In a game like Blades & Black Magic, where magic is rare and definitely dark, the standard high fantasy creatures are just not found… or different. Here are some ideas for making the most of what creatures you have!
What Monsters Are There In Low Fantasy/Swords & Sorcery Settings?
That is a good question, and one that forced me to adjust my thinking about creatures and monsters in fantasy settings. For the most part, in many swords & sorcery stories, there were mostly powerful creatures–deadly, yes, but mundane. Bears, tigers, lions, etc. However, the focus of a story might be the rare appearance of a supernatural monster–that was the big deal.
Contrast that with most fantasy RPGs today: lots of dragons, liches, tons of fantasy races… a wide array of monsters to choose from. Heck, take a look at how many Bestiary supplements there are on DriveThruRPG! Now that may be what you want, and that’s fine, but take a step back and look at the old stories from the classic days. You can really start to see that the early stories were just on a different path than what is out there now.
So what should we have in a low fantasy or swords & sorcery setting? Definitely fewer fantasy monsters, and more emphasis on the deadly creatures we have already in the real world. That way when the true monsters appear, not only are the characters but the players will be truly terrified!
Making Normal Creatures More Monstrous
How do you do that? A lot of it will be by the creature’s stats themselves. When you don’t have high powered characters or super-charged wizards walking around, even a bear becomes a deadly enemy that a player really must think hard about how to defeat.
Another way is to take advantage of the fight-or-flight rules in Blades. Don’t play creatures as dumb animals–if they are going to fight, make them clever and dangerous. Most predators are not going to stand back and let the characters pepper them with arrows–they are going to close as fast as possible where their aggression and natural weapons can be used to the most effect. Use that!
Still, this can mostly be done with mood and tone. When the characters hear from the frightened villagers about the mountain lions in the hills that are killing all of their hunters, that immediately sets the feel for what the players will encounter. Play up the danger, and it sets the encounter up to be even more dangerous in the players’ minds.
Adding A Supernatural Component
Another way to make creatures more monstrous is to add a supernatural component. Adding a magical ability to even something as lowly as a deer can make a mundane encounter much more dangerous–and fun.
This can be done fairly easily by taking a mundane creature and giving it a magical ability that mimics a spell, either from Heroes & Other Worlds or your own. A wolf that can start a fire? A deer that can create an illusion? Even small tweaks like that can make normal creatures unknown. Give them a story to explain their abilities, something that plays up a dark, supernatural angle.
Whether you create a creature like that, or use a classic fantasy one, in a low fantasy/swords & sorcery setting, they have to be rare, too. That way when the players (and characters) encounter them, the dramatic impact of such a creature is really emphasized.
And that is the real point–emphasize the dramatic. That is the biggest way to make your creature more monstrous. Play up the suspense, play up the fear of those around the characters, the wrongness of the creatures, and that will help the players feel the drama, too.
So what other ways do you have to make your creatures more monstrous? Let me know in the comments below!
Marko ∞
(Originally published on middle-lands.com, on 3/17/2019.)
