As I’ve been slowly sketching around the homebrew-setting Pathfinder campaign I want to run, I’ve decided I’m not going to use any “primary source” monsters. That means no 3.5 Monster Manual, no Pathfinder Bestiary, just other monster books. I currently own two older 3.5 books: Monsternomicon Vol. II by Privateer Press, and Sword & Sorcery Creature Collection put out by White Wolf. both are sort of meant to be support material for specific settings (Iron Kingdoms and Scarred Lands, respectively), but that just makes mixing and matching more interesting.
Why off-brand monsters? To keep things fresh and interesting, both for myself and my players. After 30 years of chucking dice and telling stories from behind a screen, I’m tired of orcs and kobolds. I’m good with keeping the standard fantasy races for player characters, but I want to make the fantasy more… I don’t know, fantastic.. by cutting out the old, overly-familiar dead weight. The last 3.5 campaign I ran a few years ago promoted bugbears and gnolls to the go-to default sword-fodder monsters, and that simple change made things feel fresh. The promise that the characters would never, ever run into orcs gave things a different flavor and texture. A world without any stock, familiar elements and only stuff the players likely haven’t ever heard of gives the whole world a different feel.
There are a couple of techniques I plan to use. I’m going to just describe monsters the characters have never seen before, and let the players make their assemptions that it might be something they already know. The other is to “re-skin” the off-brand monsters as familiar creatures. That thing? I’m saying that’s called a troll in my setting. No, that’s what red dragon’s can do in this world. Heh heh.
The other consideration is purely economic: there are tons of obscure 3.5 monster books that can be had for cheap in used bookstores. I love monster books because I can use them for so many things other than fantasy games. Need a space alien or genetically-engineered critter? Use an off-brand monster, converted to the system of your choice. Need something that goes bump in the night for Call of Cthulhu or some other modern horror game? Off-brand monsters to the rescue again.
Way to keep the players guessing Berin.As then relearn the “dangers” of the new adventuring life in the setting you are unleashing upon them. Hopefully it instills a sence of wonder we all enjoyed by not knowing what was out there in the settings we were playing.
Posted by Tim riley | May 16, 2011, 2:00 amSounds like fun, even the GM gets tired of using the same beasties all the time neh?
Posted by bonefather | May 16, 2011, 2:30 amI have yet to use “kobolds”. The only time I used kobold stats they were shemped circus clowns. I hope Shemping becomes a widly used term.
Posted by Marcus Coltrin | May 16, 2011, 2:52 amSomething I’m doing right now is taking off-brand monsters (their ecologies, abilities, and scary pictures) and using them as monsters for Call of Cthulhu. Even a low-CR D&D or Pathfinder monster is a fright (and a hoot for me) when put up against normal human beings.
Posted by Berin Kinsman | May 16, 2011, 9:50 am