Spotted leaper: Difference between revisions

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{{Creature start2 <!-- See Help:Creatures for full instructions on editing creature pages and copy/paste code. Copy/pasting code from an existing creature page may result in missing fields -->
{{Creature start
| picture = Spotted_leaper.jpg
| level = 4
| level = 4<!-- This will also be used at the end of the page in the Near level creature template -->
| type = Quadruped
| family = Leaper<!-- Add creature to family page list, which will be linked on preview/save -->
| family = leaper
| type = Quadruped<!-- Creature body type -->
| body =
| otherclass = <!-- Other classification limited to corporeal undead, non-corporeal undead, elemental, extra planar, magical; insert otherclass2= for 2nd classification (up to 3) -->
| attacks = Bites, Claws and Stomps.
| otherclass2 =
| area = [[Shores of Lough Ne'Halin]]<br>[[Rambling Meadows]]<br>
| area = Noralgar Forest<!-- For multiple areas, add area2, area3, area4 (through 8) fields if needed -->
| undead = No
| bcs = <Not Known>
| area2 = Rambling Meadows
| area3 =
| area4 =
| area5 =
| area6 =
| area7 =
| bcs = Yes <!-- All new creatures are BCS -->
| hitpoints = 51
| roundtime = <!-- Creature speed -->
}}
}}
{{Creature attack attributes2 <!-- ALL WEAPONS, SPELLS AND COMBAT MANEUVERS WILL LINK AUTOMATICALLY. -->
{{Creature attack attributes
| PA1 = Bite<!-- Physical attacks insert up to PA10 and corresponding value/range up to PAJ -->
| physical =
| PAA = 76
{{creature ability|Bite|+76 [[Attack Strength|AS]]}}
| PA2 = Claw
{{creature ability|Stomp|+76 [[Attack Strength|AS]]}}
| PAB = 76

| nobolt =
| PA3 = Stomp
| PAC = 76

| BT1 = <!-- Bolt spells insert up to BT10 and corresponding value/range up to BTJ -->
| BTA =
| WD1 = <!-- Warding spells insert up to WD10 and corresponding value/range up to WDJ -->
| WDA =
| WD2 =
| WDB =
| WD3 =
| WDC =
| OS1 = <!-- Miscellaneous offensive spells (non-bolt and non-warding) insert up to OS10 -->
| MN1 = <!-- Combat Maneuvers insert up to MN10 -->
| MN2 =
| AB1 = <!-- Special abilities insert up to AB10, include creature maneuvers here, manually link if appropriate -->
| ABA = <!-- Special abilities right column, use respective corresponding right column as needed for misc info -->
}}
}}
{{Creature defense attributes2 <!-- Replace ? with value or range, but do not include when the creature is under the effects of disabling statuses (stun/knockdown/interference/curse/etc.) -->
{{Creature defense attributes
| asg = <!-- Insert asg # and template will automatically convert to include type of armor -->
| defense =
| IMM1 = <!-- add IMM2 (up to 15) for additional immunities -->
{{creature ability|[[Melee]] |+33 [[Defensive strength|DS]]}}
| Melee = 20 - 33
{{creature ability|[[Ranged]] |+17 [[Defensive strength|DS]]}}
| Ranged = 17
{{creature ability|[[Bolt]] |<N/A> [[Defensive strength|DS]]}}
| Bolt = 15
{{creature ability|[[Bard Base]] |+12 [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| UDF =
{{creature ability|[[Ranger Base]] |+12 [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| BarTD = 12
{{creature ability|[[Sorcerer Base]] |<N/A> [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| CleTD =
{{creature ability|[[Wizard Base]] |<N/A> [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| EmpTD = 12
{{creature ability|[[Cleric Base]] |<N/A> [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| PalTD =
{{creature ability|[[Empath Base]] |<N/A> [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| RanTD = 12
{{creature ability|[[Paladin Base]] |<N/A> [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| SorTD =
{{creature ability|[[Major Elemental]] |<N/A> [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| WizTD =
{{creature ability|[[Minor Elemental]] |<N/A> [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| MjETD = 12
{{creature ability|[[Major Spiritual]] | <N/A> [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| MnETD = 12
{{creature ability|[[Minor Spiritual]] |<N/A> [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| noability =
| MjSTD = 12
| MnSTD = 12
| MnMTD =
| DSP1 = <!-- Defensive spells insert up to DSP15, they will automatically link -->
| DSP2 =
| DSP3 =
| DSP4 =
| DSP5 =
| SDA1 = <!-- Special defensive abilities list insert up to SDA10, these will not link automatically -->
}}
}}
{{Creature treasure
{{Creature treasure
| type = skins
| coins = No
| magic items = No
| skin = spotted leaper pelt
| nobox =
| gems = No
| noskinvalue =
| boxes = No
| other = No
| skin = a spotted leaper pelt
}}
}}
{{Creature end}}
{{Creature end}}


