So, how great is Kromm anyway?

[Michael Thayne]

Originally Posted by Proteus

A new Dungeon Fantasy Monsters?

So, we've had a generic group, a slimy set, a magical menagerie, a den of dragons, and a jumble of demons.

So what's next?

Undead? Weird Things from Beyond? Fey?

I'm hoping for Elder Things. It feels like a natural next step after Demons.

[Proteus]

Originally Posted by Michael Thayne

I'm hoping for Elder Things. It feels like a natural next step after Demons.

I feel like Elder Things would be too similar to Demons. Heck, their chaotic and unpredictable nature would respond really well to another random-table approach, as was used for Demons. Of course, random tables are really popular these days, so I'm sure it would sell well.

We know Kromm is partial to the topic, so I'm hoping for Undead. Everything from necromantically animated hands (also suitable as 62-point familiars!) to assorted pyramid/barrow attendants to gruesome mass-grave conglomerations to BBEG liches. Obviously you'd update some material from the 3rd-edition Undead title and offer plentiful cross-marketing call-outs to Zombies and Template Toolkit 4: Spirits.

[tbone]

No guesses here as to what category will be next... other than to bet that it won't be Mundane (too broad).

And categories like Plant and Spirit get some treatment in other books, so those are lower on my guess list.

Well, I'll welcome anything. Maybe Constructs and Divine Servitors in particular – not that they're notably exciting to me, but they're maybe prime candidates for more fleshing-out.

[Kromm]

So much guessing! I will say that Monsters 6 is not about a monster class.

My reason for doing that for demons was, frankly, that demons lend themselves all too well to randomness. A wise man named Eddie once said, "Chinese have a lot of Hells." Something similar holds for demons: If you want a demon of rattlesnake venom in the desert, you'll be waiting a long time for it to show up in a bestiary, so why not roll your own?

Almost all of the other monster classes work better as specific examples: Animals actually exist, shouldn't be random, and would fill dozens of 21-pagers – and hybrids would come after all that, so don't wait for it. Constructs ought to be, er, engineered to the encounter. Divine servitors (already in Allies) and Elder Things generally need to serve a purpose somewhat narrower than that of demons . . . but on the other hand, if you want a random one, you could just roll it up as a demon and change the label, so I'd prefer not to offer those so soon after demons. Elementals are cool but there's already a good system for them in Summoners. Mundane is stupidly broad, essentially a catchall, and never going to happen. Slimes have already happened.

Less negatively, I agree that plants and undead might be cool, but I can promise you that it isn't either of those this time around. Maybe someday . . . I can also promise you that it isn't a random menagerie, like Monsters 1.

Leaving a final clue, this theme is not a class like that of Monsters 2 or 5 (slimes and demons), nor is it as narrow as that of 4 (dragons). It comes closest to that of 3: Monsters linked by an idea. This time, though, the idea isn't linked to the monsters' origins (like myth or magic), but more to their dramatic role and another thing I cannot mention without giving up the guessing game.

[Farmer]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Monsters linked by an idea. This time, though, the idea isn't linked to the monsters' origins (like myth or magic), but more to their dramatic role and another thing I cannot mention without giving up the guessing game.

Made me think of Monsters Inc. :-)

[Proteus]

Originally Posted by Kromm

This time, though, the idea isn't linked to the monsters' origins (like myth or magic), but more to their dramatic role and another thing I cannot mention without giving up the guessing game.

Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 6: Big Bad Evil Guys?

[Michael Thayne]

Originally Posted by Proteus

Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 6: Big Bad Evil Guys?

Heh, yeah, I was going to say either "bosses" or, on the other end of the spectrum, "minions".

[Michael Thayne]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Almost all of the other monster classes work better as specific examples: Animals actually exist, shouldn't be random, and would fill dozens of 21-pagers – and hybrids would come after all that, so don't wait for it. Constructs ought to be, er, engineered to the encounter. Divine servitors (already in Allies) and Elder Things generally need to serve a purpose somewhat narrower than that of demons . . . but on the other hand, if you want a random one, you could just roll it up as a demon and change the label, so I'd prefer not to offer those so soon after demons. Elementals are cool but there's already a good system for them in Summoners. Mundane is stupidly broad, essentially a catchall, and never going to happen. Slimes have already happened.

You know, I would honestly like to see divine servitors and/or elementals get revisited at some point, because Allies and Summoners feel... it's a little hard to describe, but I want to say "poorly integrated" into the rest of the DF line. Like, the rules for divine servitors in Allies can technically be used to build demons by applying the Unholy lens, but the result will bear little resemblance to the demons in other sources, meanwhile elementals in Summoners are all built atop the templates from Magic, which have some odd features that AFAICT result from Magic 4e wanting to cram every elemental into a 40-point budget, and more generally from Magic 4e trying to covert a huge amount of material from 3e all at once resulting in a product where the details are often not super well thought-out. These and other factors, I think, result in a bunch of critters that feel somewhat out-of-place in the broader Dungeon Fantasy line.

[Kromm]

New entry posted in the GURPS thread of my DW.

[Kromm]

Happy slightly belated Thanksgiving to my U.S. friends!

New entry posted in the GURPS thread of my DW.