The Axe wielding tree 🪓🌳
Retinazer
Terraria has a lot of customization options, both in terms of customizing your world and your character. Examples are the vast selection of blocks to choose and the possibility to paint them if their color isn't what you like, and the high number of items you can put on as vanity and dyes you can use to change the color of them if you don't like it. And one day I had the idea of making this concept about customizing your character's species.
So let me get started: the species are not dictated by the skin color. Instead they will be based around differences such as height. The various species will all have humanoid shape similar to the "classic" species we played for 9 years, which from now on will be called humans, because I don't think drastically changing the sprites of every single armor just for one different looking character who is identical in practically every way to the others is worth it. Sorry for crushing your Hopes and Dreams of playing as a Martian for those who wanted to. Also the various species won't be different from each other from a combat perspective and won't have any exclusive items that affect combat. Your class and playstyle is decided only by you and what you choose to equip.
However doing specific things as a certain species might result in an achievement, and doing a certain achievement as a certain species might result in an altenative achievement: ex. "Deceiver of deceivers", alternative of "Deceiver of Fools", kill a nymph (enemy) as a Nymph (playable), even though meeting the requirements for an alternative achievement once again will result in obtaining the achievement not related to the species.
Some NPCs may have some special quotes for interacting for them as a certain species.
Enough talking, let's get started!
Creating the character
Obviously to make our character a certain species from the start we have to go to the character creation menu. The species option would be between the difficulty and gender ones. The species select menu is similar to that of character styles/gender one, except that the various species won't be separated like the gender ones, but will be grouped together. Also, at first all of the species except the humans will be blacked out, with only their silouhette visible, meaning that they are still blocked and not playable. But don't worry, you will be able to unlock the remaing species not too long after you created your first character and world. There isn't anything else to describe other than when hovering over an unlocked species a tooltip will appear saying the name of the species and a tooltip (The tooltip is the phrase written immediatly below the name of the species in this post). When you unlock a species you will be notified of that in a similar way to when you complete an achievement. Once a species is unlocked, it will stay so forever on that game.
The various species
Changing species
So let's say that you want to change the species of one of your characters either because you have a character which progressed a lot, or just because YES. How will you do it then? Don't worry, good ol' Kirby737 has just the right thing for you! I present to you drumrolls the Species Change potions! Genial, I know. Jokes apart, let me describe them one by one (before I describe them let me say all potions use all seven herbs in their crafting recipe, and other additions will be stated in the description of the potion, and they all need the alchemy table to be crafted):
Other things
If you try to use a Species Change Potion of your own species it won't work: for example using an Elven Potion as an Elf won't do anything and won't consume the potion. If you try to consume a Species Change potion for a species you haven't unlocked yet, it won't work and a message in chat (only readable by you) will display: "You must first unlock <species name> to use this potion!".
And that's all! Feel free to give any advice you want (or don't give any advice, that's fine too). Sorry for the wall of Flesh text that this concept is, but I couldn't use less text. Hope you enjoyed it!
In case you are on Terraria's subreddit, you might have already seen this exact post. No I didn't steal it, in fact I'm the one that posted this concept on Reddit, I just figured out I'd post it here aswell, since this is the Official Terraria Forum.
So let me get started: the species are not dictated by the skin color. Instead they will be based around differences such as height. The various species will all have humanoid shape similar to the "classic" species we played for 9 years, which from now on will be called humans, because I don't think drastically changing the sprites of every single armor just for one different looking character who is identical in practically every way to the others is worth it. Sorry for crushing your Hopes and Dreams of playing as a Martian for those who wanted to. Also the various species won't be different from each other from a combat perspective and won't have any exclusive items that affect combat. Your class and playstyle is decided only by you and what you choose to equip.
However doing specific things as a certain species might result in an achievement, and doing a certain achievement as a certain species might result in an altenative achievement: ex. "Deceiver of deceivers", alternative of "Deceiver of Fools", kill a nymph (enemy) as a Nymph (playable), even though meeting the requirements for an alternative achievement once again will result in obtaining the achievement not related to the species.