The spotted leaper appears a bizarre cross between a wolf and a frog. Perhaps six feet from snout to rump, covered with slick, hairless skin that is a dark green color with occasional pink splotches, it lacks all trace of fur but has a set of fangs worthy of any wolf that ever strode the land. Extra long front legs tipped with raking claws give it the bounding gait that has earned it its name.<sup><sup>[http://www.play.net/gs4/info/bestiary/]</sup></sup>
The '''spotted leaper''' appears a bizarre cross between a wolf and a frog. Perhaps six feet from snout to rump, covered with slick, hairless skin that is a dark green color with occasional pink splotches, it lacks all trace of fur but has a set of fangs worthy of any wolf that ever strode the land. Extra long front legs tipped with raking claws give it the bounding gait that has earned it its name.


==Hunting strategies==
==Hunting strategies==
Line 49: Line 80:
==Other information==
==Other information==
{{addmetext}}
{{addmetext}}
==Behind the Scenes==
The [[leaper]]s on the [[Coastal Cliffs]] appear to be transformation curse victims of [[Bandur Etrevion]] in allusion to [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/ds.aspx "The Doom That Came To Sarnath"]. Similarly, there is a parallel to [[The Graveyard]] in [[Castle Anwyn]] regarding [[Purgatory]], including borrowed wording from the scroll room implying its connection to [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/sot.aspx "The Shadow out of Time"]. The writhing serpent encircled mirror in this room comes instead from [http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/27/the-colossus-of-ylourgne "The Colossus of Ylourgne"], which is obviously the basis of [[Bonespear Tower]], written in this case by Clark Ashton Smith rather than H.P. Lovecraft and set in Averoigne. When [[Lough Ne'halin|Norandar]] read the Vvrael scroll in Castle Anwyn, he began physically transforming with "bulging eyes" like the Sarnath creatures, and it had turned the Queen of Anwyn into a demon. The [[puma]]s are also [[Muylari#Behind the Scenes|mythologically]] related to shape-shifting shamans like Marliese of [[Darkstone Castle]].

The forest of Averoigne is famous for its werewolves. Castle Anwyn has another subtle werewolf motif in its wolf depictions, including the third body in its crypt who probably corresponds to Melion, the knight of King Arthur who is transformed into a werewolf involving a [[Terate#Behind the Scenes|magic ring]]. This story has roots in a version by the medieval French author Marie de France, who wrote [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Purgatory_of_St._Patrick "Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick"] about the Arthurian knight Owain, which is important for unifying the subtexts implicit in the design of Castle Anwyn. Spotted leapers are thus implicitly like werewolves.

Leapers derive from the "bounders" of [[Rolemaster]], where they are hunting hounds used by Dark Elves. This is probably referencing the fact that [[Lorgalis]] conquered the region surrounding Castle Anwyn in the [[ICE age|I.C.E. Age]] history. These leapers being "spotted" might refer the lullaby of the fairy queen Titania from Shakespeare's [http://nfs.sparknotes.com/msnd/page_52.html "Midsummer Night's Dream"], who sleeps in a bower like the one in Castle Anwyn. It starts with a fairy singing: "You spotted snakes with double tongue, thorny hedgehogs, be not seen. Newts and blindworms, do no wrong. Come not near our fairy queen."

