I recently reviewed a new tabletop RPG with roots deep in Ancient Assyrian culture. The game, named "Let Us Build A Tower," includes a number of creatures based on the mythology of Ancient Assyria. One of those creatures is "Urmahlullu the Untamed."
Take a look at this fellow (click to embiggen):
First off, this art is excellent. Only black and white, true, but I love the action. Too often you see wemics just posed standing there, or maybe just sitting or lying down. This art captures the urmahlullu in mid-pounce! The artist is David North, and he did a fine job with much of the art in the game. I also like his Lammasu. Also noteworthy is that his urmahlullu is entirely human from the waist up, true to the mythical representations. It is so nice to see a true lion-centaur, not a monster with feline nose, lion ears, fangs, claws, and fur above the waist.
The major idea of Let Us Build A Tower is that the tower itself (a callback to the Tower of Babel from the Bible) is a mega-dungeon, randomly generated. And populated by all manner of monster and mythical figure. So I appreciate the ecological nod to the urmahlullu described here as a desert dweller, before being drawn into the Tower's chaos.
And I appreciate the call-back to Assyrian mythology, as the rules here describe the urmahlullu as opposing unclean spirits. No mention that those unclean spirits are the ones that inhabit the sewers and pop up to (literally) bite you on the ass when you are sitting on the john ... Although there are bathhouses in the game, I did not find any reference to toilets or lavatories.
Still, urmahlullus ARE protectors, and so I would not be afraid to meet one in the Tower!