Some NPCs may have some special quotes for interacting for them as a certain species.
Enough talking, let's get started!
Creating the character
Obviously to make our character a certain species from the start we have to go to the character creation menu. The species option would be between the difficulty and gender ones. The species select menu is similar to that of character styles/gender one, except that the various species won't be separated like the gender ones, but will be grouped together. Also, at first all of the species except the humans will be blacked out, with only their silouhette visible, meaning that they are still blocked and not playable. But don't worry, you will be able to unlock the remaing species not too long after you created your first character and world. There isn't anything else to describe other than when hovering over an unlocked species a tooltip will appear saying the name of the species and a tooltip (The tooltip is the phrase written immediatly below the name of the species in this post). When you unlock a species you will be notified of that in a similar way to when you complete an achievement. Once a species is unlocked, it will stay so forever on that game.
The various species
"The default species we all know and loved for 9 years. Just because they've been the only species for long it doesn't mean they are out of fashion. A tall skeleton who likes spaghetti seems to be obsessed with them"
The default species and the first to be unlocked. No differences between this one and the old one. The default customization options for the Humans are the same as the current ones.
The default species and the first to be unlocked. No differences between this one and the old one. The default customization options for the Humans are the same as the current ones.
"Just because here we have futuristic stuff, it doesn't mean that Elves can't join in the fun! A certain old round man in red clothing seems to know some of them"
The second species, unlocked when the player first acquires any magic weapon for the first time. They have pointy ears like in the Huntress set, and their voice is sligtly pichted up. The default customization options for elves are white skin (not the white intended as #FFFFFF, instead intended as the light skin color), blonde hair with style 2, and blue eyes.
If Santa is interacted with as an Elf he might say: "I have some of your kind working for me, they're just smaller than Elves usually are. What do you mean I don't do anything during non-christmas periods? I do all the political stuff at the north pole and make sure a civil war doesn't explode all of a sudden. Do you know hard it is to keep the Snow Mafia Frost Legion calm? And don't get me started on the rest!"
The second species, unlocked when the player first acquires any magic weapon for the first time. They have pointy ears like in the Huntress set, and their voice is sligtly pichted up. The default customization options for elves are white skin (not the white intended as #FFFFFF, instead intended as the light skin color), blonde hair with style 2, and blue eyes.
If Santa is interacted with as an Elf he might say: "I have some of your kind working for me, they're just smaller than Elves usually are. What do you mean I don't do anything during non-christmas periods? I do all the political stuff at the north pole and make sure a civil war doesn't explode all of a sudden. Do you know hard it is to keep the Snow Mafia Frost Legion calm? And don't get me started on the rest!"
"While they mostly prefer the Underground and the Caverns, some of them don't mind going to the surface. They also like to Diggy Diggy Hole, whatever that means"
The third species, unlocked when the player first speaks to the Demolitionist. They are tall as the Demolitionist. Their default customization options are to resemble the demolitionist. So they have orange beard (for males), blue eyes and white skin. Their voice is also "depper" than Humans'.
If the character is a Dwarf the Guide's Demolitionist dialogue will be replaced with: "I know of a Dwarf like you who is a Demolitionist. If you hang on the bombs you have found he might come to give a look at them".
If the Demolitionist is interacted with as a Dwarf he might say: "Welcome fellow Dwarf! I bet you too like explosions!"
Talking to the Demolitionist as a Dwarf will also unlock the achievement "Swing, swing, swing with me!"
The third species, unlocked when the player first speaks to the Demolitionist. They are tall as the Demolitionist. Their default customization options are to resemble the demolitionist. So they have orange beard (for males), blue eyes and white skin. Their voice is also "depper" than Humans'.
If the character is a Dwarf the Guide's Demolitionist dialogue will be replaced with: "I know of a Dwarf like you who is a Demolitionist. If you hang on the bombs you have found he might come to give a look at them".
If the Demolitionist is interacted with as a Dwarf he might say: "Welcome fellow Dwarf! I bet you too like explosions!"
Talking to the Demolitionist as a Dwarf will also unlock the achievement "Swing, swing, swing with me!"
