85: Smell-a-Vision

Get a whiff of this episode, in which Travis tells us the history of the troglodyte, a creature with some surprising hidden twists.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You the adventurer? Yes, you. Do you desire knowledge of immense worlds and arcane power? A codex of untold stories and lore? Or perhaps simply easy listening for your daily commute. Then feast your eyes, or more accurately, yes, upon Dungeon Pedia. Shit's about to get nerdy in here.

SPEAKER_04 0:46

Taylor Stanfield.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

And I'm Travis Peasley. And Taylor has been working on a uh new project.

SPEAKER_05 0:53

A series of projects. I've been getting I mean, not that I ever stopped like being into painting minis, but you know, sometimes things are Creativity ebbs and flows. Yeah. But uh I recently uh got a Tiamat miniature by Lord of the Print. And by miniature. That it's it's huge.

SPEAKER_04 1:18

It's a large, it is a large one.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

It is huge, but it's amazing.

SPEAKER_04 1:22

And gr I mean, granted, in comparison to like her real size. You know, it's a mini. But compared to most other things that we know as miniatures, it's very large. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:35

Well, I'm gonna get uh I'm gonna work on her and hopefully here soon her brother will arrive in the mail. He's late as always.

SPEAKER_04 1:43

I mean, he's off he's off having an orgy with his exarch, probably. Probably. So or you know, like just off futzing around in the in the guise of an old man, you know. I forgot that the old man was his favorite, yeah, his favorite earthly earthly disguise to uh to walk amongst the the people.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Well, despite the opening being about nothing but dragons, we are not talking about dragons today.

SPEAKER_04 2:17

Aww. Okay. What a letdown for Dang it! I was hoping that that that could be the start of something.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Uh no. Instead, I continued my uh delve into the gross and nasty. Oh wow. And uh chose Troglodites. That name just sounds nasty.

SPEAKER_05 2:38

It's both gross and nasty. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Thanks. They are pretty uh I mean, they're nasty creatures for sure. Vile. Vile, smelly, horrible, disgusting, uh, take your pick.

SPEAKER_04 2:52

Uh I'll have none of it, actually.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

You know, that's fair. I don't think anyone really wants to volunteer for it, but just like a few of the other things, and this one I wasn't even prepared to realize, there is some real world like history of troglodytes. Yeah. So apparently a troglodite is a human that basically lives in a cave or a cave dweller. And it comes from the Greek word uh troggle, which basically means like hole or mouse hole. And my trogle, it was made for me. It's dyn, I'm not sure how to pronounce that, but which also means go in or dive in.

SPEAKER_04 3:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Um there's another form of the word that is troglodite, which is uh an ancient group of people from the African Red Sea coast. They were actually recorded by various Greek and Roman geographers and historians. I kind of skimmed through some of them, and it seems like most of them have kind of the same thing about them. Uh they are said to live in caves, they eat snakes, lizards, and other reptiles, they are like swift and fast runners, and they talk in their own language that is described as basically just a high-pitched shrieking noise or kind of like a screech from a bat.

SPEAKER_04 4:19

Same. That's what that's just what goes on in my brain.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

One of them also mentioned that instead of eating snakes, they were nurtured by serpents. Yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 4:33

Huh. Those are two I mean, not I things like this aren't always like this, but I feel like those are two things that might be a little antithetical to each other. So I wonder where the Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Where it kind of varied there. Yeah. Yeah, I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_04 4:50

For some reason that just feels like that could be, and this is purely conjecture. I know nothing about this topic, but that feels like that could be the product of like one particularly egregious mistranslation of one word.

SPEAKER_06 5:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Exactly how it feels. Definitely. There's also the uh pantroglodytes, which are common chimpanzees.

SPEAKER_04 5:12

Oh. Huh.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Apparently.

SPEAKER_04 5:14

So the the vibe is very Neanderthal.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Yes. Um, except for the one thing where there's a genus of small birds named Troglodytes.

SPEAKER_04 5:24

Oh, alright.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

I didn't look into that because I was just like, okay, sure. We went from this weird like caveman. Cave dwelling humanity thing to birds. Sure. Sure. Why not? Whatever. Yeah. So the troglodite first appeared in well, not Monster Manual 13, which is apparently what I typed up here.

SPEAKER_04 5:47

Hey. Oh, wow. Give it like. I mean, to be fair, there have been like more than 13 monster manuals.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Yes, but not from 1977. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:57

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

This was the monster manual for first edition, which is what that was supposed to say. Um, in this, they are reptilian humanoids who dwell in subterranean places.

SPEAKER_04 6:07

So we've gone from Neanderthalic mammals to birds to reptiles. Yep. Yep. Great. Love it.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

Pretty much. Uh they are chaotic evil, which this is a solid fact for their entire history. They are always chaotic evil.

SPEAKER_04 6:23

We've been running a pretty good streak of those consistent alignments. We have been. Well, I mean, to be fair, we did like Tasha last week, but she's different, I think. Yeah. As far as that goes. But I feel a lot of them, a lot of them, I feel like they've they've stayed pretty consistent. They haven't even gotten wacky with it in fourth edition a lot, I feel.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Yeah, it's been kind of crazy, actually. Um they shun all types of armor, so they just rely on like their natural armor. So in first edition, their AC was five, which was really low when you look at the Thacco system.

SPEAKER_04 6:55

Yeah. You know, I feel like whichever way you slice it, that's a bad AC actually. Yeah, no, you're right.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

It really is. It's it's bad no matter what.

SPEAKER_04 7:03

Because that's really bad for modern standards.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Oh, definitely. Uh it doesn't really get much better either. I mean, obviously it's above ten because everyone's AC almost everyone's AC is above ten.

SPEAKER_06 7:15

Almost.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

Almost. Um, in this, they had infra vision of 90 feet, which is basically dark vision.

SPEAKER_04 7:24

It's the uh infra infrared spectrum.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Yeah. They are incredibly like sensitive with the infravision. I'll get into that a little bit later. And it's so it says that the number appearing for like encounters, or if you run into like a tribe of them, can be anywhere between 10 to 100.

SPEAKER_03 7:47

Oh, that's a variance. Right. That's a variant. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

It's a pretty pretty big variance. They absolutely loathe humans, and they're you know, I was expecting that from Lewin. I was expecting you caught me off guard with that.

SPEAKER_04 8:03

I was expecting that from me too.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Uh their main goal is to slaughter all whom they encounter.

unknown 8:10

Thanks.

SPEAKER_04 8:12

Oh shit! Travis, we gotta go.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Well, it's a little late for me. Oh, I'm not human. Um we're gonna get into some s some numbers here just real quick. It's not as bad as the Modrins. Oh god. But there are some numbers here.

SPEAKER_04 8:29

Okay. This just a numbers are relevant in DD sometimes. I don't like it. Not always, but sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

For every ten chocolodites encountered, there will be one leader type. Okay. For every 20, there will be an additional two leader types, and if sixty or more are encountered, there will be a chieftain and two to eight guards. Okay. Basically, each one is a step up in like hit dice. I think the troglodytes are three, the leader types are like four, the chieftains are I think five, and then the guards, I think, are four.

SPEAKER_04 9:09

Okay. I mean that's a pretty I feel like that's a pretty common spec for like creatures or um I mean I say creatures, like you that that are that are organized, that are like at least somewhat intelligent, maybe, um, but are like organized into an actual like society. Yeah. I feel like that's a pretty common spec to have like per X number of this type, there are Y number of this type. Yeah, this better.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

It makes sense, really. Um the layers of a tribe typically are just like very large caves or caverns that have small chambers adjoining it where the members of the tribe live. And I it didn't mention it, but I'm going to assume that it's also where they keep like their eggs and hatchlings. Oh, they'll yeah, the It's mentioned later on, but nothing was mentioned in first edition as far as like where their eggs and their hatchlings go. Right. But I assume it would be somewhere in those like adjoining chambers.

SPEAKER_05 10:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

A layer will contain females equal to 100% of the males. So the same number. It phrases things weird.

