Blog (A5E) Level Up’s Monsters: Ecology

In another post, I talked about the updates we’re making to monster stat blocks in Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition. Today, I want to talk about the changes we’re making to the rest of the monster entry.

RPG bestiaries generally accompany a monster’s game statistics with an essay about the monster’s appearance, ecology, lore, and place in the world. We’re doing that too! I hope that most of our monster descriptions will include a twist, re-interpretation, or story seed that you haven’t seen before and that you’ll find useful. But our monster information isn’t limited to these (hopefully inspiring) essays.

Level Up’s Monsters: Ecology — Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)

In another post, I talked about the updates we’re making to monster stat blocks. Today, I want to talk about the changes we’re making to the rest of the monster entry.

www.levelup5e.com

 

[Stone Dog]

I've got to say, I've been pretty burnt on D&D and its overall tropes lately, but this sounds well put together and interesting.

 

[Stalker0]

I especially like the tactics section. It’s both useful but also helps understand what is expected for a given CR, as tactics can really change the difficulty

 

[Davies]

The sparkly bit is kind of on the nose.

 

[Waller]

Looks good, but I'm not keen on the 'no quirk' bit. If I'm rolling on the quirk table its because I want a quirk. Having a 50% chance of being told 'no quirk' is just frustrating and a waste of my time. I rolled on the quirk table. Give me a quirk!

 

[Imaculata]

I find it odd that a wolf is not listed as one of the vampire's possible animal forms. Also, no weakness to counting?

 

[Morrus]

I find it odd that a wolf is not listed as one of the vampire's possible animal forms. Also, no weakness to counting?

See the previous article for the stat block which includes the list of forms.

 

[Stone Dog]

The sparkly bit is kind of on the nose.

I do like the idea of a vampire weak to total darkness though. As if there is something in the shadows that will devour their undead flesh if they are unlit.

 

[Indagare Nogitsune]

Could you include quirks from other cultures such as counting small objects (counting grains of rice, for instance)? Have you considered how they might work as PCs if someone wants? Are you considering talking animals? Have you ever heard of the Skin Deep comic? It has an interesting portrayal of liminal beings that might be worth considering.

 

[tetrasodium]

Could you include quirks from other cultures such as counting small objects (counting grains of rice, for instance)? Have you considered how they might work as PCs if someone wants? Are you considering talking animals? Have you ever heard of the Skin Deep comic? It has an interesting portrayal of liminal beings that might be worth considering.

Why not have a Jiangshi (different link) directly? They weren't so much vampires as kinda sorta close enough to share a very small slice of overlap with an awful lot of differences

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Yes, this will be good. @Morrus Have you guys already said how many books Level Up will start with? A PHB, DMG, and MM? (but with other names?)