tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post8631347443014186636..comments2023-06-08T08:26:07.304-05:00Comments on Advanced Gaming & Theory: Making Monsters MonsterousRipperXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-5854762793467055672011-05-12T07:12:01.867-05:002011-05-12T07:12:01.867-05:00Very awesome post! These are things I have been d...Very awesome post! These are things I have been doing for awhile. I love creating my own monsters or taking ones that are in the MM and turning them on their heads. <br /><br />One of my favorite things to do is reintroduce a monster from a previous campaign (all the same players). They think they know what the bugger is gonna do and I have it do something completely unexpected or vicious. Wakes them up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-51522247938806339172008-10-15T13:44:00.000-05:002008-10-15T13:44:00.000-05:00David: Player info happens. Most of my players are...<B>David:</B> Player info happens. Most of my players are Dungeon Masters as well. Yeah, arguments happen, but we all know that the guy with the maps always gets the final word on the matter.<BR/><BR/>As long as the player doesn't fall into the "Rules-Lawyer" mentality, then you don't have a serious problem.<BR/><BR/>You may need to rethink the way that you handle combat. I strive not to mentions numbers during fights. The only numbers that are said aloud is damage. The rest is all action/story oriented. <BR/><BR/>D&D does require math, but it shouldn't be the focus of it. We aren't playing Craps, here! <BR/><BR/>About not being able to get away with describing a monster and still keeping the players in suspense, well, you'd be surprised. Keep the beast in the dark, and remember that we are describing what the players experience. <BR/><BR/>Time rarely is going to stop so that they can get a good look at this thing. What their brains are telling them is what they think that they see. Perception is a very unique experience. Our senses lie to us all the time! Mistakes are common. This should also be applied to your descriptions.RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-80938393518987219052008-10-15T13:30:00.000-05:002008-10-15T13:30:00.000-05:00JimLoTFP: I read your blog, and you are a bastard,...<B>JimLoTFP:</B> I read your blog, and you are a bastard, but in a good and difficult way. I'd love to play a game with you at the helm, no doubt a challenging game!RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-12561942689522538332008-10-15T13:26:00.000-05:002008-10-15T13:26:00.000-05:00Jonathan: Your statblocks article is absolutely de...<B>Jonathan:</B> Your statblocks article is absolutely dead-on! I had never even thought of doing that before, but if one is in a pitch and speed is of the essence, this is definately an option. It also looks like fun trying to translate it over.<BR/><BR/>Ecology is something that I really kind of struggle with. I mean, I use it! Don't get me wrong, I am glad that it is there, but I do find that sometimes they force these things to be alive, when maybe they aren't? <BR/><BR/>I don't know, I've got to do more thinking on the subject.<BR/><BR/>I also read your idea about the physical publication. I'm getting married this month . . . next week actually, so my time is really limited. I may get back to you after stuff calms down a bit. Right now I'm not sure what I think of it.RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-25182590207009173912008-10-14T16:37:00.000-05:002008-10-14T16:37:00.000-05:00I re-read this post again today. It really is exce...I re-read this post again today. It really is excellent. You might consider submitting it to the upcoming <A HREF="http://thecoremechanic.blogspot.com/2008/10/open-game-table-clarification-and.html" REL="nofollow">Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs</A> for consideration. It would make an excellent addition to the milieu of selections that will be under review. If you're wondering wtf I'm talking about - <A HREF="http://thecoremechanic.blogspot.com/2008/10/open-game-table-2008-anthology-of-role.html" REL="nofollow">read the announcement of the anthology</A>. =DJonathan Jacobshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06133232985480734844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-4814166812647725282008-10-14T15:56:00.000-05:002008-10-14T15:56:00.000-05:00This was an interesting article to read, mostly be...This was an interesting article to read, mostly because my group has one or two players that compulsively combs the books, core and splat, basically memorizing things. On a moment's notice, this guy can tell you in ballpark figures the AC, initiative, saves, etc etc of basically any monster in any official book. It becomes difficult to run encounters, because despite the fact that he makes a play at separating character and player knowledge, that sort of thing is never successful.<BR/><BR/>Now, with this sort of issue, I can't just describe the monster and not name it. Everyone at the table will know what it is in less than a minute. However, I like the "crying over the corpse" image you paint here. it's a description of a scene, but misleading enough to (possibly) throw the party for a bit.<BR/><BR/>That, and polymorphs/etc. These sorts of things are almost anathema to 4e, which seems to be what my group wants to play these days. It's harder to see through illusions in 4e, because they are much more rare as effects in general. A polymorph or alter self here and there, since I suppose the monsters could still use 3e spells, might be interesting.<BR/><BR/>Secondly, I like the idea of ditching ecology a bit. To be honest, I got hung up on monster and dungeon ecology a few years back, and now my players all start asking annoying questions if the ecology doesn't work out, and begin making wild assumptions. Perhaps consistently having monstrous and mythical things be able to avoid requiring an ecological niche might lessen this sort of questioning. However, I think there's still something to be said for having a 'realistic' dungeon, where at least there exists a food web. Otherwise you get a lion in an undead heavy crypt, and everyone is confused.<BR/><BR/>Nonetheless, fun article, and I think a lot of what is written here could be applied to at least my game(s).Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10546100677119484489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-6003833870546462552008-10-13T23:53:00.000-05:002008-10-13T23:53:00.000-05:00Yeah, this whole issue is why I made the Random Es...Yeah, this whole issue is why I made the Random Esoteric Creature Generator. Original printing no longer available, but a pro edition is available next month at a FLGS near you. :PJimLotFPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-6785917940759887192008-10-13T19:26:00.000-05:002008-10-13T19:26:00.000-05:00"quit telling the players what they are dealing wi..."quit telling the players what they are dealing with" -- most definately. At my game table, the players aren't allowed to have any books around. I also frequently recast/shemp monsters with something else. You might be interested in this post I had last summer: <A HREF="http://thecoremechanic.blogspot.com/2008/07/rule-review-aiding-another.html" REL="nofollow">"Statblocks : They're just numbers on a page."</A><BR/><BR/>"Many DM’s have this misconception about monsters, that all of them need ecology." Not _all_ of them, but most of them. Of course, this also depends on the game world you run. Are so-called "monsters" really monsters, or just 'creatures' that dont fit into human society? Or are they really truely badass evil things that arise from the ether to simply wreak havoc on civilized folk? There's also this notion of <A HREF="http://thecoremechanic.blogspot.com/2008/10/extending-gygaxian-naturalism-i-or.html" REL="nofollow">Gygaxian Naturalism</A> floating around the RPG blogs. My take on this is purely from the point of view of "what can we say about how different monsters/creatures associate with one another?" Is creature A associated with creature B (according to whatever game system you are using). Of course, any DM can change whatever they want, but having an sense of which cohorts of creatures run around together helps make game worlds internally consistent. This in turn increases the players immersion level. <BR/><BR/>I remember one time - one of players was like "Oh, crap! A band of Zotarnz (type of frost orc)! That means that there are no doubt Remorahz's hanging around (which they hunt for food)! That explains those strange tracks we saw in the snow... it wasn't a sled. It was a remorahz!" It was a key turning point in that particular adventure - all based on consistent "monster ecology".<BR/><BR/><BR/>Nice post! keep up the good work.Jonathan Jacobshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06133232985480734844noreply@blogger.com