Building Better Monsters | Werewolves

[@JValerianS]

I think concepts of the curse being a punishment, but also something that spreads by bite can be combined, if in their new form, the werewolf is cursed specifically to hunt those who follow in the footsteps of their own sin, whatever it may be. If the first werewolf was punished for his denial of the gods, perhaps he is doomed to hunt down those who do the same, transforming them into his kin!

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!! That's a really cool idea!! Big fan of ironic curses!! Haha

[@piketheknight2581]

Damm son your idea is pretty pretty good. Looking to that i ask you what if the werewolf condition were both a curse and a blessing what is your take on that?

[@ruolbu]

So, in that scenario is there another way to create a werewolf? Or do all werewolves have the same sin that drives them forward? It kinda sounds like that if they only bite those with the same sin. ^^

[@JValerianS]

@@piketheknight2581 I think what matters is that you need to make it make sense in your own setting. Don't call it a curse but then make it function like a blessing that does nothing but gives you shapechanging superpowers. I think blessings with a horrible price are most intriguing when they are a choice, much like a warlock pact etc, but that isn't easy to combine with the idea of a transmitted disease.

[@JValerianS]

@@ruolbu I think that's entirely up to you. I personally like really clear limitations, because they give things a nice narrative punch. Tragedy and consequences fit horror really well, but it's really a matter of what kind of a story you want to tell. And also a lot depends on who placed the curse: the nature of the curse tells even more about the morals of the one doing the punishing than the one who was punished. How petty and cruel are the gods, and how much do they care about the people hurt by the lycanthropes? (etc)

[@tuomasronnberg5244]

My take on the werewolf is that it can be harmed only by ancestral silver--the *werewolf's* ancestral silver. Nothing else will do, and even burying it in concrete gives you just couple days while it digs itself out (it's a rage fuelled beast, after all). That way it becomes a trick monster. First you have to figure out who the werewolf is, then find a piece of silverware passed down in family for generations, forge that into a weapon and only then you can put it to rest and defeat the curse.

[@mapcrow]

That's a really cool angle!! Dang!!!

[@cameronmaas2644]

I really enjoy this take

[@KrustalHersh]

I like that idea! What about werewolves from poor families with no silver? Can it maybe be any family relic but often people assume it's silver?

[@MacGuges]

I imagine that part of the reason for using ancestral silver is practical, that it is a metal that can be incorporated into a weapon. But another part of silver's significance is its association with the luminescent moon. After all, practical magic works on manifesting the relevant associations for the situation the worker is addressing. Using silver in your weapon embues it with the same transitory quality as the target's curse. But I do like the idea of exploiting the werewolf's ancestral silver. Magicians would not object to using only one symbolism in their workings, but would consider the role of each symbol in the system they create. A specially tailored magic weapon might use silver to target the beast's transformative nature and ancestral silver to target the man's inherited privilege.

[@posadistpossum]

I feel like Kobolds could go for a visit with this, to me they end up just being dragon-themed goblins a lot of the time

[@mapcrow]

Yeah, I think I have the same problem with them. They just seem like they don't offer a significantly different option other than serving and worshiping dragons, and anyone can do that! HAha. Thanks!!

[@LoganCrazyBoy]

I like my kobolds with dog heads! The ole' metal eaters.

[@shivernaut8607]

@@mapcrow for me kobolds are an example of a creature that has all of the personality flaws of a dragon without the immortality and power to back it up. they're immensely proud and greedy but can't help but run from the fights they can't win. they have a massive superiority and inferiority complex tied up in one. I think its funny because.. there's no REASON the kobolds should be a weak or primitive race. They are resourceful, dexterous, have no intelligence penalties, and they have stone sense which theoretically makes them just as good as dwarves at digging. but they just can't work together Because they are draconic, like them being "true dragons" is what holds them back. imagine what its like to be born with this innate sense of worth and entitlement and desire in the tiniest body ever lmao. the resentment of yourself that you aren't the mighty tyrant your instincts tell you that you are.

[@nickwells2488]

Kobolds are remora. Taking the dramatic landscape changes that occur when dragons form a lair into account, Kobolds appear and further influence the land. I don't think Kobolds need to have a more complex cultural history. They are weak fauna trying to find the sunlight. Like @Shivernaut pointed out, "all the pride and greed without the power to back it up."

[@IrisDImtv]

Once I've ran Kobolds as masters over dragons. They where the mind behind the attacks of they big and savage cousins. Also they possessed lost knowledge like how to use fire energies to turn a volkano in a walking fortress

[@LoganCrazyBoy]

Great video! Personally, I'm a big fan of hippogriffs and griffins in general. In olden days, people just straight up thought they lived in isolated locations, protected gold, and ate horses. In some ways, they're almost like a natural dragon. Y'know, like a dragon usually is a person cursed or a blight on the world in some way, but griffins are just there, protecting ore, like knights. I feel like there's something there for a more visual mind!

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!! The visual of griffins is so strong, there's got to be something cool to do with them!!