SPEAKER_04 10:20

It that it does, yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Yeah. And okay, so I was wrong, first of all. The stab block for troglodytes show two hit dice.

SPEAKER_05 10:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

But it also says the females fight as one plus one hit dice monsters. So two hit dice dice. Which is the same as the normal troglodice.

SPEAKER_04 10:44

No, listen, one plus one is very different to two. Don't ask me how.

SPEAKER_05 10:50

Like needlessly beating it over the head that they are equivalent.

SPEAKER_04 10:56

Or it was changed.

SPEAKER_05 10:58

It was changed and no one went and changed the grammar. Yeah. Actually, that sounds more likely.

SPEAKER_04 11:04

That is possible. That's um conjecture, but it seems likely.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Um the only thing the entry states about like eggs and hatchlings is that they are of no importance.

SPEAKER_06 11:18

What?

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Yeah, it says hatchlings and eggs are of no importance.

SPEAKER_04 11:24

What? That's so weird. Because normally they give a sample like like okay, they they are essentially like they would say, like, oh, they're ha hatchlings are just like one hit die chocolate diets or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Yeah, but no. They're quote, of no importance. They are of no importance.

SPEAKER_05 11:41

Imagine you are a child of this tribe. You you look up to every adult around you. You know that they will love and protect you. An adventurer comes through. Every adult you know abandons you because you are of no importance.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Hooray! Yeah, that's pretty much all it's said about eggs and hatchlings.

SPEAKER_04 12:04

They are of no importance. Not even like oh, you can sell the eggs for Jesus.

SPEAKER_05 12:11

That hurts me. Okay. Right? I feel bad for these guys.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 12:17

I yeah, already.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

So they attack with uh claws and teeth, or at least they can. 50% of them use weapons of some type. These weapons usually are either javelins, a stone battle axe, a stone morning star, or a sword.

SPEAKER_05 12:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Um the javelins are kind of like specific to them. Like it's their preferred weapon, basically. And it gives any troglodyte using it a plus three to hit. Okay. But anyone else, it would be a normal normal like roll. Basically. They have this uh special ability, and this is where the nastiness comes in. Oh yay, I was wondering. Called Revulsion Odor. Okay. Says when aroused for battle, chocolate made a secretion which smells extremely disgusting to humans.

SPEAKER_04 13:14

Um, Travis, I'm just asking, uh, I just want to know where the choice to use the word aroused came from. Was that you? Nope, that was them. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

That was a direct quote.

SPEAKER_04 13:25

Got it.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

When aroused for battle.

SPEAKER_03 13:28

I don't like it.

SPEAKER_04 13:29

There's they could have taken the A off of it. Like roused.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

Roused?

SPEAKER_04 13:33

No. Aroused.

SPEAKER_03 13:36

Oh, are you ever horny to fight? Sometimes. Sometimes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

And I guess because it had to be specifically stated way back when it also says that it also includes doors, elves, gnomes, half elves, and halflings. So I guess in the wording, when you just referred to humans, it is literally just humans.

SPEAKER_05 13:56

So probably where the case of using humanoids came more into favor. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Because then they have to like go on and explain, like, it also includes all of the other races.

SPEAKER_04 14:07

You gotta know that in like they didn't have that. And in some and in in playtesting, you know, there was like one person who wasn't playing a human. And Brian. Damn it, Brian. And Brian was like, well, you see here, it says I'm not a human.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Oh god, you're probably right.

SPEAKER_04 14:23

I'm Brian. So Brian is me.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

This uh revulsion odor is a saving throw against poison, and if you fail it, you lose one point of strength per round for 1d6 rounds that is cumulative. Loss of strength will last for 10 rounds after it has taken the final effect.

SPEAKER_04 14:48

Ooh. Strength. Strength damage always scares me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

So you can lose up to six points of strength and then not gain that back for 10 rounds.

SPEAKER_02 14:59

I only have about that much, so I don't have that much.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

I would die. Yep, you would both fall unconscious and die.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Yay.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

And naturally, they have a chameleon-like power, which allows them to change their skin coloration to just various shades of like grey, brown, green, pretty much anything that can blend into their environment. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:24

I love how you said naturally.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

Like I wasn't they're lizard-like.

SPEAKER_05 15:29

Like we were just supposed to know. Yeah, but they're it it doesn't say chameleons. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:33

I mean, okay, that's there's lots of lizards that don't have camouflage powers.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Like the dragons. That alright, that's fair. Um, jumping to the monstrous compendium volume two for second edition. Um, this now has them uh living not only in caverns, but also just various cracks and crevices of mountains.

SPEAKER_05 15:55

Cool.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

I I guess they got just a little bit more specific on where they live.

SPEAKER_05 15:59

They they they got a more flesh out home.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Yeah. They also got a little bit more fleshed out as far as like their description goes. Because now we have the fact that they stand about six feet tall and are covered in like a sort of roughy leathery scales.

SPEAKER_05 16:15

Lovely.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

With lizard heads.

SPEAKER_05 16:18

Cool.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

That have teeth. I mean, I I feel like that should be That one is that one is uh naturally, yeah. Yeah. But figured I'd say it anyway, just in case.

SPEAKER_04 16:29

Well, actually, no one else is just anyway.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Um again, this also continues the whole trend of they hate like men and humans above all other creatures. Same and constantly launch bloody raids on human communities, normally searching out food and steel. Same.

SPEAKER_04 16:50

Honestly, mostly just the former.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Hmm. We're learning a lot here, and not just about charcoal dytes. I'm a little scared. You should be. Um, you can distinguish the males from the females very easily due to males having a fin-like crest that like runs across their heads and kind of like down their necks. So I guess the females won't have that. They'll just basically be bald in a sense.

SPEAKER_05 17:15

So there's a lot of sexual dimorphism.

SPEAKER_04 17:17

Yeah. Um for example, the males have two hit dice and the females have one plus one hit dice. That's another example of sexual dimorphism in track dice.

unknown 17:29

Fuck.

SPEAKER_04 17:30

Oh. Um these crests like colorful at all?

SPEAKER_05 17:34

Or yeah, I'm into this description.

SPEAKER_04 17:36

Because that's a lot of, I feel like that's a lot of lizards. Like I'm thinking, it's not a crust so much, but I'm thinking of like annuls, you know? Yeah. How they have the bright like throat flap, you know.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

Their colors can vary just because of their chameleon-like ability, but it kind of stated at one point that their sort of natural colors are more the like greys and browns.

SPEAKER_04 18:01

Yeah. Okay. No. No, they can use their chameleon, they can use their chameleon abilities to make their crest like colorful for mating displays. I've decided.

SPEAKER_05 18:11

I you know what? I support this decision.

SPEAKER_04 18:13

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

I also support this decision.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

Because I feel like that's such a like missed opportunity. Well, not necessarily because we we don't we don't know if it is something that they maybe talk about later, but I feel like if you're gonna give them like that kind of thing, like go bigger, go home. Yeah, and it should like it's the kind of thing that I feel like w it it would be a sh a shoe in to have it like be part of they, like the biggest, yeah, the biggest, most colorful crest is like the most impressive male. You know what I mean? Yeah, like because you know, animals.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

Nope, they have another way of determining uh who their leader is and who the better one is, basically. Cool. Okay. Uh get to that later though.

SPEAKER_04 18:52

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

So um the only piece of armor that they wear doesn't actually really count as armor. It's just basically like leather belts that are used to hold their weapons.

SPEAKER_04 19:02

So they're Final Fantasy? Actually, no, they're getting rid of belts. Uh anyway, if if you if you if hey, if you play, you know, you know what I'm talking about. So they're na I was gonna say they're naked, is what you're saying. Yes. Okay, great.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Uh pretty much constantly.

SPEAKER_04 19:19

Same. No, that's literally untrue. It's just the meme.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

They they value steel, so pieces of steel that are adorning a belt is kind of like a sign of power in the chocolateite culture. Oh, okay. So a lot of their leaders would typically fashion their belts with various pieces of steel. Belt buckles and shit. Yeah, and just like random places just to show wealth and power.

