Species You Wish Had Done More

[JangoCoolguy]

Another creature you see only once is Gerbils but they aren't really even Gerbils their Jerbil Rats, which is disappointing because they could have made interesting villains.

Actually, the Jerbilrats were jerboa, which is quite a different species from gerbils (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerboa).  (Ironically, the word "gerbil" was a shortened version of "jerboa")

Though now that you mention it, it would've been nice if we'd seen some again in a desert adventure. They'd be like a cross between rats and hares. Probably morally ambiguous like some shrews and voles. One or two could've even helped the good guys out.

[Rivertheotter]

The Moles. Yes, I know they are in every book, but they always get supporting roles. Every good species had at least one main character, but there was not a single mole Abbot or wielder of martin's sword. Moles have been proven time and time again to be honest, kind, and wise creatures, but Jacques kept them in the supporting cast. Also, the voles had a lot of potential, but aside from Yoofus Lightpaw in Rakkety Tam,  Voles barely got a character to represent them!
The voles, the moles, please no trolls.

WHAT?! No trolls?! How dare you! As a respected cave troll I feel insulted.



I agree with the moles, and up until The Sable Quean I kind of felt the same way. However, in that book Axtel Sturnclaw more than made up for generations of moles for how awesome he was.

True, Axtel was pretty awesome, but he's the exception. Also, He wasn't the main character, and at first he just felt like a deus ex machina, but I liked how he was a warrior who stuck to the whole mole sweetness thing. also, I meant internet trolls. cave trolls would have been awesome

[Tim Churchmouse]

I think Shark, and I think nooooo. That would be like a book's version of the Battlefield Megaladon, especially comparing the size to the woodlanders. I would have loved to see more hamsters, as they would be really interesting creatures, and their nervous personality in real life could be reflected incredibly well and end up rather humorous.

[Hickory]

The Moles. Yes, I know they are in every book, but they always get supporting roles. Every good species had at least one main character, but there was not a single mole Abbot or wielder of martin's sword. Moles have been proven time and time again to be honest, kind, and wise creatures, but Jacques kept them in the supporting cast. Also, the voles had a lot of potential, but aside from Yoofus Lightpaw in Rakkety Tam,  Voles barely got a character to represent them!
The voles, the moles, please no trolls.

WHAT?! No trolls?! How dare you! As a respected cave troll I feel insulted.



I agree with the moles, and up until The Sable Quean I kind of felt the same way. However, in that book Axtel Sturnclaw more than made up for generations of moles for how awesome he was.

True, Axtel was pretty awesome, but he's the exception. Also, He wasn't the main character, and at first he just felt like a deus ex machina, but I liked how he was a warrior who stuck to the whole mole sweetness thing. also, I meant internet trolls. cave trolls would have been awesome

It's obvious many people feel moles need a main role, but we need to realize they already do. Moles rarely fight, so it may feel that they need to. But moles are the engineers of the books. Without them, the characters would be stuck down a hole, with no Dinny to dig them out. Look at the books, the moles are already vital characters.

[JangoCoolguy]

It's obvious many people feel moles need a main role, but we need to realize they already do. Moles rarely fight, so it may feel that they need to. But moles are the engineers of the books. Without them, the characters would be stuck down a hole, with no Dinny to dig them out. Look at the books, the moles are already vital characters.

Thank you!

Let's please stay focused...

[Luftwaffles]

If there's something that this series is missing, that's wolves. Because, (and I'm quoting the OP here), COME ON.

But aside for that, I think that the series keeps a nice balance in between its species (when it's not giving unlimited power to the Badgers, that is).

[Delthion]

Lynxes! Maybe as a neutral species. It would most likely be a bad species but it would be fun to see it be good for a while.

[Lady Ashenwyte]

the sparra were killed off by Ironclaw's crows and Malkeris? archers in Mattemeo, its a pity they died out

and while there has been a hedgehog hero, they are never the main hero, same with moles


Did you know there was a beaver in the series that was only mentioned in one book, Redwall
Rabbits, mentioned in Martin the Warrior
and a golden hamster somewhere (forgot book name)

They survived. The survivors regrouped and then they reproduced.

[JangoCoolguy]

Lynxes! Maybe as a neutral species.

Better yet, morally ambiguous. A creature that makes plays by its own rules and owes allegiance to no beast that help or hinder vermin and woodlander alike depending on its mood.

[Banya]

Lynxes! Maybe as a neutral species.

Better yet, morally ambiguous. A creature that makes plays by its own rules and owes allegiance to no beast that help or hinder vermin and woodlander alike depending on its mood.

Yes.  I usually appreciate morally ambiguous characters if they're important.  Minor characters like this often just annoy me.

and a golden hamster somewhere (forgot book name)

Mokug the Golden Hamster from Triss.  I mentioned him a while back but it's on another page now.
They would have had to be given some unique, interesting characteristic to make them stand out, or they'd be too similar to mice.  Like, I don't know, maybe they could have their own island or be farmers or be skilled in something not previously explored in the series.  It's an interesting idea.

[SoranMBane]

I have to agree on the bats, naturally. The few times we meet them were great (particularly in Outcast, as I recall them actually coming into the main plot a bit there), but I always wished there was a book where the bats were present through most of the story. Like, maybe there would be some obstacle our heroes faced that only the wings or ears of a bat could help overcome, and the bats end up playing an important role in saving the day, or we could even have an entire book set in and around Bat Mountpit. So many cool possibilities were left unexplored with the bats.

[Izeroth]

 However, bats don't often come out during the day. That means that any book based on Bat Mountpit would have to mostly take place during the night.

[SoranMBane]

However, bats don't often come out during the day. That means that any book based on Bat Mountpit would have to mostly take place during the night.

I don't see that being much of a problem. After all, more than one good animal fiction series has managed to write itself effectively around nocturnal or subterranean characters (Silverwing being the most notable example, since it's actually about bats). It's not impossible to write an engaging story that mostly takes place in the dark, it just takes a bit of imagination and cleverness. Plus then there's the Mountpit itself, which consists of a vast network of caverns and tunnels; there's lots of interesting things that could be done with a location like that, and it would have been pretty cool to explore it all more in-depth at some point.

[Hickory]

Bats... bats... bats!

They are hard to give a main role. Bats can't grasp a weapon (well, they can, but they could only fight while flyiing) it's been proven that they are no match for creatures on the ground, and they are overall helpless against enemy weapons, as proven in Outcast. However, they must be treated with respect, as they doplay a helpful role in Mossflower, giving Dinny a chance to prove his cunning, if nothing else. (and believe me, they did help a lot in that book). As a result, these two thing cancel out to give bats a supporting role. If they happened to be part of a band of traveers, they would most likely be a night scout and healer, for their part.

Now, I haven't read Silverwings, or any bat-based book, for that matter, and those seperate series may explain more ways to make bats a main character. For now, though, they will most likely keep a supporting role in fanfics and RPs.

[The Skarzs]

Bats certainly seem more suited for supporting characters, like moles, but they could have been able to hold bigger roles. For example, ever heard of "bats in the belfry" (bell tower)? Why didn't they ever have bats roost in the bell tower? With such creatures living in such an area, that would have been a good advantage for the abbey dwellers. If bats had taken residence somewhere in the abbey, they would have come into contact with somebeast eventually, and I can see that adding an interesting ingredient into the books.