[@polarspacepoint2399]

This is honestly the best redesign of any mythological thing I've seen, not even just on this channel. Altering the basic werewolf to be more tied to its curse and the lingering effect of it compared to the classic "werewolf bites man, so forth" tale, is SO genius!! Also the art is GORGEOUS!!!

[@mapcrow]

Thank you so much!! What a wonderful thing to hear!!

[@plaidpvcpipe3792]

Maybe the adventure could be about finding out who this is and determining something suitable to kill him with, like his own sword that’s kept in his family crypt.

[@justkosmo6806]

I'm ashamed to say that I didn't spot the visual reference to Goya's legendary piece until you started penciling! I've been really enjoying this series - always excited to see one pop up in my sub box :) Thanks for all your hard work!

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah! Good eye!! Thanks for watching!!

[@croissant2434]

I would love to see your take of the shadow. I found them interesting on themself, being the trope of "your bad part that you neglected turning into an actual nightmare", but the problem is that it's only because someone is good that it appear, not because they actually hide "evil". and then there this weird mecanic of "if a character die because their strenghs hit zero, the shadow can create another shadow under their control" that feel.... out of touch for it's main theme. I would personally go full steam on the "neglected part". first by making them not undead, but having a shape/type depending of WHAT is actually hidden by the person (a "perfect" paladin with a fear of themself turning into a monster could have a savage malformed beast in dull armor as a shadow, portraying that exact fear of themself ect). and instead of being killeable, only the source of the shadow can defeat it forever, and only by accepting that part of themself they neglected can the shadow dissipate for good.

[@mapcrow]

Oh dang!! I'll have to look that up!! Sounds like a really fun monster to explore!! Cheers!!

[@armata_strigoi_0]

A very Jungian take on the shadow (as a monster), I like it.

[@andrewoutcalt7625]

Thanks for the inspiring video! Maybe you could do Golems next? They feel kind of like Dragons to me in that they're very standardized-- I'd love to hear and see your fresh take on them!

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!! I think I got some ideas for constructs I could work with!! Cheers!!

[@NA-vn6ku]

@@mapcrow If you do something with Golems, I would love to see it lean into the Jewish story behind it. It's one of my favorites, and there are a bunch of different versions of the story depending on who tells it, so there's a lot of potential

[@xandostres]

Kyle, I just want to thank you, I think this is my favourite TTRPG-related series period. The way you make it system neutral, add your super special spicy details and just overall well thought out design. Thank you!

[@mapcrow]

Wow, thanks!! I have a lot of fun with these videos, so I'm really glad you are enjoying them too!! Cheers!!

[@vaultscribe4501]

Other easy way of making the original werewolf origin work thematically (a random bite for instance): Scars, the tragedy of chance, the spurning of tyranny and being punished; all the unfairness of life can make any good soul into a monster. All the other listed items of motivation for a werewolf kind of speak to this. The werewolf, on the whole, has normal desires, but they must be denied because of their intensity or because of their society's norms. They then have a monster within them, made out of an other wise natural (bestial, lizard brain) desire. They have a monster they have to quell. In the case of the random bite, I'd link the bite to nightmares, to fears of pain. I'd have it so the player bitten must deal with those fears, that PTSD, whenever they find themselves in another fight or stressful situation where things are going unfairly. The resentment in the BEAST could save them, but it would also threaten to become them. And none of us want to be a monster.

[@mapcrow]

Wow! This is a really good point! I hadn't thought of that! I might be too skittish about doing things that feel like that are attacking the player as much as the character, because this sounds like a really neat direction!!

[@vaultscribe4501]

@@mapcrow thanks! It was just a thought. Your videos have been hugely inspiring for this wannabe writer. So glad I could add two cents. And I totally understand the worry. The suggestion would probably need to be done real carefully, maybe in a game where the session zero already set a dark tone the group consented to-or where the suggestion mentioned doesn’t take away agency, only causes narrative consequences when the ‘negative’ occurs (like where being seen transforming puts them on some recruiting villain’s list?)

[@WaysAwayTavern]

So good! I love the idea for the floating wolf heads acting as minions or emissaries of the main werewolf. A plotting werewolf with a long-con play style is a really fun and scary idea!

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Yeah, I kept looking at the painting and thinking, "Is this too much??" Haha!!

[@yogsothoth7594]

I've played around with this before, the idea of the werewolf as the predator before, the wolf on two legs is a creature of wrath and greed at the expense of human life. Someone bitten by a werewolf cannot have this reversed by a single use of a remove curse although that can help allow the PCs more knowledge about how to defeat the curse. Specifically, this would involve rejecting this kind of sin, courageous non-violence, forgiveness, generosity and so on can reverse the curse over time while the curse drives the werewolf seems to try to drive them in the opposite direction, praying on their existing failings to make them more violent, more greedy. The cycle of violence requires active effort to break.

[@K-H-28]

A player at my table got bit by a werewolf in our last encounter. We all stated/agreed that our PCs don't know what werewolves are. Really excited to see what our GM brings to the table the next full moon.

