Inspired by blogs like LonelyGM and Hack & Slash, I've been thinking about ways to change up old monsters to make them feel new. Like making goblins into plants a la Warhammer and goblins/hobgoblins/bugbears stages of their life cycle a la some insects.
What ideas do you have?
My DCC trolls are soccer hooligans.
Not so much to make things 'new again' as to have them fit better into chosen settings.
My LotFP goblins are cobbled together from parts of dead children, with tiny comedy demons inside (inspired by the Mid Nor from Confrontation). It sucks when little Maria dies of the plague, but fun when, later on, you spot her, at midnight, hanging out behind the barn with some other weirdos... and notice she's got an extra arm and a strange drooling leer.
I'm trying to swerve most monsters there closer to the dominant religious mania.
I've been mocking up some Beholders for DCC that are all bio-organic tools for alien terraforming... so lots of different types. Some spew poison gas, some eat the local wildlife and spawn weird critters, some chew up rocks and shit crystals. All are dangerous in some way.
I always liked the LOOK of Beholders but thought their variant eye-ray thing was silly.
I did this with my gnolls.
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/96434/Bad-Dogs-A-Collection-of-LessThanUpright-Canines?term=Bad+dogs
I like going back to the original mythology, or sometimes flipping the traditional assumptions, or mixing and matching the two.
I am a Gamma World junkie and my favorite D&D campaigns have been those where I took trad monsters and warped them with mutations.
Quote from: Spinachcat;877315I like going back to the original mythology, or sometimes flipping the traditional assumptions, or mixing and matching the two.
I am a Gamma World junkie and my favorite D&D campaigns have been those where I took trad monsters and warped them with mutations.
I saw a neat vision of the manticore (http://fav.me/d4p435x). Mythology portrays it as a man-eating monster with a beautiful voice, so that depiction runs with it.
Some other (simpler?) ideas would be:
- lammasu and shedu are male counterparts to lamia. In fact, lammasu, lamia, manticores, nagas, sphinxes and shedu are all the same species.
- scylla and charybdis are respectively the male and female counterparts of the same species. This is why pairs of the two are often found living in close proximity. The species alternates generations: the salt water dwelling scylla and charybdis spawn fresh water dwelling vouivres that asexually produce eggs that hatch into more vouivres, with a certain percentage of vouivres migrating to the sea where they metamorphose into a scylla or charybdis.
- true dragons hatch from eggs resembling human infants and may easily be ignorant of their true nature. While they initially mature into human adults, they eventually undergo a gradual metamorphosis into draconic form.
EDIT:
- Sirens and seaweed sirens are not named so by sheer coincidence. Like other bizarre monsters, they are actually different generations of the same species. The human-like heads of seaweed sirens wil irregularly sprout wings and fly off as true sirens. In turn, the eggs of true sirens hatch into seaweed sirens.
Also in DCC: as well as the more standard giants (frost giants, storm giants, etc.) I have "Beach Giants". They're like extremely violent versions of 1960s surfer-movie characters.
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales;876913Inspired by blogs like LonelyGM and Hack & Slash, I've been thinking about ways to change up old monsters to make them feel new. Like making goblins into plants a la Warhammer and goblins/hobgoblins/bugbears stages of their life cycle a la some insects.
What ideas do you have?
This isn't much, merely a flavor rather than applicable solution, but check it:
Either D&D 3.5 or PFRPG (I'm almost sure it was PFRPG, but I don't recall any system-specific classes being used). Some time ago our small band of ruffians was hired as bodyguards for a certain scholar specializing in diseases. Whole point was to assure his safety while the scholar continued his research. See, he developed that weird hypothesis that goblins (and goblinoids) were in fact acting stupid because of some viral disease present in 99% of specimens.