"Those little tricksters are always looking for the next time they can create some chaos, never trust them! Not even if they seem polite! They will rob you of your money for sure!"
The fourth species, unlocked when a Goblin Invasion is defeated for the first time. They are as tall as the goblin enemies and have their pointy ears. The default customization options resemble the Goblin Scout enemy, so they have blue skin, grey eyes and have grey hair with style 16. Their hurt sounds is the same as the Goblins'.
If the Guide is talked to as a Goblin, his Goblin Army advice will be replaced by this one: "Ever seen those Goblin Scouts in the outer regions of the world? Ever wondered what other Goblins are up to? Maybe they are planning an invasion?"
Freeing the Goblin tinkerer will have him say: "Hey, it's you! That one rogue Goblin that held off the invasion! Why was I tied up? Because I refused to go to the front lines. Not that there are other lines for the Goblins."
The fourth species, unlocked when a Goblin Invasion is defeated for the first time. They are as tall as the goblin enemies and have their pointy ears. The default customization options resemble the Goblin Scout enemy, so they have blue skin, grey eyes and have grey hair with style 16. Their hurt sounds is the same as the Goblins'.
If the Guide is talked to as a Goblin, his Goblin Army advice will be replaced by this one: "Ever seen those Goblin Scouts in the outer regions of the world? Ever wondered what other Goblins are up to? Maybe they are planning an invasion?"
Freeing the Goblin tinkerer will have him say: "Hey, it's you! That one rogue Goblin that held off the invasion! Why was I tied up? Because I refused to go to the front lines. Not that there are other lines for the Goblins."
"After they died and their bodies rotten away, leaving only the bones, they started roaming this land once again. Some swear they were skeletons from the beggining, including a short one with a blue coat and pink slippers"
The fifth "species", unlocked when the player first speaks to the Skeleton Merchant or when Tim is killed near the player (these two options negate each other, meaning if this idea/concept was ever introduced to the game only one of the options would be available). They resemble the skeleton enemies. Changing the skin color will change the color of the bones instead. The default customization options are white bones, red eyes, and white hair with style 16 (yes, skeletons can have hair) Their hurt sound is replaced by the hurt sound of skeleton enemies. If the chest of a Skeleton is to be revealed in any way, such as with the Mermaid Adnorment equipped, the Ribcage will be shown and either male or female versions of the shirt item will be shown according to the gender of the character.
Interacting with the Guide as a skeleton will have his skeleton merchant advice replaced with another one, which is: "As you know, not all undeads are hostile. I've heard that deep in the caverns you might find a fellow skeleton whom sells interesting wares."
Talking to the Skeleton Merchant as a Skeleton might make the former say: "A fellow Skeleton I see! Never thought I'd meet another Skeleton who isn't a murdering freak!"
Interacting with the Old Man as a Skeleton might have him say: "A rebel I see... If you have mercy in your hear- err, in your soul, please defeat my master and end my curse!", "You are a disertor aren't you? My master will end your little rebellion when the sun falls!" (During the day) or "You are a disertor aren't you? My master will end you right there now that the sun has fallen!" (During the night)
Interacting to the Angler as a skeleton might yield the following line: "I don't care if you're undead or stuff like that, you still have lot of fishes to cacht!"
The fifth "species", unlocked when the player first speaks to the Skeleton Merchant or when Tim is killed near the player (these two options negate each other, meaning if this idea/concept was ever introduced to the game only one of the options would be available). They resemble the skeleton enemies. Changing the skin color will change the color of the bones instead. The default customization options are white bones, red eyes, and white hair with style 16 (yes, skeletons can have hair) Their hurt sound is replaced by the hurt sound of skeleton enemies. If the chest of a Skeleton is to be revealed in any way, such as with the Mermaid Adnorment equipped, the Ribcage will be shown and either male or female versions of the shirt item will be shown according to the gender of the character.
Interacting with the Guide as a skeleton will have his skeleton merchant advice replaced with another one, which is: "As you know, not all undeads are hostile. I've heard that deep in the caverns you might find a fellow skeleton whom sells interesting wares."