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!! That sounds like a table good table that can come to a consensus!! Good times!!

[@ComicPi]

I'd love to see better Modrons. I've always thought they were a neat concept that fails under much scrutiny and they just become tiered mooks for weird arenas. Bunch of lil automata robo guys who have a biblical hierarchy based on the number of faces they have, and they're from another dimension made of complex and unknowable machinations. Add to the fact visually they're the die the game uses already and you have some really fertile ground for meta narrative hijinks.

[@mapcrow]

YeahII I know that you mean!! The March of the Modrons is a neat idea, but in execution, it doesn't offer a lot of problems that relate to the player characters!! I'll have to think about this!!

[@WorldsofTeranel]

Im a big fan of Mechanus in concept including Modrons, but I wish they were just.... better?

[@TheIoPC]

I think an answer to using the traditional curse is to have a particular lust or flaw of the afflicted PC become accentuated; especially as they closer to the full moon. This could cause a lot cool drama, and make the curse removal more desirable. I also love your idea too. Very thematic. ~ Adam

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!! Lots of ways to go with this!! This particular take is about giving DnD players something interesting to fight, which is what DnD kinda does best! Haha

[@nathanialfaer9409]

I'd love to see a video reworking goblins/kobolds. They're such common cannon fodder enemies, but I find that they lack depth

[@Subariel]

oh, celestials are some of the monsters that need the most help, so thank you for covering them.. this take on the werewolf however, now this is fascinating

[@orcitecture4355]

I always feel inspired by these videos for my own worldbuilding. When you mentioned themes for lycanthropy coming from hubris against gods/old wisdom, I immediately imagined how this would likely work in my setting. I think lycanthropy might be a curse that infects spellcasters who use arcane magic to defile nature and transform into animals. Those who transform cattle to produce more meat and milk, who experiment on the creation of new species for their convenience, and those who shift their forms in unnatural and painful ways may have the spirits of nature twist them into beasts that directly oppose mankind’s insistence on playing god.

[@geoffreynelson6413]

This is really cool. Now you have a boss, a sendable minion (heads) and a random encounter/ world building/ plot hook (the wolf-headed corpses), none of which look or behave like anything in the MM. Great video.

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Yeah, that’s the mission statement of this series!!

[@Slayerlord13]

3:50 I wonder what Zeus's spell save DC is...

[@mapcrow]

Begs the question, don’t it? Haha

[@weecefew]

Lycanthropy in my setting consists of a variety of different Fey curses that the varied Courts of the Feywild have at their disposal so this is perfect.

[@mapcrow]

Yeah, this could really be a Fey situation real easy, you just need to up the irony somehow. Haha!

[@AxiomDelver]

very interesting idea, and is the composition a reference to "Saturn Devouring His Son"?

[@mapcrow]

Thank you! And yes, that is absolutely a reference to that painting. Once the taboo of cannibalism came up in my research, I knew what I had to do. haha!!

[@xaosbob]

Okay, I'll throw down a gauntlet here too (LOTS of cool input on this video already, though, really fun!), with an idea that your imagnation is just off-center enough to make uniquely interesting. Mimics. Not that I think they are particularly flawed or tired, but while "monster that disguises itself as anything" seems like the potential for an imaginative free-for-all, it always executes as "that ordinary thing in the room TRIES TO EAT YOU."

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!! I think the only thing mimics need to be more interesting is... a plan. They are all working together. Was that door always there? Did you come into this dungeon with that many torches? Why are their so many trees now?? What do they want??

[@bjmad311]

Oozes and gelatinous cubes are classic DND beast that are due for a make over. They even have their own demon lord, Juiblex. There is great potential there.

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Yeah.... I think I got a take!!

[@thomaswalsh2691]

Absolutely loved this one, incorporating really strong composition has injected so much mood and context to these illustrations. Keep up the good work! Also really dig how far you have been able to re-imagine these iconic monsters, taking them from simple threats to incredibly deep opportunities for storytelling.

[@mapcrow]

Thank you so much for the encouraging words!! I'm glad that my work is landing the way I was hoping!!

[@bestbeekeeper8931]

i think the idea of a curse like this should be to highlight that whatever evil/sinful behavior the beast symbolizes lives within us all. i view werewolves as symbolizing rage and hatred, and we can all get angry at times. if you have a barbarian in the party, or your players just faced a wrathful big bad to complete their last major story arc and someone gets infected, you can start to prod at the narrow line between good and evil and explore those themes of temperance(and love if you're into it)

[@aidenb1304]

You're honestly my favorite youtuber atm, you always know just how to spark the imagination! Also, loved the Saturn devouring his son vibes, it fits perfectly with the atmosphere.

[@mapcrow]

Thank you so much for the kind words!! It's funny, I don't think of myself as a KZbinr, but I guess I am one!! Gosh!!

