Monster Monday: A Little Late

Monster Monday is late. It happens. Why is not important (my brother's boat broke down, and I spent 3 hours trying to help him). On to the RPG goodness.

I want to expound on last week's topic, the word monster. More specifically, I want to put a "monster" into a campaign. As most of you know, I'm working on a mega-dungeon called Mord Mar. Outside of the dungeon is a swamp, with Stonemire as a possible base of operations. In a fantasy world, there should be some famous creatures in the wilderness that people avoid the territories of. It's time my swamp had some of these:

Nobback: a 15 foot long gator, who is known to seek out anything larger than herself in her territory. About a generation ago, the old timers say that Nobback ate a chimera.

Spiketooth: a huge boar, the size of a horse. Said to have a taste for goblin meat. Spiketooth generally stays to the west end of the swamp (near the goblin homes).

Zielony: a great wyrm green dragon who roosts in an abandoned temple at the south end of the swamp. She generally leaves Stonemire alone, but will occasionally harass merchants for things of interest.

Garbanzo: a weeping willow treant. Garbanzo is usually friendly with humanoids it crosses paths with, but sometimes it takes offense to small things.

Scales: a giant viper that traverses the swamp. Believed to actually be several snakes, all over 10 feet long.

Grumbleskin: a hill giant that lives near the mountain. He has made a lot of money by ambushing adventurers and caravans.

Mord Mar Monday

This past week I have been spending more time on Mord Mar, and less time on blogs, and other gaming-related activities. I have had a couple of solid breakthroughs on design and writing.

First, I have been moving forward on writing the sequel to Goblins. Mord Mar: Denizens of the Citadel has 4000 words written. I have made it to a room that is overwhelming me. There's just too much to describe. I'm pushing through it, trying to find a way to write it that won't overwhelm the reader. Nine different objects need describing.  It is a challenge that I will overcome. In the next couple of days, I will find a format that works.

The flip side of that overwhelming room is the adventure is outlined, and will move quickly once the room is done. I love the different challenges that are going to be presented. Combat, puzzles, and exploration will really be at the forefront in Denizens of the Citadel. I'm excited about the history and setting that is becoming organic to the module.

On a different note, I think I have finally found a solution to the Teleportation Dilemma. This problem has been nagging at me for years. For those of you that don't know what the Teleportation Dilemma is, allow me to explain. Teleportation can screw up a mega dungeon. The ability to come and go at will removes a large portion of danger. It allows the quick transportation of loot. Teleportation can allow access to areas that the GM has not fully prepared.

With all of this, most mega dungeon creators limit or remove the use of teleport. Look at Undermountain as a great example. Here's a quote from The Ruins of Undermountain Campaign Guide to Undermountain, page 16: "Old, but still potent, protective magics placed by Halaster prevent many forms of teleportation and similar spells - word of recall, dimension door, succor, and even passwall from functioning within (and into or out of) Undermountain. No magical methods of escape are possible unless such magics don’t touch or pass through any stone walls, doors, floors or ceilings."

Removing such a powerful spell from the party has caused many of my players consternation. In some games they have had to find the spell, in others they chose it as a spell when leveling. Either way, they hated not having it available. They felt punished, simply because of the setting that we were using.

My conclusion to the Teleport Dilemma is a randomization. As I was thinking about the teleport nodes that line the entrance corridor, I decided that Egg devised the system. He built it, but it is pervasive throughout Mord Mar. 50% of the time the teleport spell taps into the system, and dumps the people being teleported into the nearest teleport node (or activation point). 25% of the time, they teleport as intended (with the usual teleport chances of failure), and 25% of the time the spell simply fails.

Upcoming projects

As many of my regular blog readers know, publishing Mord Mar has been a dream of mine for 5 years or so. Thanks to a push by Swords and Wizardry day, I now have the tools available to do this. InDesign is an amazing program that will take me forever to learn. But, I learn best while doing. After getting Goblins of the Citadel out, I have begun working on the first actual sourcebook for Mord Mar. It's going to be called Stonemire. I hope to have it done before the end of the year, and am expecting about 128 pages.

When I revised Mord Mar: Goblins of the Citadel, I intentionally re-wrote a couple of blocked off areas into it. There will be a sequel coming, where the stone slab above Mucksnort's throne room is moved, and the PCs and GMs can begin to see the true scope of the citadel. This should be out in a couple of months. A few of the lingering questions from part one should be answered: where did the Goblin Mirror come from? Who put it there? Part 2 will answer these questions. But, I plan on a 4-part series, so there may be more questions than answers when its done . . .

Ian (my partner) and I think we have hit on something for the Swords and Wizardry Light community with my weather chart. We are brainstorming several more charts, and intend to make a 25-50 chart book for S&WL. They will be compatible with any fantasy role-playing game. We have another ten or so ideas that we just need to sit down and write. I hope to push this one out right around NTRPGcon.

Ian has submitted a one-page adventure for S&WL to Tenkar, Mike and Zach. It will probably show up soon in either a print, or PWYW PDF format. . .

Look for this logo. It's ours!

Monster Monday

Everybody who plays RPGs knows of Dungeons and Dragons. Most people who don't play RPGs in the Western World know of Dungeons and Dragons. Those of us who do play, know that monsters are integral to the game. That's why Dragons is in the title. Today I'm going to look at 5 "entry level" monster books for some of the games I have played over the years.

