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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CubicsRube" data-source="post: 8452331" data-attributes="member: 6848185">I posted this on RPG.net but I wanted to see what y'all thought here (for those that aren't in both forums).Mods: please feel free to move this to the general roleplaying group if you feel this is more appropriate.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I've been reading "A Witcher's Journal", a (mostly) monster expansion for The Witcher RPG and I love it.There are 33 monsters in this expansion. Each monster has a 2 page spread that includes:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monster Stats</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Immunities, vulnerabilities, attacks and special abilities</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Typical bounties paid for the monster</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"Loot" a.k.a alchemical ingredients harvested from that monster (that ties into other systems)</li> </ul>But that's not my favourite part of it. There are two blocks of lore for each monster.Commoner Superstition has a general education skill DC and if the players succeed on this they get general information about the monsters, most of it false.Lore & Behaviour has a special monster lore skill DC. If this is succeeded, the player gets specific, almost scientific information about the origins of the monster, particular tactics that work to mitigate or nullify their special abilities or that they are particularly vulnerable to, and how they typically behave in combat.That may not appeal to everyone, but it's perfect for me. I have no problem using these tactics most of the time and giving players the opportunity to "game" these tactics via successful monster lore checks or because they have previously fought one before. It's a design element that I really enjoy as a GM and I think it would run well as a player.Overall there's some tighter elements I am really enjoying here that I wish we saw in D&D. For example:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monsters are ordered by monster type. Monster types often have common elements, similar origins and behaviours, and common vulnerabilities (specters are vulnerable to specter oil, beasts, beast oil. You get the picture). In D&D monster type has little to no effect, aside from fairly loosely designed lore that has very little effect in the game.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monsters have a typical bounty price. Granted this is witcher specific, but I love to see it on the monster page and it's something i can use at a glance if I'm trying to bargain with the PCs to deal with a threat.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Most monster lore descriptions say why the monster exists and what will happen if it is unchecked. A Hym for example will mentally torture their victim until the victim kills themself or they find better prey, while a Pesta will bring increasing levels of plague to an area. D&D has nothing clearly like this. Again a GM can always improvise this, but I like having inspiration in the book to work off.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monster loot typically feeds into an alchemical crafting system that loops back to creating items that have an effect on monster. Witcher specific but I think this is quite cool.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Typical combat behaviour for the monster. This is probably the number one thing I wish D&D had in it's monster guides. I'm ok with a guide saying something like "Orcs always rush headfirst into a fight and attack the nearest enemy first" because you can then set up an expectation of what Orcs do, but f the party then encounters an Orc behaving differently, such as sitting back and observing the fight first, it's a great clue that this particular Orc is special.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Whether they are solitary or typically found in groups of how many. Older editions of D&D from memory did this. I wish they'd bring it back.</li> </ul>I realise after writing this the piece comes across as an attack on D&D. It's not. I've had many good years playing 5e alone. However it's been interesting to see how much some of the design elements in the witcher rpg really keys off my preferences, and how much I'd love to see a 5e monster manual with some of this stuff.Has anyone had any experience on running the system with the monsters, or have read it and have any thoughts?</blockquote>

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