[@thel33tpenguinftw40]

I like the idea of making werewolves transmissible and it's basically a morality test for adventurers and only affects those who look to slay the werewolf, any rando attacked on the side of the road just gets eaten. Any supposed do gooder has to go through basically a full trial of self control in order to show they are actually good natured. Could have been be started by some evil wizard as his final act to spite the adventurers who tried to kill him

[@locomotivefaox]

Absolutely adored both the painting you did as well as the whole concept, Ik it’s challenging to try and put a spin on a concept that’s been done a thousand times before and is thus so engrained, but you manage to pull it off every time! I love this!

[@lucasmarquesdecamargos4298]

One thing I do in my games is removing the curse from the bite, and give more personality to the pack members, emulating the tribes and auspices from Werewolf: the Apocalypse into D&D. By doing this second part, I also don't make them necessarily Chaotic Evil, and make them more tied to fey spirits and the like.

[@88Grabarz]

Focusing on the *curse* part insted of *bite* part is a great and simple idea! This opensup a lot of new routs and pushes werewolf away from gnolls and closer to some kind of demons even. I Love it ! I will definitly go there in my game - two players got bitten recently, and fullmoon is comming in two days. There is still place to spin it in more mistical direction ;) And this pice of art is awesome. This stare is just... bonechilling.

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!! Sometimes doing the traditional thing is exactly what everyone wants too!! But I get a lot of fun as a GM looking for the spin!!

[@mcspudster5289]

Golems are a monster with alot of versatility depending on what their made of and I think their could be to see how the process and steps taken while building a golem effect it's out come, like a flesh golem made from multiple animals and people and is powered by the soul of dead dog looking for their master never realizing they is fused into their own back.

[@MonsterBunnyblabla]

I love this take on werewolves! Feels new and intresting. This isnt a curse where you get to enjoy the "side effects" and maybe just be chained up in a basement until the fullmoon passes. It feels like a new sense of urgency and panic which would put even experienced players on their toes. Great job! 👍 as far as suggestions, id love to see your take on mimcs!!

[@StoneAgeHeroX]

Slime based creatures, gelatinous cubes and the like. I usually represent them as the agar or breeding block out of which more intelligent or aware slime monsters spawn. Like shape shifting goop humanoids or animals

[@grim5807]

I love the idea of Linnorms. They are so underused yet have such a vastly different impact on a game in comparasant to a Dragon, the idea that these inteligent get beastial creatures are untold milennia old and have a very ghoulish outlook on existence that festers into the form of curses and cruelty. I think perhaps if touched upon in a new light it may spark their appereance in many more campaigns.

[@mapcrow]

Right on! I'll add it to the list!! Thanks!!

[@alonkellner5375]

Monsters are not the only building-better-able subject, I would love to see a building-better of weapons (sword, whip, staff), or places (tavern, castle, church) etc. Just like monsters, people usually do not interpret them creatively, a fresh take on them is needed just as much as monsters need it.

[@mapcrow]

This is going to sound nuts, but I actually don't enjoy drawing weapons and items all that much! For places, I've drawn maps before, but you're right, I've never talked about what makes a good Tavern Map or something. Thanks for the suggestion!!

[@armbirdy3182]

Mr. Crow I AM BEGGING YOU to release the full painting process of your art. I really admire your style and it's always a big help to see how someone else makes art. pls

[@mapcrow]

Hello! Good news, I've already made those videos! Check out my "How to Use Colored Pencils" and "Coward's Guide to Watercolor" You may also get some use out of the "Color Theory Crash Course" video too!

[@eastoforion]

incredible, this is my headcanon werewolf lore now :)

[@Weckacore]

So glad to see more of these! After finding this channel I quickly ran out of videos and splat book episodes

[@mapcrow]

Haha! Well thank you for watching and listening!!

[@pielord33321]

Hydras have always seemed way less cool in D&D than in the old myths, I'd love to see what you'd do with them!

[@taiyowest9495]

love it! will definitely use this!

[@mapcrow]

Thank you so much!!

[@Ghoulif]

I really love this artwork. The concept seems like something out of Berserk

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Yeah, I love that manga!!

[@Ghoulif]

@@mapcrow Me too! I just bought the first 2 hard cover collector’s edition volumes and I’m loving it!

[@SheilaTheGrate]

me at 00:18 🎶 Suddenly it changes! Violently it CHANGES!!!🎶

[@mapcrow]

I had lots of fun with the music on this one! Haha

[@roxashunter8879]

Despite being considered as a classic monster I just love werewolves when used well, especially when it's a Human vs Werewolf set-up leading us to question who in the end is the true monster

[@mapcrow]

Oh yeah! Love a good classic werewolf story!!

[@kiarshalavia]

I’ve been hyped for this video!!

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Hope it lives up to the hype!!

[@kiarshalavia]

@@mapcrow definitely did! The art was creepy and evocative, the lore spin on it was great and almost exactly synched up with something I’d been running in my home game BUT you definitely added fuel to my fire lol Keep up the great work!

[@jonpeacock3016]

Super interesting video. I liked your take on werewolves. This was just all and all awesome.