So, each session we ventured into a different environment (a jungle, swamps and a dungeon), chased some local goblins, caught them, and delivered to Mr. Science. The pacing wasn't very fast and the story involved little twists (not counting the time when our employee was himself caught by goblins), yet the experience was a bit different because it was crucial to spend some time studying goblin behavior in their natural environment (think "sitting in shadows, observing the movement of their guardians, finding out where they keep warriors and where babies: Thief style"), and bring some prisoners as alive as possible, so our employee was able to perform his operations on them. Mostly it was a mix of a vivisection and an autopsy (for the science, yay!).
It turned out, that the scholar was right and there was indeed some virus present in brains of those creatures, no matter where they lived and for how long. It was this tiny crap responsible for psychotic behavior of specimens and their primitivism.
There were discussions about possible solutions, but none proved to be very good, since while it was ok to cure the virus, there was no easy way to turn back time and remake the damage done to brains of countless generations of goblins. There was also the problem of transmission - while cannibalism was mainly responsible for spreading the virus, young ones were already born diseased. One suggestion was to form a task party that would cast healing magic on any goblins they could. There was an idea to hunt goblins immune to virus, band them together in some village, allow to multiply and then release, so they could spread their immune-genes. Then there was the possibility of simply
Wishing the virus to disappear.
The scholar and us parted ways, since nobody was very interested in pursuing the story, and years later, the matter is still unresolved.
In the end, I kind of developed sort of pity for goblins and perceive them not as entirely evil, but rather as crippled race that could've become something better if not for that virus, constantly resetting their mentality to that of a hungry, maniacal, rabid dog.
So, if I were to present old monsters in a bit different light, I would do something like our GM did. Rather than adding some new gimmicks or traits, flirting with new environment or reforming their "society", I'd gently push an alternative explanation for their behavior and perception.
I think it could be fun.
giant/dire animals become very different if they're intelligent. Or ordinary animals, for that matter.
Quote from: RPGPundit;878454giant/dire animals become very different if they're intelligent. Or ordinary animals, for that matter.
Good point.
Giant animals with human intelligence would be scary foes.
Generally I draw from other sources, which includes folklore, literature and other games. I'll reply on the game systems official monster book as a guideline for stats but not as canon.
I don't need 100's of monsters anyway.
My goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears are all the same creature. If any of them pork each other, produces a goblin. Bathing in the blood of an enemy slain in the field of battle metamorphs into a hobgoblin. Bathing in the blood of an innocent child at midnight metamorphs into a bugbear. Alternatively, a kidnapped child will metamorph into a goblin if raised by the tribe.
Bugbear and goblins are what kids go to sleep fearing under their bed.
Quote from: RPGPundit;877783Also in DCC: as well as the more standard giants (frost giants, storm giants, etc.) I have "Beach Giants". They're like extremely violent versions of 1960s surfer-movie characters.
That's pretty awesome. I'd probably use Storm Giants for that.
Quote from: RPGPundit;877783Also in DCC: as well as the more standard giants (frost giants, storm giants, etc.) I have "Beach Giants". They're like extremely violent versions of 1960s surfer-movie characters.
Please tell me you have a giant Elvis Presley show up on occasion.
"Vorthar, what does your magic show?"
"Strange things, Selene. The giants have built an enormous bonfire from the remains of the village. One is standing, the other sitting. The standing giant has produced a stringed musical instrument. He's...
singing. Wait, I can make it out...'Return to sender, address unknown. No such number, no such zone.' The female giants are throwing their panties at him. Oh! The panties have crushed one of the remaining villagers! He died happy..."
Quote from: Thornhammer;878638Please tell me you have a giant Elvis Presley show up on occasion.
"Vorthar, what does your magic show?"
"Strange things, Selene. The giants have built an enormous bonfire from the remains of the village. One is standing, the other sitting. The standing giant has produced a stringed musical instrument. He's...singing. Wait, I can make it out...'Return to sender, address unknown. No such number, no such zone.' The female giants are throwing their panties at him. Oh! The panties have crushed one of the remaining villagers! He died happy..."
Not yet, but it certainly would fit the campaign.
Quote from: Spinachcat;878512Good point.
Giant animals with human intelligence would be scary foes.
My DCC players have certainly developed a healthy distrust of sloths. They're always a shifty bunch.