyable characters and strong writing. However SotD looks to be the kind of fantasy genre inspired world building fare I find flavorful. The race/character concepts already have me chomping at the bit and even with all the breakdowns you've provided above I can't wait to learn even more. As fa as cross race suggestions? I'm not quite sure how it would even work mechanically, but I was thinking that for the offspring of Humans and Wisps they could be called "Willows", taken from the oft used name in folklore of "Wil 'O the Wisps." In this case a play on the idea that it was the will of the Wisp in question to have a child with a Human. Anyway, I'm so freaking excited for this series!
kou32
This sounds like so much fun, I am very much looking forward to this.
