I’ve been thinking a lot lately about automated generators for monsters and demons, and have started rethinking my approach. I’m thinking more demons, less creatures.
More Demons, Less Mutants
For a long time I’ve wanted to automate the generation of demons or creatures for first The Fantasy Trip, and now Blades & Black Magic. There are a number of supplements out there (just search DriveThruRPG) that have great content that can be easily used to do just that.
I had wanted to start with a tool to generate swords & sorcery demons, and then I got sidetracked with developing one that would generate unusual versions of normal beasts. I say "sidetracked" because I’m beginning to change my mind about going down that path.
The trouble with my "creature creator" concept was that it really would not have provided that much value. Any Referee can easily tweak attributes, attacks and defenses, and come up with cool monsters that would entertain their players.
I’m thinking we need something better. Something more useful. And to me that means a tool that can generate demons or other otherworldly creatures specifically for a real swords & sorcery game.
Be True To the Genre
And that is the key–the tool has to stay true to the swords & sorcery genre. I’m thinking the summoned creatures Conan fought, the things that Kane encountered (or even summoned himself)… those are the kinds of things I want to generate.
The trick here is to come up with monstrosities that aren’t the typical Christian ideal of demons, and that aren’t just creatures transplanted from Call of Cthulhu. Obviously the swords & sorcery genre took a lot of inspiration from Lovecraft–but not all of it. The authors had something more.
So how am I going to pull this off? Well, I’m going to have different types of "demons." These will include what are thought of as actual demons, plus loathsome creatures and unclassifiable monsters. These will all be unique creatures that are not part of a "type" or species. Anything like that will be over in the Bestiary.
I’m going to take each of these types, and build a generator that takes the best inspiration from books and supplements, and mashes them together for true swords & sorcery creatures and demons–things you would expect Conan or Kull to be ripping apart!
Why I Am Focusing On This Now
Well, I am looking at this now because I’m starting work on a megadungeon for the Middle Lands, my swords & sorcery setting. Quite obviously I will need these things myself, and if I build it for me, I might as well let you all have a peek, too.
I also think this is something that would be useful to everyone–a quick and easy tool to create swords & sorcery monsters that Referees can immediately throw at players. Even if you are not playing in a dark, swords & sorcery campaign setting, these creatures should be transportable to your campaign.
I don’t have a date when this will be done yet, though. I’m doing my research, scratching my head and thinking about how I want this stuff to all come together. Once that get sorted out, I can start coding it and get it on the website. I do have a little more time because of the COVID-19 situation, but not as much as i would like.
So please be patient, check back for updates, and I hope to have a neat demon generator out to you all this summer!
Marko ∞
(Originally published on middle-lands.com, on 4/17/2020. I will be honest, folks: I have not made any progress on a demon generator since I wrote this. I started working on the Isle of Ealdun setting, and that sucked up a lot of my time. Still–I want to get back on this!)
