Lizardmen culture: How to get a feel for it?

[ihKu47]

I like playing Total War Warhammer games as part strategy, part roleplay. The thing is, altough I think Lizardmen look cool and I've read a good chunk of their lore from the wiki, I'm not sure I have a "feel" for their culture yet. With everyone else I feel like I do, but the Lizardmen feel a bit.. robotic? Single minded? I suppose that is their thing, being the cold blooded defenders of the world.

But apart from defending the world and trying to make the Old Ones' plan come about as much as it can, what do they do? When there is nothing to fight, do the Saurus just wait in a barracks somewhere, occasionally wandering to pet their favorite dino? When the Skinks aren't building or warring or praising Sotek, do they dress up in black and kick around trash on the main street creating civil unrest because there's not enough statues of the Old Ones? When the Kroxigors aren't hauling or bashing, do they ever wear a skull crested vests and go steal golden bananas from famous apes?

I know the Lizardmen are described as mysterious, but if anyone happens to have some info to flesh them out a bit I would be more than happy to hear it!

[Ysthrall]

Originally posted by ihKu47:

Speaking of LL's, if Saurus don't have that much of an individual identity does this also apply to the really old ones like Kroq-gar? And while we're on the subject, does he outrank the Slann he recruits or are the Slann always higher in the hierarchy, even if the Saurus is super old, accomplished and favored by Mazdamundi?

To the best of my knowledge:

Kroq-gar is a LL because he's a good warlord. As noted, Sauruses are mentally geared towards war. Kroq-gar is hell on jets as a warlord, fighter and general, but he is probably worse at running his empire than any other LL. Economics, diplomacy, research, industry.... nope. Delegate to the skinks. He's got the experience and leadership to have an individual identity... but it's VERY foccussed.

And every Slaan is very very old. All of them were made by the Old Ones. If Kroq-gar is les than 7000 years old, the Slaan are older than him. Even if not, the Slaan are automatically in charge. I wouldn't be surprised if all the Lizardmen are genetically coded to ober the Slaan.

As for the ones he recruits, I can see this dialogue occuring:
K: "Excuse me great Slaan, we've awakened you because I require your assistance in this war"
S: "I'm a little busy, will this take long?"
K: "No great Slaan. With your assistance, less than a year."
S: "You are our tool for winning wars, why don't you do it?"
K: "Because, as your expert in war, I require your assistance in this precise encounter. And when it is done, we should have cleared any possible inturruptions from the local area for decades to come."
S: "Very well, get on with it. What would you have me do?"
K: "Could you just blow up that horde of ratmen please?"
S: "Ew. Nasty little cosmic accidents, aren't they? (Cue handy meteorite reducing Skaven to a crater). Are we done?"
K: "Yes great Slaan."
S: Now go away and stop distracting me."

[Iriath Zhul]

The Lizardmen are essentially robots. Saurus, Kroxigors, and the dinosaurs are the unthinking machines following their programming. Slann are the ancient operating systems clinging to what they know to be the right path but they're dying and breaking down and slowly failing. The Skinks are the kind of experimental AI that learns, so they're a little more outward-looking and unpredictable but they're still slavishly devoted to the Slann and the Great Plan (i.e., their programming).

Just think of them as ancient AI that was given a plan and is kind of running on inertia now, trying to remember what it was supposed to do.

[Angry Video Game Noob]

Hmm, doesn't they always at hard labour? Always improving their cities, road network, irrigation, etc? Using every breed of lizardmen for it?

[Jean-Luc]

Try sunbathing and eating bugs.

[ihKu47]

Thanks again for further answers! Especially to Ysthrall, I am thinking of trying Kroq-gar soon and this will help me get his character a little bit more. I will try to incorporate a bit of that AI'ness there as well, though it is part of what has made it hard for me to grasp what they're about - a bit like AI but with some rage, blood lust, reverence and social disorder (on the campaign map if not in the lore) going on.

Originally posted by Angry Video Game Noob:

Hmm, doesn't they always at hard labour? Always improving their cities, road network, irrigation, etc? Using every breed of lizardmen for it?

