[Dungeon Fantasy] Creature Entry Layout

[Collective_Restraint]

Originally Posted by kmunoz

I am so happy about the creature entry layout I could dance a jig!

I felt the layout in Basic (and CotN and elsewhere, as a result) was too compressed and didn't give enough information; I felt it was a big step backward from the 3e layout. The DF2 layout is much, much easier to read, and is even better than the 3e layout (because it puts special abilities in their own section, which 3e didn't do).

Two gripes continue, though. First: piling in meta-traits along with everything else under Traits, without distinction. Someone who isn't familiar enough with the meta-trait names could spend unnecessary time looking for "Wild Animal" and "Quadruped" in the wrong places. It seems to me they belong near the Class section, not under Traits.

Second: not distinguishing between mental and physical traits. Sometimes these Trait lists are so long (5+ lines) that it's hard to glance over and spot a trait. Separating them by type (even if it's something other than mental/physical/magical/etc.) would make entries even more readable than they already are, and would not add significantly to the amount of space each entry takes up.

I decided to brainstorm and come up with another creature layout design for Dungeon Fantasy critters. I do agree with Kmunoz on a lot of his comments and that's why I decided to come up with this. I wanted to go with a layout that does all the job the GM reading it and I think if a Beastiary ever gets out, I would really like something similar. Oh, and the critter here is an Orc from my own Ultima campaign. Feedback welcomed.