Monsters and their fluff

[Dr Zaius]

I know some people don't care for the background material that often accompanies monster descriptions, but others love it. And all of us are intrigued by some types of fantasy monsters but tend to find others overused and boring.

To my mind, the thing that makes a particular monster interesting is exactly this type of "fluff." Without the creepy background, the Illithids would just be freaky-looking people with tentacles and bad breath, the Drow would just be elves from the ghetto, and no one would care about the Orcs at all. It's the background story and the peculiar habits of each monster race that makes it interesting. Without this background, they are nothing more than just a collection of generic bad guys in different shapes and sizes.

So which monstrous race fascinates you the most?

 

[Palantir]

By far the Drow.

But how much of monster "backgrounds" do the players need to know or will they ever? If they adventure into a creatures home area/country/realm etc maybe some. But if they just run into them guarding a pass, or invading a village what then?

 

[Aries]

Not just monsters, but EVERYTHING I use has to have colour, or what fun is it to play the game at all eh.

In my game, kobolds are not just kobolds, they are cowardly, nasty, mean spirited cheaters. I got this from reading about Tuckers Kobolds (brownie point to anyone that actually has heard of them).

When a creature is only worth .5 hit dice, you just have to realise, running them will mean doing things that reflect that they have a grim life. They don't want to die, they are not there just to amuse the party for a few minutes either.

The most extreme result I have EVER indulged in a game, I was playing the DM's monsters for him (not a player, I just liked rolling the dice), and letting the other players realise SHIITE Les is trying to actually kill us !! I had some goblins under my control, and in one case I decided "nah ain't going to kill his PC, I'm going to capture it". The player was horrified, when I made it plain, there was something odd about the way the goblin was looking at him. He finally figured it out, the goblin was gay

Quick guys, just kill my PC noooooooow!!

God it was funny watching my buddy frantically trying to escape capture from that goblin hehe.

I love having people with colour.

 

[Palantir]

Well of course the monsters are "unique" when encountered but I was answering the need for knowing what a purple worm does in it's off time...

 

[Dr Zaius]

Well of course the monsters are "unique" when encountered but I was answering the need for knowing what a purple worm does in it's off time...

No, in that case I don't it's necessary to put too much fluff into it. But on the other hand, I probably wouldn't just say "a purple worm jumps out at you!" More than likely, I would make sure the worm is encountered in an area where it could realistically live, possibly having a nest or whatever in a likely spot nearby. I might even describe the nest if the players come upon it, then they would have a chance of being on their guard the next time they spot a similar nest.

What about the Drow do you find interesting?

 

[freightshaker]

I've always thought the Modron society was interesting but that probably goes back to my orginizational nature . As for a facination, it's defintiely the undead especially Liches. Tomb of Horrors is one of my favorite modules and all of my characters have always HATED, not disliked, the undead to an almost uncontrollable degree. It's led to some interesting situations....

 

[Whizbang1963]

So which monstrous race fascinates you the most?

Well the Drow for sure, add the Illithids, then the various races of Goblinkind..
The background information makes for interesting reading...

 

[Dr Zaius]

I know a lot of people are interested in the Drow. That is clear from the sheer volume of literature and adventures surrounding them. Still, running campaigns down in the underdark poses a number of challenges because almost everyone the players meet is hostile to one extent or another. It's also difficult for players to get supplies when they need them.

Of course, a lot of people are interested in dragons. Nevertheless, I think many people tend to overuse them in their adventures, which sort of takes some of the cool factor away IMHO. In my past campaigns, dragons of any sort were extremely rare, especially the large, red variety. On the very rare occasions where one was encountered, it was usually because the dragon wished the encounter to occur to suit its own plans.

I find some of the most interesting monstor lore to be--yeah I know I'm twisted--the great Blood War between the creatures of the lower planes. Now these were often spoke of, but their physical appearance was truly a special event. And when they did become involved in a given adventure--even if it was just a little bit--look out! In my campaign worlds, these are the ultimate villains, capable of absolutely anything no matter how terrible or ruinous. I typically only used these as behind-the-scenes manipulators to help flesh out a particularly interesting story line. It was a rare thing indeed for one to actually be encountered, and even rarer still for any direct confrontation to occur. And let's just say that's a good thing, because if you use all of their abilities the more powerful types are virtually death incarnate.

