Making good monsters

[NeverCool]

I never really did much monster design, other than those really enigmatic ones at the core of a whole horror adventure (or campaign!). Filling a dungeon with monsters and not making them blur together into a grey mesh of "just another combat encounter" is a dark art to me. And now I need that ability

How do you people produce bunches of monsters and make sure they all seem at least somewhat unique and worthy of rememberance?? Any tricks, methods, routines you can share?

 

[Rechan]

Before we start, any particular system you're using? That helps narrow things down a little. Also level (since certain spells/powers/etc can circumvent a lot of things).

One thought: The monster is best when it's not just the monster in a 10x10 room. The environment helps make the monster more evocative. Or the situation does.

For instance, take a room that has very sharply floor/walls, so it's more like a funnel. PCs have to make a strong physical check to not slide down a square or two. At the bottom of the room is a gelatinous cube. Maybe the cube has a way of slapping people or hampering them, so it's not just a hazard, but an active part. So now you have an ant lion-type circumstance with a common monster. Or the room could be covered in chains; the PCs have to swing across, but there are also other monsters that swing or fly, and they try to knock the PCs into the cube. The goal is not to kill the cube or the monsters, but to get to the other side of the room.

That same gelatinous cube. Put skeletons inside of it, or perhaps floating weapons. Have the hallway dark (perhaps supernaturally shadowy). The PCs might think there are undead, and throw themselves at the undead/use Undead hurting powers - and end up getting splatted mid-run into the cube.

Make the experience with the monster novel, and it's more memorable because it didn't do what the party expected.

 

[Jack7]

NC, to me a monster is only memorable if it is truly monstrous.

Meaning a monster is a monster based upon its behavior, not simple mathematical and statistical models of hit points, armor classes, special abilities, etc. that can be re-arranged ad infinitum, but which really only result in another variation of the same set of numbers and abilities expressed in a different way.

A monster should be something that reflects the term monstrous in some particular way.

In designing monsters I first consider behavior, how does a thing act that is monstrous. (You know men can be truly monstrous too, depending on how they act, and I've met a few of them. Never discount just how monstrous, evil, and even scary some men can be. Many also have the advantage of good camouflage. A Mr. Hyde who looks like Mr. Harmless is a very, very dangerous foe under the right circumstances.)

Secondly, is it really a monster or has it just been mistaken for one?

Third, is it truly, truly dangerous. Not just physically dangerous, but psychologically dangerous, even spiritually corrupting and fascinating. A real monster must be truly dangerous, otherwise it is just a nuisance, or at best an obstacle dressed in a funny rubber suit. Just a man in a weird suit wearing the facade of a monster, but otherwise not monstrous at all.

Fourth, is it unique? I prefer Unique Monsters to Mass Monsters (hordes of goblins).

That's my basic formula, if I have one. Otherwise I wrote a couple of pieces on the same general subject that might or might not interest you.

The Blood of Uncanny Monsters

The Homonculous

The Prodigy, or Mind of the Monster

The Kopeth

Creating Unique Monsters

Good luck to ya.

 

[NeverCool]

Yum, good stuff

Before we start, any particular system you're using? That helps narrow things down a little. Also level (since certain spells/powers/etc can circumvent a lot of things).

GEARS. It's a system I am lead writer for, and Third Draft is going to have a fairly detailed section on creating creatures for ecologies, as companions, and as monsters. We do our best to create the game with the RPG community, rather than just for it, and RPGnet has already been great for these kind of questions. It gives ideas and insight into how people play, which lets us fine-tune about a quarter ton of playtest material into one book

As for fitting monsters to system, it's more the other way around; the system has to be able to handle all manner of monsters, at any level. So if something comes up and I think "crap, GEARS can't do this", someone is going to spend some sleepless hours figuring out why And the monster section will then end up telling how it can be done.

Feel free to check the website for a free copy of GEARS Second Draft, or tell me if you want a sneak peek at Third Draft (Second has very limited content, it's just about the absolute core character systems). Right now, though, I am looking at monster concepts beyond the rules, so nobody needs to know the system to offer ideas

Otherwise I wrote a couple of pieces on the same general subject that might or might not interest you.

