If I wanted to replace torches in my setting with small biol

A LOT

I mean...fire is just a lot more convienant when it's all said and done
you don't need to keep it alive for starters

Say the're some kind of Holy Creature. They literally feed on darkness to survive.

>>45383914
If you want things to remain "realisticish" you could change them to jellyfish to remove the need for feeding.
There's a type of jellyfish that gets all it's nutrients from the sun. So it would be like a solar powered lantern.

>>45384148
>>45384163

Yes. Yes I like this. The ocopi feed on sunlight or something and are holy

>>45383914

My setting uses bioluminescent worms that live in people's hair and feed on their dead skin and parasites. Low maintenance, don't need a hand to carry them. Just stick them in your scalp and pubes and you're good to go.

>>45384168
There are also some variants that let out snarky remarks as you pass by their torches on the street, who are especially perverted against elves.

>>45383914
Maybe you could train them so they omit different light colors. They could strobe a certain out variety of colors in the right disappointed (someone trespassing, octopode alarm starts blinking, maybe other octopi down the hall pick up on this doing the same to alert another guy), or could dim themselves or brighten as required. You could further train then, perhaps, to do simple but nice things like "turn on" automatically if you enter a room and so on. TBh I would just go looking at what options light switches have in a house catalogue and pick what sounds neat.

>>45384168
Whatever can exist can have an opposite?

Also, would they innately detect as "holy"?

>>45383914
What's your setting like? Do these glowing octopi need to replace all torches everywhere? If not, use them in cities and areas that use them as tourism traps. You can also use them in underwater civilizations that can't use torches for obvious reasons.

>>45384115
You do need to keep it fed, though. AND if you live in wood/paper/lacquer cities these would be awesome.

>>45384148
I love you, /tg/.

>>45384250
>And pubes
Finally, another reason my bard can go adventuring without pants!

They don't require much sustenance and give light long after they are dead.

Most people just buy them in a jar, let them slowly die, it's still a lantern that burns for months. Others feed and take care of them, which is generally seen as a cute and naive thing, like something a child would do.

They are common in coastal provinces, but in the inner provinces far away from the sea, they are merely curious pets for the rich.

>>45384498
>Reasons for the bard to go adventuring without pants (roll 1d10):
1. Bard is a woman; wears a skirt
2. Bard is a trap; wears a skirt
3. Bard is Scottish; wears a kilt
4. Bard is a quadruped (centaur, corgi, etc.)
5. Bard is a mermaid
6. Bard is going on a beach adventure
7. Bard is going on an onsen adventure
8. Bard is a spooky skeleton
9. Bard is very forgetful
10. Bard has bioluminescent pube-worms

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>>45384865

>>45383914
They're a ridiculously common invasive species, and using them until they die is the only way to control their population.

"God damn it, the little buggers hatched all over the cabbage patch again. Someone get the pickling jars, we need somewhere to store them while they eat each other alive."

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>45384865
roll'n

>>45385281
>onsen

Awesome!

>>45385281
"We're going to the onsen!"

They would have to be hyperactive to stir the seawater, As well as being super long lived because tiny jar = real life molluscean death soup. They have kidneys that make them die. Instead these would have to have good kidneys, and be sorta able to walk. Maybe growing up to be a seashore terrestrial that preys on crabs and ruins the elf-girls for bikinis at the beach,

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I love this idea. I've been debating with my wife for what sort of practical utility tentacle beasts and stuff could have.

>>45385498
They seem to be pretty good a predicting the winners of local sports contests.

>>45385498
Go on...

>Citizens have taken to placing coins in the lantern jars around main gates and major thoroughfares
>Some say it brings luck. Others say that the creatures whisper secrets to them in return for an offering.
>Many are the urchins and beggars missing fingers, their greed met with tiny gnashing teeth.

>>45383914
The air is very combustible, if anyone dared to light an open flame the world would end.

>>45385543
I did not understand that reference

>>45383914
Invasive species of glowing octopi, plus lack of wooded areas nearby means that burning torches is more expensive than shoving glowing tentacle monsters in jars

>>45385571

We've talked about it a lot but don't have much in the practical realm.

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>>45385498
>I've been debating with my wife for what sort of practical utility tentacle beasts and stuff could have.
>wife
>tentacle beasts
You lucky son of a gun! She's a keeper.
Listen, you better do good by her and stay a faithful man, because if you ever break her heart, I'll break your ribs

>>45383914
>>45385996
also could make them filter feeders, so all that would have to be done is someone going around changing out the water with fresh seawater
even though that wouldn't be too realistic, i doubt anyone is going to complain or argue about it, and there are many different types of filter feeders so even if they do they can bugger off

Instead of Jars:

Every building/structure is built with an open system of glass tubes perched several inches beneath the ceiling.
Water flows through the tubes and are just wide enough the octopus have room to move and navigate around.
They possess a weak poison in their suction cups and also know how to spray water at insects/prey and will paralyze and drag unwanted pests into the water to drown them.
Some rooms may have a central container which the tubes connect to, often having toys or hiding places.

Octopi may wander out of the water for short periods of time.

