Heroic Threats: A D&D Kickstarter

[willowx]

Hi EN World!

I'm running a kickstarter for Heroic Threats, my 4th edition monster supplement. It contains 110 monsters of levels 1-10 of plenty of variety. The Kickstarter page has more information about the product.

As an EN World exclusive, if this thread generates 15 comments, I'll do a preview here of the different Clockwork Automatons in Heroic Threats.

 

[Quickleaf]

Interesting. So you'll be publishing this under the 4e GSL? What sorts of restrictions does that place on a monster book? Anything more significant than not being able to use the 4e power icons?

 

[willowx]

Hi Quickleaf-
Actually, the formatting of monster stat blocks, including the 'attack' symbols, is part of the D&D 4th edition SRD. The most restrictive portions of the GSL include not being able to define or reference certain gameplay aspects, mostly related to character creation and leveling up, and not being able to redefine terms. Certain monsters are not in the Monster Manual SRD, so those are hands off (no Beholders, for example), but others are fair game as long as it is not a redefintion. For example, the Monster Manual features an 'Enormous Carrion Crawler.' Heroic Threats features the 'Carrion Crawler Gorger,' a level 1 solo based on similar mechanics.

 

[Matt James]

Well, that's partically true. My good buddy (and attorney) covers this in a series of articles on Loremaster. It's worth the read. It's actually not too difficult to do a monster book, stat blocks included. Companies such as Open Design do it as well, without subscribing to the GSL.

Loremaster - Protection from Chaos

 

[renau1g]

Sounds cool. Are the monsters going to be grouped? i.e. will you present a group of monsters or will the tactics section be limited to just the individual monster.

 

[Matt James]

I just backed this on Kickstarter. Cool idea and I hope you are successful with the project!

 

[willowx]

Well, we hit $200 today, and I have the EN World posters to thank. Just $50 to the next preview!

renau1g, monsters are grouped into sections- for example, if you bring up the Mudmen header, there's a description of what Mudmen are, and then the individual stat blocks. After each stat block there is a tactics section for the monster- each of the Mudman 'types' has its own tactics advice.

Here's the tactics section for the 'normal' Mudman:

Tactics: Most Mudmen arm themselves with crude tools, and attack those who invade their territory, relying on their superior toughness to win the day. A Mudman prefers to stick to muddy terrain, and might grab an enemy and then use Mudslide to rejoin with its fellows for a group pounding. Mudmen prefer to attack enemies that have access to elemental magic, and leave weapon-dependent enemies for later.

This is actually a fairly simple tactics section: stick to favorable terrain, grab an enemy, and then move them next to your allies, target the people who can deal more damage to you first. My experience when using monster stat blocks out of books is that I often underplay the monster- I can't count how many times I've forgotten an important ability.

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=6668372]willowx[/MENTION] Where might we find previews of your monster work? I'm thumbing thru the Kickstarter page and your blog and can't find any.

 

[Lalato]

Neat idea for third party supplement. New monsters are always welcome.

 

[Ferghis]

This post is here solely to see a preview of the work.