Monstrous Capitalism

I've had a setting brewing in the back of my mind for a while which is kind of Industrial Fantasy, maybe more about it another time, but I've been thinking about how some 'D&D' style monster types would fit into that sort of vibe. Ideas that came early on were for a Rakshasa who talks like Jeremy Irons and runs an Oil Refinery, a neurotic Beholder in charge of the Rail Network, a Dragon that owns a casino... what about an Treant? Or a coven of hags? I started writing up some stuff for some monstrous characters who would be big players in this world, oligarchs essentially, so here's a few of them:

Rail Master Shroder

Early in their career as Rail Master, Shroder's great fear was that the trains simply could not run on time without their oversight. Pursuing this neurosis to its natural conclusion, Shroder began to question whether an unobserved train could even exist, let alone reach it's destination on schedule.  This precipitated the appointment of the Rail Witnesses, now aboard every service. Under total superveillance, not only do the trains remain extant across appropriate realities, they run on time.

The Lendies

In ancient times, a Hag's value lay in her knowledge of The Truth. What place is there for such a creature in a world in which the only truth that matters is how much money you have? A hag might point out that money is not really a truth but more of a promise. She might add, however, that promises have pasts, presents and futures, themselves truths and thus known to her and her sisters. She might ask if there is value in knowing how money was acquired? In knowing where money might end up? She might then offer you a cup of tea while you peruse her consultation fees.

Mister Mulch

If a tree falls in the woods and there's nobody around, what is it worth? To whom is it worth whatever it is worth? If If a tree belongs to anyone, surely it belongs to the forest? Is it not reasonable, then, for the forest to be compensated if it's dead are repurposed for timber or firewood? Are not reparations due if tree murder is perpetrated purposefully, on an industrial scale? This was the general thrust of the argument put before the Big Log Firm by the Ambulant Pines of the ancient woods. Being the first discussion of any sort between these two parties, the thing most clearly brought to light was how poorly prepared for one another they were: The Lumberjacks and -Jills awed by the expressive limbs, creaking baritones and questing roots of the Ambulant Pines; the Pines themselves bedazzled by the champagne lifestyle of The Big Log Execs. Such meetings have a tendency to create an excitable and unstable energy, with the potential for outcomes as innovative as they are regrettable. It's exactly the sort of scenario that can result in a sentient tree, such as the Ambulant Pine who would later come to be known as Mister Mulch, getting the office with the big windows and the drinks cabinet and the fitted humidor, as Operations Director of the Big Log Firm.

That's it for this one, till next time!