Talking to the Skeleton Merchant as a Skeleton might make the former say: "A fellow Skeleton I see! Never thought I'd meet another Skeleton who isn't a murdering freak!"
Interacting with the Old Man as a Skeleton might have him say: "A rebel I see... If you have mercy in your hear- err, in your soul, please defeat my master and end my curse!", "You are a disertor aren't you? My master will end your little rebellion when the sun falls!" (During the day) or "You are a disertor aren't you? My master will end you right there now that the sun has fallen!" (During the night)
Interacting to the Angler as a skeleton might yield the following line: "I don't care if you're undead or stuff like that, you still have lot of fishes to cacht!"
"While most of them are mercyless deceivers, some of them are actually nice people. Besides, just because almost everyone of their species is a monster, it doesn't mean that some can't be good people. No, they're not deities or spirits or stuff like that. What do they teach humans these days?"
The sixth species, unlocked when a Nymph is killed for the first time by the player (Same requirements for the "Deceiver of Fools" achievement), they normally resemble Humans and the Lost Girl enemy, even though they are a bit shorter than humans. During the New and Full moon phases, during all moon-related events (so Blood, Frost and Pumpkin moon, Solar eclipse and excluding lunar events and the LC and ML fights) all Nymph characters will go into their Hostile/True forms, which resembles the Nymph enemy but doesn't change the eye color. There can be both female and male Nymphs. Their voice is "younger" than the one of the humans. Killing an enemy Nymph as a playable Nymph will reward the player with the achievement "Deceiver of deceivers".
Since I'm pretty sure some players might want to be able to toggle between the 2 forms of the Nymph at will I will make a concept for an item that does just that. The item in question is called the Nymph charm, and is always dropped the first time a nymph is killed by a certain character, and then has a 10% chance to drop in addition to the metal detector, and it has no sell value. It can be obtained by any species, but will only work with Nymphs, and attempting to use it with any other species will result into a animation similar to that of Fallen Stars being "used" and will produce the same sound, while a message saying "It seems that it doesn't work with your species..." will appear. Using the Nymph charm as a Nymph will turn it into a toggle like the Torch God's favor's biome torch swap. The toggle has 3 states: normal, Nymph and moon dependnt (which will make the forms be changed like they do without the Nymph charm)
Talking to the Guide as a Nymph might result in the former saying: "Be careful in the Caverns, as there inhabith the Nymphs which, unlike you, are out for blood, and I don't think they will let you pass without first attacking."
The sixth species, unlocked when a Nymph is killed for the first time by the player (Same requirements for the "Deceiver of Fools" achievement), they normally resemble Humans and the Lost Girl enemy, even though they are a bit shorter than humans. During the New and Full moon phases, during all moon-related events (so Blood, Frost and Pumpkin moon, Solar eclipse and excluding lunar events and the LC and ML fights) all Nymph characters will go into their Hostile/True forms, which resembles the Nymph enemy but doesn't change the eye color. There can be both female and male Nymphs. Their voice is "younger" than the one of the humans. Killing an enemy Nymph as a playable Nymph will reward the player with the achievement "Deceiver of deceivers".
Since I'm pretty sure some players might want to be able to toggle between the 2 forms of the Nymph at will I will make a concept for an item that does just that. The item in question is called the Nymph charm, and is always dropped the first time a nymph is killed by a certain character, and then has a 10% chance to drop in addition to the metal detector, and it has no sell value. It can be obtained by any species, but will only work with Nymphs, and attempting to use it with any other species will result into a animation similar to that of Fallen Stars being "used" and will produce the same sound, while a message saying "It seems that it doesn't work with your species..." will appear. Using the Nymph charm as a Nymph will turn it into a toggle like the Torch God's favor's biome torch swap. The toggle has 3 states: normal, Nymph and moon dependnt (which will make the forms be changed like they do without the Nymph charm)
Talking to the Guide as a Nymph might result in the former saying: "Be careful in the Caverns, as there inhabith the Nymphs which, unlike you, are out for blood, and I don't think they will let you pass without first attacking."
