Monster Stats? and my blog to do wish list...

Im working on Redbrick book a bit at moment to prep for test readers. Been seeing xmen, godzilla. Playing in a game of cthulhu for fri13th. Running Marvel, Roadwar2000 and Vikings this weekend + anarchist squat festival to attend.
I have a list of readers for my project making up some packs for them over weekend. I have a few extras d100s to add (some in book only) and some bridging text too. List of future blogs follows all this.

Another failed project and monsters stats for future

I did try a monster taxonomy breakdown once. I covered slimes. Most interesting thing was how inconsistent threat one class were when all could be on one page and how many micro systems there are in monster descriptions when game did not have rules for everything. Asphyxiation for example in MM and FF have way too many microsystems. I may still have a go at legal system neutral monster list for my own use with descriptions from wikipedia for traditional ones

The project was interesting but I was too lazy to keep going. Id like a list of all monster in system reference doc like this so i could wean myself off them or i need to quote a dnd clone that has been through this. As I think about publishing again writing in a more system and trademark neutral way more appealing/ A preference for Wikipedia monster folklore over DnD canon crept into my settings. But I do love some classic Gygaxian fauna like rust monsters. Will have to have edit just for legal stuff in any published projects. I wrote my house rules of DnD from memory without books and having not played or read since early 2nd ed (bedridden illness in my muse). Now I have re acquired books my love for classic dungeon corn has been renewed.My temptation to use canon critters has grown. I love seeing players moan when i pick up 1st ed Fiend Folio.

I prefer monster descriptions short - more room to vary, fit in your setting, easier to re-skin. Re-skinning bears is a great practice.

I prefer more monsters to be unique. Seriously if Hercules 12 tasks were killing same monster over again would have been dull. Species are good for some purposes but more one off surprise horrors please. Less species of bizarre critters who only live in dungeons and bug adventurers that are so rare how do they breed? I remember 1st Ed tormbringer that suggests more one shot critters - hybridise normal animal and ad mutations. It even listed animals as creature of law and monsters as creature of chaos.

Species and types should be used to shorthand a family of monsters and should be put on same few sheets for convenience. Sorry but Dolphin should be under fish as was in most historical taxonomy - they do not need a whole page - what heroes go around killing dolphins so much that they deserve a page? A Disney animal book reference could be used, why am i spending my gamer money on info on dolphins. 2nd ed being written to fill a page was a bad idea. Ecology becoming canon was for dummies. I could reskin a shark if i really needed a dolphin. On Planet Psychon a dolphin with a crystal death ray in his head and anti gravity and tentacles might be interesting but plain dolphins - bah humbug!

My monsters alignments vary more than standard DnD which makes baby killing paladins more difficult and means any monster can be trained or raised to be nicer or at least a bit nicer.

Monster Stat Breakdown

Name * HD __  AC __ MV __" ATT __ DAM __ SAVE __
Special ____
Description ____
Behaviour  ____

Expanded explanation of terms
Name * asterisk = pluses needed to hit - was awesome feature in BX DnD
HD __  HD mostly in D8
AC __  Ive fully gone over to new school armour class
MV __"  Move = 10s of feet indoors or 10s of yards outdoors, also modes like fly & swim
ATT __  Attacks typically by weapon like 1xsword or claw/claw/bite
DAM __ dice damage like 1d8 or d4/d4/d6
SAVE __  F4 = fighter 4th lv, W=wizard or P=priest also possible
Special ____  Special attacks, powers, defences, skills, spell castingDescription ____ Brief appearance
Behaviour  ____ Brief description of activity, personality, alignment range

i wish dnd did stats more like gamma world 2nd ed and RQ that gives monsters roll-able attributes. Lets you play monsters occasionally.

blog to do wish list..

DnD
Dungeon management and masterminds
What alignment is your dungeon? law vs chaos
What alignment is your dungeon? good vs evil 
What alignment is your dungeon? nuetrals
d100 Elemental/Demonic relics with corruption fx
d100 Law/chaos/elven/cthonic and other relics with corruption fx
d100 village life
d100 humanoid loot
Story/plot tables
d200 dungeon crap
Alchemist, paladin, hunter &  assassin classes
Forms - dungeon, dungeon level, and room forms
d100 rival parties

Goblin Mine Zoned100 mine trash
d100 hazards
d100 goblin decor and renovations
d100 Gremlin tricks

Gothic Zone

d100 Tragedy table - haunting covered some ideas for this too
d100 Random Strange Crypt Table
d100 Non Corporeal Undead Encounters
d100 Corporeal Undead Encounters
d100 Wandering holy folk, hermits and hunters of unholy
Found notes on "holiness factor" for grave and other areas

d100 undead boss monsters - might do sub-bosses also  

d100 madmen and their monsters d100 catacomb and Gothic decor
d100 alluring strange headstones
d100 Madness table for failed WIS checks vs horror, tragedy or shock
d100 Secret Societies

d100 honest undead motivations
d100 crypts
d100 catacombs
Castle Geomorphs - keep and wall and tower section
Manor Geomorphs - a few mansions for haunting and tragic nobility
Crypt and tomb - lots of small funeral structures
Ruin Geomorphs
Catacomb Geomorphs - create a maze of tunnels
Mausoleum Geomorphs - this will be basic one
Cathedral geomorphs
Fantasy citadel zone - fantasy version of my psychon citadels

Sunken City Zone
d100 weird odd and nonhuman sailors
d100 sea undead
ship weird ships
Undead chaos mermaids and the deep dark depths
deep sea things
d100 messages in bottles
d100 pirate captains of Shadelport
d100 weird sailors, weird captains, weird ships

Psychon Stuff
d100 citadel inns and bunker bars
Elder Gods and pre human horror
Organizations and other creeds of psychon...
Heroes, warlords and wizards - champions
Pregens created for different genre piece adventures
Ancient ruin generators
Twelve rays of Psychon
Psychon skills

SF
Mutations 
Mutant characters class
Robots and synthetic characters class
Spaceman characters class?d100 industrial habs for post crash gen ship
 d100 pulp planets for deco punks
d100 bio dungeon treasures

Dungeon Stormers DnD Modern - long stairs
Lists of officers and personalities at three bases (about a third to half play time was in base).
rough maps of base and local zones
Print out equipment lists and info for players
Need to get my modern era skills sorted...
d100 Base missions - protect miners, bug hunt, whodunnit?
more stuff to do in base 

Reviews
The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence by enigmatic Venger Satanis!

80s RPG from Australia:
RUS a Russian fantasy fairytale romance game
Super Squadron
Hunter Planet

Dingo dungeons of gamma oz
Just names so far for Gamma Oz setting - Blinky Bill meets Mad Max
Koala wagon
Dingo dungeon
Possumclaw tower
Glory falls 
Emus and elfes
Bunyip Burrows
Gumboot gallows
koala wagons for gamma oz setting (psychon/gammaworld)

Compilations to do...
Redbrick Dungeon Book - Dungeon Zone vol 1 in works again
EMO DnD 1980BX+ - my house rules
Planet Psychon weird science fantasy supplement

Some other zone books, city book, wilderness book

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Feel free to request anything or to bump something to front of production line
Should be blogging like mad again by sunday