Shattered Kingdoms

On their hind legs? What? Probably not very well, or for extended periods of time... griffons are definitely quadrupeds! I think that's a major part of why, linguistically, most of us seem inclined to favor 'feet' rather than 'hands.'



Without getting into too much IC info: evolution is a slow, slow process, and griffons haven't been around SK's world all that long when compared to other sentient races, whether you choose to imagine them as unnatural or simply foreign.

A slight addendum:

I'm actually more bitter about the usage "talon" to refer to the anatomical anomaly that this thread addresses. I wouldn't really be opposed to 'foot'- I'm just tired of people jumping so many hurdles to indoctrinate me into referring to the entire gripping appendage as "talon" which, outside of SK, is a usage strictly resigned to the claw- or implying that hand isn't one of many answers to a question with no right answer.

Still, though. Die horribly.

Also, why do three people just post to say "They don't have hands." and offer no substantial reason for this? Did Dictionary.com fall from grace, from the Olympian status of sacred, undeniable Truth?

Get Websters, get Oxford- Just learn to read.

I don't care if they're called talons, feet, or hands. I think I get the picture from using one of those words.

I feel a twinge of wrongness whenever I see a griffon referring to his hands. Regardless of the mention you find down in the depths of the definitions of 'hand', it is not the most accurate descriptive term available, and doesn't paint the picture of a distinctly non-humanoid presence. And one of the things I enjoy about griffons is that they are unabashedly non-humanoid.

Solely a personal preference, and I haven't yet gone ooc to say "Griffons don't have hands, loser noob," and never intend to. Just as I don't go ooc to pounce on smiling griffons. However, both give me that mood-breaking twinge, taking me from the flow of RP to do a double-take.

I believe there is significant evidence against the "quadruped" theory of griffons (in SK). A mouse, for example, is a quadruped, but still capable of standing on its hind legs and holding a peanut, for example. When it decides to walk, it will need to leave the peanut behind. A monkey is something that we think of somewhere in between two- and four-legged locomotion. Give it a stick to hold, and when it wants to run, it won't be holding it aloft for long.

However, any object held by a griffon will not prevent him or her from running (and griffons can run while landed in SK). Imagine even the most sophisticated chimpanzee running with a two-handed sword or a delicate glass staff. Griffons in SK can accomplish this easily.


I don't know how evolution works in SK, but in the real world, evolution is not always a "slow, slow" process. During times of great selective pressure, a population will rapidly either die off or evolve. The easiest example of this is drug-resistant bacteria.

This isn't a flame or anything but whats the big deal really? Why are you so griffon crazy? Let people think what they want, it's a fantasy game, so I don't exactly know what a hippogriff is! I'm assuming its some sort of bird.

I'd like to respond by saying that this is one of those cases where play balance trumps realism, but that seems like a cop-out, and obviously any definitive statement of NO SK GRIFFONS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE QUADRUPEDS would be Dulrik's and not mine to make. So, I'll just say that you make a very good point.



Yes, but I hardly think it's sensible to compare a colony of bacteria under attack by antibiotics to an unarmed griffon barb fighting off hostile parties in Pyrathia. The same degree of selective pressure just isn't present.



Nothing at all, just shootin' the [REDACTED] at this point.

Yeah, that's game-balance for you. I still consider them quadrupeds. I just assume that anytime you want to move while holding a big item, you are using your wings to sort of hover/hop.

If you prefer, I can always make it impossible for griffons to move while holding items unless they are flying.

Makes sense. You do, after all, hate griffons.