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Old 10-28-2009, 04:37 PM   #59
Mailanka
 
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Default Re: [DF] Homebrew Monsters

Appendix 2: Example Monster

SJGAMES FORUM EXCLUSIVE!!1!

This is an enormous amount of information to take in all at once, and I think it's easy to be overwhelmed by it all, so I want to take the moment to bring you back and point you back to the monster templates at the beginning, and show you how these work.

I don't like the Orc Warrior I included in my bestiary. As I pasted him down, I noted that he's too similar to the Hobgoblin in role and armament. Originally the Hobgoblin was the meatshield and the Orc was the damage-dealer, but since then, I added the Ogre as the primary meatshield, and the Hobgoblin morphed into a weapon of mass melee destruction, sorta like a siege engine made out of skin and bone. Thus, the role of Orc Warrior as big axe-swinger sorta fades.

I still like the idea of an orc wielding an ax, but a more "frontline" warrior makes more sense: perhaps a shield and an axe, a durable fighter who rushes forward and soaks up the damage while goblin skirmishers and orc hunters harry with ranged attacks, and the Hobgoblin lays in a swathe of destruction.

So, the first order of business: we need the orc template. It can be found on page 11 of DF 3.

Next, we look at our templates. We're making a worthy, so somewhere between 3 and 5 templates is enough. Orcs are tough, at least all the orcs I've ever seen in literature (and this matches their template), we'll make them a Brute, a Hardy brute at that. That's 2 templates. They're also lethal, so we'll make them a Killer. Beyond that, Orcs have never been known for their elegance, and the Hobgoblin is already a power killer. The strange templates don't fit Orc Warriors, so that just leaves us with Swift, but I don't feel particularly inspired to take it (despite taking it last time). So, Killer, Brute, Hardy Brute. That makes an orc warrior worth about 165 points, give or take, which makes him good either as a worthy or a fodder, fitting for the descriptions of Orcs.

Then we just take the templates and add up all the numbers. We start with ST 10, Orcs get +1, Killers get +1, Brutes get +1, and even Hardy Brutes get +1, so we're looking at an ST of 14. We do the same for other states, collect all the advantages together, choose our disadvantages. For Killer, Bad Temper seems to fit best, but Easy to Read might be more fun, as Orcs are a little on the stupid side, and this would make their dirty tricks and feints more obvious. Lowering Bully to 6 would be fun, but probably more appropriate for a mean Orc boss. For Brute, only Sense of Duty (Orcs) makes sense, as Orcs sometimes have a reputation of being "noble savages," and this will emphasize that.

Finally, we note our skills, adding up point totals when we end up with two of the same skills. For example, we take the second Killer Package (Brawl and 8 points of Axe/Mace), and the third Brute skill package (Shield and 8 points of Axe/Mace), which gives us a total of 16 points for Axe/Mace.

Then we just note it all down, discarding any advantages or disadvantages that aren't pertinent to a dungeon fight (for example, Orcs have a social stigma. Well, who cares?! This is a monster!)

The result:

Orc Warrior (Worthy)

Blah blah blah

Code:
ST: 14      HP: 30    Speed: 6.75
DX: 11      Will: 12  Move:  6
IQ: 9       Per: 10
HT: 12      FP: 12    SM: -0
Dodge: 10  Block: 12  DR:  4*
Axe (15): 2d+2 cut (Unbalanced)

Traits: Acute Hearing 2; Infravision; Resistant to Metabolic Hazards (+3); Combat Reflexes; High Pain Threshold; Appearance (Ugly); Bully (12); Easy to Read; Sense of Duty (Orcs).

Skills: Brawl DX+4 [12]-15, Axe/Mace DX+4 [16]-15, Shield DX+2 [4]-13

Class: Mundane (Orc)

Notes: 2 points of DR comes from tough hide, remainder comes from cheap leather. Medium shield, cheap axe and leather armor all lootable.

Last edited by Mailanka; 10-28-2009 at 04:42 PM.
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