Orcs, goblins, kobolds, gnolls, etc. are boring! They only exist as sacks of XP and random loot for players to slay in sequence. I think it takes away from the mystery and magic of a monster encounter when the monsters are so commonplace. I'm starting to prefer the approach of LotFP and other OSR games where monsters are unique and rare. Coupled with my idea of dungeons as real places, I envision dungeons that are lairs of single monsters, who are powerful and highly dangerous, but hoard massive amounts of treasure. A single dungeon, maybe 5-10 rooms, would be a cache of thousands of gold, but also the dwelling place of a small band of 3HD+ monsters.
I realize that this is how the Moathouse in module T1 works. Most of the creatures in the upper levels are natural animals that have become giant sized - frogs, lizards, snakes, spiders and ticks. It is also a hideout for some random bandits. The lower level of the Moathouse is the lair of a single Ogre, who has his run of several rooms, and keeps prisoners locked in his pantry. It is then connected to the hidden underground lair of Lareth and his band from the Temple, and their bugbear slaves. The monster ecology of the Moathouse is very different from the Caves of Chaos, which has many diverse fodder monsters filling up the place.
I was reading up some Eastern European folk tales in an attempt to incorporate them into my adventures, and I noticed how the boogeymen in them were individuals that were highly lethal. I certainly couldn't imagine them living in groups and forming their own communities. I think monsters like that are better for an adventure, as the local peasants would be asking heroes to travel to the dark and scary parts of their land to face off against the cannabilistic hill troll, rather than asking the heroes to be goblin exterminators.
No comments:
Post a Comment