"Zombies usually want your Braaainss! But sometimes it happens that a Zombie keeps their Braaain and acts almost like a normal person, while retaining some Zombie charateristics. Some of those Zombies might be the result of a failed resurrection. A certain Zombie who likes hair spray is a very famous celebrity."
The seventh "species", whom is unlocked after killing a Blood Zombie (Killing a Blood Zombie outside of a Blood Moon will also unlock the playable zombies, however it has to have spawned naturally, so statue-spawned Blood Zombies won't unlock the playable Zombies). They resemble the default male and female zombies enemies, except that they lack the blood. Their default appearence resembles the zombie enemy, meaning that they have light-green skin, red eyes and dark hair. Their hurt sound is a zombie-like grunt.
Interacting with the Guide as a Zombie will have his skeleton merchant advice replaced with another one, which is: "As you know, not all undeads are hostile. I've heard that in the caverns deep within our world there is a skeleton who sells rare wares. Remember that you won't know what he will sell, as which ones and when, it is not known"
When interacting with the merchant as a Zombie during the night the former could say the following: "A Zombie! Please don't eat my brain! Please I ha- Oh wait it's you <player name>... Let's not not talk about this event, ok? I will give you a discount!". (he won't)
When interacting with the angler as a Zombie he might say: "I don't care if you got zombified or stuff like that! There are many fishes out there to be collected!" or "You'll be perfect as a bait! Just let me take your fle- no? Ugh, fine...".
The seventh "species", whom is unlocked after killing a Blood Zombie (Killing a Blood Zombie outside of a Blood Moon will also unlock the playable zombies, however it has to have spawned naturally, so statue-spawned Blood Zombies won't unlock the playable Zombies). They resemble the default male and female zombies enemies, except that they lack the blood. Their default appearence resembles the zombie enemy, meaning that they have light-green skin, red eyes and dark hair. Their hurt sound is a zombie-like grunt.
Interacting with the Guide as a Zombie will have his skeleton merchant advice replaced with another one, which is: "As you know, not all undeads are hostile. I've heard that in the caverns deep within our world there is a skeleton who sells rare wares. Remember that you won't know what he will sell, as which ones and when, it is not known"
When interacting with the merchant as a Zombie during the night the former could say the following: "A Zombie! Please don't eat my brain! Please I ha- Oh wait it's you <player name>... Let's not not talk about this event, ok? I will give you a discount!". (he won't)
When interacting with the angler as a Zombie he might say: "I don't care if you got zombified or stuff like that! There are many fishes out there to be collected!" or "You'll be perfect as a bait! Just let me take your fle- no? Ugh, fine...".
"After the Great War, the Dryads went almost extinct due to their sacifice, leaving only one left to mourn the others. At least that's what everyone thought for a while, including the "last" dryad. Turns out, not all drayd went to the frontlines to be slaughtered, and instead remained in the backlines supporting the others. Those who survived went into hiding in fear of the Moon Lord's revenge, but recently some have started to emerge once again."
The eight Species, whom is unlocked after talking to the Dryad at least once. They are taller than humans, but still within the 3 block tall "limit". There can be both Male and Female Dryads. The default style for them resembles the Dryad NPC, so "brown" skin, purple eyes and green hair with style 7. Their hurt sound is the same as the Humans', just changed a bit to sound "Older".
When interacting with with the Dryad (NPC) as a Dryad (playable) she might say the following: "A-another Dryad? I thought we'd gone extinct with me as the only survivor. Happy to see that I'm not the only one left! How many of us are left? You don't know?"
Talking to the Guide as a Dryad (playable) while the Dryad (NPC) is not present will have his normal Dryad advice replaced by another one, which is: "I've heard stories about another Dryad, who has a stronger bond with nature than you, who also survived the Great War. You should prove yourself by defeating a strong monster. I'm sure it will get the attention of that Dryad!
The eight Species, whom is unlocked after talking to the Dryad at least once. They are taller than humans, but still within the 3 block tall "limit". There can be both Male and Female Dryads. The default style for them resembles the Dryad NPC, so "brown" skin, purple eyes and green hair with style 7. Their hurt sound is the same as the Humans', just changed a bit to sound "Older".