This is an allusion to the witches' [[Carceris#Behind the Scenes|cauldron]] scene in [http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/macbeth.4.1.html Macbeth], which in turn is referenced elsewhere in the [[Lysierian Hills]]. (Puck is actually based on the [[pooka]]s, which relates to [[Shadow Valley]].) This is an older set of rooms involving a ring of colored mushrooms, which is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_ring "fairy ring"] caused by fairies dancing in a circle like the lullaby, next to trees massing for an assault. This refers to witches' prophecy of Macbeth being safe until Birnam Wood moves on Dunsinane Hill, and the [[striped warcat]] extension to the nearby [[fire cat]] caves further alludes to this scene from Macbeth. Similarly, it refers to the Battle of the Trees involving the [[Castle Anwyn#Behind the Scenes|King of Annwn]], another medieval Welsh poem from the [[Carceris#Behind the Scenes|Book of Taliesin]]. This would have originally been intended to allude to Nodens (father of the King of Annwn) being the master of the [[Lesser vruul#Behind the Scenes|night-gaunts]] in [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/dq.aspx "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath"], the primary subtext of [[The Broken Lands]], and the fact that it was based on the fairy fantasy literature of Lord Dunsany by playing off Dunsinane Hill.

Leapers might be an allusion to Ephialtes, the Greek demon of [[Greenwing hornet|nightmares]], whose name translates as "leaper." Ephialtes was a giant who wanted to kidnap Hera and Artemis with his brother, so threw mountains on top of each other to reach up Mount Olympus. (Artemis is the Roman Diana, who Ovid calls Titania, which Shakespeare uses for the queen of the fairies.) Ephialtes is condemned to the City of Dis in Virgil's ''The Aeneid'', and is similarly placed in Dante's ''Inferno'' for rebelling against heaven where the giants are the ones who lower Virgil and Dante to the Ninth Circle. This may be referenced by the icy wind in the descent in [[The Graveyard]], and the leap into the equivalent of the Ninth Circle from the exit of Shadow Valley.

In Wagner's "Der Ring des [[Terate#(C) Mythological Subtexts|Nibelungen]]" the Norse dwarf Fafnir is treated instead as a giant who tries to kidnap Freya with his brother because of Odin's promise for building Valhalla, which is really the Greek myth of Ephialtes, and he is punished by becoming the serpent dragon that Siegfried slays in his quest of the ring. The Stone of Virtue representing the legendary sword Aramier was faded saying "A..ram..", possibly alluding to Siegfried's sword Gram. The [[Drake's Shrine]] contains a room with a crossed reference to the crest of [[Castle Anwyn#Behind the Scenes|Caernarfon]], the tympanum of Moissac Abbey, and the lion frieze of the Temple of Jupiter at Heliopolis. However, the frieze could also refer to the lion frieze of Darius, which would relate to Ephialtes the betrayer of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae through his son Xerxes. The Drake's Shrine is an inversion of the [[Bandur Etrevion#Behind the Scenes|frozen imagery]] of the Ninth Circle of Inferno where climbing on [[Marlu#The Broken Lands|the statue]] of the Great Dragon of the Book of Revelation represents God instead of [[Ur-Daemon#Teras Isle: Head of the Beast|the Beast]].


== References ==
== References ==
* http://www.play.net/gs4/info/bestiary/
*[http://www.play.net/gs4/info/bestiary/creature.asp?creature=1230 Spotted leaper on Play.net bestiary]


{{Nearlevel
{{Nearlevel

Revision as of 13:56, 22 August 2019

Spotted leaper
Spotted leaper.jpg
Level 4
Family Leaper family creatures
Body Type Quadruped
Area(s) Found Noralgar Forest
Rambling Meadows
BCS Yes
HP 51
Speed
Attack Attributes
Physical Attacks
Bite 76 AS
Claw 76 AS
Stomp 76 AS
Defense Attributes
Armor
? ASG
Defensive Strength (DS)
Melee 20 - 33
Ranged 17
Bolt 15
Unarmed Defense Factor
UDF
Target Defense (TD)
Bard Base 12
Cleric Base
Empath Base 12
Paladin Base
Ranger Base 12
Sorcerer Base
Wizard Base
Minor Elemental 12
Major Elemental 12
Minor Spiritual 12
Major Spiritual 12
Minor Mental
Treasure Attributes
Coins No
Gems No
Magic Items No
Boxes No
Skin a spotted leaper pelt
Other No

The spotted leaper appears a bizarre cross between a wolf and a frog. Perhaps six feet from snout to rump, covered with slick, hairless skin that is a dark green color with occasional pink splotches, it lacks all trace of fur but has a set of fangs worthy of any wolf that ever strode the land. Extra long front legs tipped with raking claws give it the bounding gait that has earned it its name.

