What's Your Monster Palette?

[F5]

Great topic, Mmadsen. I think monster palattes add a lot to a campaign. If each monster you use has a detailed place in your world, even a random encounter has more weight. There are two things I've needed to consider when using a tightly-defined monster palatte. First off, there are so many spells, class-abilities, and items that revolve around them, you're hurting yourself if you leave out the Undead. Second, if you use a tightly-defined palatte, you have to decide what Summoning spells will do (either summon creatures as normal, or create custom summon-lists)
My last campaign used a pulp-steampunk palatte, with the standard humanoid races slightly modified to fit steam-age roles. Lots of constructs, and yuan-ti priests in lost temples, that kind of thing. I used an Island of Dr Moreau inspired background for humanoid races, and called all the standard humanoids by animal names (bugbears were bear-men, goblins were monkey-men, hobgoblins were lion-men, that kind of thing). The idea has shown up in d20 modern now, but it worked better for me in the setting.
Currently, I'm trying a different direction in mondter palattes; I'm going entirely from scratch. Making up all my creatures as I go along. Many of them are just stat-blocks taken directly out of the MM and tweaked slightly, for sanity's sake (mine). It's been tricky, but it's great to be able to throw a monster at players who have no idea what it is.

 

[mmadsen]

Great topic, Mmadsen.

Thank you, F5.

There are two things I've needed to consider when using a tightly-defined monster palatte. First off, there are so many spells, class-abilities, and items that revolve around them, you're hurting yourself if you leave out the Undead.

Good point. (Of course, if you like Rogues and don't like Clerics, then eliminating Undead might kill two birds with one stone... )

Second, if you use a tightly-defined palatte, you have to decide what Summoning spells will do (either summon creatures as normal, or create custom summon-lists)

Fortunately, custom summon-lists are fun -- and the default lists (Celestial Dog? Fiendish Squid?) are pretty lame.

Another side-effect of a limited palette is that specialized magic weapons, etc. become more powerful. In a Middle Earth campaign, a Holy Orc-Bane elf-blade is really, really powerful.

 

[Impeesa]

My selection is quite broad, but influenced somewhat by my early Warcraft days. Lots of Orcs, Demons, Undead, other monstrous humanoids, and the occasional slightly more esoteric monster.

--Impeesa--

 

[Breakstone]

Hm... I've got to examine the monsters my characters have encountered so far...

Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, Orcs, Skeletons, Undead Necromancer, (Dwarf) Ghosts, Animated Objects, Ogre, Dire Rats, Kobolds, Goblins, Homunculus, Fiendish Satyr, Grigs, Dretch, Rock Elemental, Centaur, Lizardfolk.

Oh, and a Fishman, who basically flapped on the ground.

I'd say I have a "Base Fantasy" Palette, although the ecosystem will change once the characters travel to different continents.

 

[Ace]

Do you think having such a broad palette adds or detracts from the flavor of the game world?

Its part of the flavor of the world I guess. I like the options but I almost never use them, Go Figure

Most of the foes players face are either humans, goblins (nasty rhyming ones) or cuthuloid horrors

However I reserve the right to use whatever, whenever.

While my world has a lot fo magic "zappy' and "move-y" spells are less common so its more of a down to earth feel

The worlds unfolding time line (not a meta plot but a sort of time line progression) is set up to let me choose from several flavors

1- Humans just arrive, virtually no magic except for low level psions. Basically Psion is allowed but only every second or third level. Low Monsters

2- Magic is rare. Monsters are more common. This is actually the most dangerous time to be an adventurer. To keep the flavor I usually limit the party to 1 spell caster and 1 semi spell caster. At the end of this cycle there are the first Clerics

3- Normal Greyhawk levels of magic or slightly lighter

4- Realms/3e levels of magic. Lots of monsters and now spellcasters have lots of power learned and built up

5- High Magic, Gunat warmachines! Magic is everywhere. Monsters are everwhere. Massive magic is available to everyone. Basically every bit of accumulated magic is all available at once. Anyone with a 10 Wis can learn Cleric Spells, Anyone with 10 INT can learn Wiz spells
This has catstrophic results and leads to...

6- Falling apart, Cuthuloid stuff everwhere. Most of the Arcane critters are wiped out by various Angelic Legions and Demonic Hordes the gates are sealed and the only magic left is from the Fae realm. Basically the Fae moved as much as they could of their "essence' over to Midrea and its now a spreading organic power source accesable only by people with right bloodline.

7- Aftermath. 17th/18th/early 19th century tech No Wizards or Clerics. Less monsters too. Templates
Some Undead, Fae, A few other things left over Ravenloft with Elves Basically

8- After that magic levels stay the same but tech increases.

 

[Ace]

Tonguez: That's interesting. Not many people are into Polynesian. I had a friend who tried to get a Polynesian mythology survey published in Dragon (along with a few new monsters) and was rejected on the grounds that 'no one would be interested in such an esoteric topic'. Looks like they were wrong by at least one.

Three, a buddy of mine wants to run a Polynesian based game and I have Polynesian Jews in one of my old games

 

[Deadguy]

Three, a buddy of mine wants to run a Polynesian based game and I have Polynesian Jews in one of my old games

emphasis mine
...blinks...hnh?