[@vinidood]

Oh this? This is art. I love watching this series and I love to see how you try to approach things we have seen many times before from a different angle. You're very, very creative! :D If I had to ask for a monster, I'd say the False Hydra. I've been fascinated with them recently, and have an idea for an adventure, but still, I'd absolutely love to see what you'd do with it, both game-wise and visually! Keep up the awesome work, fren! :D

[@garryame4008]

I'd love to see your take on Elves. Typically they just seem like tree hugging humans with pointy ears. I love the themes of pride or vanity, but I also love how you can find new themes to explore as well.

[@mapcrow]

Elves are really interesting to me! I feel like I know so much about them, but I don't really even know why they have pointed ears? Where did that enter into it? Haha

[@Qobp]

Some fantasy stories make elves less like forest assholes and more victims of their own lifespan. They don't mean to seem abrasive, it's just a side effect of living a millennial longer than other races and coming from a completely different era of society. Also they struggle with the fact that they can just outlive most minor villains since, an evil human will probably be dead in about 50 years, so why make should they risk their own lives when the guy will be dead in what's a few months to them

[@underfire987]

Devil swine similar but very unique, Minotaurs would be cool too, demons or anything from mythology really. loved ur take on the werewolf very inspiring

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Yeah, mythology is fun, especially when there are variants of the same myth!

[@pinionatedminion38]

Hell yah, dude! This is awesome!

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!!

[@bigbadwolfstudios1]

Oh this was absolutely amazing!! Werewolves are already my meat and taters but this was very refreshing of a take. It's funny too because watching the BBM series you've been doing had me start redrawing Greek monsters more scary. They way you drew the werewolf reminds me of a prompt I gave myself which was "wolf bones hastily shoved a human shaped bag" . Absolutely excellent work making this beast a truly twisted creaturw

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!! Let that imagination run wild!!

[@thenda8]

I would love to see some work done to the Mephits, they are so under appreciated and I would love to see your unique spin on them

[@mapcrow]

Yeah! Elementals are tricky, because they just have the one thing going for them, haha! On the list, thanks!!

[@mineallen6092]

Always love to see a new video from you! I absolutely love, intentional or not, the imagery of "Saturn Devouring his Son" this evoked! As for other monsters, this one is actually a playable race but I think Tieflings could really desperately use a new perspective other than 'sexy devil person' that they have kind of devolved into in the public consciousness. There's a lot of weirdness that's open to be explored that is often ignored for 'red dude with horns'.

[@mapcrow]

I know what you mean! Like Hellboy is a Tiefling, but the thing that makes him cool is he's the only one! A cool idea for one character that is turned into like a race of people is a quick way to lose that focus and destiny. Like, all Teiflings need is for there to be like only 9 of them maybe? Wouldn't work for Adventurers League, but it might be interesting at a home game?

[@cameronmaas2644]

@@mapcrow i was leafing through the monster manual the other day and i found the page on cambions. They are exclusive half devil/demon half human, and i literally yelled out loud at my desk, “Hellboy’s a Cambion?!?!?!”

[@mapcrow]

@@cameronmaas2644 Yup! There is a cool episode on the Monster Man podcast about Cambions, and I think he mentions that!

[@elliottowen-griffiths948]

I would love to see your take on a hydra. I think its the pinnacle of a monster that has a cool gimic but Every Single Person knows the gimic and so it doesn't get used. You come up with such fresh takes on creatures id love to see what you do

[@cameronmaas2644]

In my opinions (this will probably only work once), I think werewolves are the ultimate mystery “who done it monster.” I mean, there’s an entire table top game built around it. However running a werewolf mystery, especially when the players don’t know a werewolf is involved at the beginning is so incredibly fun. I do have beef with how they are portrayed in 5e and I think it comes down to the system more than anything Werewolves are a type of monster that usually only has that “one weakness” factor. This is a mechanic that works well in many games, especially video games. However, the average dnd player may not take to it as well. Werewolves seem like the type of monster that needs to be an unstoppable killing machine, more of a plot device. It seems like something that would fit much better into a game like call of Cthulhu, or other horror games. I think changing them much like Mr. Map Crow has works much better in a DnD type game.

[@mapcrow]

These points are all rock solid! Yeah, they work remarkably well out of the box in Call of Cthulhu, because your character is never super human!

[@mathsalot8099]

I love this!! I am using this!!

[@BlairBlackart]

If we are going down the road of grim monsters. I would live to hear your take on the vampric curse (Vampires). Like werewolfs they follow rules and are cursed however are not beastal. Would love to see a video on this however whatever you may upload I will watch as your content feel unique amoung artists/dnd youtubes. Thank you

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Yeah Vampires is really high on the list, but I just need a take first! Haha!! Cheers!

[@iamsff]

Love these videos, really inspires me to look at monsters differently, not just cool things to throw in but things that can and should have great meaning behind them. I personally would like to see your take on Demons, partially because of how awesome the Angel video was. Demons have in my mind just been downgraded to the Evil Side's' cannon fodder and could use some love and attention.

