According to a Scientific American article, the footprints of an elephant each contain dozens and possibly hundreds of different animals — mites, mayflies, backswimmers, leeches, and gastropods. Given proper conditions, such footprints can endure for weeks, giving them plenty of time to turn into little micro-habitats.
Which is super cool.
Now, scale it up for a fantasy world: A breathtaking colossus that slowly bestrides the world, leaving in its wake footprints a half-kilometer wide. Colossi gnomes scurry in its wake, delving into the exposed depths. Demonic creatures boil out of exposed underworlds. Such footprints could last for years or even decades, perhaps coming to support entire communities.
Ooh, I like it. It reminds me a little of a game I ran where an arcane experiment had created an exceptionally large explosion, leading to a crater several kilometres across. There was a city along the edge of it, but the crater itself had become filled with an ecosystem of fey creatures and elementals, feasting on the residual magical “radiation”. Quite a lot of the campaign ended up being negotiation between elemental and fey forces allied with – or at least neutral toward – the city, in search of some that were… not.
That is a pretty cool idea
Thanks for sharing Justin. This is a cool idea.
This made me think of the game “Snit’s Revenge” and now I’m idly thinking about how you might create a campaign setting based on the general concept of travelling and fighting WITHIN some giant creature.
Here’s how: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/192736/Belly-of-the-Beast-RPG
Btw — “colossi” is plural.
Reminds me of Xenoblade Chronicles – the entire 100+ story takes place on two colossi that killed each other forever ago – standing frozen, connected by one’s sword thrusting into the other. In the game, the characters traverse from the ankle of one throughout their world, these two creatures surrounded by ocean.