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Has anyone ever tried using a Rukarazyll in a campaign?

I totally get that. A single level of wizard or sorcerer could get them an Alter Self or Change Self type of spell to make it easier without making them overly powerful. I loved the way Dicefreaks' The Gates of Hell portrayed devils.

This is excellent! It actually feels like a direct answer to the thread’s core question. "How do you run any kind of monster?" Give it a need. That breakdown of Maslow into d6 tiers is genius! It's clean, intuitive, and instantly usable at the table. Whether it’s a sentient ooze craving safety...

That’s a great observation. Long-lived beings like elves aren’t just smart, they have scale. It’s not just strategy you’re role-playing, it’s perspective. When a hundred years is a short memory, urgency feels entirely different. I’ve always loved how Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman describe...

Ah! The Grim Roomba of the classic dungeon. Visually iconic, mechanically simple… but why are they doing what they’re doing? It’s hard to make a slow-moving cube of acid feel like more than a hallway hazard. Some things just aren’t misunderstood. You don’t really roleplay a gelatinous cube any...

I’ve definitely felt that sameness too, especially early on. they can all start to feel like variations on mean and green with weapons. Over time, I ended up creating full nations and distinct cultures for each: hobgoblins with martial academies and rigid diplomatic codes, kobolds who view...

That really resonates with me personally. It takes honesty to say that in a public space, and I appreciate you putting it into the thread. My family’s neurodivergent too. My younger brother has Asperger’s, and both of my 14yo twins are autistic, one largely non-verbal, so your take hits close to...

No worries, friend. I tend to overthink everything. It's natural to assume familiarity with 5e. My daughter runs 5e campaigns with her friends, though she grew up playing 3.5e. Anyway, I'm glad they gave flavor to the Flumph. Some monsters have built-in adventure hooks, like the Julajimus (MMII...

You really coulddo a lot with that mysteriously "unknown" magenta! Anyway, I must be the one whose brain is mush at this hour. Thanks for engaging with the Old Kid. I'll respond to any new replies after I wake up. :)

I see. My time with them was from the Fiend Folio of AD&D 1e. I started D&D with Dragonlance adventures. These new versions are much more interesting! When you said rule 24, I thought you might have been incorporating your own take on an old monster that never got a lot of notice, utilizing the...

That’s fantastic. You’ve turned the Ordning from a static divine hierarchy into a living political ecosystem. That exactly the kind of weight you’d expect from beings with millennia of legacy behind them. I love how Hartkiller’s stance reframes the Tiamat conflict as a question of giant...

Honestly? That’s not cheating, that’s good ol' fundamentals. Goals drive behavior, and even unrelatable monsters become easier to roleplay once they’re pursuing something, no matter how alien the reason. I love that example: “super intellect wants that guy’s leg.” Or brains, right? JS. It’s...

That’s a great pick. Giants can easily fall into the big ol' brute with tribal ranks trap, if we’re not careful, but when you lean into the Ordning and their long lifespans, it opens up a whole different psychological space. They’re not just larg humans. They’re part of a rigid, cosmic caste...

Ah! Are you referring to the 24 dyadic emotions (from the Plutchik model)? If so, that’s brilliant! Using color-coded emotional blends to enrich a Flumph’s expression makes it way more than a floating "LOL" good guy. You're giving it depth, nuance, and alien intensity. I love that approach. If...

Ah, the noble Flumph! I love those little weirdos. Telepathic, glowy, good-aligned jellyfish who just want to warn the world about psionic threats. There’s something so endearingly out of place about them. That said, I get it. Between the name, the look, and the general awkwardness, they can be...

Totally get that! If a monster doesn’t spark anything for me, it’s hard to bring it to life at the table, especially when it’s just “burrow, grab, chomp.” No shame in passing on the ankheg if it doesn’t excite. I’ve had to rework more than a few bland module baddies just to make them worth the...

That’s totally fair, and I can see why that portrayal wouldn’t sit right with everyone. The “Smaug in a study” vibe definitely became a kind of D&D shorthand, especially once dragons started showing up with 20-point vocabularies and long-winded backstories. I think there’s real value in the...

Like the dragons on Game of Thrones? That's a good way to go if you don't feel like stressing over genius plot arcs and inscrutable motivations. Many dragons are statted as genius level minds, but they don't have to be played as such, or be as chatty as ol' Smaug. In Dragon Wing (first book of...

When I was running D&D 3.5e, it was the Medusas for me. What do they want? What are their motives? I don't know. I just couldn't connect. I had to recreate them as Gorgons, my own version. Many other DMs say Illithids or dragons. This doesn't have to be specific to D&D. Which monsters do you...

Thanks for the clarification. Oh, I love that divine magic system, though! I used to do that kind of thing in D&D (Divine Favor), but I had to create the mechanic for it myself. It's nice to see another system incorporate something like that from the foundation up. My players' priests could ask...