(Win pdf books!) Week 1 complete. Click in first post for link to the week 2 thread.

[Thunderfoot]

In creating a recent campaign world I had an epiphany: humanoids have been done to death and the various lizard races are too disparate to make a showing. So I started tweaking the lizard races and came up with a whole subculture of lizards. Humans and demi-humans have your standard 5 (or six): human, dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling (and sometimes orc) along with the two semi human varieties (half-elf and half-orc). Using this principal I constructed a hierarchy of lizard races and threw a smattering of "flash" in to round them out.

Lizardfolk (obviously) are the "core" race with the poison sting and black lizardfolk being variants (gnomes and giants as it were). Kobolds became halflings and troglodytes dwarves. The yaun-ti races mimic the elves and their variants. Minor tweaking to each - a color there, a mannerism here and I had a viable "anti-human" racial structure to fight the forces of man. Now the alignment issue may seem a problem, but since they are "mimicking" the social structure of humans, the racial alignments take a back seat and the whole gamut of aligns become available. When the "norm" of the lizardbred is evil, the surprise LG kobold NPC becomes even more of an anomaly, or when the BBEG turns out to be a Lizardman blackguard instead of a ranger or even a kobold wizard specialist. Its not that any of this was hard or even a leap of faith as it were, but it has always amazed me that the solenoid and other "racially aligned" races, rarely actually cooperate with one another. Of course the solenoid "bullying" was drawn mostly from Tolkien, but why must every other race "bully" those of its ilk?

The most intriguing thing however, is pitting a mixed group of lizardbred against a humanoid party. Suddenly instead of a group of monsters, the party is facing an opposingly evil, yet equally balanced adventuring party. No more evil NPC humans (not that I don't use them) but a group of determined lizard NPCs with fighting, healing, and magical might on their side as well. At first it was simply, see monster, kill evil, but as the party has played they are starting to see the "community" inside the lizardbred. Evil (mostly) but organized and bent on survival. Even the paladins are having moral issues of Detect Evil; hack, maim, kill; claim victory in the name of justice - when lizard children are encountered, is it a matter of nature or nurture? Suddenly nurture becomes the standard answer so each decision must be weighed carefully. The dynamic of the campaign has changed and each of the players are starting to "grow" in the decision making process - hack and slay are no longer the first action, but in most cases a reaction to such thinking from their "enemies".

I have come to realize that a thinking, living, feeling enemy is much more of a threat and a much more effective "monster" than the standard ugly thing with multiple heads.

 

[Whisper72]

More on 'Monsters'

One sort of campaign which I feel can be very satisfying, is one where there are no monsters of any kind as found in the various MM's (except for an undead or construct every once in awhile), but the main antagonists are all 'humans' (and all the various 'sentien races', from elf to kobold). All are essentially neutral, some with more good tendencies (elves, dwarves etc.), other more tending for brutality and slanting towards evil (the various goblinoids).

The world is in many ways much like our own. The countryside is filled with cows and sheep in stead of ravenous purple worms, ankhegs and bulettes, the sky is generally filled with normal birds in stead of burtsing at the seams with peryton, rocs and other nasties...

In such a world, when some magician accidentally lets loose some demon, or creates some horrendous monster through magical experiments, this really 'means something'. It becomes a rare and frightening experience, and therefore all the more special to the players. Sure, there should be dragons and such, but most will have retreated to far places, integrated into society (dopplegangers anyone?), and are believed to exist by the general populace as much as people on earth believe aliens walk among us.

One of the things I dislike about campaigns where monsters are plentiful is the lack of moral quandary. It ties somewhat into the whole alignment debate. When meeting a monster, the decision the PC's face are clear: kill it and take its stuff. When most encounters are with other sentients, or meetings with monsters are not clear cut, the PC's must think how to go about things.

All this makes for much more roleplaying, and IMHO a more enjoyable campaign (for those who like this style of play naturally).