Sweet, I'll be chewing my way through that soon!

 

[Starfox]

Monsters
When we talk Monsters, I like them to be unique. Generally, there is just ne of each of these creatures, or they are part of a group (like dragons) that is in itself very diverse. Often the result of a curse or the product of folklore - I am a strong subscriber to the "myths shape reality" idea in my game worlds. Or there can be a person that is the instigator for the monster, knowingly or unknowingly. Monsters generally have a purpose - be it to seek vengeance or eat maidens because the instigator was once spurned - and should not be just generic evil.

Evil Horde
But not all enemies are so melodramatic. I like a game world to have a selection of crude and barbarous races, like orgs, gnolls, and goblins. Not too many different types per world - orcs can advance in ability just like humans can, so there is no real need to introduce special "bonus orcs" just because the adventure is supposed to be harder. While not really "monsters" in the definition above, these are definitely bad neighbors. These are enemies with an agenda - they want our land, cattle, gold, whatever. Here I allow myself more stereotypical evil, simply to justify beating these guys up. Without the evil, these are just neighbors in funny costumes. Basically, this is how our less enlightened ancestors saw "the other", people across the border that spoke a strange language, had odd customs, and looked different. In fantasy, we dress these guys up as nonhumans because it makes it easier for modern sensibilities to accept, which I think is perfectly fine as long as we don't take this model back with us when we look at the world.

Sometimes, a very powerful member of the first group can spawn so many underlings that they enter the second group - there is The Chimera (a monster) and Chimeras (a horde). This is how I played Birthright.

People
And finally, there is the traitor/conspirator/rival type of opponent, that is just like the PCs, only an opponent. Often the most rewarding, these must fit the world and its society very tightly - and often their best protection is the laws of the society they are trying to usurp. These are not really monsters at all, and need not even be evil, just have their own agenda. The PCs goal is just as often to recruit/reform these guys as it is to defeat them. This is also the group where the PCs can find potential allies/romances/plot twists most easily. Sometimes, it turns out a monster or an evil hordes are people after all, which invariably changes the whole focus of the campaign.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Nature is your friend - Monsters, inteligent or not, have habits, territories and needs. When you are placing them, start asking yourself; what is the cycle of life for this dungeon/area, why is the monster here. Just think about the monster some and add what you want, flesh them out.

example:
Orc's will kill or enslave and eat anything not bigger or meaner than them. They are a trashy race, living in their own filth. They are CE, to me this means that rank is based on the ability to kill (personal view). They live in a dungeon because it is there and is only a base to get other stuff, if they did not get that stuff (food, slaves, etc) they would move on. They are only in levels one and two because something bigger and meaner is in level 3, and more than likely eats orcs.

What this tells me:

• Orcs are an encounter on the way to the dungeon
• Any lesser monster, goblins or kobolts in the area are either slaves or prey to the orcs - they might not hate my players as much but if my players are not careful, the orcs will know they are coming
• Killing orcs generates power vacumns within their socity, other orcs will look to replace the dead orcs and MAY forget about my players as they work things out
• Orc's are nasty - fighting on their levels of the dungeon MAY have side effects like diease and parasites

 

[Varianor Abroad]

How do you people produce bunches of monsters and make sure they all seem at least somewhat unique and worthy of rememberance?? Any tricks, methods, routines you can share?

There are three keys to memorable monsters (plus there's lots of good advice in this thread)

1. Seek inspiration from the world around you and your own imagination. Example: I once saw a picture of a bodily organ in liquid. Later I saw a fish tank. From this I conceived of a monster that was a swarm of writhing, leaping, attacking organs jumping out of an enormous laboratory tank that try to enter a person's body.

2. Try to describe the creature in one sentence. Example: An organ swarm is a mass of writhing, leaping, attacking organs that try to slither their way into a person's body. Once you have that you can create a larger, more detailed description. If you can't describe your monster in one sentence though, your audience won't have a good "hook" to get interested.