Hunting strategies

This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Other information

This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Behind the Scenes

The leapers on the Coastal Cliffs appear to be transformation curse victims of Bandur Etrevion in allusion to "The Doom That Came To Sarnath". Similarly, there is a parallel to The Graveyard in Castle Anwyn regarding Purgatory, including borrowed wording from the scroll room implying its connection to "The Shadow out of Time". The writhing serpent encircled mirror in this room comes instead from "The Colossus of Ylourgne", which is obviously the basis of Bonespear Tower, written in this case by Clark Ashton Smith rather than H.P. Lovecraft and set in Averoigne. When Norandar read the Vvrael scroll in Castle Anwyn, he began physically transforming with "bulging eyes" like the Sarnath creatures, and it had turned the Queen of Anwyn into a demon. The pumas are also mythologically related to shape-shifting shamans like Marliese of Darkstone Castle.

The forest of Averoigne is famous for its werewolves. Castle Anwyn has another subtle werewolf motif in its wolf depictions, including the third body in its crypt who probably corresponds to Melion, the knight of King Arthur who is transformed into a werewolf involving a magic ring. This story has roots in a version by the medieval French author Marie de France, who wrote "Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick" about the Arthurian knight Owain, which is important for unifying the subtexts implicit in the design of Castle Anwyn. Spotted leapers are thus implicitly like werewolves.

Leapers derive from the "bounders" of Rolemaster, where they are hunting hounds used by Dark Elves. This is probably referencing the fact that Lorgalis conquered the region surrounding Castle Anwyn in the I.C.E. Age history. These leapers being "spotted" might refer the lullaby of the fairy queen Titania from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream", who sleeps in a bower like the one in Castle Anwyn. It starts with a fairy singing: "You spotted snakes with double tongue, thorny hedgehogs, be not seen. Newts and blindworms, do no wrong. Come not near our fairy queen."

This is an allusion to the witches' cauldron scene in Macbeth, which in turn is referenced elsewhere in the Lysierian Hills. (Puck is actually based on the pookas, which relates to Shadow Valley.) This is an older set of rooms involving a ring of colored mushrooms, which is a "fairy ring" caused by fairies dancing in a circle like the lullaby, next to trees massing for an assault. This refers to witches' prophecy of Macbeth being safe until Birnam Wood moves on Dunsinane Hill, and the striped warcat extension to the nearby fire cat caves further alludes to this scene from Macbeth. Similarly, it refers to the Battle of the Trees involving the King of Annwn, another medieval Welsh poem from the Book of Taliesin. This would have originally been intended to allude to Nodens (father of the King of Annwn) being the master of the night-gaunts in "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", the primary subtext of The Broken Lands, and the fact that it was based on the fairy fantasy literature of Lord Dunsany by playing off Dunsinane Hill.

Leapers might be an allusion to Ephialtes, the Greek demon of nightmares, whose name translates as "leaper." Ephialtes was a giant who wanted to kidnap Hera and Artemis with his brother, so threw mountains on top of each other to reach up Mount Olympus. (Artemis is the Roman Diana, who Ovid calls Titania, which Shakespeare uses for the queen of the fairies.) Ephialtes is condemned to the City of Dis in Virgil's The Aeneid, and is similarly placed in Dante's Inferno for rebelling against heaven where the giants are the ones who lower Virgil and Dante to the Ninth Circle. This may be referenced by the icy wind in the descent in The Graveyard, and the leap into the equivalent of the Ninth Circle from the exit of Shadow Valley.

In Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" the Norse dwarf Fafnir is treated instead as a giant who tries to kidnap Freya with his brother because of Odin's promise for building Valhalla, which is really the Greek myth of Ephialtes, and he is punished by becoming the serpent dragon that Siegfried slays in his quest of the ring. The Stone of Virtue representing the legendary sword Aramier was faded saying "A..ram..", possibly alluding to Siegfried's sword Gram. The Drake's Shrine contains a room with a crossed reference to the crest of Caernarfon, the tympanum of Moissac Abbey, and the lion frieze of the Temple of Jupiter at Heliopolis. However, the frieze could also refer to the lion frieze of Darius, which would relate to Ephialtes the betrayer of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae through his son Xerxes. The Drake's Shrine is an inversion of the frozen imagery of the Ninth Circle of Inferno where climbing on the statue of the Great Dragon of the Book of Revelation represents God instead of the Beast.

References

Near-level creatures - edit
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