 

[Estlor]

I'm kind of picky when it comes to my monsters. I like monsters that challenge the perceptions of my players. And I don't mean monsters that use illusions, I mean monsters that work against their expecations. Most of the people I've played with have been around the block enough times with D&D that they know fire and acid are the only two things that can take down a troll. Most of them know if you see an armadillo monster with feelers at the mouth, stay away unless you don't have any metal. They know if a dragon's red it's probably bad, if it's gold it's probably good, and if it's dead it's probably going to be paydirt for their party.

So I ask myself before I plan an adventure, "How can I get the most out of my monsters?" I've found you can usually group monsters into 4 categories: Smart Monsters, Unexpected Monsters, Adaptable Monsters, and PC Fodder.

Smart monsters are the monsters that have particular weaknesses, are aware of their weaknesses, and can find ways around their weaknesses. Take the vampire, for example. In past editions, submerging him in running water would quickly kill him. Now, if you play the game exclusively, you'll know vampires have an aversion to water. Do you know it's running water? If you don't and I hide the vampire down in a pool of still water, you won't expect him there. He pops out, and in classic horror film standard, you're lunch. Or how about the troll? Why shouldn't a troll find a way to use his fire weakness against the PCs. Will they try to douse him in fire if he's, I don't know, in a room with smokepowder or standing oil? Do you risk blowing yourself up to take out the troll, or do you suddenly have to come up with a new plan. That's what a Smart Monster is all about - using the player's metagame knowledge against them.

Unexpected Monsters are the sort your party never sees coming and knows nothing about. I love the D20 system for this. There are so many 3rd party monster books floating around that you can usually dig something up to surprise them. But it's more than just throwing a monster they've never seen at them, it's (I repeat) using a monster THEY NEVER SEE COMING. Like the Stone Zombie out of Creature Collection 2. To a player, it looks like a statue. But not a statue in the, "I'm obviously not a statue," way. Put it in a spooky house and turn it loose on the party. If the mage thinks they're smart enough to try and destroy the statue with those anti stone spells, suddenly they've got a normal zombie on their hands. Yeah, a zombie's not that difficult to take down, but your party never knows what to expect from you, and stops taking certain things for granted.

Another version of the Unexpected Monster, which is one of my favorite kind, is the monster that looks like a normal one in the Monster Manual except you've subtly changed it. Like a troll that is weak against cold and electricity or a dragon that breathes green slime as a breath weapon. He might look like a green dragon and live in the forest, but that's not chlorine gas coming at you!

Adaptable Monsters are monsters you can use as written from the MM but still get a lot of play out of them. Doppelgangers and other shapeshifters are great for this. Put the PCs in a situation where they don't know they're dealing with an Aranea or a Doppelganger or a Werewolf and watch them chase their tails for a while until they figure it out. Maybe they make short work of it when they figure it out, but the challenge is in the hunt, not the kill.

And, that leaves poor PC fodder. They're the sort that get chewed up like meat and spit out. Of course, 3.X has given us the ability to layer class levels on top, which can turn fodder into a challenge, but very few people will expect much out of a goblin or a kobold.

There's a theme here. Calling a game Dungeons & Dragons implies the fun is in the setting AND the encounter. The DM's job is to keep things fresh and imaginative, and monsters are the single greatest tools we have. If an encounter makes a player second-guess themselves and start thinking about tactics, then you've won as a DM. If you can create more satisfaction than XP and treasure in an encounter, then you've won as a DM.

I've got other thoughts - like how I hate wierd extra-planar monsters - but that's more a case of personal preference. There's no mechanical reason for me to dislike them. My campaigns just don't usually go that route.

(Still fishing for Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth)

 

[demiurge1138]

D&D drew inspiration from many sources, because there are many different conceptions of "fantasy" that people have. One of these sources are fairy tales. And not just the happy, sanitized Disneyfied versions, of course - real fairy tales are dark. And various nursery bogeys and old wives' tales have made it into D&D, particularly hags (Black Annis, for example, was a hag queen in British lore).

About a year ago, I tried to capture that scary story ambience for a neophyte group, and it worked perfectly. The monster was a splinterwaif, a spindly urban fey from the Monster Manual III (I've told at least part of this story before).The players were all relatively new - some of them had played D&D before, but none extensively, and it was only the second session we had. So they were completely unprepared.

