Shadowdark Let's make Shadowdark monsters!

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

An update to a Halloween homebrew monster I made previously, merging it with the great OD&D bugbear. Can also work as a Jason Vorhees style killer during your late October sessions of Shadowdark:

BUGBEAR, PUMPKINHEAD
The rotting corpse of a hulking furry goblinoid, wearing a jack o’lantern as a helmet. Possessed by a murderous evil spirit.
AC 10, HP 24, ATK 2 claw +4 (1d6), MV near, S +3, D +0, C +2, I +1, W +0, Ch +3, AL C, LV 5
Stalk. When unobserved, the pumpkinhead can teleport itself to any point it can see.
Stealthy. ADV on checks to sneak and hide.
Undead. Immune to morale checks.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

And another Grandiloquent Word of the Day monster. (Hey, if it was a good enough system for Gygax, it's good enough for me.) A lesser doppelganger to throw off your experienced D&D players with.

DOPPELGANGER, HOMODOXIAN
A trusted and familiar figure whose name you cannot quite remember.
AC 12, HP 14, ATK 1 dagger (close/near) +2 (1d4), MV near, S +1, D +2, C +2, I +1, W +0, Ch +4, AL C, LV 3
Change Shape. In place of attacks, transform into any similarly-sized humanoid. Cannot duplicate any particular individual.
Homodoxia. Fits into any social environment. DC 18 WIS or accept their presence without question.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I've got 69 (nice) completed homebrew monsters in my Scrivener file and about two dozen more I can probably finish up over a weekend. It's so many that I'm going to have to start sorting them into folders based on first letter, since dragging them around a single "monsters" folder to reorder them is getting unwieldy.

How many monsters are required to be in a bestiary? Should I be focused on small, inexpensive ones of tightly themed monsters or go for a big daddy book with dozens of monsters in one book instead? Or both?

 

[overgeeked]

How many monsters are required to be in a bestiary?

As a self-publisher, as many as you want. Check around to see what the standard is, if there is one. If you're charging more for less than people are used to, it'll not go great.

Should I be focused on small, inexpensive ones of tightly themed monsters or go for a big daddy book with dozens of monsters in one book instead? Or both?

Both.

Make the smaller themed-monster books first. When you have enough to fill out a big-daddy book, do that. The ones that don't necessarily fit a theme, or you don't have enough for a smaller book can be the extra "new" content you include with the big ones.

 

[Fenris-77]

I've got 69 (nice) completed homebrew monsters in my Scrivener file and about two dozen more I can probably finish up over a weekend. It's so many that I'm going to have to start sorting them into folders based on first letter, since dragging them around a single "monsters" folder to reorder them is getting unwieldy.

How many monsters are required to be in a bestiary? Should I be focused on small, inexpensive ones of tightly themed monsters or go for a big daddy book with dozens of monsters in one book instead? Or both?

Why not both.

 

[Velderan]

I've got 69 (nice) completed homebrew monsters in my Scrivener file and about two dozen more I can probably finish up over a weekend. It's so many that I'm going to have to start sorting them into folders based on first letter, since dragging them around a single "monsters" folder to reorder them is getting unwieldy.

How many monsters are required to be in a bestiary? Should I be focused on small, inexpensive ones of tightly themed monsters or go for a big daddy book with dozens of monsters in one book instead? Or both?

The only thing about both is you run into the OSE "what do I already own" problem. If I had to pick I'd say a smaller and more focused book is preferable to paying more for a bunch of things I'm less likely to ever use, even if I end up paying more overall if I eventually bought everything you made.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The only thing about both is you run into the OSE "what do I already own" problem. If I had to pick I'd say a smaller and more focused book is preferable to paying more for a bunch of things I'm less likely to ever use, even if I end up paying more overall if I eventually bought everything you made.

Yeah, most of the 5E bestiaries I own are highly specific (fairies, Latin American monsters, urban monsters, etc.).

One thought I've long had would be to put out a bestiary of everything that's been in my existing publications, plus stuff that doesn't fit into a themed bestiary.

And then, every time I put out a smaller, specific bestiary, add those to the master book as well and raise the price, noting what's added each time. So the earlier you buy the compilation book, the better for you, since you'll eventually (in theory) get a heck of a bargain after I put out more adventures and bestiaries, and your master book fills up with all of them over time.

All of this pricing would be based around the $1/8 pages model I saw a few years back which still seems to be a pretty good average from what I've seen.