When interacting with with the Dryad (NPC) as a Dryad (playable) she might say the following: "A-another Dryad? I thought we'd gone extinct with me as the only survivor. Happy to see that I'm not the only one left! How many of us are left? You don't know?"
Talking to the Guide as a Dryad (playable) while the Dryad (NPC) is not present will have his normal Dryad advice replaced by another one, which is: "I've heard stories about another Dryad, who has a stronger bond with nature than you, who also survived the Great War. You should prove yourself by defeating a strong monster. I'm sure it will get the attention of that Dryad!
Changing species
So let's say that you want to change the species of one of your characters either because you have a character which progressed a lot, or just because YES. How will you do it then? Don't worry, good ol' Kirby737 has just the right thing for you! I present to you drumrolls the Species Change potions! Genial, I know. Jokes apart, let me describe them one by one (before I describe them let me say all potions use all seven herbs in their crafting recipe, and other additions will be stated in the description of the potion, and they all need the alchemy table to be crafted):
The Species Change potion which will transform you into a human. Its tooltip reads as following: "This potion is infused with the Everchanging essence of the Humans, which when drinked will transform you into one of them". It is crafted using an extra daybloom, an empty bottle and a shark tooth necklace or a Guide Voodoo Doll (As with the skeleton "species"unlock requirement, the two options negate eachother. Using the Guide Voodoo Doll in this crafting recipe won't turn him into a smoothie, and don't ask me how. [I know that these two option I selected as ingredients for this Species Change potion aren't great, but I couldn't find anything else that made more sense])
The species Change potion that will transform you into an Elf. Its tooltip reads as following: "This potion is infused with the Magical essence of the Elves, which when drinked will make you undergo a transformation that will result into you becoming an Elf". It is crafted using an extra moonglow, bottled water and 3 Mana Crystals.
The Species Change potion that will transform you into a Dwarf. The tooltip reads: "This potion is infused with the Brave essence of the Dwarves, which once chugged will transform you into one of the Dwarves". It is crafted using an extra fireblossom, a bottle, ale and 1 gem of whichever type.
The Species Change potion of the Goblins. The tooltip reads: "This potion is infused with the Trickster essence of the Goblins, which once sipped will transform you into another of the Goblins". It is crafted using an extra herb of whichever type you want, bottled water and 1 tattered cloth.
The Species Change Potion which will tranform you into one of the Skeletons. Its tooltip reads as following: "This potion is infused with the Otherwordly essence of the Skeletons, which once absorbed will shift your form into one where only the skeleton remains". It is crafted using an extra deathweed, bottled water and 5 bones.
The Species Change Potion of the Nymphs. The tooltip reads as following: "This potion is infused with the Mystic essence of the Nymphs, which once fused with yours will make you assume the form of one of them". It is crafted using an extra Blinkroot, bottled water and a Nymph Charm.
The Species Change Potion of the Zombies. Its tooltip reads: "This potion is infused with the Undying essence of the Zombies, which once it has propragated trough the body will shift you into a Zombie". It is crafted with an extra Shiverthorn, a glass bottle and a Zombie Arm.
The species change potion which will transform you into a Dryad. The tooltip reads: "This potion is infused with the Natural essence of the Dryad, which once connected with your being will transform you into one of the Dryads". It is crafted using an extra Waterleaf, bottled water and 3 herb seeds of whichever type.
Other things
If you try to use a Species Change Potion of your own species it won't work: for example using an Elven Potion as an Elf won't do anything and won't consume the potion. If you try to consume a Species Change potion for a species you haven't unlocked yet, it won't work and a message in chat (only readable by you) will display: "You must first unlock <species name> to use this potion!".
And that's all! Feel free to give any advice you want (or don't give any advice, that's fine too). Sorry for the wall of Flesh text that this concept is, but I couldn't use less text. Hope you enjoyed it!
In case you are on Terraria's subreddit, you might have already seen this exact post. No I didn't steal it, in fact I'm the one that posted this concept on Reddit, I just figured out I'd post it here aswell, since this is the Official Terraria Forum.
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