Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Fantasy Monster and Natural Beast Population Question

JLV · 04-16-2018, 10:32 PM

Hmm. Generally, I would assume that most players join a "fantasy" game in order to deal with "fantasy" things. Throwing endless waves of wolves and badgers at them seems...un-fantasy.

Sure, my players SEE lots of normal animals. They may even interact with them from time to time (riding that horse, avoiding that cave bear, noting the circling vultures), but generally, actual FIGHTS would be with more fantastic creatures that they either couldn't avoid for some reason (it's hard to avoid a griffin when you're there specifically to steal its eggs), or they stumbled across the creature in a confined place where avoidance wasn't an option ("Darned Dragon; why did it have to show up RIGHT HERE in the great hall after the tunnel collapsed behind us?!?")

After all, if you want to deal with normal animals, you can just head out into the deep woods and wait for a mama bear to show up (disclaimer: I don't recommend that action), or pat your dog. The point of fantasy is to, well, do fantastical things... Or so it seems to me, anyway.

04-16-2018, 10:32 PM	#6
JLV Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Arizona	Re: Fantasy Monster and Natural Beast Population Question Hmm. Generally, I would assume that most players join a "fantasy" game in order to deal with "fantasy" things. Throwing endless waves of wolves and badgers at them seems...un-fantasy. Sure, my players SEE lots of normal animals. They may even interact with them from time to time (riding that horse, avoiding that cave bear, noting the circling vultures), but generally, actual FIGHTS would be with more fantastic creatures that they either couldn't avoid for some reason (it's hard to avoid a griffin when you're there specifically to steal its eggs), or they stumbled across the creature in a confined place where avoidance wasn't an option ("Darned Dragon; why did it have to show up RIGHT HERE in the great hall after the tunnel collapsed behind us?!?") After all, if you want to deal with normal animals, you can just head out into the deep woods and wait for a mama bear to show up (disclaimer: I don't recommend that action), or pat your dog. The point of fantasy is to, well, do fantastical things... Or so it seems to me, anyway.