SPEAKER_05 19:47

I got belts and you don't.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

So they speak their own language, which is, I'm pretty sure, just called like Coglodite.

SPEAKER_05 19:58

Uh Troggle.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Troggle. Uh, and they speak no other languages. When it comes to like raiding and whatnot, they prefer ambushes rather than frontal assaults.

SPEAKER_04 20:12

That makes sense. Yeah, they're they they have that kind of spec, I feel.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

Yeah. So typically they'll choose like a very well-traveled mountain or subterranean path, use their chameleon power to blend into the rocks and just wait for a target. Makes sense. Yeah. And once they find a suitable target, they hurl volleys of javelins at them. Oh my gosh. Uh, two times. And then after the second volley, they will then descend upon the probably already damn near dead target and finish them. Good job. Yeah. Two.

SPEAKER_04 20:47

Not once, not thrice. Twice. Twice.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Twice. Okay. Uh they're revulsionaled blur. Revulsionold? Revulsionaled. It's a very hard phrase to say. Revulsion. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's hard.

SPEAKER_04 21:02

I was I I was immediately humbled there.

SPEAKER_05 21:06

That that L just kind of like sticks with the Revols of It feels like you're about to summon Lord Voldemort.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Lord Voldemort. Their revulsion odor has changed a little bit, where now it's if you fail a saving throw, you just lose one d6 points of strength rather than the whole cumulative over rounds part.

SPEAKER_03 21:28

No, that's good.

SPEAKER_04 21:29

That's uh less scary.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

Yeah, it still remains for uh ten rounds.

SPEAKER_04 21:34

That's still less um less scary, but still scary. Strength damage is still scary.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

Still still a pretty scary thing. Their society is organized into clans. Uh each clan is led by a chieftain, which how they figure out who the chieftain is, it is the biggest and most fearsome of them all.

SPEAKER_04 21:53

Fair.

SPEAKER_01 21:53

Basically, you fight for it.

SPEAKER_04 21:55

Yeah, that that seems par for the course for an organization of chaotic unions. Evil, you know, uh like people that are called chocolate.

SPEAKER_05 22:05

It's boring, it's played out, but it makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Yeah. It it does. Um, they also have a number of sub-chieftains that are basically chosen from chocolodites that are like the most distinguished and like who distinguished themselves the most in battle.

SPEAKER_05 22:24

Yeah. So for a second, the only thing I could think of as far as like distinguished those was like distinguishing characteristics.

SPEAKER_04 22:32

Oh, I thought you meant see how I have my brain supplied. For those of you who who can't see, I grabbed my tea and I stuck my pinky out as you do. I thought you meant distinguished, like distinguished gentlemanly. A little distinguished gentlemanly troglodite. Oh my god. Oh my god, I need it.

SPEAKER_05 22:51

I'm not going to demand it because I wear it. He's wearing a little suit.

SPEAKER_04 22:57

He's got a tea top. He's wearing a suit with a lot of belts.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Oh Jesus. No.

SPEAKER_04 23:02

That's just straight up a Final Fantasy character. Anyway.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Um, due to their ranking system and how it works, it's a very sort of like loose system. So there's often like internal fights or squabbles that happen to prove that you're better than the current chieftain.

SPEAKER_05 23:21

Not there. Certainly not.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

No. It says hatchlings number about 50% of the male population and are non-combatant. So not that they are of no use, they're just non-combatant.

SPEAKER_05 23:35

Wow, they got an upgrade.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

Yay.

SPEAKER_05 23:38

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

Of no importance. Of no importance. Troglodites are strict carnivores and prefer human flesh over all other types. Naturally. No.

SPEAKER_06 23:55

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

This doesn't stop them from devouring practically anything that they can catch. Fair. Which apparently can also include members of other troglodite clans.

SPEAKER_05 24:07

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Yay, cannibalism.

SPEAKER_05 24:09

Yay. Wait a minute. No, not yay.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

No? Oh.

SPEAKER_05 24:13

You just said you prefer human flesh over all other.

SPEAKER_04 24:16

Okay, listen.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

I feel like you can't talk about cannibalism now.

SPEAKER_04 24:21

Listen, I hear I just hear someone say something funny, and I just instinctually say same. It's what happens, okay. Yeah. It's it's fair.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

It's okay. Yeah. Um it also pointed out that they don't get hunted very much by other creatures. And it said that's because their taste is worse than their smell.

SPEAKER_04 24:41

I mean that that follows because, you know, your your taste and your olfactory system are very closely linked.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

So yeah. So they taste a lot worse than they smell.

SPEAKER_04 24:53

Imagine it's just because of the taste. Or just because of the smell, rather. So if you just like really plug your nose, like chocolate meats. You mean like um durian durian?

SPEAKER_05 25:03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:03

Chocolodites are the durian of the DD world.

SPEAKER_05 25:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

Except for an actual like fruit that's a durian equivalent that might exist.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:13

But like as far as meat goes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

Well, uh, we have an ecology article. Yay! Yay. Uh, which is how I decided to do chocolate, because I was looking at a list of all ecology things and was like, ooh, chocolate, what is this?

SPEAKER_04 25:33

I love that for like pretty much every single like like let's say like monster or like alternative, not just like a human like race or species or whatever, there's pretty much at least one ecology article.

SPEAKER_01 25:48

Yeah, it's pretty good. There are a lot of ecology articles. Um, but we'll get to that after the break.

SPEAKER_04 25:55

Oh, damn it! Oh. Gotcha. Always getting us with the ecology articles.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

Hey everyone. Thank you so much for listening to this episode over Troglodytes. Um we are still running our affiliate partnership with Metallic Dice Games.

SPEAKER_04 26:14

Make sure you uh keep your keep your dice that you order from them away from your troglodytes, or else they'll start to smell bad.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Yeah. Or if they're shiny, they'll just take them.

SPEAKER_05 26:24

Yeah, you and kill you for them.

SPEAKER_01 26:25

Because they do have metal dice.

SPEAKER_05 26:27

They do, which are by their very nature quite shiny.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

Very much so. But if you go to metallicdicames.com, pick out all of your favorite uh shinies. Yes, preferred shinies and accessories and whatnot. On checkout, just enter the code DungeonPedia and you'll get 10% off the entire order. So make sure you get everything all at once so you can just capitalize on it all.

SPEAKER_05 26:51

And make sure that you keep them away from the drugs. Also. And Lewin and the Lewins.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Who might be a Troglodite now that I think about it.

SPEAKER_05 27:01

But if you'd like to support us, even if one third of us is a troglodite, uh, we still have our Patreon. It's just Dungeon Pedia. We have a tier available where you can get access to our notes, which for some of those can be a real trip. Yeah. Otherwise, you can continue to support us by just following us on our social media, on Twitter, on Instagram, at Dungeonpedia. Uh we have we try and, you know, converse with other members of the community.

SPEAKER_04 27:30

We just we try.

SPEAKER_05 27:31

Oh my god. D D community. Oh my god, do we try? Try and keep you guys updated about what we're doing and that sort of thing. If you have any episode suggestions, comments, concerns, uh just want to talk, any of that, you can if you want to speak to a real deal troglodite. Listen. I don't know why we decided you're a troglodyite. You are nothing like a troglodyite. You are definitely more goblin-y.

SPEAKER_04 27:57

Yeah. This is true. I mean, see, I feel like it's like fingers and thumbs. Like there's a specifically steel shiny things, but I like any shiny things. So you're a crow. Yes. Anyways. I feel like we're we've we we fall under some kind of umbrella together.

SPEAKER_05 28:14

If you know what Lewin is, you can email us at dungeonpedia.podcast at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_04 28:19

Yay. Please help me.

unknown 28:21

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 28:22

Uh also helpful is subscribing to our podcast on whatever platform you listen to podcasts on. And you can get notifications for when we upload new episodes because of our aforementioned uh Twitter sometimes lacking Twitter efforts. Uh and also helpful is if on those said platforms you can leave a rating or review. That's very helpful. Helps us stand out. You can also tell your friends who like troglodytes. If you have any troglodite friends, since I'm apparently a troglodyte, or a goblin. What jury's still out? We'll find out. But if you have any friends who would be interested in us, let them know.

