So many monsters ... way too many, in fact

[Nifft]

I tend to use a very restricted monster palette per area, but my campaign spans four planets and twelve planes so far (PCs are level 11).

So, at home the PCs worry about the Goblinoid Imperium, Dragons and Normal Undead (Ghouls & Shadows mostly). When they're on Barsoom, they worry about Thurn (Drow), Tharks (Athach), and Banths (Displacer Beasts). When they're in Gehenna, they worry about Yugoloths, Phiuls, and Belkers. (There are also places where the fabric of reality thins, and you get Shadow critters in a particular area, or Fire critters, etc. -- templates on and variations of the local base palette.)

Thus, I like having plausible environments with restricted monster palettes and I like having a huge array of monsters from which to choose.

That said, I really will never, ever, ever need another intelligent monsterous humanoid race. I don't need a race that looks like an elephant, I don't need a race that looks like a yak. I won't ever need a rhino-people race. I think that monster books are currently the only outlet for culture designers, and that's a bad thing. Gimmie some cool human (or elf, or dwarf, or ...) cultures that use your nifty rhino-person mechanics, but please no more Desmondu, or Loxo, or Super Elves, or Needlefolk. Gimmie templates and/or cultures instead.

-- N

 

[Lamoni]

To tav beholder and beholder bob, thanks for the links. They are great. I still might try to do some editing to fit my format preferences better, but that is exactly the information I was looking for. If I find extra time on my hands I'll add alignment to the creatures... unless the online database adds that function before I get around to it.

I just love all the resources you have in the enworld community.

 

[DragonLancer]

There are far too many humanoid races/monsters these days. I'd much rather that publishers did monster sourcebooks with more monstrous creatures... oozes, magical beasts, elementals, abberations and plants, for example. Get away from the humanoid creatures for a while.

 

[Beholder Bob]

I am tired of the monster books spewing out some real crap.....

I agree about the over-abundance of humanoids. There are more humanoid races then I can keep track of - I should make it a unique skill for PCs 'Id humanoid'.

Accurate with the types, please! People list monstrous humanoids as humanoid, aberations as magic beasts (and the reverse), and even 1 mix up with fey and giant. Yoinks!

Unrealistic monsters that fail to consider size (such as the grave crawler and aumoravox). If the beastie is going to be the size of a kobald, I need a good reason to believe it has 15 hd.

Yet another variation with little change (yet another dragon). I like variety. But slight changes do not produce the variety I need – that is just cosmetics.

Yet another elf, or dwarf, or gnome, or...... For gods sakes, these guys breed oddly.

To continue my complaining: not listing creatures properly: such as the Patient Doom (should be listed as Spider, Patient Doom - or rather Vermin: Monstrous Spider - Patient Doom)

Creatures too silly for consideration. Lava Children - my god, look at the picture -Can you imagine the players reaction when his character is pummeled to death by Alfred E Numan. Also, the Spirit of the Air. Why are they flying monkeys? Why. And whose butt did they shoot out of?

Some neat creatures have been added for the upper CR levels and beyond - and in order to fit them, I'd like a good description in ecology so I can fit them in so as to be believable.

Finally, do the authors actually understand that environ listing should be useful? Far too many of the listings say Any and Underground. In actual use I'll place beasties where I need them, but listing them with an eye for eco-systems would be nice. Listing Any and Underground as a default just means I have to decide for that creature and alter its listings.

Ah - good. I feel better for having vented. My therapist will be pleased.

And - if you use my listed data base, please let me know what you think! Suggestions for improvement, errors, hate mail, etc.

Send it to iwhoambob@yahoo.com

BB

 

[Hand of Evil]

Someday someone will put out enviroment books and create monsters that can be found there in detail and how they use skills and feats to adjust to that enviroment!

 

[Beholder Bob]

Someday someone will put out enviroment books and create monsters that can be found there in detail and how they use skills and feats to adjust to that enviroment!

Frost and Fur.

Now, I do not want new monsters so much as a proper ordering and repair of existing ones. I've got enough beasts to populate several worlds, I just need them to conform to the limits my imagination puts on 'realistic'.

BB

 

[Kealios]

Lets see if I did this right...

I am trying to post the file I mentioned earlier that I created. Its a work-in-progress, but it has monsters from MM, MM2, BoED and XPH so far. It lists names, types and subtypes, environment, alignment, CR, activity cycle, who they are found with, and skill mods for spot, listen, move silently and hide.

Hopefully this works...
Kealios

GAH the file is too large--its exceeded 1 Meg. Well, there is alot of data in it. Again, I offer it to anyone who wants it. Just email me at kealios@sbcglobal.net and I'll email it to you.

 

[Desdichado]

Nope, nothing's attached. Or did you attach it to your earlier post?

 

[Tav_Behemoth]

Someday someone will put out enviroment books and create monsters that can be found there in detail and how they use skills and feats to adjust to that enviroment!

Expeditious Retreat Press has launched a series called Monster Geographica; they're field-guide-sized compendiums of monsters (reprinted from other sources) from a single environment. The first one is Monster Geographica: Underground; there was a thread about it in the Publishing forum. I think it's a great idea - wish I'd thought of it first