Guild Wars 2

Sorry if this was already discussed but I couldn’t find any topic.

Sylvan hounds are born from the Pale Tree the same as the Sylvari, so basically they are intended to be Mordremoth’s servants. What will happen now to them? Are they corruptible or the way Sylvari tame them is enough to keep them docile? Is the Dream keeping them save in some why too?

That’s… a good question. I bet at least a subset will remain immune, since they are after all a ranger pet, but if the Nightmare is Mordremoth’s corruption we know they’re corruptible. Of course, we’re not 100% sure yet what exactly it is about the Dream that’s keeping the sylvari safe, but my bet would be that the hounds are also connected to it- maybe not as fully as the sylvari, but that’s balanced by the impossibility of deliberately damaging their own connection.

hmmmmmmmmm dont believe this post cuz I might be incorrect buuuuuut I think sylvan hounds are either not so easy to corrupt or super easy due to the fact that, unlike sylvari, the hounds are not-self-aware in a way (animals are said to be non-aware and humans are “aware animals” because we “worry how we look, what we wear, how will this affect that, if I do this what will happen tomorrow? etc.”)

That is a really good question. One of the sylvari racial elites is to summon a sylvan hound as well. I wonder if this means that corrupted sylvari will be able to summon nightmare hounds? The mordrem wolf doesn’t seem to really be the evil counterpart of the sylvan hound just because it seems more like mordrem plant material animating a deceased animal where the sylvan hound is an all plant creature. Or is that confusing any, as yet unknown, link between Mordremoth and the Nightmare Court?

Also, on a relate note, is there any lore as to why there aren’t any other analog creatures created by the Pale Tree – like moa or drakes for example?

Nope. We don’t even have lore on why she makes hounds- hell, even the explanation for sylvari has some holes in it right now.

They are protected just like Sylvari yes.

Note how corrupting them into the Nightmare court is almost exactly the same as corrupting Sylvari. Torture, abuse, and hurt them, they fall into Nightmare just like Sylvari.

And then presumably “weaker” hounds can be corrupted by Mord as well.

We need some Sylvan cats.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Overgrown_Wolf

That is all.

What’s all? That is not an answer to any of my questions. Was that overgrown wolf once a sylvan hound that Mordremoth corrupted? Or was it born that way and have nothing to do with the sylvan hounds? Or was it first transformed to Nightmare Hound?

Aaron Ansari.1604:

Nope. We don’t even have lore on why she makes hounds- hell, even the explanation for sylvari has some holes in it right now.

Mordremoth seems to design it’s minions based on living creatures it finds. e.g. Mordrem trolls look similar to flesh and blood trolls.
It’s not a huge leap to say the pale tree did this as well, but then with the remains of Ronan’s village. It’s likely there was a hound buried there somewhere.

Underdark.3726:

What’s all? That is not an answer to any of my questions. Was that overgrown wolf once a sylvan hound that Mordremoth corrupted? Or was it born that way and have nothing to do with the sylvan hounds? Or was it first transformed to Nightmare Hound?

The term “Overgrown” was a placeholder name for the Mordrem in S2E1. The name of Mordremoth’s minions “Mordrem” only got inexplicable revealed by Kasmeer during the next episode, S2E2.

Underdark.3726:

What’s all? That is not an answer to any of my questions. Was that overgrown wolf once a sylvan hound that Mordremoth corrupted? Or was it born that way and have nothing to do with the sylvan hounds? Or was it first transformed to Nightmare Hound?

well that is clearly a Sylvan hound version of a Mordrem hound.
Mordrem Wolves in Silverwastes however, are BODIES of actual wolves, animated by plants.

Beta gives us new Modrem Humanoids too of course. Which have this same look.
“woody” versions of Char, and Norn/Slyvari/humans. its not entirely clear which. only char are notably visible, as specifically Char.
I think we can assume these “woody” versions are the corrupted humanoids, like Branded, Icebrood, etc.

Those hounds then do show that Sylvari, and Sylvan Hounds can in fact be Mordremed up as well, and become more woody.

I am not entirely sure where the Trolls and Teragriffs stand. I think trolls are the animated corpse variety. While Teragriffs are corrupted Colocal.

Jelle.2807:

Aaron Ansari.1604:

Nope. We don’t even have lore on why she makes hounds- hell, even the explanation for sylvari has some holes in it right now.

Mordremoth seems to design it’s minions based on living creatures it finds. e.g. Mordrem trolls look similar to flesh and blood trolls.
It’s not a huge leap to say the pale tree did this as well, but then with the remains of Ronan’s village. It’s likely there was a hound buried there somewhere.

Yeah, but there’ve got to be more than two species who’ve died on that spot. We know Ventari did- why no planty centaurs? There were absurd numbers of riders around that island as well, and krait and drakes not too much farther out, certainly within the bounds of the Grove today. If you want to trust the overlay map, in fact, half of Arbor Bay was engulfed. I don’t object to the idea that she used what was around her/rotting in her soil as a template, but of all the variety she’d have to pick from, why humans and dogs? That’s the part that mystifies me.

Aaron Ansari.1604:

Yeah, but there’ve got to be more than two species who’ve died on that spot. We know Ventari did- why no planty centaurs? There were absurd numbers of riders around that island as well, and krait and drakes not too much farther out, certainly within the bounds of the Grove today. If you want to trust the overlay map, in fact, half of Arbor Bay was engulfed. I don’t object to the idea that she used what was around her/rotting in her soil as a template, but of all the variety she’d have to pick from, why humans and dogs? That’s the part that mystifies me.

Yep that’s the mystery of the pale tree, somewhere down the line she not only broke free or mordremoth, but chose to make her ‘mordrem’ based on humans and hounds exclusively. Maybe it’s the influence Ronan had on it, though that doesn’t explain how it could happen.
Hopefully we’ll find out more about the pale tree and her motives in HoT.

Mawdry started as a mordy seed, and the player is able to “Tame” it to the point it appears to actually love you…and this is while you are actively battling mordy minions.

I imagine ranger pet fern hounds will be kept in line by the force of will/love of their master as well. It doesn’t seem far fetched to suggest then that npc fern hounds well be protected by a similar situation assuming the owner themselves doesn’t succumb.

One final thing worth noting is that even when sprayed from kind Sylvari, still takes a good amount of time and beatings for the nightmare court to turn a hound, and that one heart in caeldon forest where you infiltrate the nightmare court camp implies that playing once with an unturned fern hound is enough to undo/protect against the work of corruption.

Jermoe Morrow.9501:

Mawdry started as a mordy seed, and the player is able to “Tame” it to the point it appears to actually love you…and this is while you are actively battling mordy minions.

I imagine ranger pet fern hounds will be kept in line by the force of will/love of their master as well. It doesn’t seem far fetched to suggest then that npc fern hounds well be protected by a similar situation assuming the owner themselves doesn’t succumb.

One final thing worth noting is that even when sprayed from kind Sylvari, still takes a good amount of time and beatings for the nightmare court to turn a hound, and that one heart in caeldon forest where you infiltrate the nightmare court camp implies that playing once with an unturned fern hound is enough to undo/protect against the work of corruption.

We didn’t tame it. We selectively bred it over 3 generations. With a huge amount of alchemical gear.