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Yeah, been getting that request a lot since the angel video, so you are in good company! It'll happen as soon as... I figure out a good idea! Haha!

[@iamsff]

​@@mapcrow It's a hard one. Demons have been worked up into a whole subclass of monsters rather than meaning a singular entity. I think there is some interesting ground though, specifically in some interesting conceptions of demons as not as fallen angels or the like, but as beings of deficiency, creatures of the void. From the Wikipedia article: Demon / subsection: Christian demonology "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite... explains demons are deficient creatures, who willingly turn themselves towards the unreal and non-existence. Their dangerous nature results not from power of their nature, but from their tendency to drag others into the "void" and the unreal, away from God." Think there could be some fantastic art of a black hole like monster of some kind. The story of maybe a priest newly appointed, young, but quickly began to feel lacking, overwhelmed by the respect and responsibility of his position, began falling into corruption or non-existence as some sort of escape, and has been falling ever since. Sort of an imploded soul. Maybe whenever the demon is near your own insecurities begin to compound upon them selves, people begin to become depressed in it's presence, stop believing in themselves, stop believing in anything, and eventually just stop. Adventurers come cross a village, having felt themselves become slightly dour as they near, find the village full of people doing nothing, most lying in bed, no motivation to get up, others stopping right where they worked, in the middle of the street, slumped over desks. The fall of the Demon bringing not only itself, but all around it down with it, spend too much time, and maybe you too will fall. If you want some sort of DnD mechanic, maybe you will suddenly start gaining levels of exhaustion the longer and closer you are to this creature, sucking the energy from you. Can't stay too near, or you'll just stop having the energy to move entirely. Can't plan too long, or you'll hamper yourself just the same.

[@lucasgroubert]

lets goooooo! i waited all week for this!

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!! Hope you enjoyed it!!

[@lucasgroubert]

@@mapcrow boy am I, I’m absolutely riveted! And the piece you made is visceral!

[@Fnorder23]

Excellent take on a classic, as always! I would like to see you take on some of the unappreciated and ridiculed ooze family; I'm personally designing an ooze-focused dungeon and I've found that there's lot of potential for making the amorphous dangers much more interesting than a bag of hit points and attacks that dissolve certain materials.

[@vincentg7191]

I love your videos so much! they are super helpful and inspiring pls never stop

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Glad you like them!! I really enjoy making them too!!

[@Zeliek]

I would like to see a better Sphinx. Always loved them and used them as proxies for dragon that seemed silly as arcane master wizards. I always used "Magic the Gatherings" art for my inspiration on their style instead of the traditional Egyptian but it's not enough. So yeah Sphinxes, so much more than riddles imo also great if you want to make a "fresher", non-undead, thriving Egypt with a pinch of Babylon and Greece.(see on werewolves to get what i mean) On the topic of Werewolves: *Slight warning everything I mention comes from a place of acceptance* In one of my upcoming Pathfinder campaigns I chose to make it take place in a real planet Earth in the late 1700s but with all the magical things affecting it from the start. So like every country has different races alongside humans and any other race of creature (so it's not that you have to be from that country to play that race). So on the topic of Native American I thought it would be interesting if a major "race" is wereraces aka any race that has a changed form. At first it might sound like a bit insensitive but the more I worked on it the more it seemed fitting to have a "new" world where unlike the old world (brimming with undead and eternal rulers) its inhabitants are ever changing. The werecreatures slowly morph into allegories for trans-ness that dismantled the idea of Ego and personality. They could be those that are two or more different personas or those that do not have a true human form and each time they turn anything about them might be different. This could hopefully work on my players and give them something more from the experience.

[@Ackbano]

Seconding Sphinx. Lotta untapped potential there. My current game has the players coming to a great temple that's to their surprise also a childcare center for young sphinx. As a long lived race, they're children for hundreds of years, and the acolytes (lioness laimas) help care for the young while they gain wisdom. They mostly play in a 4ft tall labyrinth made of doors and tell each other knock knock jokes and kid's level brain teasers until they're old enough for true riddles, as a form of enrichment.

[@small_howl]

I feel like anyone who will be running werewolves in dnd should try to listen Episode 31 of the Magnus Archives “The first Hunt”. It’s a very fun interpretation

[@mapcrow]

Thanks for the heads up!!

[@KB-fk3jj]

I have so many uploads to catch up on! I really liked the twist on the curse, and the ad too. As for other monsters that could use some MapCrow sauce, what about Chimera's? They're really fun to paint I'm sure

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah, Chimeras, Manticores, and Griffins are all kinda in the same category of great looking monsters that don't really have a strong shtick outside of their original context.

[@disgruntledbob2812]

This would work great not necessarily for werewolves in my world, but a mysterious fey called the Wolf Shepherd, or even the “wolf-faced saint of rebellion” Lycos

[@randomtoastbr6835]

Man!!! I can't believe it!!! you read my mind. I was going to suggest a video just about that. Great video, keep up the great work. Could the next video be about Vampires?🧛‍♂🧛‍♂🧛‍♂

[@mapcrow]

Thank you so much!! Vampires are on the list!! Cheers!!

