Difficult monsters

[Kalzazz]

Higher Purpose - Defend Da House?

[martinl]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Higher Purpose - Defend Da House?

"Lower Purpose, Defend the Dungeon" surely?

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Kromm

That is awesome! Of course, you'd have to stack the deck a little. "Goblin-kin are as diverse as dwarves, elves, humans, and other adventurer races – an individual could have almost any trait!" Kevin the Goblin would surely have less ST, more IQ, Magic Resistance (an important part of Plot Armor in fantasy), and Ridiculous Luck, plus epic Stealth and a good Traps skill. Big bonus if he can defeat the party non-lethally.

Hmmm. Ka-Vahn of the Mad-at-all-stars clan vs. two human intruders...

[tbone]

Originally Posted by zuljita

Or one kid goblin who was being accidentally left behind during a winter pilgrimage. Home alone DF sounds like fun.

Great adventure idea!

I think you actually want to make the lone kid a Hell Gnome, though. "Clever makers of locks, traps, and Evil Runes for dungeons" – right there in the book.

And then you get to call the adventure "Gnome Alone".

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Of course, sometimes the most difficult monsters are the lamest ones with good tactics. Has any one actually tried having delvers deal with many times their number in orcs who set traps, shoot from behind barricades, and have a few shamans who've prepped the battlefield with Glue, Grease, etc. as Castle Doctrine (Monsters, p. 7) proposes? It can be nasty.

Not in DFRPG. I did it in low-level D&D a bit too effectively: a character on his first trip as an adventurer who was rescued, barely alive, from under a burning pitch-soaked net decided that adventuring was too dangerous and went back to working as a tavern bouncer.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by tbone

Great adventure idea!

I think you actually want to make the lone kid a Hell Gnome, though. "Clever makers of locks, traps, and Evil Runes for dungeons" – right there in the book.

And then you get to call the adventure "Gnome Alone".

I kind of want to write this now. It's SO GOOD.

[tbone]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

I kind of want to write this now. It's SO GOOD.

You must.

(So. What issue of Pyramid will we see it in? : )

(Speaking of Pyramid: Has its monthly themes ever included "Humor" – nonsensical adventures, jokey magic items, IOU content, etc.? Is that something anyone would want, or would it cause a mass exodus of readers? [Me, I'd like it, but I have no standards.])

[Kromm]

Of course Hell Gnomes need a few changes from regular gnomes:

Hell Gnome

Racial Cost: 20 points

—
Hell Gnomes superficially resemble their hill-dwelling cousins but differ in several important respects. They're uniformly unpleasant (if not actually evil) and utterly mercenary, selling traps and curses to anyone who can afford them, without regard for what those things might be used for. They just about always live deep underground, and are chummy with the fabled shadow elves and perhaps even certain Elder Things. And they are to the last gnome mages, though they rarely cast combat spells, preferring instead to work on slow, long-term enchantments such as Evil Runes.

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM ‑1; FP+3 [9]; Basic Move-1 [‑5].
Advantages: Magery 0 [5]; Night Vision 6 [6]; Resistant to Poison 5 [5]; Troublemaker* 4 [20].
Disadvantages: Callous [-5]; Greed (12) [‑15].
Features: Armor interchangeable only with that of SM ‑1 races.

Special Hell Gnome Traits
—
Magery 0: If you're a wizard, this overlaps Magery and you can spend the 5 points on other professional advantages. If you belong to another profession, you can sense mana and magic items. You can also learn (and cast!) wizardly spells that don't require Magery 1+, if you meet the spells' other prerequisites – but you'll need to find a teacher in play. If you're a bard, cleric, or druid, list spells learned through Magery 0 separately, as they obey the rules for wizards, not your profession; e.g., a Hell Gnome who learned Silence as a wizard would get no Bardic Talent bonus but wouldn't need to sing to cast it.

Troublemaker: You are a master of creating things that hurt people: curses, dangerous architecture, poisons, traps, and so on. Add +1 per level to the Alchemy, Hazardous Materials, Poisons, Thaumatology, and Traps skills. Also add +1 per level to the damage inflicted by your traps, including magical ones such as alchemical gunk and Evil Runes. All Hell Gnomes are born with the maximum level of this trait but may also learn up to four levels of the Widget-Worker trait of regular gnomes, for 5 points/level!

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by tbone

(Speaking of Pyramid: Has its monthly themes ever included "Humor" – nonsensical adventures, jokey magic items, IOU content, etc.? Is that something anyone would want, or would it cause a mass exodus of readers? [Me, I'd like it, but I have no standards.])

Not that I can recall . . . which is too bad, because I have a carnie (clown) profession for GURPS Dungeon Fantasy that's just waiting to find a home other than in Chistopher's closet.

[pgb]

Originally Posted by tbone

You must.

(So. What issue of Pyramid will we see it in? : )

(Speaking of Pyramid: Has its monthly themes ever included "Humor" – nonsensical adventures, jokey magic items, IOU content, etc.? Is that something anyone would want, or would it cause a mass exodus of readers? [Me, I'd like it, but I have no standards.])

Pyramid 3/101, last March, was on exactly that.