Image from paizo

5. Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo, 2009): Paizo may have saved our hobby from the 4e massacre. They picked up the 3.X mantle and gave the players something worth playing. Paizo put a great monster book together here, with amazing art, and a sturdy frame. I did enjoy Pathfinder for several years, but now I prefer less "crunchy" games.

4. AD&D 2e Monstrous Compendium (TSR, 1989): I loved this book. Right up until I bought my 4th or 5th Volume. I loved that I could arrange the monsters in my notebook next to the encounter descriptions. I loved being able to keep hundreds of monsters in a single binder. Then the holes started ripping. The printers couldn't line up the pages from volume to volume. I spent way too much time putting them back in order when I was done. It will always have a place in my 14 year old heart, and on my shelf.

Image from Troll Lord Games

3. Castles and Crusades Monsters & Treasure (Troll Lord Games, 2004?): I love C&C. It's probably my favorite game behind Swords and Wizardry. I rank this book because I only need it for, well, monsters and treasure. C&C doesn't suffer from too much crunch. And Troll Lord seems to always be running a sale. 

Image from Drive Thru RPG

2. Swords and Wizardry Monstrosities (Frog God Games, 2013?): As much as I love S&W, that's not why this book makes #2. What makes this book head and shoulders above the modern competition is that every monster has an example set up. At the very least, this makes it entertaining to read. And, more often than not, I want to find a way to included the described encounters into my game. To top it off, it is a Frog God production, so the book will probably outlive the campaign it is used in.

Image from Tome of Treasures

1. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977): There's not much to say about this book that you don't already know. We all love it. A book with the same name has appeared in 4 of the 5 D&D editions (sorry 2e). This book has stoked imagination in one form or another for 2 full generations. Its longevity and iconic nature make it a must have, in at least one edition. 

A quick note: I wouldn't trust those prices at Tome of Treasures. They seem a bit out of date.

Gen Con Registration

Gen Con registration is on Sunday. I've been spending a lot of time setting up my wishlist. That's why nothing is going on here.  Check out the Mord Mar events at Gen Con:

RPG1460521 Thursday 11am
RPG1460530 Friday 9pm
RPG1460534 Sunday Noon

There may be a Wednesday event too. That hasn't been processed yet. . . If you get a ticket, let me know here!

UPDATE 
The Wednesday event went live Sunday morning. Then all 4 events sold out during the initial rush for tickets!

Couldn't get one for Gen Con? Plan a trip to Grand Con. That event is going to be crazy! (Here's a hint: 5 GMs)

So, I asked my players this weekend a fairly simple question:

What do you imagine when I say 'you see a goblin coming at you, describe what he looks like'

There were 5 players, and all of the answers were similar.  Here's what was  the same:

Short (although this varied from 3'-5')
pointy teeth/beady eyes
low quality equipment
green (with one player saying green-brownish)

4 of the players included some form of  "bad hygiene" as well:
dirty and smelly and messy
greasy hair (if any)
poor hygiene
and my personal favorite: very Tolkien-esque


Now, I asked this question with a specific goal in mind: to give the goblins of Mord Mar a distinctive flavor and description.  But, it brought me to something deeper.  The game we play and love is mostly inside of our imaginations.  We don't all see the same thing from a description.  Let me give an example:

Two humanoids are walking down the corridor toward you.  One is wearing heavy armor, with a helmet covering their face.  The other is dressed in all black and wearing a fedora type hat.  Both are carrying weapons, sheathed but ready.  The stop at the edge of your torchlight and wait, seeming to stare at you.

What weapon is the 'heavy armor character' carrying?  What does his helmet look like?  Do you imagine the fedora wearer as a rogue type character?  Or a mage?  What type of weapon is sheathed at their side?  What sex are each of them?  Please feel free to answer any of these questions in the comments, if you want.

Description makes and breaks an encounter.  It is probably the most important skill of a game master.  Therefore it is important to get any description right.  With this in mind, here is the first official description of a Mord Mar goblin.

Goblins in Mord Mar are short, nimble creatures, standing about 3 1/2 feet tall.  They have gray skin and small heads, which are barely humanoid.  Their ears are small and pointed, similar to a cat's.  Their armor and weapons are of low quality, usually scavenged from a corpse, or fashioned from primitive materials.  Their stench radiates around them, a mixture of stale sweat and foul breath. A goblin's teeth are small razors that jut in crazy directions, and their mouths look much to big for their faces.  Most goblins in Mord Mar have small, angular noses, with tiny nostrils.  This makes them breathe through their mouths.
Goblins live in tribal units called 'warrens.' Life in a warren is chaotic and brutal.  Most males live short lives, and are destined to die at the hands of their kin.  Females are treasured prizes which are frequently gambled with, or fought over.  It is not uncommon for a female to be killed by someone who just won her.  Goblins fear anything stronger than themselves, and will flee, leaving behind anything they are not carrying when confronted with something more powerful.
Warren hierarchy is strongest to weakest.  A leader only stays a leader as long as he can win battles.  Most leaders will use poison to keep themselves on top of the warren.  They will often employ the poison before a troublemaker can challenge them.

Feel free to comment about this description as well.