[@sahlibrahimi]

i would like to see alot more episodes of building better monsters

[@mapcrow]

More on the way!! Cheers!!

[@alan_mo3995]

What happened to your building better goblins video? Loved the design you made.

[@mapcrow]

People were harassing me about it so I took it down. I only do KZbin because it makes me happy. If something with KZbin stops making me happy, I'll always seek my own joy and health.

[@alan_mo3995]

Good way to live. I love your channel and it inspires me with my own art.

[@gustersavon]

To be honest I love this idea and especially integrating it with Gnoll culture. I know I’d be estatic if you did a gnoll video if it’s a monster that interests you

[@Er5608c]

It would be an interesting challenge to do the Tarasque. Usually when I think about the Tarasque in the context of DND I just think of big bungus that does a lot of damage and it seems so unbelievably powerful that it honestly feels unusable as a monster, so it would be interesting to see a different take on the creature.

[@foxgraves]

I always want to see more Death Knight content. i think there is so much fertile ground there for a scary, high level monster compelled by honor and evil. would love to see them tilted in a horror genre light

[@TheIoPC]

Werewolves/skinwalkers are one of my favorite mythical creatures.😁 ~ Adam

[@Dragon_Rage_26]

i know what am about to say us morbid and a bit dark but i was feeling bad because of my dogs death almost a year ago...watching your video makes me feel better it just so happens this video was bases on werewolves

[@mapcrow]

I’m sorry you are having a rough time.

[@Dragon_Rage_26]

@@mapcrow its all good sometimes you have to grief to move forward

[@Somber_Knight]

I can just feel your excitement when talking about werewolves. On a side note, you've done some monsters, but what about the most monstrous of creatures? By that I mean humanoids. Either that or the monsters of the maze like nagas or minataurs.

[@mapcrow]

Ha! The most dangerous game of all....

[@esbeng.s.a9761]

There is also a lot of folklore about good werewolf, you can was osp video on the topic. I see werewolf coming from the Fey wild and if we sprinkel in some goodness. Now we might have a bounty hunter who changes down people that broke their promises with fey creatures. Loves your idea of having hound head fluting around, so they are still the criminals. Maybe the more heads they control shows how skilled they are and is used to rank them, which could make them less agressive and more trickery, as they don't fight faire but uses gorilla fighting style. Maybe the heads screams all night making sleep imposdible

[@mabelodinson9328]

I'd really love an episode on Fiends, Devils, and Daemons. I feel the generalized usage of demons in ttrpgs are either a big bad devil thats a king or prince of hell, or all the little creatures that serve them as their underlings. But demons can be so much more!! Pulling from biblical, and daemonological sources could prove very interesting. Back in my highschool days, I ran DND games with demons as the typical baddies, but i always tried to put my own spin on them, usually inspired by Goetian Demonology. Im curious to see what you could do with the concept. :)

[@mapcrow]

Thanks!! Yeah, it's on the list and the wheels are turning!!

[@mabelodinson9328]

@@mapcrow excited to see what you come up with!

[@voidwyrm6149]

a beholder might be interesting they're incredibly paranoid, but two of them are trapped in each body and they're both plotting against each other

[@mapcrow]

Ha! Heck yeah!!

[@yamithedestroyer]

I would love to see your spin on some undead. I personally love undead monsters. So maybe ghoul or ghast would be super cool.

[@mapcrow]

Hmmm... I do want to talk about barrow wights... Cheers, friend!!

[@paulhermann2956]

@@mapcrow Hey Mr. Crow, awesome Video as always! On Barrow Wights I would recommend you watch "The Northman" - strange movie that really puts emphasis on an ambiguous depiction of mythological forces and Fate!

[@stephencase5160]

I would love to see your rendition of a gryphon - I have a pretty righteous gryphon tattoo.

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah!!

[@leavemealone930]

Bro that artwork is UNFAIRLY good holy shit

[@mapcrow]

Thank you so much!! I learned a lot on this piece, using the red acrylic glaze underneath the whole painting was new for me!! I try to do new things to surprise myself and experiment on every piece! It's how I like to improve! I'm glad you enjoy how it turned out!!

[@VirusVisal]

What I wanna know is what kind of paper you use, it resist wet media very well! Excelent painting as always!

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Yeah, it's a strathmore bristol board, and I love using it for just about everything. There is a link the description. I also use a blow drier to dry off both sides of the paper, which helps to straighten it back out! Cheers!!

[@Lavenderlore1043]

Alternatively, you could make a wereform a gift from the gods, instead of a curse. For instance, in the Norse culture, the Berserker(bear warrior) Ulfhednar(wolf warrior) and Sverfylking (boar warrior), are those who wear the skins of the creatures of their names, and are said to be devoted followers of the gods. So something similar could be done in a game I think.

[@mohebcheema]

I think it would be cool to see a werewolf story where the werewolf wants to be a werewolf

[@ThePareidolian]

So this does sound like a fun encounter, but less like a werewolf than it is werewolf-inspired.

