I have a confession: I love monsters. Really–I have a problem. I keep buying monster manuals and bestiaries, all to find new creatures to fight or throw at players. But what about modifying existing creatures to make new and exciting monsters? Well, here are my thoughts on how to do that for The Fantasy Trip.
Why Alter Monsters?
How many times have you had players know exactly what to do when faced with a given creature? How many times have even you been bored either throwing the same old monsters against players–or even fighting them yourself? Well, one obvious solution is to find new monsters. But another is to alter existing creatures in order to surprise your players!
This keeps things fresh–both for GMs and for players alike. For players, they get the fun of being surprised again–just like their characters would. But for GMs, you also get the fun of creating something new and unique–something that comes from your mind.
OK, Start Here
So how do you go about doing this? Well, start with an existing monster. Altering a known creature is easier and just a little sneakier when you want to surprise your players.
The first step in altering your chosen creature is to change its attributes. Add more ST to make the creature’s attacks more deadly. Add more to its DX attribute to make whatever attack it has more deadly by hitting more often.
But how much damage does additional ST cause? Advanced Melee gives 1 extra die of damage with bare hands for every 10 ST over 30 when in HTH. It also gives rules for clubs (add 3 or 4 to the table for HTH). My suggestion: wing it. After all, you are creating a new creature. Use these numbers as a guideline and assign a new damage based on higher or lower ST. Balance the original damage from claws or hooves with the numbers above.
The next step is adding or subtracting IQ. Adding IQ doesn’t have an immediate effect on combat. What it does do is allow the creature to be more crafty–and they should be played as such. If the creature is magical or can cast spells, it may allow it to cast those spells more easily, with a lower ST cost or even more deadly spells.
One more thing you can also do is change the speed of the creature. Increases in speed mean a higher MA, or even a possible increase in DX. An even more deadly change would be an increase in the number of attacks the monster can make, or an adjustment in DX when being attacked. That should be balanced against increases in ST or damage, though.
Even More Changes
One more step you can make is to change the physical properties of the creature. This can be anything from a cosmetic change to make the creature harder for the players to recognize to altering its fur, hide or skin. If you change make cosmetic changes, make sure to describe those to the players–make sure they see the changes in your description.
If you make changes in the hide, it will also affect the hits absorbed in each attack. Adding thicker fur or a hairy hide can add 1 or 2 hits of armor equivalent. Thicker hides or scales can add anywhere from 1 to 5 hits. However it is explained, the key is any change in armor should be explained by changes the players can see.
The next step can be changing the magical abilities of the monster. Or if the monster doesn’t have any–giving them to it. For example, for trolls, it’s the regeneration. For basilisks, it’s the petrification. Adding magical abilities like ones that mimic spells definitely adds shock value to the encounter. Changing the abilities also makes for surprises.
Another option is to remove or change any weaknesses the creature may have. For the troll, remove the susceptibility to fire. (That would be a huge surprise). You could also do something like make an intelligent giant who is a mage. With its large reservoir of ST, that would be a very formidable opponent–and another surprise.
In the end you have to balance the ST cost for any magical attack with the intended deadliness of the creature.
All of these suggestions can help you make changes in monsters, changes that you can use to surprise your players and keep things fresh. The key is to balance the changes you make with situation the monster is in. Don’t squash the players with some indestructible beast. By all means, if they are getting cocky, let them have it. But always give them a shot… And a surprise.
Marko ∞
(Originally published on inthelabyrinth.org, on 10/27/2017.)
