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4/16/2020 9:01 am  #21


Re: Men as monsters

For Lost Cairns of the Savages the men (Half-bloods) are the monsters. What i did was qualify them as the following types and built a basic template for each type:

(I wont spoil anything here)

1. Braves- these are low level scouts and sentries- they have mastery of bows and small thrown weapons. They are essentially 2-3rd level. They will have Very low amounts of valuable treasure. They exist as a “monster” template only.

2. Warriors- these are your everyday fighters, they make up the bulk of warbands. They are essentially 4-6 level fighters and have mastery of bows, thrown weapons and melee weapons they will have a small amount of valuable treasure. They too exist as a “monster” template only.

3. Elites - these are warband leaders 1-2 for every full warband. They are 6-7 level fighters have grand mastery of a variety of weapons based on their level and specific place within the tribal society. They have more valuable treasure and may carry a (shaman) blessed magical item.these guys have built personalities and are feature NPC / monsters. They have a “monster” template but also a brief description and tactics they may employ.

4. Shaman acolytes- these are low level spell users of a variety of classes depending on their specific place in the tribal society. They may be witches, shamen, clerics or really any of the available classes. They will have low monetary treasure but will carry a small holy item, totem or relic based on their purpose. They accompany warbands. They have a “monster” template but have a brief description and tactic.

5. Shamen- these are higher level holy/sorcerous elites, they are rare, 1-2 per tribe. Again they may be of any spell using class and built individually to serve a specific purpose within the campaign. These are full fledged NPCs with a near complete character sheet.

6. Chief- they are high level fighter classes and are built individually as leaders of specific tribes. They are very few in number and report directly to the over all big bad. They have personalities and are full character NPCs.

7. Big bad and minions- super secret but built individually and given traits that serve a specific purpose in the overall campaign. Really nasty foes.

In conclusion i have done a bit of both, stated the lower levels out as “monster” and also built specific “personalites” to trigger the PC’s to remember (hate, loath, hunt etc) individuals who are more memorable.


Del Teigeler, Illustrator
mavfire.blogspot.com
mavfire.deviantart.com
 

4/18/2020 3:02 pm  #22


Re: Men as monsters

I simply don't have the time to go through the hassle of creating fully fleshed leveled NPCs from scratch. When necessary I re-skin and tweak existing monster and NPCs profiles to my liking.  
 

 

4/18/2020 6:55 pm  #23


Re: Men as monsters

So how do you all work spell lists for NPC spellcasters - including the all important (to PCs as least) spellbooks?

 

4/18/2020 8:32 pm  #24


Re: Men as monsters

lige wrote:

So how do you all work spell lists for NPC spellcasters - including the all important (to PCs as least) spellbooks?

I use Random rolls.


 
 

4/18/2020 11:23 pm  #25


Re: Men as monsters

Brock Savage wrote:

I simply don't have the time to go through the hassle of creating fully fleshed leveled NPCs from scratch. When necessary I re-skin and tweak existing monster and NPCs profiles to my liking.

That's how I feel as well. If there's a necromancer class in a game, I'm not about to go to the trouble of creating a "necromancer" monster as well. I might add extra powers or bonus spells (or whatever) to the basic class though.

But I freely confess to being lazy. If someone feels less languid about the subject, by all means go for it.


Michael Sipe 1979-2018
Rest in peace, brother.
 

4/19/2020 8:51 am  #26


Re: Men as monsters

I only fully stat out boss level NPCs and arch-villains.  And I do like giving them new spells and abilities to keep players off balance.  As they note in the Swords & Wizardry rules "the guidelines presented for PCs do not apply to NPCs, which might have a range of skills and abilities not available to player characters."  Throw in some dark gods and cult magic and everything has a simple explanation.


"Could you fancy me as a pirate bold?  Or a longship Viking warrior with the old gods on his side?  Well, I'm an inshore man and I'm nobody's hero.  But I'll make you tight for a windy night and a dark ride."--Jethro Tull
 

4/19/2020 6:00 pm  #27


Re: Men as monsters

Spider of Leng wrote:

Throw in some dark gods and cult magic and everything has a simple explanation.

Indeed: the players (and their PCs) don't know everything...heck, no one does, including the Ref. 


"It is all very well to point out that the man lacks facility; as he asserts, sheer force can overpower sophistication."
Jack Vance, Rhialto the Marvellous
 

4/19/2020 6:30 pm  #28


Re: Men as monsters

Blackadder23 wrote:

If there's a necromancer class in a game, I'm not about to go to the trouble of creating a "necromancer" monster as well. I might add extra powers or bonus spells (or whatever) to the basic class though.

But I freely confess to being lazy. If someone feels less languid about the subject, by all means go for it.

I'm probably misunderstanding you, but for me, formally classing an NPC seems like more work (and more limiting) than jotting down the few stats I know I'll need for the situation and whatever abilities I want. Again, probably misunderstanding you.


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 

4/20/2020 10:00 am  #29


Re: Men as monsters

Chainsaw wrote:

Blackadder23 wrote:

If there's a necromancer class in a game, I'm not about to go to the trouble of creating a "necromancer" monster as well. I might add extra powers or bonus spells (or whatever) to the basic class though.

But I freely confess to being lazy. If someone feels less languid about the subject, by all means go for it.

I'm probably misunderstanding you, but for me, formally classing an NPC seems like more work (and more limiting) than jotting down the few stats I know I'll need for the situation and whatever abilities I want. Again, probably misunderstanding you.

I already created a quick method of putting together NPCs of 1st-12th levels for my encounter tables. If I want more variety, I just take one of the class kits from Waifs of the Boreas and modify it to be a higher level.
I actually did a lot of work on those, so I'm going to get as much use out of them as possible!


Michael Sipe 1979-2018
Rest in peace, brother.
 

4/20/2020 2:42 pm  #30


Re: Men as monsters

Blackadder23 wrote:

I already created a quick method of putting together NPCs of 1st-12th levels for my encounter tables.

That addresses the time issue, but I personally don't like using PC class rules if we're talking about humans used as monsters. I'll assign them whatever abilities I want. Anyway, no biggie. 

"blackadder23" wrote:

I actually did a lot of work on those, so I'm going to get as much use out of them as possible!

Makes total sense.

 


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 

4/21/2020 6:57 pm  #31


Re: Men as monsters

Chainsaw wrote:

Blackadder23 wrote:

I already created a quick method of putting together NPCs of 1st-12th levels for my encounter tables.

That addresses the time issue, but I personally don't like using PC class rules if we're talking about humans used as monsters. I'll assign them whatever abilities I want. Anyway, no biggie. 

"blackadder23" wrote:

I actually did a lot of work on those, so I'm going to get as much use out of them as possible!

Makes total sense.

Good deal.


Michael Sipe 1979-2018
Rest in peace, brother.
 

10/10/2020 8:13 pm  #32


Re: Men as monsters

I’ve been going with FA 0: zero level fighters with 6 hp Save 17, 11 in every stat which seems to work fine for most people.. 


Giant centipedes? Why did it have to be giant centipedes?
 

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