Special Octopi Rods would house a series of mirrors to greatly increase the bio light.

>>45386151
Thanks.

>>45386061
I mean with the pictures.

>>45386611
Its the first hit under google image

>>45385971
Last time Germany won the World Cup, an octopus named Paul had predicted such an outcome.
Octopi are actually the smartest invertebrates around. I'd an octopus buddy.

>>45383914
No smoke, unaffected by wind, doesn't explode areas with combustible gas

>>45386717
>I'd an octopus buddy.
But... 8 legs!

>>45386757
seven
vaginas

>>45383914

They're good for miners because they don't pollute the air in a cave with smoke.

They're also good for the divers at the docks because they glow underwater.

>>45383914
Unless of course you hit a natural gas seam (which is odourless and colourless) if which case you'll explode.

Never had a GM do that one yet but probably because they never thought of it.

>>45385498
>user was banned for this post (cropped pornography)

>>45387185
Its not pornography so its fine.

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>>45386784
tru

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>>45386757
>Eight legs
> not been a member of glorious 10 tentacled squid master race

Fire is the exclusive domain, and avatar, of a god your people have offended deeply. It can be used, in carefully controlled settings, but without supervision it has a nasty habit of "jumping" onto, well, goddamned everything.

hmm, would the lamp-critters be a controlled/rare resource or would they be found in practically every clean body of water/breed like hell? After all torches are made from fairly ubiquitous materials and so have ease of production on their side.

>>45386717
Now I wanna play a jar octopus. What would be the best class for such a thing? Cleric? Bard?

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Hab dis adorable sqid

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>>45387505
Wup I did misklik

>>45386178
If they're holy, Purify Food and Drink is 0th level.
The question arises why you have very minor clerics as lamps, but I'm sure anon can find a way.

I like this idea a lot OP, I'll be stealing it.

It would be extremely useful to not have a torch, by the way, because it would produce no smoke. It would also be easier to cover the squid rapidly if you needed to hide (just cover it or put it in a bag, torches would burn the bag/you'd need water to put it out fast.) Plus torches can be used in really confined areas or within places with a lot of wood or paper, would be dangerous and possibly burn books/scrolls in ancient libraries, and so on.

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>>45383914
I think they'd be more of a specialised device, for things like mining where you could get gas build up and coal dust going boom, or for somewhere like a library which doesn't want soot ending up on the books, reduces fire hazards and that sort of thing

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>>45384486
>a group of nomads who are masters of origami who fold up their paper encampment when they move; have a very strong dislike for fire

S T O L E N

>>45384148
>in order to feed they raise all their appendages and so look like jarred slowly flickering flames from afar
>when close to beings of great evil they'll either go crazy and emit a lot of light or get dimmer to not make themselves a target
>when they feel threatened, they'll flicker between bright red and bright blue like a siren, to scare off predators, so they work as warning alarms
>when they breed, they tend to do so on land by the shores, and stay around in collective orgies, called being "in heat"
>eggs hatch very quickly, so these are commonly called wildfires, as the longer they stay clumped together the more they'll spread
>young ones used as pets for small children, they act as nightlights for them
>one can last a while without water, but once they die, they quickly dry out and turn to what resembles ash
There you go, anon. Enjoy your Octopyros.

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>>45385498
It's pretty much just a sentient version of one of these.

>>45387556

>kyaa~!

Everyone prefers them over torches because they express their mood with the colors they luminate. And they have a keen sense of danger, some even believe they possess vestiges of prescience.

Now with a little experience you can tell how much danger you're in at any moment just by the light patterns flashing across the skin of your luminoctopus. This is why experienced veterans will never part with their most utilized ones. They know their patterns and have a specific idea of what the creature considers dangerous. Some even keep several for specific purposes.

Luminoctopodi differ in many more qualities than just sense of danger. Some prefer warm colors, some cold tones, some shine bright white most times, others merely glim dimly red or blue and can't be spotted from afar, a few signal wildly, and they come in all sizes. Tiny ones are kept in glass vials worn as jewelry by well off urbanites and huge ones inhabit light house apertures, some well known for their steady signal by sailors of many lands.

They get very old. In fact it is unknown if they even die of old age as they perish easily through circumstance. Their nature is extremely docile and their instinct to luminate makes most easy to spot. They dry out in a day or so without water, and although they do not seem to breathe or even defecate the water must be changed at least every few weeks.

No procreation in captivity has been recorded. They are all caught and exported from the luminous sea of ___ where large swarms emerge from the depths to lay their spawn near the surface for mysterious reasons. The reefs are quite a sight at night. But access is strictly policed and the entire region is marked black on many official maps.

>>45384163

It'd be easy enough to say the octolants feed off of sunlight also - the jellyfish do their thing by engulfing and carrying around algae, and there's plenty of other animals besides jellyfish that do that.

>>45384406
They'd produce Sphere of Darkness in proportion to their proximity to holiness, which'd be very handy for creatures that lack Dayvision.

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>>45385313
>>45385333
>>45385281
>the evil lich runs an onsen

The simplest reason, it's cute. It's a pet that also helps you out as a lantern, so no reason not to use it like that when you've probably got one anyway.