SPEAKER_05 29:04

I know what everyone is interested in, and that is obviously Alexander Nakarata and his wonderful music that we use for our theme song, Blacksmith.

SPEAKER_04 29:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 29:14

Thank you, Alexander. Thank you. It's amazing and we still love it.

SPEAKER_04 29:17

And thank you for listening to our episode thus far. And uh look. It's amazing and we still love you. Yes. And let's get back to the ecology articles. Yes. Woo!

SPEAKER_05 29:29

All right, ecology time. Yeah, I I need to further my zoology studies.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Yes, ecology time. So this comes from Dragon Magazine number 235, which was uh published in 1996.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

Same.

SPEAKER_04 29:48

It was also published in 96. I was.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

That's one that's one way to say being born. Yeah. I like it. I'll go with it. So uh this one was definitely one of the more like interesting ones that I've read so far. Uh-huh. And has like a great twist ending to it. Ooh. So the article is written in the form of a wizard called Farrand Two Spell.

SPEAKER_04 30:14

Are you sure he's not a warlock on account of his two spells?

unknown 30:19

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 30:22

Jesus Christ. Okay, I'm the best DD jokes I've ever heard of. I'm leaving. Okay, I'm leaving. I just peaked. Like, I'm never gonna say anything funnier or like more clever than that. I'm done. Bye, guys. It's been a pleasure. It's been real, it's been fun. That's the funniest thing I've ever said. Holy shit.

SPEAKER_05 30:41

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 30:42

Okay, alright. So coming down from the peak. Fernand Tuspel. Wait, no. Faron. Farron. Franz Franz Ferdinand Touspel.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

God damn it.

SPEAKER_04 30:54

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 30:56

Faron Tuspel. Yeah. Um, he's giving a presentation of troglodytes. Okay. And it's mostly about their language to a group of members of the Corbelian Order of Magecrafters.

SPEAKER_04 31:10

Is it just screaming? Please tell me that they're like just screaming in DD.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

So just to set the uh ambient tone here, basically the theater that they're in is dimmed out. There's like little to no light because he's using illusion spells to like make illusions of holograms of like tunnel systems and uh troglodite and stuff as he goes.

SPEAKER_04 31:36

It's very dramatic. It's just like full TED talk over here. Yeah, this isn't just like uh like a regular academic presentation. This guy's like being extra about it.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

Yeah. So uh this bit of information is important for later. He created his own spell that is known as cognitive conveyance. Again, important for later. I'll get to that. So centuries ago, there was a sage by the name of Ameris who compiled a lexicon of the troglodite language and found out that troglodite speech traces itself back to a highly degraded form of like a primitive lizard man tongue.

SPEAKER_04 32:14

Okay. That follows given their thoroughness.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

And if you're like me, you probably thought, yeah, that makes sense. They're both lizard-like creatures. And are probably related somewhere. Oh. But they're not. Ow shit! There is no physical relation between the two races. And at this point, like Farron makes two different illusions, one of like the lizardmen and one of a chocolate, and has them posing in like various ways to show all the differences and how there's like no correlation.

SPEAKER_05 32:48

I am loving this scene, by the way. Same.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

It it's pretty good. The relationship between their languages is just a very small one. So much so that it said that if an adventurer speaks either of these languages, they will only be able to understand ten percent or less of the other one.

SPEAKER_05 33:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:09

So if for whatever reason you know how to speak Troglitician, I think is actually Troggle, then you won't be able to speak Lizardmen that well.

SPEAKER_04 33:20

You would just be able to understand the same percentage that I can understand when I tab out of a subbed anime. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:30

Um, also interesting of note was that while the Trogledite language can actually be transcribed by others, the Trogledice themselves have no concept of written records.

SPEAKER_04 33:42

Oh, so it's like a fully oral history for them.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

Yeah. And a lot of that is due to the fact that they're not terribly intelligent. Like, they're dumb.

SPEAKER_04 33:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

Their intelligence peaks at like six or seven. Same.

SPEAKER_04 33:56

Um, so they're but they're like, they're just like unintelligent humanoids. It's not like animal intelligence. Right.

SPEAKER_01 34:02

They they do have like humanoid intelligence, at least enough to use weapons and such like function in somewhat of a society.

SPEAKER_04 34:11

Right. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

They're just not like highly intelligent, like a human or a dwarf or so they're just like they're an un they're unintelligent humanoids, essentially.

SPEAKER_04 34:20

Well, below average intelligence.

SPEAKER_05 34:22

They're un um, what is it? Um hold on. There's a um first world society, a second world society, a third world society, and then is it fifth world society that has where uh everyone's kind of like uh needs of the self and the immediate group and not so much the community on the American.

SPEAKER_01 34:46

Yes, I believe it is the fifth. That's an interesting We came across this subreddit that had like a list of almost all the way up to like the 1000th level Which was basically hive mind. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 35:04

Okay societies. Which that's hmm. Anyways.

SPEAKER_01 35:09

Yeah, it was it was weird, but yeah, basically like that. Okay, I see. Um, there's also no recorded like occasion of a troglodite ever learning even a single word in a foreign language.

SPEAKER_04 35:24

I mean that makes sense because they hate foreigners. Yeah. Yeah, that's not the right word. Well, yeah, I mean, they hate Essentially they hate like humans. Outsiders. That's what actually the word I was looking for.

SPEAKER_05 35:34

Outsiders, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:34

Yeah, I mean, and they hate like humanoids, which are the primary groups of of people in Dungeons and Dragons who speak languages.

SPEAKER_05 35:42

So you're not wrong.

SPEAKER_01 35:44

And unlike the Lizardmen language or virtually any other language, the Troglody language doesn't seem to have evolved like at all over the course of time. It's been the same pretty much like forever.

SPEAKER_05 35:58

Huh. Interesting. That is incredibly interesting for a language, an oral language specifically.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

Yeah, true. Right. Um, it gave an example, like the Lizardmen language took the phrase halfling from the human language to describe that race.

SPEAKER_06 36:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:16

Whereas the Charlotites basically just took phrases from the Lizardmed language and put them together to describe them as bad-smelling little humans.

SPEAKER_05 36:26

I love it. Go off.

SPEAKER_01 36:30

So they have no like concept of evolving or taking words from other languages. Instead, they take what they already know and just combine phrases together to make a new description. German? Uh yeah, pretty much. Um, there are numerous words that are of like troglodite origin that no one has ever been able to decipher. There is also a highly mysterious lack of many basic like adjectives and adverbs that the trogs speak.

SPEAKER_04 37:07

Okay, I'm also I'm laughing in the background because I'm thinking of that stupid Tumblr post about um the translation of potato in French. Oh, okay. It's pomme de terre, and someone is just so mad that it's just like earth apple. That's why I'm dying. If you know, you know. Fucking earth apple. Earth apple. Earth apple. Bad smelling little humans be cooking earth apples. Okay. I'm sorry. Okay. Okay, they're not very descriptive. No adjectives, no adverbs. Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

Um, there has been a form of the troglodite language that has been transcribed enough that it can be taught to humans in order to like somewhat interact with them, provided that they don't kill you immediately.

SPEAKER_04 37:59

It's just all cusses.

SPEAKER_01 38:01

Fucking probably.

SPEAKER_04 38:02

That's like all you would get from that from interacting with them is just cusses.

SPEAKER_01 38:05

But I mean, the language that has been transcribed and can be taught expresses less than 50% of the total content of troglodite speech.

SPEAKER_03 38:15

Huh.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

Like the concept of how they speak is so hard to grasp. Apparently. And, as it turns out, comprehend languages and tongue spells don't work when it comes to translating what they call trogloditian.

SPEAKER_04 38:34

Huh.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Or troggle.