 

[Palantir]

I ran Tomb of Horrors a long time ago but it was a fun run. And unless PC's have some good Clerics/Paladins most dislike the undead.

When you have "powerful" monsters: Dragons, Liches, Beholders, Vampires etc they either have to be very rare or everyday common. If not once again- what are they doing the "rest" of the time? If everyday common it means that other equally powerful creatures are common and they keep each other in check.

Take dragons (evil), once they "get up" they will be out leveling entire villages & regions looking for underlings, a new base of operations etc, not just flying around waiting for the PC's to show up or sleeping-again. And if they go right back into hiding how did they ever get to be such a powerful "evil dragon" in the first place?

The "top tier" of the powerful in my world are rare but active. They hold areas of territory & "castles" and are constantly sending out their underlings to rasie terror or expand their power. Their constraint is in their numbers, very few to limit the chaos. The "good" are the same but their numbers are a bit higher to keep the evil wary of exposing themselves.

I think the most under estimated "thing" in an RPG world is that there are "other" Adventurers out there adventuring-there has to be! Just think about what your group is doing (all those great quests) then realize that there are other more powerful groups of NPC's doing even more "important" quests (someone has to be able to train your PC's). The world is alive with quests & adventures going on but is there any "impact" on the world by all that? I try to incorporate this idea into my world. Which is why I have limits on high levels etc. If your group of 6- 12th levels are killing dragons, liches etc what are the 20th lvls NPC's doing? Some grand overview must be used for high levels.

 

[Aries]

They give hit dice ratings for some creatures, and sadly, most DM's fail to realise, that a monster is more than just some hit dice to over come.

You will NOT see as dragon in my game, and casually kill it.

First off they fly.
Then they are very good at using magic, and being proof against it.
Breath weapons.
Several attacks per round.
Many many many years worth of magical loot to use on the target of their anger.
Underlings to do the dirty work.
Just plain intelligent.

Nope, if you see a dragon in my game, you better be 20th level, and able to run away half the time.

Gods? yeah right, no one is going to be killing gods in my games

Truely evil creatures like the undead, they will have a lot of years worth of preparation for a lot of things.

 

[Palantir]

If you plan on having a long term game/world you have to have balance & some form of "realism."

But killing major monsters is easy in some games.
I played in one game (once only) started out as 1st level, 6 hours later I was 21st lvl or so. The DM threw out levels like candy and monsters died like leaves falling from a tree. At one point somehow everyone got a "Wish." I picked a Pegasi... at that point I knew I was never coming back anyway & wanted to fly outta there!

 

[Maedhros]

I know a lot of people are interested in the Drow. That is clear from the sheer volume of literature and adventures surrounding them. Still, running campaigns down in the underdark poses a number of challenges because almost everyone the players meet is hostile to one extent or another. It's also difficult for players to get supplies when they need them.

Of course, a lot of people are interested in dragons. Nevertheless, I think many people tend to overuse them in their adventures, which sort of takes some of the cool factor away IMHO. In my past campaigns, dragons of any sort were extremely rare, especially the large, red variety. On the very rare occasions where one was encountered, it was usually because the dragon wished the encounter to occur to suit its own plans.

I find some of the most interesting monstor lore to be--yeah I know I'm twisted--the great Blood War between the creatures of the lower planes. Now these were often spoke of, but their physical appearance was truly a special event. And when they did become involved in a given adventure--even if it was just a little bit--look out! In my campaign worlds, these are the ultimate villains, capable of absolutely anything no matter how terrible or ruinous. I typically only used these as behind-the-scenes manipulators to help flesh out a particularly interesting story line. It was a rare thing indeed for one to actually be encountered, and even rarer still for any direct confrontation to occur. And let's just say that's a good thing, because if you use all of their abilities the more powerful types are virtually death incarnate.

In my game (not D&D), I have Elves and Dark Elves. I hate it when people call them "Drow".