I might not remember it correctly, but the idea I got from the wiki is that the Skinks plan on how all construction is carried out, do the light workload of it and the Kroxigors do most of the heavy lifting while the Saurus are not used for anything but war. They would have the muscles for hard labout though, so maybe they engage in it when there's a lull in the local fighting.

As for the free time, I was just speculating if they have any. All organism must have periods of rest and rejuvenation at least, though ofc they can just spend that time sleeping or remaining immobile or in worship.

[ihKu47]

Originally posted by Jean-Luc:

Try sunbathing and eating bugs.

I live far enough north that there's not much sunlight to bathe in at this time, sadly :/ But I'll be sure to try it out in the summer!

[ExpressoDepresso]

I like to think that kroxigors thinks and behave like little childs and thats why they spend so much time with the skinks. Kinda like a big and little brother relationship.

[Jack Deth]

Lizardmen all have their own personalities and temperments but because of how/why they are literally made they mostly tend to follow certain fields of expertise.

They're as easy to relate and understand as we are to real lizards.

Such as...

Saurus. What they do when they aren't fighting?

They train, go out on patrols as well as performing guard duty.
They handle their carnosaurs and cold one's (when they get to a certain age).

Skinks do the most.

They are the diplomats with other races.

They go out on patrols, hunting parties and scouting parties.

They make the goods and most things/equipment for the temple city.

They essentially run things as they are the one's mostly making the decisions.

They spend time raising their mounts and stealing/raising eggs as needed. Many also die not only getting the eggs but being their when a carnosaur egg hatches...

They even in certain scenarios perform duties that overlap with saurus or even Slann

(Tehenhauin and red crested skinks for example take on much more war party duties while someone like Tetto'Eko took over the complete responsibility of a Slann because the Slann of his temple city died.

Which means Tetto'Eko is a skink riding a palaquin with his own group of temple guards.)


Kroxigors...

They build, that's mostly why the exist. They repair and some work along with skinks going out on patrol/hunting parties.

Slann

Outside of Mazzy they sit around leaving stinky frog toots. Passing gas as if they're passing along some sort of will of the Old Ones! Occasionally moving to make a proclamation of sorts but thus leaving the skink attendants the burden of actually deciding what to do because it's cryptic and the Slann seem to be high on somthing.

Originally posted by moistly harmless:

Ive never heard anyone suggest that Blood bowl takes place in a different universe to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, where does it say that?

I can go dig through the books but even as far back as the original run of Bloodbowl it had been stated that the game takes place in an alternate universe. This was to allow them to be funny and not have to bother with the lore of Warhammer Fantasy Battles as it makes no sense that all these factions are playing a violent sports game while declaring war.

It makes me miss Gorkamorka talking about it.

=(

[ihKu47]

Originally posted by Leviathan:

Lizardmen all have their own personalities and temperments but because of how/why they are literally made they mostly tend to follow certain fields of expertise.

They're as easy to relate and understand as we are to real lizards.

Such as...
...

Thank you! More flesh on them lizard bones, always appreciated!

[Jack Deth]

Originally posted by ihKu47:

Thank you! More flesh on them lizard bones, always appreciated!

Sure thing.

Lizards are great. I've played them since their release many years back in TT (and still do play them in Legacy/Oldhammer). They do have an interesting culture but sadly it didn't get as fleshed out as other factions due to mostly the lack of novels written about or including them in a novel.

But they certainly do have a culture just one that is very ordered based on what kind of lizard they are.

[ihKu47]

Originally posted by Leviathan:

Originally posted by ihKu47:

Thank you! More flesh on them lizard bones, always appreciated!

Sure thing.

Lizards are great. I've played them since their release many years back in TT (and still do play them in Legacy/Oldhammer). They do have an interesting culture but sadly it didn't get as fleshed out as other factions due to mostly the lack of novels written about or including them in a novel.

But they certainly do have a culture just one that is very ordered based on what kind of lizard they are.

Now that you mention the novels, I think they're might have been an e-book with a lizardmen focused story available for download at the Total War offical site once you log in. Will have to give it a look, thanks for the idea!

EDIT: For those curious, it's called the Forked Tongue and seems to be really short.