Creature Features

[Magius del Cotto]

I'm planning on running/playing in a campaign that's goal is to have the players go up against, at one point or another, every monster in my collection (Ravenloft: Denizens of Darkness, Creature Collection I&II, Monsters of Faerun, Gary Gygax's Necropolis, Dungeons, The Wheel of Time, Call of Cthulhu, Bestiary of Loerem, Manual of the Planes, Oriental Adventures, Star Wars, Monster Manual, and Epic Level Handbook). Any ideas for how to run it, or what sorts of "tricks" I should pull with it?
We're probably either to use it to give the EQ rules a run-through or go with the old fashioned races/classes, or perhaps go all out and say "anything goes".
So what are your thoughts on this?

 

[Breakstone]

Put them all in the same room.

Have chaoes ensue.

 

[Undead Pete]

1)Part of the campaign could involve random evildoers releasing all the creatures in the king's menagerie...

2)You could bunch most of the undead together...

3)Have the PC's planewalk, make sure to hit all the elemental, paraelemental and quasielemental planes...etc...

To be honest, it's gonna take a lot of planning. You'll need to group the creatures by CR, so you don't either TPK your PC's or, on the flipside, give them a cakewalk.

Good Luck

 

[Breakstone]

Or you could have the PC's be monster hunters, trying to hunt down or catalog every monster in existance...

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Or you could have the PC's be monster hunters, trying to hunt down or catalog every monster in existance...

Or collect them in magical red-and-white balls, and then use them to fight other trainers...


I choose you, Tarrasquachu!

 

[Xarlen]

I'm sorry, Meepo, But I think we need to hang you for that one.

The PCs could be dealing, atleast one enemy, in a Transmuter who breeds such creatures for Mounts, Pets and Guardians. He sells them to villains, or heros, and thus the NPCs have a lot of such creatures at the disposal.

Perhaps the NPC could hire the PCs to capture some creatures for him, for experimentation, or breeding purposes. They recognize his mark, then find it on creatures they kill in the employ of other NPCs.

 

[Celebrim]

No offence, but I do not think this is a worthy goal.

Moreover, I think that because of the faster leveling in 3 ed. that you are likely to inflate the PC's beyond the point in which many creatures are a threat before you get a chance to use them. If you have a sufficiently large collection of creatures (say more than 300), the PC's could well be 20th level before you know it.

Even if you could get around those problems, you have the problem that many creatures can only be believably encountered in select environments. So, you are probably going to have to lead the PC's around by the nose so that they will go from the artic to the tropics whenever you need them to.

But, if you really want to do this, one way to keep them fighting exotic creatures for no apparant reason is to have a collector of exotic animals hire them to bring back trophies for him. Then again, some parties seem perfectly happy with nothing more than endless random monsters. Seems like there was a KotDT story arc that revolved around that, and BA's creative use of a seemingly low threat monster.

 

[Saeviomagy]

ALPHABET DUNGEON!!!

GM: OK, you meet an (flicks to the first monster in the MM guide)... _A_boleth. Roll initiative.

Party: YAY, we beat the aboleth!

GM: You get a magic item: It's a piece of _A_rmour. An _A_damantine breastplate.

GM: OK, you meet an (turns the page)... _A_chaierai. Roll initiative.

Party: Yay, we beat the....

 

[Xarlen]

Also, mixing creatures would be a good way to get to your goal.

Combine paticular creatures who's abilities mesh. Dragon did an issue with some creature combos. Things like Stirges and Ghouls, Grimlocks and a Basilisk (Or Medusa, perhaps), Red Dragons and Iron Golems (Fire heals golem).

 

[Magius del Cotto]

In other words, I need to rule 0 the experience progression. Of course, epic levels are going to be allowed, so that could allow for some extension of the game life...
Of course, the problem is still figuring the right balance for it, but then, the group's flexible (we have to be, with three DMs in the group), and the rest of them would probably enjoy it as long as I throw in some sort of story for it. Of course, I have yet to figure out what story to use for it, but then, that's why I started this thread...
And I think my goal is flexible enough that I have a bunch of stuff for pretty much every type of terrain, so if I start running out of stuff for one area, I can always use the infamous plot device to pull them along to somewhere else.
So, keep the ideas coming, guys.