I hit the "Something Else" option since I'd like to make sure, if you're going to break up Gods & Monsters, that the Gods portion of the book isn't forgotten either. Based on the preview you released of Surtur, those are going to be some great entries, and I'd really like to see them!
__________________ Need an informed review of a product? No problem! Check out my RPGnow Staff Reviews!
I went with choices that I would think would aid in epic adventure design:
Abominations & Entities - They seem like cool boss monsters. Great fluff and easy to build an adventure around.
Dragons - Same reason - Big and nasty.
Elementars and elementals - I like elementals, and they seen like (to me) a good type of epic level 'mook' enemy.
Golems - These are pretty cool and are usually surprising foes. (They make good switch-hit encounters)
Pseudonaturals - Because Azath-I mean Algol needs minions. (and because they have strange attack forms to trip up the players)
Umbrals - These sound interesting.
Both kinds of undead - Undead don't have much going for them in epic, as the lack of a constitution and 1/2 BaB means they need silly amounts of HD to function. (Though WotC printed an ability in a MM3 called Unholy Toughness which remedies that)
I would have voted for magical beasts but I didn't want to oversaturate the poll.
The others seem like interesting options, but demons and angels can technically be created with Ascension. Inevitables and Intelligables sound really cool, but I held off on them because I would prefer to see other monster types first.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anabstercorian
What if someone wanted to play an Awakened Neutronium Golem Wizard?
I don't know whether this is a thing of beauty or evil.
Angels, because Good always seems to get left out of monster books.
Dragons, because, well...
Playable races. I can't wait to see if you can make high ECLs actually worthwhile.
I hit the "Something Else" option since I'd like to make sure, if you're going to break up Gods & Monsters, that the Gods portion of the book isn't forgotten either. Based on the preview you released of Surtur, those are going to be some great entries, and I'd really like to see them!
I may release the Gods portion of that book right after Ascension (or rather right after Ascension, and then I finish the Gods entries and their art). Its the natural companion for Ascension (moreso than the Monsters section, which was just thrown in because I really like creating monsters, the title was cooler and I thought it might grab more attention in that format).
I'd much rather have the monsters. We are seriously lacking in them as of late. You can only use dragons, golems, and dire critters so many times before people get bored with them.
Gods can be monstrous too...and monsters can be immortal/divine. Its shades of grey, not black and white.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dante58701
We are seriously lacking in them as of late. You can only use dragons, golems, and dire critters so many times before people get bored with them.
The Bestiary has a fairly decent spread of monster types, I think its more a case of lack of more new monsters than the ones already there being boring...or at least I hope thats the case.
I went with choices that I would think would aid in epic adventure design:
Abominations & Entities - They seem like cool boss monsters. Great fluff and easy to build an adventure around..
I think they are the quintessential immortal opponent(s).
Quote:
Dragons - Same reason - Big and nasty.
I am thinking 8 epic dragons, 4 cosmic, 2 nehaschimic and 1 other. Fieari's descriptor temporarily evades my memory (muhtamic or something like that?) curse my memory, I have it written down somewhere.
Quote:
Elementars and elementals - I like elementals, and they seen like (to me) a good type of epic level 'mook' enemy.
Yes they are rarely the best bosses, but the Elementar templates should change that a bit.
It would be the Elementars (which is like multiple stacking templates) and dimensional Elementals (two of which are in the Bestiary). I may also include Primal versions of the elementals.
Quote:
Golems - These are pretty cool and are usually surprising foes. (They make good switch-hit encounters)
If I republish the Neutronium Golem I may include all the Golem variants for it.
Quote:
Pseudonaturals - Because Azath-I mean Algol needs minions. (and because they have strange attack forms to trip up the players)
The stranger the better. I have been thinking that in 4E the Akishra may well be a minion of the Cogent.
Quote:
Umbrals - These sound interesting.
The background research on these is pretty cool, and I wonder if they even inspired some Monty Python stuff (Giant stomping cats who walk on their hind legs)...lets see if Google can find us a picture...
...although I suspect Gilliam was more inspired by Surrealism than Occultism.
Quote:
Both kinds of undead - Undead don't have much going for them in epic, as the lack of a constitution and 1/2 BaB means they need silly amounts of HD to function. (Though WotC printed an ability in a MM3 called Unholy Toughness which remedies that)
True, they are problematic at really high levels.
Quote:
I would have voted for magical beasts but I didn't want to oversaturate the poll.
I have some really nasty magical beasts planned. I have been doing some research and brainstorming on them recently to make sure I have a 'signature' monster for every level of divinity (by level I mean status).
