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Nerdarchy > Dungeons & Dragons  > Creature Symbiosis is an Underutilized RPG Tool
Creature symbiosis in gaming is just like in real life.

Creature Symbiosis is an Underutilized RPG Tool

Designing Dungeons & Dragons Races: Aatier
Nerdarchy the comic book! Issue No. 1

Symbiosis is an amazing thing within nature. Symbiosis is defined as the “interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both.” Now how does this work within Dungeons & Dragons (as well as other games)? Well, amazing Nerdarchy reader, symbiosis is something that both players and Dungeon Masters can use to fill their world with amazing, multilayered experiences that will blow your players’ minds. Below I will be listing a few situations of symbiosis that are already in Dungeons and Dragons, and a few I think would work well within it.

Creature symbiosis in gaming is just like in real life.

The clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris (known from the Walt Disney/Pixar cartoon Finding Nemo). Photo is from a coral reef near the Japanese island Sesoko and taken 2 m below water surface. In the background is the giant carpet anemone Stichodactyla gigantea with which the clownfish forms a symbiosis. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Examples of symbiosis


The first example of symbiosis in gaming I will list is the party itself. The characters grow to depend, nourish, and cover the deficiencies of each other. The wizard can buff and provide crowd control, the tank takes the aggression of the foes, the healer patches up the wounded, and the skilled expert keeps the group safe from traps or other surprises. It is symbiosis built upon itself over and over again. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. No matter the make of the party, it becomes greater through its diversity.


Second case of symbiosis is a classic within Dungeons & Dragons, namely the way goblins and kobolds lackey up to larger and more intimidating creatures such as hobgoblins, orcs, dragons, bugbears, and ogres. The lackey performs menial tasks, and generally takes care of all the things that the larger creature does not want to be bothered with. Though not explicitly mentioned, I assume the lackey does provide company and a bit of ego stroking for the larger creature, this confidence being part of what makes them into villainous tyrants. After all, absolute power corrupts absolutely. This same adoration is both cause and effect in the way it attracts more followers. Beyond the menial, the lackey also provides a first line of defense to protect their charge. This does not sound like much but the key word is first line. This allows the lackey to clean up the smaller threats they know they can handle, acquiring loot and other ill-gotten gains from the amassed crew that the larger crew has brought together by their mere presence. All while the lackey knows they can run behind the big scary nasty monster they serve if something is too big to handle.


Who WOULDN’T think a rust monster is cute? Art by Will McLean

The third case of symbiosis is a hypothetical one. Rust monsters – you know them, you hate them, my daughter thinks they are cute for some reason. Rust monsters can be a form of symbiosis similar to that of how a giant tarantula keeps frogs on top of their nests to protect against smaller insects. The rust monster could be kept as a pet by an intelligent creature, similar to a guard dog, and used to ward off and weaken attackers. In return, because this is symbiosis and not a parasitic relationships, the rust monster is supplied with food, shelter, and even an amount of care. Perhaps a druid uses one to keep metal out of their grove? Perhaps a dragon uses one to keep its lair safe? Perhaps a particularly mean general has a particularly nasty streak and has hand-raised a pack of them that he uses as shock troops to attack an enemy army through a tunnel he had dug into their armory with his prized knights riding as both cavalry and handlers of such nasty beasts? Yeah, if your Dungeon Master uses that one I am so sorry but symbiosis is the best strategy.


To continue my synopsis on symbiosis between creatures in Dungeons & Dragons, is one that hearkens to the beginning of mankind’s ascension to the apex of the world we live in. For millennia uncounted, mankind has domesticated animals as companions and assistance in multiple facets of their life. One of the most important ones is as a form of alarm. It barely needs to be said that canines and many other creatures have greater senses than humans. This is actually not the only case within nature, such as the goby fish and the snapper shrimp that protect each other, with the fish acting as a scout and alarm as the shrimp is dropping off detritus upon the sea floor. For this reason I point out that there is no reason not to have the same symbiosis within your game. Orcs are famous for having worgs, ice giants have a working relationship with winter wolves, and many more are already written into the story of the game. Where one creature can sense something the other cannot, there exists room for another creature to provide a comfortable lifestyle in exchange for protection.


Gaming creature symbiosis

The zaratan first appeared in second edition AD&D for the Al-Qadim setting in the Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix.

Now there can be other forms of symbiosis in the fantasy world. I recall from my youth a campaign about a giant turtle, a zaratan if I recall but I may be wrong, that had an entire village on its back. The turtle was both defense, transportation, and much more for the primitive animistic people that called its shell home. The turtle was rewarded with constant cleaning, care for its wounds through their animistic or druidic magic, and even meals when it took its prolonged sleep. Symbiosis can often be just health benefits like this. Another similar example is how we have a host of microorganisms within us that aid us in digestion, processing, toxins, and similar situations. That’s right, within you there is symbiosis.


Another form of symbiosis between creatures to use in gaming is one that can be one of dual service of an agricultural nature. Formians, humanoid ants within Dungeons & Dragons, have been known to emulate the leaf cutter ant by using the humanoid fungal creature called a myconid as a form of sustenance. The myconid is picked clean of parasites, defended, and fed well by the colony of formians in return for cast-off parts and the massively-increased fungal growth that surrounds the myconid as a form of farmed food. The lead cutter ant does this exact same thing with fungus, feeding it mulched-up leaves and cultivating them in return for using the creature as food.


Creature symbiosis on the fly in gaming

Now a few quick-fired lightning round of symbiosis ideas between creatures:

  • A leviathan that has a colony of rust monsters or other creatures within it that help it digest things like metals or whatnot in return for protection and resources in the form of that which needs to be cleaned out.
  • A creature of some sort that runs cleaner stations for beholders and other creatures that lack the appendages to clean themselves. The cleaner being provided food, the larger creature being provided health benefits. Similar to the symbiosis between various sea creatures.
  • A vampire drafting the local populace as protection against would-be hunters or even that provide nourishment. In return this vampire defends the people against other creatures that go bump in the night.
  • A treant could provide protection for forest creatures in a form of symbiosis as the creatures are encouraged to live there and fertilize the forest the treant values.
  • A pirate that raises, nurtures, and protects a creature that can be used as a transport, symbiotic breathing apparatus or maybe even a mobile treasure chest.
  • A king that has struck a bargain and formed a symbiotic relationship with air elementals or invisible stalkers to protect him from would be assassins.

Any time you form a relationship that is mutually beneficial, you have entered into symbiosis. Those times when you are giving as well as you get, quid pro quo if you will, are what make the entire world better. Beyond stating how to bring these to bear as Dungeon Master, as a player you should look to form these. From the ranger’s beast companion, to how you deal and treat with others. You can form symbiotic relationships the world round.


Well I said my piece, and I need to get going as I have work in five hours. Symbiosis, I work and they pay me. Fun how that pervades the world we live in. Nonetheless, I would love to hear how you have formed some symbiotic relationships or ran across them in your games.

Play on PS4 or PS3? Did you know that Nerdarchy has a community that plays together often? Go ahead and search in the community section for Nerdarchy and for the player Nubz_The_Zombie!

Did I miss something? Have any Questions or Comments? Feel free to message me at www.facebook.com/NubzTheZombie or at nubz.the.zombie@gmail.com

Stay Nerdy,

Nubz

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Nigel Sanford

Nubz hails from the American Pacific Northwest where he has spent the last 24 years living the gamer life and running campaigns of all kinds. Through this he has managed to sate his acting bug and entertain many. Now a father, he wishes to pursue writing to leave a legacy in Nerd culture for his offspring to enjoy.

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