d12 Monster Cheat Codes

One problem in DnD is the emphasis on species of monsters and the proliferation of sentient species. I think more monsters like maybe half should be unique or be isolated into unique groups. Though maybe id feel bad about killing the only family of molerat folk in the world that came from one wizard lab. Maybe I could work up enough existential dread they will swarm over the world and polish them off. Stormbringer RPG had this vibe and recommended mashing animals and creatures or slapping chaos mutations on monsters. RQ does this a bit too. Oddly call of cthulhu didn't do a random eldritch god generator (i am a few books behind sorry chaosium). GURPS horror 1st edition did and it has example of a giant ice koala which is wonderful.The later Ken version i found to be awful.

So these are simple things I do to make normal monsters or animals unusual.

If i ever do a monster book I will use my format where each monster gets a bunch of variations and scenario seeds. Lots of things lumped onto one page like birds, lizards in a taxonomic approach. Weirder monsters need more room and bullet points of abilities like the AD&D monster cards did fid for devil for example. All animal folk are either 7 foot + tall abhuman beastfolk under one entry. All the more cutsey little beastfolk like Narnians are basically reskined halflings and mostly the suffix of -ling denotes a small beast folk. Doesnt always work as Ducks find it belittling and offensive to be called babies. Any beastfolk has kinship with the animal species, its larger or smaller kin, spirit folk animal spirits and may share the animal language. Druids can learn these. The written forms might involve marking trees, urinating and rubbing scent glands everywhere. Humans inadvertently graffiti poor animal territories all the time with their soap and smell of preditors if they eat meat (maybe i need a box with dietry preferences on the character sheet lol). 

Fast Monster Varient Table

Sapient social and humanoid individuals often outcast or made champions 
1in20 chance if some contaminants or factors in home area or other factors
1in100 chance for normal odds of exposure to magic pools or reject potions 

Sapient social and humanoid tribes
1in10 chance where the whole clan or just elites are altered
 
Normal Animals
1in100 chance for normal odds of exposure to magic pools, alchemical waste or faerie 

Monsters in normal Habitat
1in10 chance of one variation

Monsters in Magical Tainted Habitat
1in4 chance with a one variation

Monsters in Highly Magical Habitat
1in2 chance with a d3 variation

d12 Monster Variations
1 Size - larger with more damage and HP. d4 1= from giant land 2=prehistoric throwback 3=mutant 4=made by druids 5=made by faerie 6=sacred to a god or religion. Bigified by d4 1=big +quarter 2=huge +half 3=giant +double 4= guargantuan x8. Smaller yet deadly monsters exist but are much rarer and should be used more cunningly d4 1=minute colony like disease or swarm 2=tiny 10-30cm 3=small 1m 4=human size up to 2m. Perhaps minute monsters can enter someone's body to kill them from within and maybe adventurers need to go in to hunt it somehow
2 Chimera - fused with a d3 other animals due to d6 1=mutations 2=mad wizard experiments 3=made by god as a pet (if you kill it gods curse you) 4=made by gods to punish humanity as a curse 5=mad surgical experiments 6=made by an alchemist with a glass vessel
3 Mutation - exposure to random changes based on the source of contamination d6 1=alchemical water pollution 2=chaos taint 3=wizard experiment 4=cursed by witches 5=lived near a portal 6=inflicted by a cult

4 Undead - creature is undead or tainted and will arise as undead if killed, if an undead gets this it is sentient and may be insane or unable to control itself weeping as it kills. May have spell-casting abilities if was a magician but spell recovery might be tricky. Tend to wander off on their own if not controlled by necromancers or greater undead. Fixated on d4 1=revenge 2=justice for some wrong 3=recovering a treasure to right place 4=punish all who live, maybe eat some

5 Enchanted - a wizard or other magician created the monster making it more intelligent, granting it unusual abilities or features and possibly spell casting. Possibly the magic could be removed restoring it to normalcy. Created by d4 1=druid 2=priest 3=wizard 4=cult 

6 Psionic - the creature is smarter, can see spirits and has mentalist abilities. d4 1=next evolution 2=made by mad magician 3=psychic surgery 4=implanted crystals in skull

7 Mind Swap - the creature has a completely different mind than a normal member of species d4 1=spirit or ghost with a mission 2=mad wizard 3=demon/devil 4=polymorph victim

8 Divine - descended from the first of their kind, larger and more intelligent with various magical abilities. d4 1=king of its species in the region with maximum HP of species guards and may even wear a valuable magic crown 2=part of a divine curse on some place 3=part of a special divine quest for a chosen one 4=knows valuable lore and gives riddles or makes you hunt it to get its wisdom

9 Spirit - is merely a form of the spirit that can spy on the mortal world invisibly and intangible from the spirit world and may have several forms. Is Intelligent and has spell abilities. It will work within a hierarchy of other such beings or could be lone wanderers which will alarm other local spirits if it seems threatening. Spirit may have some celestial bureaucratic role like managing a stream or a wild holy place. Killing it will upset the mandates of the gods

10 Faerie - creature can change to a human or elf or original and anything in between, sensitive to faerie phenomena, sentient and can cast spells d4 1=lycanthrope lives part-time as a human. Newly changed only become monsters on full moon and may not even know it is happening except for dreams 2=faerie creature immune to many magics and has magical powers 3=twisted and mutated by faerie food and often famous as a local monster 4=twiated into a plant hybrid creature

11 Elemental - creature has a connection to an element gaining resistance, some special powers and possibly vulnerability. If already elemental then it is now a hybrid or rarer para element like ice, metal, wood, light, darkness, vapour, lightning, crystal, sand or others

12 Planar - Influenced by one of the extremes of the outer planes and radiates some specific alignment extreme. Inatley be hostile to enemy alignments. More intelligent possibly, with resistance and special abilities appropriate to their plane of origin d4 1=evil realms like hell or the abyss 2=maelstrom of chaos 3=good realms like heavens or arcadian wilds 4=crystal tesseract of law or the cosmic apex or some other awesome abstract lawful universe