SPEAKER_04 38:37

Yeah, yeah. That was creepy. Let's never do that again. Um what? That's very what? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 38:43

Yep. There is a reason for this, however. It even stated that even the more like powerful versions of these spells leave like weird, inexplicable gaps in its translations. Interesting. So, like at this point, um Farand is telling his story because he basically decided that he was going to try to take over his predecessor's work and continue trying to figure out the troglodite language. Right. Right. So he actually ends up capturing a troglodite, attempted the various language spells to no avail.

SPEAKER_04 39:30

Super ethical. I mean super ethical anthropology there.

SPEAKER_01 39:34

I hey, the troglodytes aren't ethical either, so this just did.

SPEAKER_04 39:39

Two negatives sometimes make a positive, I guess. I mean they uh they always it always you know what I mean. I'm just saying there should be a board somewhere that should have problems with what he's doing.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

I I don't disagree. I mean, there probably are, but meh. And after trying like the various language spells, he takes the troglodyte back to where he captured it, found a uh secure hiding place for his body. Um Ferrand.

SPEAKER_03 40:07

Oh. Oh, I was telling I was like, when did he kill the troglodite? Right? We missed something here.

SPEAKER_01 40:12

No, he has not killed the troglodite. In fact, he needs the troglodite alive and well for what he's going to do next.

SPEAKER_03 40:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 40:20

So once he finds a secure hiding place for his body, he casts his cognitive conveyance spell and releases the troglodite. Now, this spell allows the caster to enter the target's mind and follow the target, basically experiencing everything the way the target does.

SPEAKER_04 40:38

Oh, he's in the sunken place.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

They kind of like share a brain? A brain and like a body, and he can see through the troglodite's eyes and like hear and he's literally the sunken place. Take everything from the troglodite as it encounters it, basically.

SPEAKER_02 40:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:57

So the first thing he noticed was that their infravision is the most powerful infravision that is known. Stronger than any elf's at this point.

SPEAKER_05 41:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:09

We're still in like second edition, so elves' infravision was really strong. And it said, quote, what do you enjoy is but a pale reflection of the infrovision of a troglodite.

SPEAKER_04 41:21

Oh, and you gotta know that every single intellect like body of elvish academia tried to like suppress that knowledge because uh nobody's infravision is better than our infravision. Probably. Fucking assholes.

SPEAKER_01 41:34

So the Troglodite is at this point walking through a tunnel system to get back to his clan. And as it's happening, Farrand has created an illusion that is basically like what you would basically picture as a map from like a game, and like showing the twists and turns of this tunnel as the troglodyte is walking.

SPEAKER_04 41:57

Nice. Nice.

SPEAKER_01 42:00

Um The Troglodytes can apparently differentiate temperatures as little as a tenth of a degree apart, which allows them basically to like visually see the variating temperatures of the walls, the floors, and the ceilings of caves, which allows them to navigate pretty much flawlessly. They also use smell as their second most powerful sense. So they use little like scent markers basically on the corners of walls and caves for navigation as well. They can smell around corners if they are downwind of them. So that's That's uh handy. Yeah, that's pretty interesting. Um it actually describes their layers a little bit more, basically just that they are like arranged in a way to facilitate the distribution of important scents. Uh often they will pick or modify caves so that the primary direction of air circulation is from the main entrance towards other small exits and air vents, which allows the scents of intruders to be wafted to any of the defenders before they would even like know the troglodytes are there.

SPEAKER_04 43:11

So what you're saying is the furthest downwind is where the eggs and the hatchlings hang out, because they are of no importance. Yes. Right, okay, gotcha. For you know what? For for lower like humanoid intelligence creatures, that is very elaborate, I feel. Yeah. I mean, and I'm not necessarily saying that as a way to be critical. Like I don't necessarily think that things are antithetical. I just think it's very interesting.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

I I agree. Like they've figured out that they can use their incredibly high sense of smell to basically alert them to any intruders before they would even know. It's a very interesting like technique to use. Um they eat raw meat because they shun like cooking fires or other sorts of. Of heat that could blind their infra vision. Oh, because they dwell, you know, in the caves almost all the time. Because their infra vision is so strong. Yeah. Uh when they do raid town or something, they usually wait for a moonless night to raid so they can see a lot better. And so most other creatures can't really see at all. And actually, this is kind of like one of the main reasons that they raid human civilizations is to obtain worked metals because they are incapable of forging, since the heat of a forge would blind them.

SPEAKER_04 44:34

Yeah, because of aforementioned fire.

SPEAKER_01 44:36

And also kind of in the same vein, this is why possession of steel is considered a sign of status and power.

SPEAKER_04 44:43

Because it's hard to obtain. Yeah, because it's something that they cannot make themselves. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:48

Yeah. And uh remember that Farrand is experiencing all of this himself as well, just through the troglodyte.

SPEAKER_04 44:56

Just wait until someone introduces them to sunglasses. Oh my god. It'll be over for everybody else.

SPEAKER_01 45:02

Um apparently the way troglodytes like to relax is by smelling samples of like collections of flowers, rocks, and furs.

SPEAKER_05 45:11

Awww! That's so cute!

SPEAKER_01 45:15

Aww. And uh That's so adorable. This is where some of the chaotic evil little beauties, little creatures. I'm like, that's so cute. This is where some of the like more interesting details of their language comes into play. Nice. Because eventually the troglodite does end up talking to other troglodytes. Notch. And even from within the mind of this troglodite, conversations with others seem to have been missing like keywords or descriptives, sometimes even like whole sentences. Mm-hmm. Which doesn't make a whole lot of sense because he's experiencing everything the troglodite is, but the troglodite is holding this conversation and he can only hear parts of it. Or understand parts of it even. So uh, this is a direct quote. But the key to the missing words came when I realized the name of the individual I was being conveyed by. I never heard his name spoken, but more than once, at a point in the conversation when a name would have been expected, I smelled a curious blend of fragrant fragrances. Oh hell yeah. Turns out Trogodites use a form of communication that very few other creatures do. Olfactory.

SPEAKER_05 46:31

Yes. I'm so into that shit.

SPEAKER_01 46:35

So that is the missing link as to why you can't understand the full language because some of their words are still used with an olfactory sense.

SPEAKER_04 46:48

Right. Yeah, which you know, even though that the the troglodite whose body he's occupying can smell that, it's not like that would translate into a word in Farringar Secret Fire's head. I can't remember what his name is. Farron. Thank you. Um, like that wouldn't translate into his, you know what I mean? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:08

Like a word that he's hearing in his brain. Basically, it said that he he had to like focus on this several times when like the name would have been expected before he was able to pretty much translate the smell to what the words would be for the human tongue. And in this case, the Trogodite's name was essentially Roseboiled Cabbage Mild Skunk.

SPEAKER_04 47:37

I love it! I love Rose Boiled Cabbage Mild Skunk.

SPEAKER_01 47:42

Yeah. So he I mean it it took him a while, but he finally figured it out.

SPEAKER_04 47:48

Imagine seeing a commercial for Rose Boiled Cabbage Mild Skunk from Yves Saint-Laurent.

SPEAKER_01 47:54

It's great. And now it's basically like figured out that the original language of the Troglodites was the olfactory language, but they took on some form of like verbal communication just to give them some way to communicate with other races if they needed to. So that's the only reason they have like a spoken language in the first place.

SPEAKER_05 48:19

Yeah. I love it so much, actually.

SPEAKER_01 48:23

And um guards will use this scent language basically to cry out alarms in what is basically an olfactory voice without making a sound, which allows them to alert like other troglodytes within smell range of intruders, but not disclose to the intruders that they are aware that they're there. Um the smell that causes the humanoids to basically just turn into the vomiting heaps on the floor is actually a buildup of the olfactory battle cries, combat orders, screams of rage, pain, and hunger, and other various smells and phrases that the troglodytes are emitting or speaking to the others.

SPEAKER_05 49:06

Right.

SPEAKER_01 49:06

So that's why they smell so bad, because it's just a jumbled mess of all these different smells and words. Um they can also tell which opponent is the most afraid by the fear scent that they release, and they tend to concentrate their attacks on the most fearful. Right? So this is where kind of the twist ending uh comes into play. So it took Farrand quite a bit of time to learn all this information, and as he was talking, you know, he was creating the illusions and making them go away, but the one illusion that never fully went away was that of the troglodite. And throughout his speech, someone in the audience kept mentioning that there was a smell. The smell kept getting worse and worse and worse. So Farron's cognitive conveyance has a slight problem with it.