[@mapcrow]

That’s the idea! Yep!

[@EarlWynn]

I think Gargoyles would be great for a revisit. They're so overdone at this point that they could really use a fresh angle!

[@mapcrow]

Ha! I was just thinking about fun ways to use them in my home game!!

[@wiki_learner]

I think a good next monster to look at might be some different takes on Genies! Elementals as they are sometimes! With the kind of power that the myth of a genie brings it would be interesting to go beyond "your wish backfires haha". Or some better way to implement Genies into my game to where it would be more interesting than a 2 hour argument in front of this powerful being about wording the wish just right. Its more interesting when looking at wishes to think about what to wish for rather than how to word it. And the report as tricksters tends to bog down sessions.

[@mapcrow]

Dang yeah... tricksters is a whole kettle of fish, isn't it! I'd have to think about that!! Thanks for the suggestions!!

[@jungcinema3687]

I think you should do a Wyvern! I haven’t really seen much inspiration material, as it is often just seen as a ‘not dragon’ monster. The Monster Hunter game series has some incredible wyvern designs and I think it would be cool to see what you come up with!

[@mapcrow]

The Monster Hunter take is really interesting! I think it works really well in action games, but it's often a challenge to adapt action game and MMORPG mechanics to the table straight up. Still, it's a great place to look for inspiration!! Thanks!!

[@georgeashwell2396]

I would love to see your interpretation of fiends such as devils and demons. I think D&D has little visual or conceptual shorthand to differentiate them from monstrosities or aberrations, and generally they don’t tend to relate much to what demons are within world mythology or occultism.

[@mapcrow]

Yeah, the cosmology of DnD, or at least Forgotten Realms, takes a lot of impact away from Demons and Angels. They are just other creatures from a different ZIP code. Haha! It's on the list!! Cheers!!

[@samhiceart]

I've been thinking about hermit crabs and how they inhabit anything for a shell. Holy skulls froom an angel would be interesting and imbue it with holy powers. Maybe even intelligence.

[@mapcrow]

Dang! That's a cool idea!! Demon skull crabs!!

[@elvenatheart982]

Greek mythology is always sweet

[@mapcrow]

Gotta love the classics!! Haha!!

[@Kenvie2000]

You art so good.

[@pedrohenriqueguinsk4244]

I never really grasped what Gricks and Grells are supposed to be in the world of DnD. They are super iconic, but seem so... random? I don't know, maybe it's only me, but make them into something interesting and coeherent would be great!

[@mapcrow]

I know what you mean! Yeah, I think they make more sense as weird singular beasts than a whole species of monster. Earlier editions also included more scifi elements than is now associated with the game. DnD continues to be this sprawling pastiche of many influences and traditions. Not all of them fit neatly together.

[@buckarooben7635]

I think just your regular old goblin could use an upgrade

[@jeffreymilliman2306]

I'd be interested in your take on doppelgangers. As it stands, they serve a pretty standard niche in games as a malevolent, mind-reading impostor but I'm curious to see how they could be made more interesting and less one-dimensional.

[@mapcrow]

Yeah! Doppelgangers need like a whole paranoia story to work, I think. One or two are a bizarre inconvenience, but whole coven of them is something else. It's a bit more difficult to imagine how fighting one would be very interesting. Maybe if they can fuse together, kinda graft on a bunch of parts of different monsters and characters you've fought? I don't know. Gotta be something.

[@nickmarino2072]

What a good idea, That the wolf head should grow only when the head is devoured and that the hound heads track you down. Also, when illustrating the Savage Beard of She Dwarf did you make all the artwork digitally or digitally color scanned art?

[@mapcrow]

I drew every page traditionally on Bristol board and then colored them digitally.

[@elijahlunder135]

please do building better vampires they are really common and almost overdone now so it would be great to have them be changed.

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! Yeah, it's on the list!! I just need an idea first! Hahaha! Cheers!!

[@lucassweeney1857]

Hey Map Crow, you should look into Monsturom videos on the storied channel. It’s amazing stuff that goes into the origins of myths. Along with variations.

[@mapcrow]

I'll check it out!! Thank you!!

[@lucassweeney1857]

I love this video series so much. It’s really made rethinking some old concepts I have.

[@lucassweeney1857]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rF6Qp2CsmM-tjc0 this is an amazing world which I think you’ll appreciate

[@seanmccoy]

Kobolds are my hands down least favorite common dnd monster. CAN YOU MAKE THEM GOOD??

[@mapcrow]

Kobolds keep coming up!! It's a tough nut to creak, but I like a challenge!! Haha!!

[@thedeaderer8791]

How is it ur changes always make me wanna use that monster in a game lol now I need a were wolf and a lich and a owlbear and so on lol its gonna be a weird campaign but I'm here for it also I love the Goya inspired peice it looks perfectly dark

[@mapcrow]

Haha!! Thank you!! Yeah, you can never goya wrong by referencing that painting! Haha