The party's rogues were trying to pick a wealthy woman's pockets when a child runs into them, panicked and out of breath, screaming that he's being chased by the "Crazy Thorn Man". The rogues think the kid is crazy, and use him as a distraction to pick the woman's pockets while she's paying attention to the kid. Later during the session, the same two characters are sneaking aboard a ship when they hear a faint click-click of nails on wood. And in the gloom, they see the exact same creature that the kid described, hissing about how succulent their sap will be.

Their characters were frightened, sure, but so were the players, especially once their weapons proved useless against it. The splinterwaif was eventually killed, but not until after a lot of close calls in cramped corridors. One of my players even had a nightmare about the Crazy Thorn Man.

So the splinterwaif was inarguably a success.

Inspired by the Crazy Thorn Man, that game, and another game set in rough continuity with it, have encountered an organization called the Brotherhood of Nightmares. The Brotherhood is a coalition of various evil fey, monstrous humanoids or humanoid aberrations all borne from the ill dreams of children, who roam the earth seeking their tasty flesh. After all, who would believe a kid who claimed that the boogeyman crawled out from under his bed and ate his sister? Their works disguised as accidents and the work of more human killers, the Brotherhood slowly erodes the future generations, waiting for the time when dark dreams rule the world.

This tactic also allows me a decent excuse to use every wierd humanoid-looking creature in whatever sourcebook I want - nightmares don't follow logic. An individual in the Brotherhood could very well be unique, and could have any sort of awful ability I think sounds good enough to base an encounter around. Invisible except in moonlight? Sure! Bleeds spiders and rats? No problem!

(And, although it'd seem improper to get two PDFs in a row, I do really like the EN Bestiaries)

Demiurge out.

 

[Dark Psion]

The question of "Where do all these monsters come from?" was a question I asked myself when creating my first "Home Brew" world. The core concept of that world was a Magical version on Gamma World (Why yes, I did have a fever at the time), a Ragnarok event happened and only now are things getting back to normal.

Many monsters were created by the "Event" itself, this means that your PCs cannot find any information about them except form actual observation. For these creatures, I tend to use more obscure sources, especially pdf. books or alter them with a specific theme in mind; Elemental, Specific Obstacle or something I saw on the cartoon channel. Even with "Common Monsters", I try to mix them up. Take Griffins, one of the Magic: The Gathering sets had several variations on them using different bird/feline combinations, like Owl/Lynx, or Panther/Raven. I try to introduce that kind of "breeds" into my common monsters.

When the "Event" happened, reality itself was shattered in places. Across the world there are places not found on any map because they do not exist within this plane. They are pocket dimensions, micro-planes and transitional vortexes to outer and inner planes. You can walk into one of these and never know it, at least untill a Blue Sun rises and you encounter a hive city of Dromites, Thri-Kreen and Formians.
Many monsters come from these locations, especially Outsiders and Elementals. Also, many powerful monsters have adopted these as lairs. Most Ancient Dragons dwell within such a place, often connected to another plane or two, imagine an Ancient Red Dragon within a demi-plane of Fire and Volcanos.

In the Aftermath of the Event, magic was shattered into four powers; Arcane, Divine, Psionic and Nature (Incarnum is what is was before and what it still is where all four meet).
There are many more practitioners of these powers now than there were before, so there is much experimentation. Some creatures are the result of these experiments. Others are the result of the Creatures themselves learning to manipulate these new powers.

Also with divine power comes new, well Divine Powers. All faiths have "favored creatures" many native to an outer plane and these tend to show up where a faith gains followers. As a faith prospers, the region can change, similar to the way Eberron's planes come closer to the world and start manifesting. Think of how the Golden Fleece affected the nation that owned it and what happened to them when they lost it.

 

[mythusmage]

On Handling Monsters

A good guide to use is real world animal behavior. Animals vary in how they handle threats and stress. For instance, there is not one case where a snow leopard so much as defended itself when confronted by a human. For safety's sake naturalists will sedate a specimen before moving it, but locals have moved snow leopards out of harm's way without tranquilizing them. On the other hand cape buffalo are well known as aggressive animals. And regardless of species adolescent male cattle will 'gang up' to check out anything new, strange, and possibly dangerous.

