Creating a Monster (pgs 188-192)

[LucasC]

I will say, once again, I greatly appreciate all the guides you have provided to create content that will fit into the N.E.W. game. Be it the solar system creation, careers, or monsters. I love the inclusion of this information.

Here is my monster.



And feedback form the process of creating said monster :

• Is there a guide somewhere that actually defines what sizes are Medium v Large, etc.?
• How is monster health derived? Pg 190 says ENDURANCE x 3 but your book monsters don't seem to follow that standard. The Human Thug has 12 health and and END of 5 while the Ogron has an END of 7 and health 24.
  • For my monster, I calculated health as 3.5 per END dice and then added 1 point to each die for each rank of Hardy. That's where I came up with 18 (3.5*4 = 14 + 4 = 18)
• How should I calculate XP? The formula at the start of the section (pg178) doesn't seem to align with the latter formula (pg190). If I am doing my math right, and trust me, I might not be, neither one of them reliably produces XP values in line w/the critters you present. I can, using the first formula, get to 2.5 for the Human Thug and 12.2 for the Ogron Star Marine but I only get to 25 for the Assault Droid. For my own critter, I come up with 10.4 when I use the first formula and 48 with the second.

General Feedback

• I am finding that skill information is dribbled all over the place but when I look in the actual skill section, I don't see any of this. Consolidating this into the skill section would be helpful. Here are specific things I think I've identified:
  • Carry = +20 lbs to carry (presumably per rank)
  • Running = +1 square speed per rank
  • Reaction = +1d6 Initiative (presumably per rank)
  • Unarmed Fighting = +1d6 damage (presumably per rank)
  • Marksman = +1d6 ranged attack roll (presumably per rank)
• I am not sure what the equipment section is trying to tell me about Ammo. A blaster is listed as 3d6 ammo. Is that a countdown clock? or what?

 

[Morrus]

Thanks! I find those creation guidelines useful, and I felt there was no good reason not to share them. Plus I LOVE seeing folks use them to create stuff.

1) There is for objects, but not creatures. I'll get that added. In D&D terms, small is a halfling, medium is a human, large is an ogre.

2) Hardy is actually an extra dice, not one point. Actually, I think I just ballparked the HEALTH in those monsters rather than roll them. 3 x END works, although 3.5 x END DICE is better.

3) It's the complex formula. I should have removed that one on pg 190. I actually have a spreadsheet I use, which is how the formula was derived. I've attached it below. You just plug in the numbers on the first page and it spits out the XP. I make it 25 XP for your creature.

You plug in the best attack values (so the highest to-hit dice, the highest damage dice, the highest range).

4) I'm adding a section to the skills chapter listing them, but here's a quick excerpt:

While most skills simply add 1d6 (per rank) to a relevant attribute check, some have additional effects beyond the die bonus. The following benefits are per rank.

Tactics This skill improves INITIATIVE by 1d6.

Running This skill adds 5' (1 square) to a character's running speed.

Carrying This skill adds 20 lbs to a character's carrying capacity.

Reactions This skill improves INITIATIVE by 1d6.

Unarmed fighting This skill adds 1d6 to NATURAL DAMAGE.

Resistance This skill increases MENTAL DEFENSE by 4.

Hardy This skill adds an extra d6 to to determine HEALTH.

Ambidexterity This skill negates the -1 die penalty for using dual weapons for one of the weapons. A second rank negates it for both.

In combat, as expected, marksman, unarmed fighting, and melee fighting all add 1d6 to relevant attack rolls.
​

5) Hah! You spotted something - ammo was originally going to use the countdown mechanic, until I realised that it was more work than simply crossing off ammo each time you fired. So that column is obsolete. I haven't decided how to handle ammo yet, but it'll probably just be a flat number.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Speaking of size, page 200 of the Jan 22d version.

I would recommend removing the defense, melee, and soak adjustments and replace them with the following adjustments:

Health: Change the multiplier by 1 for each size category, starting with Small at 2x END, Medium at 3x, Large at 4x, etc.
Melee Attack modifiers: The target gains or loses 2 points of defense for each size difference from the target.
and gains or loses 1 damage dice for each size difference from the target.

Example:
T-Rex would have 72 Health, DEF of 9
Biting Joe Halfling Barbarian would deal 13D6+3 damage, if Joe doesn't literally slip through the Jaws of Death (+6 DEF)

Reasoning: Being large doesn't give you more armor against like sized creatures, it makes it harder for smaller creatures to damage you. This is better reflected by changing the Health formula than it is by adding SOAK.

Likewise, a battle between two T-Rex would be a mess with both suffering from lowered defenses, lower ability to hit each other, and armored up.


Looking at the ship Class, the same melee rules can be used in the ramming techniques and apply the +/-1 Def and +/-1D Damage for every 5 point difference in ship Class.