SPEAKER_03 50:08

Oh my god. No real oh shit.

SPEAKER_01 50:12

So every hour spent sharing another's mind and body removes the caster five percent from his own body so that he will have lost 25% control of his body's actions after five hours, and after 20 hours, he will not have any contact at all with his original body.

SPEAKER_03 50:32

Oh shit, it's an anamorphs.

SPEAKER_01 50:36

Shit, it's an animorphs. Holy shit. So what happened was he was so enamored by learning all the smells, all the smells and everything that he didn't keep track of time. Oh spaghetti o and Ferrand is now trapped within this troglodite's body, which he had to fight over the troglodite's mind for control of to walk out of the cave system, pick up his body, take it back to his house, and try to work out a way to release him because now he has no connection with his physical body, he can't just jump back out.

SPEAKER_04 51:15

His name was uh Rose Boiled Cabbage Mouth Skunk. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 51:19

Right, right, of course. My bad. So basically, the end of it was uh him being like, please help. Yeah, he was basically like, I will give credit to coming to my TED talk. Anyone that figures out how to get me out of this body. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

SPEAKER_05 51:39

I'm stuck in the body of this uh chocolate eye. Thank you. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 51:44

Yeah God so it says uh there is like a few ways that you might be able to uh get out, uh like transfer your body or your consciousness back to your body to get out, and basically it's with uh nothing less than a limited wish spell. Oh shit.

SPEAKER_04 52:10

Oh my god. That is a very powerful spell well, I say powerful spell, that's not meant to be the effect of the spell.

SPEAKER_01 52:18

Uh no, that is a side effect that he was aware of. He just didn't keep track of the time.

SPEAKER_04 52:24

He put all his points into intelligence and none of them into wisdom.

SPEAKER_01 52:27

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 52:27

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 52:29

So that was a very interesting uh article to say the least.

SPEAKER_04 52:34

Yeah. Yeah. Holy shit, that's so good.

SPEAKER_01 52:36

So now we're gonna jump to the monster manual for third edition, which I I'm really not sure if I just didn't pay any attention to this before, or if they didn't really have it listed in like the other interest or entries. But apparently the uh initiative of a troglodyte is negative one.

SPEAKER_04 52:55

Okay. Uh why is it X? Yes, bad, okay.

SPEAKER_01 53:00

Uh well, mostly because they have a negative one to dexterity. That's why.

SPEAKER_05 53:04

That that that would be it.

SPEAKER_01 53:05

Yeah, yeah. Their AC is 15, basically because of the dexterity and the fact that they only rely on their natural armor, which is a plus six, so yeah, 15. Uh they've broken it down a little bit more, whereas like groups that are found are called uh clutches, which is two to five, a squad, six to eleven plus one to two giant lizards.

SPEAKER_02 53:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 53:27

Uh, or a band, which is twenty to eighty plus twenty percent non-combatants, plus three to thirteen giant lizards.

SPEAKER_05 53:39

I like the highly specific numbers here, right?

SPEAKER_01 53:42

Uh they are quote revolting lizard creatures as evil as the phallus demons.

SPEAKER_04 53:50

I don't know if the phallus demons are pretty evil.

SPEAKER_01 53:52

They're pretty they're pretty evil and foul. Like we've learned this, so I do contest that just a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 53:58

Yeah. This just seemed like your regular run-of-the-mill kind of yeah, maybe foul.

SPEAKER_05 54:03

Maybe foul.

SPEAKER_01 54:05

Foul, sure, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 54:07

Maybe as maybe as evil as like an averagely foul demon. Not the most foul demon. Nah. No, no, no demogorgon or something.

SPEAKER_01 54:15

Um, so they shrunk and they are now five feet tall and weigh about 150 pounds. I don't really know why there was such a big like change in their height, but they small.

SPEAKER_04 54:29

Well, five foot's not precisely like super small, but you know, yeah. They pretty small.

SPEAKER_01 54:35

So, like I mentioned, they're not like terribly intelligent in this particular entry. Their intelligence is an eight.

SPEAKER_04 54:42

I mean, that's not terrible. It's not. Like that's two, like, that's two points below like the the average.

SPEAKER_01 54:49

So yeah, and I think that their intelligence increased by like one or two over the course of the first two editions. Yeah. Um, their stenchability is more or less the same.

SPEAKER_05 54:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 55:00

Um, it just like the phrasing changes a little bit where it says that you are overcome with nausea the last 10 rounds and deals 1d6 points of temporary strength damage. Their layers have hatchlings equal to one-fifth the number of adults, and eggs equal to one-tenth.

SPEAKER_04 55:19

That's not a lot. No.

SPEAKER_01 55:21

No.

SPEAKER_04 55:22

It feels like it should be inverse of that. You would think, but that's typically how how reptiles do is they have a whole bunch of eggs because since they don't typically. Yeah, which chocolateites are a little different than that, I think, but they typically have a have a lot of eggs. They they're just throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, essentially. Yeah. Unlike humans who don't have big litters of babies because we take care of them.

SPEAKER_01 55:48

Yeah, you know. And funny enough, I actually didn't find like hardly any mention of like their their mating rituals or like how they like raise their hatchlings and stuff. It just kind of isn't there.

SPEAKER_04 56:04

You know, they probably have a have a very intricate mating ritual. It's just mostly based around scent, so we would have no idea what's going on. Probably either that or it's just like all we like nobody's ever been able to here's my headcan, nobody's ever been able to study it because anytime they get close enough, it just fucking reeks too bad and they can't. No, I agree. They have to leave. They're like, this literally smells so bad. I cannot observe this.

SPEAKER_01 56:26

So this is also the first time that uh them worshipping a deity is mentioned. Ooh. Uh, which is Laogzid.

SPEAKER_04 56:35

Oh, I was gonna make a joke that it was gonna be Jubilex because he's nasty.

SPEAKER_01 56:39

No, it's uh Laozid.

SPEAKER_04 56:41

I don't actually know that that's how it's pronounced, but I was supposed to say I'm pretty sure that you pronounce that two different ways each time.

SPEAKER_01 56:47

Laugzed.

SPEAKER_03 56:48

Laugzed.

SPEAKER_01 56:49

Basically, who he's just a vile deity who resembles a cross between a toad and a lizard. Cool. Alright. Yeah. Um apparently they do also have a favorite class. Oh. Um, their favorite class is a cleric.

SPEAKER_04 57:05

Huh.

SPEAKER_01 57:06

Yeah. Caught me off guard too.

SPEAKER_04 57:08

Uh-uh. Okay. Okay. Uh yeah, that's not what I would have expected.

SPEAKER_01 57:12

Yeah. Most of their leaders are clerics, and um, when it comes to like if you had a chocolate player, or if you wanted to flesh this out a bit more as far as like the NPCs go, they can choose between Chaos, Death, Destruction, and the Evil Domains.

SPEAKER_04 57:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 57:31

Yeah. Sure.

SPEAKER_04 57:32

There's a through line there.

SPEAKER_01 57:33

Yep. And uh here we go, jumping on to fourth edition.

SPEAKER_02 57:39

Yay!

SPEAKER_01 57:42

Yeah. Okay. So like every other creature we should be.

SPEAKER_04 57:46

Why do we hold out hope each time?

unknown 57:49

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 57:50

Uh Chocolate have now been separated into four different types. This is coming from the first monster manual. I will note that there are like three or four other variants in Monster Manual 2 for 4th edition. Oh. But I was just not even going there.

SPEAKER_04 58:07

Okay, let me take a let me take a wild guess. Or may maybe I'm about to steal your thunder and fourth edition's thunder. Let me guess. They're just purely different for the purposes of combat and hold basically nothing special to do with the lore.

