HYPERBOREA / Explaining it away (demi-human races)

**Posted by Scalydemon** 8/13/2015 12:39 am

When adventurers are present in Hyperborea or Hyboria, and are Hobbits, Dwarves or Elves.

I have made the Hobbits into Picts and the Elves into Melniboneans (a literary mash up I know but I like it).
Not sure what to do with Dwarves?

**Posted by Blackadder23** 8/13/2015 5:49 am

Why not use the existing dwarves? I guess I don't understand the question.
(If you're trying to translate demihumans into humans, dwarves could be Vikings - except for height, Tolkein/D&D dwarves are 90% Norse already.)

Last edited by Blackadder23 (8/13/2015 5:51 am)

**Posted by Handy Haversack** 8/13/2015 8:59 am

Scaly, do you mean when porting adventures written for other systems to Hyperborea? Or more like a FLAILSNAILS game with characters from all sorts of systems? I haven't experienced the latter, but I probably wouldn't address it at all except in that the locals might be all sorts of swordily freaked out to see a dwarf (monster), elf (MONSTER!), or halfling (dinner) ordering a drink at the Pict's Pact.

In the former, I think I've made dwarves into subterranean Kimmerians. Halflings I make either common stock or mules. Elves: Atlanteans or Hyperboreans. For Slumbering Ursine Dunes, I made the cave dwarves into Pygmies.

**Posted by Blackadder23** 8/13/2015 9:24 am

Oh, so the question is how would "D&D races" from other dimensions explain themselves if they found themselves trapped in Hyperborea?

I guess elves could pass themselves off as (stunted) Hyperboreans, or claim that they got their heads caught in a mechanical rice picker. Halflings could pretend to be children or midgets. Dwarves would have the most problems because there are already (evil, despised) dwarves in Hyperborea. I suppose they could try to pass themselves off as mundane dwarves (i.e., very short humans). Gnomes could pretend to be midgets or (mundane) dwarves. Half-orcs would probably be identified as exactly that, much to their detriment.

Or maybe I still don't understand the question...

**Posted by Scalydemon** 8/13/2015 9:39 am

Could be either of what you suggest Handy.

This came up last weekend at the Con game I ran. The initial part of the game was set in Hyboria. The pre gens I had for the game though included a Hobbit and an Elf. Thus the need to 'explain away' what these races were doing in/ or were in Hyboria.

On the fly we made the Hobbit into a Pict and the Elf into a sort of Melnibonean.

Thanks for the ideas