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Old 02-24-2019, 07:15 AM   #41
hcobb
 
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

Average stats, PC stats, or diceable stats?

I.e. is gargoyle ST listed as:
  • 20
  • 13
  • or 2d+11
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Old 02-24-2019, 07:30 AM   #42
ColBosch
 
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

Quote:
Originally Posted by gpoehlein View Post
Cards - The cards are meant to be strictly a visual aid and GM’s aid. Summarize the combat stats on one side and show the players what they see on the other. Using them for random encounters is behond the scope here. And our proposal pitched the as one of several stretch goals - pretty sure counters came before the cards as stretch goals.
This reduces their utility for me, but not to the point that I wouldn't want them.
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Old 02-24-2019, 08:18 AM   #43
gpoehlein
 
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

Quote:
Originally Posted by hcobb View Post
Average stats, PC stats, or diceable stats?

I.e. is gargoyle ST listed as:
  • 20
  • 13
  • or 2d+11
If there is a stat range, the book entry would give that range. For the cards, the average stats will be given, perhaps with a plus/minus number in parentheses behind it so the GM can customize encounters. The idea is that the cards are a quick reference so the GM doesn’t have to reference either the Bestiary or ITL all the time.

Greg
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Old 02-24-2019, 09:35 AM   #44
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

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Originally Posted by gpoehlein View Post
Organization - as with most actual bestiaries, the entries will be alphabetical. I looked at grouping creatures together, but a phone discussion with Steve about the conceptshowed that we both agreed on the alphabetical arrangement. Makes everything easier to find.
Agreed, though I hope that doesn't preclude the inclusion of encounter tables, appendices or an index that arranges the creatures by alternative groupings.

BTW, will there be any appetite for fan-submitted content? There are some great monster ideas in these very forums. I know Kickstarters sometimes offer a high-level pledge tier that will grant a submission to the project, but TBH, I'm not a fan of this kind of 'pay-to-play' approach since it only gives opportunity to the folks with the deepest pockets and not necessarily the best ideas.
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Old 02-24-2019, 03:20 PM   #45
Chris Rice
 
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

The Bestiary will only be of value if it adds a lot more than is already in the TFT book and that's a bigger ask than it might appear. TFT already has quite a large number of creatures packed into a relatively small number of pages, due to the concise nature of the stats and descriptions.

Will the new Bestiary have a much larger number of creatures, expanded descriptions or both? I really want this sort of book, but it has to really add value to the system.
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Old 02-24-2019, 03:33 PM   #46
hcobb
 
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

What is the value add of the book over ITL and the cards?

The only thing I can see that would justify this cost would be a quarter to three-quarter page micro-scenario showing how the scholar encountered the critter. Why was the critter at that spot? What were its motivations and reactions? Give the GM food for thought for handling things as something other than an arena cage match.
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Old 02-24-2019, 04:22 PM   #47
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

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Originally Posted by hcobb View Post
What is the value add of the book over ITL and the cards?
Alphabetical order, pages won't get lost, index will help GMs find references to beasties in entries for other beasties, more complete entries, looks great on a bookshelf, easy to read, etc. That's a lot of value added.
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Old 02-24-2019, 04:27 PM   #48
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

Probably not going to be a huge number of additional entries beyond what is already in ITL. Instead, each entry will be expanded with more information. I plan to start out by standardizing each entry (right now, stats aren't always in the same order, they may be spread out, or given at the beginning or end). There will be a section for general information that describes things like what it looks like, special abilities, and any other game info about the creature. There will be a section on habitat, that describes where one would find the creature, and what type of environment it prefers. There will be a section on predators, parasites and pathogens, that describes what might prey on the creature, what its natural enemies might be, what diseases it might carry and such. Finally, there will be a section that describes the creature's relationship with humans, if there are any body parts that are usable in potions or magic, and whether the creature can be bargained with, made a pet of, or anything else.

So, ultimately, the idea is to flesh out all the entries with more background and useful info to spark campaign or adventure ideas, and to make encounters more lively or realistic.

Greg
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Old 02-24-2019, 04:47 PM   #49
TippetsTX
 
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

Quote:
Originally Posted by gpoehlein View Post
Probably not going to be a huge number of additional entries beyond what is already in ITL. Instead, each entry will be expanded with more information. I plan to start out by standardizing each entry (right now, stats aren't always in the same order, they may be spread out, or given at the beginning or end). There will be a section for general information that describes things like what it looks like, special abilities, and any other game info about the creature. There will be a section on habitat, that describes where one would find the creature, and what type of environment it prefers. There will be a section on predators, parasites and pathogens, that describes what might prey on the creature, what its natural enemies might be, what diseases it might carry and such. Finally, there will be a section that describes the creature's relationship with humans, if there are any body parts that are usable in potions or magic, and whether the creature can be bargained with, made a pet of, or anything else.
While these would certainly be useful additions (and standardized formatting for each entry is a good idea too), if you guys aren't planning to at least triple or quadruple the number of creatures available for TFT, I would be greatly disappointed.

Why do you think most of us spent so many hours in the early days to convert monsters from other RPGs? We want more beasties.
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Last edited by TippetsTX; 02-24-2019 at 04:58 PM.
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Old 02-24-2019, 04:57 PM   #50
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Default Re: Bestiary of Cidri

Ah. Well, that makes it a hard pass for me. I can do my own world-building. I want breadth over depth. I want lots of new toys to fill out my own corners of Cidri, not more information on stuff I've already bought.
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