>>45387355
psionic

>>45387556
funny thing is that particular breed of octopus is actually called Adorabilis.

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>>45387556

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>>45393446

the setting needs a PETA type group who cries animal abuse every time they see one and demands they have at LEAST a 10 gallon tank with adequate filtration and a small cave to hide in

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>>45393453

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>>45393461

Druids, Rangers and Illithids For The Ethical Release of Squids, or DRIFTS?

>>45393453
>>45393446
>pyjama squad
Well it's accurate, at least.
Also that looks like the comfiest hunting strategy ever

>>45384250
>pros
Your hair is magnificent, well maintained and always sparkly
>cons
There are worms in your hair.

It would be pretty good for beauty-conscious undead.

>>45383914
Not necessarily a quality of the Octopodes, but...
What if it just rains a lot? Outdoor travel in the dark pretty much rules out the usefulness of torches to the point where they're never much explored as a technology, except as a novelty way to provide light indoors for a limited time.

>>45394657
The local weather god is a huge cyberpunk nerd (thanks to his foresight) but all he can do is make it rain and wait for mortal technology to catch up

>>45394657
why isn't england using octopus torches, then

>>45387226
Imagine!

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>45384865
Gotta try

>>45394739
They weren't readily available

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>>45393461
>tfw it's still even legal to sell 1/2 gallon tanks

>>45394739
In the midst of a power-trip, the queen demanded all sources of water be polluted with tea.

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In the wild octopi require salt water, at the very least a 50 gallon tank, some sort of bubbler and a chiller to keep the water at a low temperature. All of that could be done with magic, of course, but so can permanent fires so I'll assume you're running somewhat low-magic.

What if they were a holy cross between octopi and angels: god's two favorite creations and because of that they float in the air and don't breathe, but are also very light and fickle. In cases of severe wind the player has to carry their octopus or strap it to their head!

>>45394901
Plz no. I couldn't play a trap bard. I suspect my friends know of my trap fantasies

>>45393461
>implying thats unreasonable
>implying you want unhappy lantern squids.

>>45383914
>reason to use over torches
They are so goddamn cute. Like, seriously, too goddamn cute. It's like a real-life Pokemon craze. People walking around trade 'em, they talk stats, run fantasy bio-ock leagues.

>Adventurers! The Council of Elves has decided you will be put to dea-.....is, is that a Magma Red? I need one to breed with my Sky Green.....You're exonerated! Case dismissed!

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>>45395231
>carry their octopus or strap it to their head!
I'm onto you

>>45386151
You'd think so, but the last tentacle fetishist grill I got involved with turned out to be completely batshit crazy.

>>45389327
Libraries etc were my first thought, too. Dislike for naked or even covered flames, dedicated staff to feed and care for the squidlets...

OTOH water and books don't really mix.

>>45397246
a damp book is a hell of a lot better than no books

>>45386784
Imagine.

>>45395280
>This is pretty much how it goes in my setting
>High ranking nobles try to get rare and powerful pets to fight against each other
>The party is hunting down what ever the lord's wife fancies is the meta for the upcoming league
>They have been caught in enemy territory a few times and let go in exchange for pets.

>>45384148
>order of Paladins devoted to the Great Pyroctipi in the Sky
>all carry trained cephalopods as torches/cop lights/BBEG radars
>highest ranks use flaming flails in devotion to their tiny lightbringers
>domains in Light and Water
>fallen paladins frequently enter into service contracts with Mindflayers

>>45383914
>feeding the little bastards

>changing their water

Combine both. It's not normal water, but a kind of alchemical sap which keeps it nourished and hibernating.

When it starts to move, it's time to change the substance.

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>>45395231
>What if they were a holy cross between octopi and angels

That's Sea Angels - same phylum, but over in the class gastropoda (it's a sea slug) rather than cephlapoda.

>>45390644
I have a cult that uses paper armor and origami blades folded a thousand times

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stat me tg!!!

>>45399326
+1 fashion sense
-50 memorability.

>>45399326

Something about bad puns and some other stuff

I wasn't really paying attention

>>45399326
0 ranks in relevancy to this thread

>>45399326
Special status "Dead".
Special status "No, really. Not un-dead but actually dead".
Gives skill "Cain".

>>45398525
Whoa, that's adorable!

>>45399326
No. Make your own damn thread.

>>45383914
Make them undead.

>>45398525
>>45399704

I can hear them calling me to join them in dark abyss

>>45384865
What about bards who are sumo wrestlers?

>>45385818
this

>>45384163
>There's a type of jellyfish that gets all it's nutrients from the sun

I'm skeptic. The sun gives energy, not building materials. Any links?

>>45401275
It collects algae inside its body and gets food from the sunlight the algae absorb.

>>45383914
Perhaps they feed off the byproduct of whatever magic happens in the place, effectively eating waste or undesired vermin. If they feed themsleves and reproduce, they are already infinitely more utile than constantly needing to be replaced torches or candles. Also, if we are going full magic, perhaps they repel some sort of evil or have psionics static that either annoys scrying or makes it easier to focus.