This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Monsters you just never know what to do with

Started by LibraryLass, April 07, 2013, 09:27:31 AM

Previous topic - Next topic
Print
Go Down Pages 1 2 3
User actions

Mistwell

#15
April 08, 2013, 12:48:16 PM
Beholders.  Cool looking, iconic, interesting abilities, scary, but...just never found a rationale way to insert them into our campaigns.

Bill

#16
April 08, 2013, 01:49:50 PM
Quote from: LibraryLass;643786For my money... it's gotta be Giants, and to a lesser extent Elementals. I just can never really come up with a satisfying way to fit them into the world.

I use elementals fairly often; perhaps because they can be summoned.

And I do planar games failry often.

Giants I guess I use fairly often depending on the setting.

Lynn

#17
April 08, 2013, 02:13:14 PM
I think its simply hard to fit so many critters into the ecosystem.

Giants really need to be contained in some way. Consider how much it would take to provide for the needs of a group of 50 giants - feeding, clothing, building shelters, making giant sized weapons, and more.
Lynn Fredricks
Entrepreneurial Hat Collector

daniel_ream

#18
April 08, 2013, 02:20:36 PM
Quote from: talysman;643912I don't like the idea of monsters as species, anyways.

This.  I've really lost my taste for DM-as-Subcreator, and I find D&D's implied gonzo kitchen-sink setting utterly incompatible with it anyway.

I don't really have the OP's problem per se, because any time I run a D&D-like campaign the first thing I do is page through the Monster Manuals and select at most a double handful of monsters that will show up in the campaign.  Given that, just about any monster will work if placed in context with other monsters with a similar theme or some common element.
D&D is becoming Self-Referential.  It is no longer Setting Referential, where it takes references outside of itself. It is becoming like Ouroboros in its self-gleaning for tropes, no longer attached, let alone needing outside context.
~ Opaopajr

Bill

#19
April 08, 2013, 02:26:21 PM
Quote from: Mistwell;644146Beholders.  Cool looking, iconic, interesting abilities, scary, but...just never found a rationale way to insert them into our campaigns.

I think the Beholders insert themselves into whatever setting they damn well please! :)

Mistwell

#20
April 08, 2013, 02:31:57 PM
Quote from: Bill;644186I think the Beholders insert themselves into whatever setting they damn well please! :)

What I mean is, we could just never find a good reason to justify why this smart, powerful creature would be lurking around in a smelly old dungeon with trolls and such.  Nor could I see them getting away with, say, manipulating an entire village without the villagers just fleeing.  I suppose that later scenario has some potential though, a beholder as the power behind the throne, or behind the head of a gang, or something like that.

Bill

#21
April 08, 2013, 02:34:45 PM
Quote from: Mistwell;644190What I mean is, we could just never find a good reason to justify why this smart, powerful creature would be lurking around in a smelly old dungeon with trolls and such.  Nor could I see them getting away with, say, manipulating an entire village without the villagers just fleeing.  I suppose that later scenario has some potential though, a beholder as the power behind the throne, or behind the head of a gang, or something like that.

A beholder does have charm person and charm monster as I recall.

Easy to charm an entire town and disintegrate those that resist the charm.

All the beholder needs is a 'curtain'
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Charm an illusionist.

But I agree its tricky for most settings.

The Traveller

#22
April 08, 2013, 02:43:42 PM
Quote from: Lynn;644183I think its simply hard to fit so many critters into the ecosystem.

Giants really need to be contained in some way. Consider how much it would take to provide for the needs of a group of 50 giants - feeding, clothing, building shelters, making giant sized weapons, and more.
Depends, the more supernatural forms of giants can be excused from a lot of that. Frost giants, fire giants, storm giants etc. Played properly those guys can be more terrifying than dragons, but they stick to their own environment, they may not even need food in the form of meat or vegetables.
"These children are playing with dark and dangerous powers!"
"What else are you meant to do with dark and dangerous powers?"
A concise overview of GNS theory.
Quote from: that muppet vince baker on RPGsIf you care about character arcs or any, any, any lit 101 stuff, I\'d choose a different game.

daniel_ream

#23
April 08, 2013, 02:57:59 PM
Quote from: Bill;644192Easy to charm an entire town and disintegrate those that resist the charm.

This and a half.  Obviously it depends on exactly what a beholder wants  - and that might be nothing more than "destroy shit" - but it seems a pretty obvious and OSR-themed setup for the Evil Baron Spikyhelm who's been ravaging the neighbouring territories to be the puppet of evil Court Wizard Bushybrows who is himself the puppet of the beholder in the catacombs underneath the castle keep.  Even better, the beholder was summoned by the wizard in an ill-advised attempt at coercing magical power from it or something.
D&D is becoming Self-Referential.  It is no longer Setting Referential, where it takes references outside of itself. It is becoming like Ouroboros in its self-gleaning for tropes, no longer attached, let alone needing outside context.
~ Opaopajr

Rincewind1

#24
April 08, 2013, 03:02:42 PM
Quote from: Bill;644192A beholder does have charm person and charm monster as I recall.

Easy to charm an entire town and disintegrate those that resist the charm.

All the beholder needs is a 'curtain'
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Charm an illusionist.

But I agree its tricky for most settings.

Yes, the beholder's definitely more of a "boss" than just a random encounter, outside of Underdark at least. They are a pretty good monster, though -  I learn to fear the Beholder when I played in an Underdark campaign.
Furthermore, I consider that  This is Why We Don\'t Like You thread should be closed

RPGPundit

#25
April 10, 2013, 01:16:06 AM
For me, Giants were always more of a wilderness encounter than a dungeon encounter.

RPGPundit
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

The Ent

#26
April 10, 2013, 04:34:53 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;644617For me, Giants were always more of a wilderness encounter than a dungeon encounter.

RPGPundit

This, I've never had Giant encounters in dungeons myself (allthough that will likely change when(ever) I manage to get a megadungeon rolling).

Usually either rampaging Giant army* or say a lair of the things (in the case of Hill Giants that's just a small basic cave with the Giants and their Ogre/Orc/Wolf/whatever servants and treasure).

*=rather small, mind. maybe a dozen of the monsters

Bill

#27
April 10, 2013, 08:19:48 AM
Quote from: The Ent;644646This, I've never had Giant encounters in dungeons myself (allthough that will likely change when(ever) I manage to get a megadungeon rolling).

Usually either rampaging Giant army* or say a lair of the things (in the case of Hill Giants that's just a small basic cave with the Giants and their Ogre/Orc/Wolf/whatever servants and treasure).

*=rather small, mind. maybe a dozen of the monsters

I think the 'against the Giants' modules work because of remote locations. Giants that live near humans are just...large humans?

The Ent

#29
April 10, 2013, 01:59:57 PM
Quote from: Bill;644667I think the 'against the Giants' modules work because of remote locations. Giants that live near humans are just...large humans?

Agreed.

I've tried to avoid the "Giants = big humans" thing myself and think I've managed, allthough I admit that my Hill Giants = big Ogres pretty much. :D
Print
Go Up Pages 1 2 3
User actions