[Author's note: This is unrelated to the Outlaw Country, which is a large part of my space here. This was an idea I had while working on a fantasy setting for an unrelated project] -- So, this was a fun idea I had a few nights ago: What if a dungeon beast were somehow bestowed intelligence and became a member of an adventuring party? The current idea is the lizard beastwoman is stalking the party's wizard, the wizard becomes aware and tries to flee, a chase happens, the beastwoman tackles the wizard, the wizard drops his necklace of intellect (magic item), the beastwoman sees the necklace and is enthralled by it, she wears the necklace, then *BOOM* she's now as smart as a party wizard! (Think in Dungeons and Dragons stat terms: -10 is the average stat -A guy with 6-7 intelligence is a pretty dumb guy) -The 3-4 intelligence territory is usually reserved for animals -A lady with 12 intelligence is probably a skilled tradesperson -Intelligence 15 and up is usually reserved for wizards and professional academics So, imaging going from an intelligence of 5-6 to that of 14-16! That's quite a big leap!) With this leap in intelligence, the lizard beastwoman now understands social skills, etiquette, linguistics, complex problem-solving, and so on, and so on... I also have a funny partial story regarding the bikini armor. Imagine the following scenario: -The party goes to an inn for the night. The innkeeper sees the lizard beastwoman closely holding onto the wizard's arm and seems rather nervous. The party leader approaches the innkeeper. Leader: "Excuse me sir, do you have rooms available for my party?" The innkeeper is unsure if the party leader is being serious, or if this is some kind of joke. Innkeeper: "Y-yes, I should. Is, uh... is she part of your group?" The party leader sighs, as if this is a question they regularly hear. Leader: "...yes, yes she is..." Innkeeper: "She's, uh, she knows how to use the restroom, right?" The party leader sighs again. Leader: "Yes. She won't cause you any problems, I assure you." The beastwoman breaks her attention away from the wizard to address the innkeeper and the party leader. Beastwoman: "Sir, not only am I capable of listening and conversing, I assure you have have better manners and hygiene than most of the people at the bar! HMPF!" The innkeeper is now embarrassed. Innkeeper: "M-my apologies ma'am. Here, let me get the keys to those rooms you wanted..." Overall, I really like the idea and I tried my best to keep her bestial qualities present in her design. The idea that she's a dungeon monster that somehow has the intellect of a college professor is an appealing and amusing one. Of course there would still be her bestial features and some beast-like tendencies. For the bikini armor, I was playing around with the idea that those were the only clothes the lizard beastwoman would agree to wear (preferring to wear no clothes at all, this is the compromise she made with the party in order to travel through polite society. You can even see she refuses to wear footwear!). Overall, it was a fun little exercise! I might end up utilizing her for a campaign setting or something.
