tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post2761163736970831544..comments2024-03-28T01:02:01.844-06:00Comments on Coins and Scrolls: OSR: The Monster Overhaul - PlanningSkerpleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06393779599461560431noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-29177138424171964322020-09-26T14:09:49.496-06:002020-09-26T14:09:49.496-06:00A little late with this (sorry -- I'm only rec...A little late with this (sorry -- I'm only recently commenting on hobby blogs from this account) but have you ever seen the first edition of BECMI D&D's Creature Catalogue (AC9)?<br /><br />Creatures are organized into chapters of: Animals, Conjurations, Humanoids, Lowlife (slimes etc.), Monsters, and Undead. There are then indices for each chapter (alphabetically) and by environment. Published by the fine people at TSR UK, "back in the day." (And available at DriveThruRPG in e-format: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16973/AC9-DD-Creature-Catalogue-Basic )<br /><br />David Haraldsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04226110545192539855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-75828913478691447622019-11-14T06:10:23.791-07:002019-11-14T06:10:23.791-07:00Really like the extra tables that bring the entrie...Really like the extra tables that bring the entries some variety.Ruprechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00139664977453444000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-90143276856329975382019-10-13T21:50:02.432-06:002019-10-13T21:50:02.432-06:00I can’t remember monster stat block specifics from...I can’t remember monster stat block specifics from later (A)DnD, but an indication of aggressiveness, likelihood of attacking vs being wary vs fleeing / avoiding could be useful. IE preferred behaviour (perhaps associated with animal/monster niche of predator or prey or whatever). Which may be modified by alignment and intelligence: a smart lawful good predator might not attack a party that behaves (or pretends) suitably.<br /><br />I got this idea from the way Classic Traveller generated its animal encounters: a roll to see if the creature avoided or stalked/attacked the characters. I used it long ago a couple of times to good effect, but not all players at the time appreciated encountering monsters that weren’t played as written per the MM, or even in the MM at all.Alistairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04631364538623314004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-39372325337169930172019-10-12T18:07:20.383-06:002019-10-12T18:07:20.383-06:00Two others popped into my head last night/this mor...Two others popped into my head last night/this morning:<br /><br />- allied/servitor creatures: this allows you to cross-reference creatures often encountered together, like hyenas with gnolls, cave bears with stone giants, et al<br />- languages: this would allow you to group creatures that can speak each others' tongues<br /><br />Allan.grodoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11800184312511280050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-73013991091376433282019-10-12T10:12:37.644-06:002019-10-12T10:12:37.644-06:00Very handy list!Very handy list!Skerpleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06393779599461560431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-48733367426721320712019-10-12T09:58:10.306-06:002019-10-12T09:58:10.306-06:00I'll take another look at Numenera. I don'...I'll take another look at Numenera. I don't remember any specifics about how they laid out their monsters. <br />And yes, working in a digital format (wiki-style) would be great, but there are challenges there too. Charging for time and effort is tricky. It can also lead to bloat; why bother cutting or condensing when you can sprawl? Nobody's monitor is running out of ink. Skerpleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06393779599461560431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-46859515575459529522019-10-12T09:16:31.010-06:002019-10-12T09:16:31.010-06:00I haven't read their Monster Codex, but I reme...I haven't read their Monster Codex, but I remember the monsters from the core book had a fairly compact and useful layout. <br />Both Symbaroum and Hackmaster have the same "problem" as generic monster manuals; their entries convey setting-specific lore as well as stats.Skerpleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06393779599461560431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-62853724497286586522019-10-12T07:53:40.289-06:002019-10-12T07:53:40.289-06:00Also I think a lot of this would be at least somew...Also I think a lot of this would be at least somewhat alleviated if designers didn't limit themselves to print-style formats, and instead fully leveraged the advantages of digital formats. If you can have hyperlinked indices in a wiki or webpage-style format, built in search tools, multiple index configurations based on various categories, etc., things get a lot easier. Back when I used to play games like Pathfinder, I would not even consider playing them without the SRD, it's just an order of magnitude better than flipping through a book or print-style digital file like a pdf.maxcan7https://www.blogger.com/profile/12504030224075149157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-16767542936906827982019-10-12T07:50:54.681-06:002019-10-12T07:50:54.681-06:00I forget exactly how they lay it out off hand, but...I forget exactly how they lay it out off hand, but Numenera does a good job of something like this. Even though the entries are still alphabetical, they have an easily navigable list of monsters by terrain, where it would be easy to pick a handful / random roll for a given terrain to create a unique encounter, and find the entries by their page number. Would still be better to do it ahead of time rather than on the spot, but can be done reasonably efficiently on the spot.maxcan7https://www.blogger.com/profile/12504030224075149157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-26944898907005814592019-10-12T03:32:17.510-06:002019-10-12T03:32:17.510-06:00Yeah, but then there was also the mention of no fl...Yeah, but then there was also the mention of no flawed designs...<br /><br />Anyway, have you looked at the monster codex for Symbaroum? I'm probably biased, but I think they do a very good job with it.Olav Nhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14151758541523612837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-45806326592560373882019-10-12T03:07:31.822-06:002019-10-12T03:07:31.822-06:00Eh, the original AD&D MM is 340ish if you coun...Eh, the original AD&D MM is 340ish if you count variants, so it's not too crazy.Skerpleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06393779599461560431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-10357285289574937952019-10-12T02:27:45.293-06:002019-10-12T02:27:45.293-06:0020*20 sounds crazy ambitious...20*20 sounds crazy ambitious...Olav Nhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14151758541523612837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-26468229973320146752019-10-11T22:16:07.079-06:002019-10-11T22:16:07.079-06:00Other possible entry points to consider:
- diffic...Other possible entry points to consider:<br /><br />- difficulty of monster (level, CR, etc.); also useful for Monster Summoning, gate, etc. spells<br />- value of monster (treasure type, as well as XP value; or its fur, eggs, young, etc.---monster as ingredients)<br />- planar origin (perhaps tied to alignment of monster?)<br />- size of encounter, in terms of number appearing (generally wilderness > dungeon); could also speak to retinue, leaders/guards, etc.<br />- scarcity of monster (3e did away with Frequency, but it's quite useful as part of game/campaign balance, and tweaking Frequency is a great tool for a DM when customizing a campaign/setting/plane/etc.)<br />- helpfulness of monster (perhaps also tied to alignment, and a reaction roll/racial preferences matrix): not all encounters need be FIGHT, even if the monster is diametrically opposed alignment to the players<br />- knowledge of monster (not just its Intelligence score, but what useful stuff is this monster likely to know)<br />- habits/behaviors of monster: nocturnal/herbivore gatherer vs. diurnal/omnivore hunter; organized tribal aggressor vs. insidious individual symbiote; etc.<br /><br />Allan.grodoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11800184312511280050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-46255580810822789072019-10-11T19:27:08.091-06:002019-10-11T19:27:08.091-06:00Lots of good ideas. But if you organize by settin...Lots of good ideas. But if you organize by setting/terrain, do you risk making monsters and groups of monsters more predictable? I guess that could be a good thing ("realistic" feeling) or a bad thing (less variety).Alec Semicognitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06507482266305964982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958522416503442248.post-38797204820476766842019-10-11T18:34:58.055-06:002019-10-11T18:34:58.055-06:00This is very helpful. I’m thinking about monster a...This is very helpful. I’m thinking about monster arrangement too. <br /><br />Maybe I’ll do my own post like this over at the HQ. Scott Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067161332003628237noreply@blogger.com