Gorgons, for example, may act the same way. The party runs across a gorgon herd the adolescent males line up shoulder to shoulder to present a solid multi-ton wall of muscle with petrifying halitosis. They're not necessarily hostile, but they are curious and wary. If the party does nothing overtly hostile the young gorgons will probably not even breathe their special breath, and simply satisfy themselves with getting a good sniff of the adventurers, and then watch calmly as the group passes on.

How an animal handles an encounter depends on what the humans do. You present no obvious threat, the animal will pretty much ignore you. But what constitutes an obvious threat depends on the animal.

To a lion who knows nothing of humans you present no threat. To an elephant you are a deadly threat. That's the thing about elephants, though male bush elephants can get as large as 8 tons or more, they still have the mentality of a small prey animal. To elephants small dogs present a mortal threat.

How an animal handles a threat also varies from species to species. Leopards run away if they can, or bluff if they can't. A snow leopard conversely will yield when threatened. Basically giving up and depending on your mercy. Then you have wolverines, possibly the biggest fakes in the animal kingdom. We have recently learned that when a wolverine growls and charges, he's doing it more in the hope you'll back down then out of any desire to actually hurt you. Now, a wolverine will battle viciously if pressed hard enough, but that's not his aim. You back down that's the end of the matter for him.

Then you have special circumstances. Mothers with young for example. Never get between a mother brown bear and her cubs. Nor do you want to confront a buck (juvenile) or stag (adult) in full display. Any animal in full testosterone intoxication (and this includes adolescent humans) is capable of hurting you very badly. Even killing you without a thought. When dealing with a bull elephant in musht, or even a billy goat during mating season, it's a good idea to have a reliable place of refuge nearby.

Another special circumstance enters the picture when not only is the animal used to people, but actually thinks of humans as part of his group. Meerkats and Ghanian Jumping Rats will bond with any human they run across. Rhinos and owls are known to bond with their handlers. You camp in one area for any length of time that pack of dire wolves may decide to check you out, and should you prove friendly draft you as baby sitters for their cubs. Those white dragons may come to you for protection from frost giants.

There are many different ways to handle monsters in your game. Ways that can confuse and frustrate your players. And aint that what it's all about? Seriously, look into all the different ways animals interact with us in the real world and try applying them in your game. Should make (game) life more interesting.

PDF: Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth

 

[RangerWickett]

It's too late in the day for me to update the thread. I lost track of time, but will send out comps some time tomorrow. I haven't even had a chance to read what's been up so far. *sheepish grin*

The next topic shall be raising from the dead and resurrection. Talk about it, and make it interesting.

 

[Tolen Mar]

On Raising and Ressurection..

For me, I think easy access to such things has ruined the whole DnD experience for me.

I look at it like I look at Superman: Of course he's brave! He's invulnerable!

For me, no matter how much time I have invested in a character, it annoys me more than anything else that any character can be revived with some coin and a visit to the local clerical order. Of course, you can end up on quests. Of course, you could always have cheesed off the order in question. But those in the end dont really make it any different. You still end up with a pristine character, and you're still adventuring.

That isnt to say that a cheap death shouldn't be undone. Sometimes the dice just go rotten, sometimes, no matter how well you plan, something goes wrong. The dwarf slips on the mossy riverbed, sending you down river and over the falls. Sometimes you miss the saving throw against that dragon's breath, not because you shouldnt have gotten hit by it, but because you needed to roll anything other than a 1 and the dice gods decided to show they have a sense of humor.

But in the end, if it is easy to heal and resurrect, players have less reason to fear what they rightfully should. No wonder the game is being compared to video games. Oops! you died! Here comes spare life number two! (or three, or four...).

Back in my 2E days, we made death permanent. So permanent in fact that we destroyed the characters sheets in similar fashion to how the PC died. Mine was put through a shredder to represent his death at the hands (claws) of a dragon. Another was burnt when he died to a fiery trap. My favorite was when we taped one up to an archery target because the poor PC stumbled into an ambush ahead of the rest of us.

