Request: Better Monster Signal:Noise or Information Design

[mburr0003]

Originally Posted by beaushinkle

I've seen a couple of "list everything" notes, but I haven't seen anyone say that "Shark" needs to have "No Legs".

I didn't expect that when I argued for "list everything" I had to specify "Sharks need the trait No Legs".

Sharks need the trait No Legs.

This is because there is a precedent and a method to how NPCs are designed and listed in GURPS products*, listing Sharks with "No Legs" stays true to that form and method.


* To whit: "You get what you pay for", if a Shark is taken as an 'animal form' for a shapeshifting PC, then "No Legs" informs how many points the form costs, thus this information is needed. Now granted we're in DFRPG land where all of that is hidden behind the curtain, but that is not how it works out in the greater GURPS field, and as such, NPC stats in DFRPG are informed by "how it would be done in a regular GURPS book".

[sjmdw45]

Originally Posted by mburr0003

I didn't expect that when I argued for "list everything" I had to specify "Sharks need the trait No Legs".

Sharks need the trait No Legs.

I'll go even further: DF has not enough info on legs for my taste, not too much. Horses should have Vulnerable Legs, so that it doesn't take the full HP/2 injury to cripple them.

I would like it if monsters had more info about their habitats and ecology, social organization, goals, number appearing, treasure collecting habits, etc., but I recognize that DF Monsters is already printed and that page constraints were a big concern--it's water under the bridge. And the newer books from Gaming Ballistic such as Serpents of Legend are actually fantastic at this anyway.

But sharks should have No Legs because they do. If they didn't I could roll my eyes and say "obviously they do," and it wouldn't hurt the game beyond annoying me, but there's no reason to omit it. If you're worried about page space you should look at how Garden of Evil handles plants: defines a meta-trait called Flora which includes traits like Doesn't Breath and No Blood, etc., and uses it for all the plants. You can do that for Shark and just say it has trait: Fish. Now you've got the best of both worlds: it officially has no legs (see Fish definition on pg. XYZ), and it doesn't offend anyone who likes short stat blocks.