Quote:
The others seem like interesting options, but demons and angels can technically be created with Ascension. Inevitables and Intelligables sound really cool, but I held off on them because I would prefer to see other monster types first.
I don't think people are familiar enough with the latter (Intelligibles especially) for them to rate high on the poll. There just isn't that awareness. But they are really evocative monsters, I'll say no more than that.
Gods can be monstrous too...and monsters can be immortal/divine. Its shades of grey, not black and white.
The Bestiary has a fairly decent spread of monster types, I think its more a case of lack of more new monsters than the ones already there being boring...or at least I hope thats the case.
It's not that they suck, it's just that the majority of monsters that can be used as DM fodder fall into those particular categories. Perhaps if there were more monsters of the non-divine type, this wouldn't be so much of a problem.
Especially since Divinity can be added to virtually any creature as a template, essentially rendering pre-templated deities a moot point at best. Sure, they make great examples, but realistically speaking, pre-templated creatures rarely, if ever see much use in any of my campaigns.
I far prefer, as do many DMs, to use base creatures and them template the Boss Monsters as we go along. This way it's far more customizable.
I've seen quite a few requests for basic monsters without the templates and I'm inclined to request the same.
Not everything epic need be divine or a god, mythology is full of creatures that were epic and definitely not divine.
We also need more Epic PC races. There just aren't any at all, unless you count leShay or hoary hunters...and you can only play those so many times before it starts getting boring as well.
We need some epic humanoid races. Ones that break the HD limitations.
Last edited by dante58701; 25th December 2007 at 02:51 AM..
Somewhat unrelated topic...if I were to see a god of disease...I'd like to see a god of disease and love. Essentially an evil STD carrying woman of incredible beauty that seduces male gods and gives them divine diseases.
Perhaps she could spawn a race of nasty, obese, abominations this way? Of course this would have to be detailed as ADULT CONTENT...but it would help put a stop to all those perverts in the majority of immature campaigns. *pukes at the thought of a giant crab infested clam*
Possibly more suited to the Bestiary*...though when has posting in the wrong thread ever bothered you I guess.
*...and no, don't post it in the Bestiary thread as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dante58701
...if I were to see a god of disease...I'd like to see a god of disease and love. Essentially an evil STD carrying woman of incredible beauty that seduces male gods and gives them divine diseases.
Perhaps she could spawn a race of nasty, obese, abominations this way? Of course this would have to be detailed as ADULT CONTENT...but it would help put a stop to all those perverts in the majority of immature campaigns. *pukes at the thought of a giant crab infested clam*
Regarding the idea of such Adult content, I always found it rather unpalatable in products. Its fine for the DM to introduce at their own gaming tables of course. I mean it doesn't take much logic to surmise demons would rape individuals, but at the same time its not something we need to discuss in products.
__________________ What comes beyond the Akalich?
Black light which burns away the shadow.
What is beyond the great Cogent?
A mind which makes the stars go mad.
When Amilictli goes beyond,
The storm is better known as sunspot.
And when the Odium evolves,
You'll see a galaxy in green.
I only have three epic Fey at this time waiting in the wings to be used in Bestiary 'x'. So I didn't see it as aa group that would fill even a small product.
Personally I always thought Fey and Eladrin were the same things, that seems to be the case for 4E (or at least such a bond is recognised). Whether that will stir my creative juices in the future remains to be seen.
The small problem with Demon Princes is that all the main ones have been detailed and I don't want to do my own version of Demogorgon or Orcus, primarily because I wouldn't be able to include them in any 'for sale' material*.
*Even though both names can be found in myth/occult lore, they are D&D Icons and changing details like Demogorgons twin heads and Orcus wand is not something that agrees with me.
On the other hand I do plan a rather dramatic change to the Devils, more in keeping with their occult origins.
So thinking about it, I probably don't have enough current demon based monsters to fill even a small pdf. In fact only five demons currently spring to mind: Lilith (Mother of Demons*). Kabiri (detailed in Bestiary #1), Type VII demons (mentioned in Bestiary #1 in Kabiri's entry), Star Demon (from Gods & Monsters) and Warp Demon.
*Who seems to be equal parts Lolth, Pale Night and the Queen of Chaos.
I'm sure with some research I could unearth some intersting demons to detail.
Well, okay. Then how about this suggestion: a Demon Prince/Princess template! Give it all the abilities Demon Princes should have as their base abilities. Then add in tiers of abilities to choose or roll from. Personally, I'd love to see this as I need to stat out some unique ones for my homebrew, and don't have an inkling of where to start.
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