SPEAKER_01 58:23

More or less. Oh, wow. More or less. I will admit that there is a part of it that it explains in the lore in fourth edition that it didn't explain anywhere else. Oh, okay. So they did do something.

SPEAKER_05 58:36

They did something give us anything. Usually, and sometimes this can be a good thing if it like gives you a good starting point for creating stuff, but not so much if you are a podcast on lore. But usually, fourth edition gives us almost nothing, or just worse than nothing.

SPEAKER_01 58:54

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 58:55

This one actually expanded a little bit, but it gives us like a an an iota of something.

SPEAKER_01 59:01

Ugh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 59:02

It sounds.

SPEAKER_01 59:02

And as typical for 4th edition, their stenchability has now been turned into like a constant aura.

SPEAKER_04 59:10

Auras, not the auras. The auras. Oh, I'm so sick of talking about fucking auras.

SPEAKER_01 59:16

I'm sorry. Yeah. Um, it says that any living enemy in the aura takes a negative two penalty to attack rolls. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 59:25

Just enemies?

SPEAKER_01 59:26

It just says enemies.

SPEAKER_05 59:28

Alright.

SPEAKER_01 59:28

So basically any other living creature that is not a troglodite.

SPEAKER_05 59:31

But if you're allied with the troglodite.

SPEAKER_01 59:33

I mean the troglodyte would not be affected, but you probably still would be.

SPEAKER_05 59:38

But it's phrases enemies.

SPEAKER_04 59:40

Yeah, I was just saying, that's the kind of thing like we were talking about Brian earlier. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 59:44

I'm being Brian for you.

SPEAKER_01 59:45

It's the phrasing that kind of gets you there.

SPEAKER_04 59:48

Well, yeah, just like the phrasing in the Rust Monsters episode, you know, about like rusting only being ferris objects because other things technically don't rust. But it's like maybe that's not what they meant, but we don't know because they don't explain things well all the time.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:02

Yeah. So the uh first thing we have is the Troglodite Warrior, which is a large humanoid. Apparently they are level 12 minions. Okay. Um they use a club as their weapon, and their HP is one? Um what I can only assume that it's because they're minions and minions.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:26

They're meant to be different. In an in an encounter where you would encounter them en masse, I would imagine. That that's my guess, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:34

It was a pickle mean joke in there somewhere, but I could I couldn't I couldn't do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:40

But and this is where like more just redundant, unnecessary explanation happens.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:48

That's the word that's the word I've been searching for to describe how I feel about so many things in fourth edition. Redundant. Redundant.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:56

So it states next to their HP that a missed attack never damages a minion. Which, unless I'm missing something here, a missed attack doesn't damage anything, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:01:10

I um my my my only thought is splash damage.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:14

Yeah, that's what I was gonna say, like the ice knife and or like a molden orb or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:20

But is that counting as a missed attack?

SPEAKER_04 1:01:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:25

Because you're not aiming at it specifically Unless you were.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:29

Unless you were, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:30

Okay, so that makes a little bit more sense. It was just like Reddit, I was so confused.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:38

Like, uh okay, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:40

Okay, alright. And deep breaths, everyone.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:44

Naturally, they are still chaotic evil. Like I said, that lasts the entire history.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:49

You know, I feel like you can't attach the word naturally in front of that either, even though you did specify that earlier. Because fourth edition fucks around with the alignment so much. That's true.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:58

I was really surprised that their alignment didn't change in fourth edition.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:01

They're just like randomly lawful good. They're just randomly lawful good.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:06

Yeah. Uh we then have the Troglodite Mauler, which is a medium creature. Okay. And they are level six soldiers. Okay. Um, their HP is 74, their AC is 22, which makes me think that they might actually be wearing armor now. It doesn't state anywhere specifically that they are or they are not, but like an AC of 22 seems really high if you're just relying on natural armor. Yeah. Yeah. Again, fourth edition numbers are massively inflated, but it's just, I don't know. It's weird. Um, they can use either a great club, a javelin, or they can bite and use claw attacks.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:47

Okay. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:48

Yeah. Then you have the impaler, which is a fun name. It is a fun name. Uh, they are also medium creatures. They are level 7 artillery, which is also a weird phrase to describe a ranged a uh like a sentient being.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:06

Yeah, I'm just imagining loading them up into a canon. Well, I'm specifically imagining loading the minions from Despicable Me into a canyon. Just poof! Just firing them. I like that image. Yeah. Okay. That's just a that's how you do artillery in fourth edition, right? You just it's like that's it. You just pick them up and throw them.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:28

So uh their HP is 69.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:32

Nice! Nice, nice, nice, nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:34

Yeah. Um they use a spear or claws if it's melee, but mostly they prefer to use javelins. Okay. And they have an ability called Impaling Shot. Yeah, they do. Which allows them to throw a javelin at a higher damage rate, basically. Normally it's like 1d6 plus 4, but using this it's 2d6 plus 4. Okay. And then the appaler can make a secondary attack against the target, which is a plus 10 versus fortitude, and failing it makes you restrained.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:11

So the implication is that you are like are impaled to the ground. Which is dead.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:18

That's called being dead.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:20

No, I mean not that no, not necessarily, but I feel like there's there's implications there that I feel like they sh were not willing to explore. Yeah. Like I feel like it would maybe do more than just restrain you. Like, you know, maybe some some bleeding damage.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:36

Yeah, that that's what I would think too, but apparently not.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:39

Oh well, fourth edition, missed opportunities, what's new?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:44

The two are synonymous.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:45

Then you have the Curse Chanter, which are level eight controllers, and these are the leaders.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:54

What's a controller?

SPEAKER_04 1:04:56

I mean, I have always interpreted it as someone who is like meant to be like I I feel like I read I've read that word in fourth edition stat blocks and thought of it as like someone who is maybe meant to control the space in which an encounter happens, like keep people from running away or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:15

Yeah, which I guess would kind of make sense because they're considered the leaders, but I don't I don't know, man.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:21

It's almost like it's all fucking arbitrary and redundant and not interesting. Anyway, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:27

Uh their HP is at 93. Not nice. And they can use a quarter staff, claws, poison ray, cavern curse, tunnel grace, and chant of renewal.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:42

So Louin is not having it.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:45

The poison ray is pretty much what you would expect. It does poison damage and causes the target to become weakened. Cavern curse is a plus eleven versus fortitude, and it will cause ongoing Five necrotic damage and slow the enemy, I guess until they save out of it. Okay. Uh Tunnel Grace is a close burst of ten feet, and basically it grants all allies within the burst plus five speed until the end of the shaman's next turn.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:18

Okay. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:19

And then Chant of Renewal is also a close burst, and bloodied allies in the burst regain 15 HP. But only if they're bloodied, I guess. Because that's a very specific spell, apparently.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:33

Yeah, and it's a, you know, fourth edition thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:36

Yeah. So, as far as the lore goes, this is some of the more interesting bits here. Um, so various Underdark races, such as the Drow and Shocking Mindflayers, often enslave the Chocolate.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:51

And use them as fodder in their armies.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:54

And their cannons.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:55

And their cannons. The artillery variety. Their numbers have significantly shrank. They now gather in tribes of no more than 30 adults.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:05

Yeah, because they apparently like lay, what, one-tenth of the number of eggs per individual?