3. Give your critter one significant, flavorful and/or strong ability. In the above example, the organs all drip the alchemical equivalent of formaldehyde, causing horrible burns in their victims, that might cause adverse effects in recently imbibed potions. Alternatively, you could make their attack choke the victim. (Actually, I did both, because I was using the D&D rules, and the acid fit the swarm damage and the choking attack just seemed awful and cool at the same time. My reward was all of my players going "Eww, that's just gross.")

You really have to know the ruleset you're writing for too. Be careful with your description. If you conceive of a Hope Devourer which is a giant cloud of moaning faces that dives into a victim's brain to make them lose hope, its attack with a wooden stick will seem out of place. To put it another way, don't make a monster that is "immune to all physical attacks" only to find out that the ruleset a) allows ways around that and/or b) that wouldn't fit with the book that you're writing because it's about small, dangerous critters like kobolds and their mutated offspring.

Good luck!

 

[Celebrim]

All monsters are fears. You just take that fear and embody it in some fashion.

So, lets take the example of a snake because it is a common fear. Brain storm why snakes are feared.

They are venomous. They are stealthy and surprise you. They strike with great quickness. They are cold. They are slithery. They have yellow unblinking eyes. Some people think that they are slimy.

Ok, that's good to go on. Now, the snake is such a common fear that alot of mythological creatures are already based on them, but there is still plenty of fear-space to mine for ideas. After discarding some well explored ideas like venomous and the staring eyes, we might focus on the idea of 'speed'. So, one of the first things that might come to mind is an idea like this:

'Quick Viper': This is a stealthy permenently hasted snake with very fast acting venom, sort of a cross between a Quickling and a Viper. It's nearly invisible and very skilled at hiding. It's not very durable, but it gets an extra move action each turn, and it employs a 'hit-n-run' strategy where it attacks then rehides before the target can react. It's venom is the literal 'three step' venom that can kill you before you take three steps.

Now, that's pretty cool, we just have to set the right stage for it. I'm envisioning a smallish 'Quick Viper' being used as the guardian of some sort of treasure chamber with lots of chests of drawers, desks, and small peices of furniture. The quick viper stays hidden beneath furniture until a target comes near then attacks from cover (to prevent AoO in the event it doesn't achieve surprise) then uses its move action and the considerable hiding spots available to rehide while the party tries to deal with its venomous bite. Repeat every few rounds until the party panics, gets lucky, or comes up with a cunning plan.

Or maybe venomous speedster's aren't your thing, so you hit on the idea of making a 'slitheriest' snake monster. The first thing that comes to my mind is a swarm of snakes and the second that comes to mind is a hydra, but since we are inventing new things here how about a single creature that is mass of writhing snake tentacles. I don't know what to call it yet, so for now:

'The Snake Ball': This creature will be huge and have multiple heads and tentacles sort of like a hydra that's all head and tails. It's scaly tentacles do a 'carress' attack on everything in range which nauseate and eventually incapacitate the target (or they could generate an unwholesome ectasy if we were into that sort of thing). Meanwhile it's heads try to put down every thing that resists the carress attack. It's got the ability to slip quickly through suprisingly small spaces (almost like an ooze).

Or maybe we want to create a snake creature that really highlights the slime fear that people pick up from the smoothness of the scales:

'Slime Wyrm': This creature leaves a trail of greasy alkaline contaminating ooze that creeps up and over whatever it touches, eventually leaving a thin shimmering film over everything. This leads to progressive and cumlative debilitation after first contact - first difficulty standing, then caustic burns, then difficulty holding on to objects, then blindness, then asphyiation as the esophagus constricts. The creature is itself blind (but uses tremorsense) and is immune to its own alkaline slime, but not acids (which are actually very effective against it). It builds slime patches as traps to keep the unwary from escaping and is generally covered in slime; other wise behaves as a large venemous snake.

And so forth.

 

[NeverCool]

This is really good stuff! The Creatures chapter of GEARS is growing much faster than expected, and a lot of this stuff is still not put to the planned use yet!