Reincarnation, though...that's another story. I mean, yes there are people who use every chart they get their hands on, and you end up having a squirrel. But reincarnation is an interesting way to bring dead characters back in a unique way. Maybe they get a new body, and all their old memories. Maybe they are reborn, and have to relive, grow up again, learn how to fight all over, but their past provides them an extra little 'something' that just makes them better than everyone else.

Maybe they are just bloody loonies who think they've reincarnated.

Sometimes, those who seek death are the ones that live the longest. My current character, Baron Jean de Seguzzo and I have a real love/hate relationship going on right now. I mean I have a blast playing him, but he's a jerk, in a big way. I'm worried that his foul attitude is going to cause troubles outside the game. So I semi-intentionally aim to get him killed. He always makes it through. And this is Iron Heroes. There is no resurection, no easy healing. He sneaks through each battle on the skin of his teeth, and the ministrations of the doctor character (whom he despises most of all).

Its a blast any way you turn it, and I couldnt have that kind of fun in a game like DnD with its multitude of healing spells. (I know, Ive tried.)

Anyway, thats my take on it. I hope you found it interesting, though maybe you meant real life...if so...*shrugs* no biggie.

If you do like it, hows about mechamancy?

 

[Whisper72]

Raising, Resurrection and Reincarnation can pose problems for a campaign on several levels...

One problem is the whole issue, especially when combined with longevity magics, of rulership and inheritance. What is to stop a powerful person from ensuring eternal life? Thus, powerful nobles and merchants could stay in power forever, creating all manner of quandaries on the role of princes etc.

On a more 'local' level, if PC's need not fear death anymore, a large part of the tension that can exist in a game can disappear.

With these things in mind, I, in most of my campaigns, put up hefty barriers and penalties on the use of resurrectional magic, making use of several of the below measures, depending upon the mood of the campaign:

- the body needs to be (more or less) whole in order to perform any sort of resurrection
- limiting the 'window of opportunity' in which resurrection can be done
- permanent level loss
- permanent Con loss (the body is weakened)
- permanent Int loss (the brain is scrambled)
- 'luck' loss (i.e. a generic 'luckless' penalty to all rolls for saves, skills, attacks etc.)
- requiring the raised to be in specific good standing with the God implored to do the raising
- requiring the raised to be in specific good standing with the God of the 'to be raised PC' own faith
- laws in the land or 'church' which prohibit resurrection, meaning that a raised being is in essence 'lawless', and thus has no rights and may even be hunted actively by the law or clergy as an 'abomination'
- a physical flaw somehow develops, allowing people who know to spot someone who has been dead before (maybe 'the stink of the grave' wafts about them...)
- a 'nine lives' clause putting a max on the amount of resurrections possible no matter any other considerations
- someone who has died is somehow more susceptible to necromantic / harm type spells
- someone who has died is somehow more resistant to healing magics gaining less benefits
- someone who has died is somehow more susceptible to powers of the undead (charming, touches, spells and spell-like powers etc.)

Though not all measures are meant to stop resurrection from happening, the main thing is to 'give death meaning'. It is something to be feared, since resurrection is not a sure thing, and even if it works, permanent penalties and effects will haunt the PC forevermore...

 

[Whisper72]

On another note regarding resurrectional magics and trying to make it more special in use is the following...

On some level, there is a spirit / essence, whatever is the mechanic on your respective world, that needs to be coaxed / forced back into the body of the dead person. There may be Gods involved (from the one casting the spell, the religion of the deceased him/herself), maybe some guardian of heaven or hell (be it Peter, Cerberus, Charon or Tyr) who needs to be convinced to let the soul pass back to the prime material etc.

Somehow, these entitities need to be assuaged. Therefore, it is quite within the realm of reason to have the resurrection of a person require some sort of sacrifice. The cost in gold is one PC's will gladly pay, but magic is often something else again.

Have the PC's require to sacrifice the magic of some or more magical items to 'power' the spell / assuage the Guardian / Deity. To have the sacrifice mean something, it should be an item with value to either the one doing the casting, or to the one being raised....