SPEAKER_05 1:07:11

And also, like, don't give a shit about their eggs. Apparently, they are not of any import.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:17

So Yeah, no. Um, if two opposing tribes meet, there's usually a territorial fight that ensues after that, and they often end in one of two ways. Either with an entire tribe being annihilated, or the merging of both of the very battered tribes into one under a single leader.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:39

Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:41

Like, I really don't know what else you would do at that point, but like what other options there would be, but sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:48

I mean, I guess there could be uh a uh aspect of like one well, like one tribe wins out and it's it's less of a merging and more like a like they then bring the other tribe in and like subjugate them.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:01

Oh they actually do not take slaves.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:05

Well, no, that was uh Lewin's other option for one of the other possibilities that they didn't pick that they would wouldn't do. Ah.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:12

Yeah. Like I I feel like that could like, for example, like the the drow. You know, they're into they're into subjugation.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:19

So it's said that of the hundreds of eggs that are laid, only hundreds of eggs. No explanation as to how that works out with one-fifth and one-tenth numbers. But that doesn't add up. Apparently that apparently the one tenth is not existent in fourth edition.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:44

It's not of any import.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:46

Yeah. Only a few dozen of those hundreds of eggs actually hatch and survive to adulthood.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:52

Wait, was that one fifth and one-tenth note maiden? That was not made in fourth edition.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:56

No, that was third.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:58

Alright. I I I will I will backtrack on some of the things I said because I thought that those two pieces of information came within the same edition, uh, which would be contradictory. But then I remembered like fourth edition wouldn't have included a plea a piece of flavor for lore in the first place to later contradict.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:15

So shade ban throne. I mean. And I now at least have the fact that it takes two years for a hatchling to reach adulthood. We didn't have that information before, so that's neat.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:29

True. We we didn't really have much information about their hatchlings. And that's about all we get. Since they're of no import.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:36

Um, so they don't take slaves, and any captives that they get are either quickly devoured or sacrificed. And for sacrifice.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:46

Cannibalism.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:47

Yeah. Um, they worship a variety of deities, but in this one it's particularly Torog, who's also known as the King That Crawls.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:57

I like it. That sounds familiar.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:00

I feel like we have mentioned Torog before.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:03

I particularly remember the title The King That Crawls.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:06

I I need to look more into Torog at some point. But they That sounds very familiar. Yeah. They tried to earn their various deities divine favor by torturing creatures in rites that apparently last for hours.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:21

Oh my.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:22

And they especially love to sacrifice intelligent creatures and brave enemies to show their dominance over them, I suppose.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:31

Yeah. No, I mean that yeah, that that tracks.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:33

Yeah. So we're gonna jump real quick into the Grand History of the Realms, just because there was something kind of interesting in it. It says that the Saruk established the realm of Merchulk, and that the Mer Shulkans are believed to have created, among other races, the Troglodites.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:54

It had a list of like six or seven races, but apparently they are believed to have created the troglodytes, and that's how Troglodites were created. That's also all we get as far as their creation goes.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:05

Naturally.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:05

Yeah. So uh last and final we have the Monster Manual for 5th edition. Yay! Which uh now it has them living in shallow depths of the Underdark. Mm-hmm. Which makes sense. Um they apparently like to mark the borders of their territories with cracked bones and skulls, or with pictographs painted in blood or dung. Oh.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:36

Yep. Oh, yeah. That track. Yep. Yep. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:42

Um, apparently it's stated that they are too simple-minded to plan more than like a few days into the future. Same. So they rely on constant raids and hunting to survive. Okay. Um they still have the whole like leader is the strongest, blah blah blah, blah blah blah. But it also says that if any leader shows any weakness or hesitation, the other troglodytes will attack and eat it in a frenzy.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:15

In a frenzy.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:16

In a frenzy.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:18

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:20

Uh they actually understand the value of weapons and armor and can sometimes fight one another for the right to like have a specific item. Right, yeah. Which it then notes that a troglodite tribe could be torn apart by battles over like a single long sword. Because simple-mindedness.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:43

Hey, I mean, sometimes the sword's just really nice. I mean, there's I mean, you know, he whole human societies can be torn apart by a circlet of metal that you wear on your head. So there.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:00

Yeah. Yeah, no, I got nothing to dispute that. Okay then.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:04

I mean, I I also feel like that gels with previous things that have been said about the troglodytes, sans the fact that they used to not be into wearing armor. But I feel like that kind of transitioning into them valuing weapons and armor. I feel like that gels.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:18

Now, see, the funny thing is, is while they value armor, they still don't use it. Huh. They just keep it. They know that the armor has value.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:26

Shiny, pretty.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:27

Yeah, pretty much. Um, they are back to worshiping Laugzed, who is, and I quote, a demonic, monstrously fat, toad-sized lizard that slumbers in the abyss.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:42

Yep. Um he's just sleeping, minding his own business.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:48

You don't need to be mean.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:49

Uh he offers nothing in return for their worship except for aspiration. Because apparently the Trogodite worshippers dream of becoming as fat, well-fed, and warily content as he seems to be.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:07

So it's a um, it's a it's uh you know, it fair. You know, I think it it's like a it's like a ceric. Like they didn't uh he didn't ask them to worship him. Right. It just happened. He's just minding his own business. So then suddenly he's got worshippers. I feel like they I feel like they're they're trying to say that he offers them nothing um as as as sort of a a way to shade him or show something negative about his character, but to me it just sounds like he didn't anticipate all of these worshippers.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:43

He just wants to take a nap.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:44

He didn't choose this life.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:45

Right?

SPEAKER_01 1:14:46

Yeah. Um I forgot to mention uh very briefly back in fourth edition, their language changed from troglodite to just draconic.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:54

Okay. All right. Yeah no, all right, no, no, no, no. What is fuck almost died for this? Farringar secret fire.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:05

Um fair and two spell.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:07

Thank you. Farontospell. Faronto spell the warlock. Um no, okay, no, okay. But that was not that was like the most interesting thing. Okay, alright. It's personal now.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:20

Naturally, they got rid of it in the fourth edition.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:23

Because it's the most interesting thing about troglodytes. Like, and not to say the troglodytes haven't been interesting. I've really enjoyed this episode. But that is the most like I was on the edge of my freaking sea.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:33

They're in that story, and they were just like, nah, they speak draconic because uh lizard.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:37

Yeah, like me. Oh god. Thankfully, they reversed that decision. Okay, good in the fifth edition.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:44

The immediate fourth edition to fifth edition, oh shit, backtrack. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:48

So they now just troglodite. That is it. Put it back. Um, their stench ability, uh as usual, has changed somewhat, but like not a whole lot at the same time. It requires a constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they become poisoned until the start of the creature's next turn. And then on a successful saving throw, they actually become immune to the stench of all chocolateites for one hour.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:16

Okay, that makes sense, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:17

So um they do have the whole sunlight sensitivity thing, which gives them the disadvantage on like attack rolls and perception checks. Kind of like draw. Yeah, if they're in like direct sunlight. And they have multi-attack, which allows them to make three separate attacks. One is with a bite, and the other two are with its claws. Now, that being said, these are also like challenge rating of one-fourth, so the damage on them is very low, like one d4 each. Okay. So they're still not terribly strong. They can just attack three times. Okay. Yeah, that's all I have. That's the chocolate.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:56

Huh. Uh that was a wild ride.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:58

Yeah, it was. I was honestly a little concerned whenever I first started researching that there wasn't gonna be enough information. But no, there was, and a lot of it was focused on their whole language thing, which I thought was a really cool take, honestly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:14

Travis, can you hand me a die? I just rolled an insight check to see if you're actually secretly a troglodite. Um, I got a 10. I don't know. What does that tell me? Um, I am not a troglodite.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:28

Otherwise, you would smell me.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:29

Okay, I'm gonna I'm chronically congested. I'm pretty sure I have a deviated septum. I'm gonna roll an insight check on Travis. Nope. He's telling the truth.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:37

Well, you did use my dice, so that was your problem.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:41

Yeah. You should have known better.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:43

Yeah. But uh thank you everyone so much for listening. Don't forget, follow us on all of our various social media platforms.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:51

Instagram, Twitter.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:53

That's it.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:54

That is it. Uh spread the word to your friends.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:58

Spread the word like smells spread out in a troglodite encampment.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:03

You can just like walk up and be like, hey, I know a creature that uses olfactory as their main language.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:09

And they'll be like, is it ants? And then you'll be like, no, it's cooler, and then you'll shove this podcast in their face. Like that's something that you can do physically. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:18

Yeah. Exactly. Do that.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:20

If you have anything you would like to suggest for us to cover in an episode, you can email us at dungeonpedia.podcast at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:27

And uh, I think with that, we will catch you next week here on Dungeonpedia. What if humans communicated mostly through smell? We'd be shit out of luck. Listen to our smellcast.