Basic Fantasy Field Guide Volume 2

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Solomoriah
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

Post by Solomoriah »

Question: Who submitted the Armorer? I'm reviewing FG2, and I'm having a hard time understanding exactly how this monster is supposed to work. Rather than rewriting it as I'm guessing it's supposed to be, I'm hoping for clarification (maybe some examples) from the submitter so I can get it right.
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

Post by Solomoriah »

I'm up to the Sapient Glyph (Glyph, Sapient, so not halfway yet). This pass is mostly about layout, getting the tables right and taking a first shot at getting the images in the right places.

Things that need to happen before I take a second pass: First of all, we need to find and fix all the "singular they" instances in the text. I know this is presently considered acceptable, at least in some circles, but BFRPG holds to the classic style of the early 80's.

Also, there are some monsters we need to look over. The porcupine bear and quill-bear are similar, at least in appearance, and I dislike having monsters that look too much alike (except if that's the point, that is, one is a fake of the other). I plan to read over all the text at some point or another, to make sure it's all clear and understandable (as mentioned above, the armorer is an example of one I don't quite get).
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SmootRK
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

Post by SmootRK »

Solomoriah wrote: Thu May 03, 2018 5:22 pm Question: Who submitted the Armorer? I'm reviewing FG2, and I'm having a hard time understanding exactly how this monster is supposed to work. Rather than rewriting it as I'm guessing it's supposed to be, I'm hoping for clarification (maybe some examples) from the submitter so I can get it right.
Not one of mine.
Solomoriah wrote: Fri May 04, 2018 12:34 amThe porcupine bear and quill-bear are similar, at least in appearance, and I dislike having monsters that look too much alike (except if that's the point, that is, one is a fake of the other). I plan to read over all the text at some point or another, to make sure it's all clear and understandable (as mentioned above, the armorer is an example of one I don't quite get).
Quill-bear is one I made some time ago (in fact one of the first series of batches in the thread when I first started, prior to this getting called FG2), but it is simple enough creature so if you feel the need to re-write or somehow combine with the other reference, I certainly do not mind.
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Dimirag
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

Post by Dimirag »

Bodmir-The-Gnome wrote: Thu Feb 23, 2017 6:04 pm
Armorer

AC: same as armor type
HD: 4*
No. of attacks: 1 Armor
Damage: [AC-(natural AC + 1)] d4
Movement: host'
No. Appearing: 1
Save As: host
Moral: 8
Treasure Type: 30% armor
XP: 400

An Armorer is a creature that changes its shape to resemble armor of any sort including magical ones when this creature is worn it functions the same as the armor it replaced would with the exception of casting spells. The replaced armor is stored in an extra dimensional space that follows the armorer around. An Armorer will retain the same form until scared off its host or kills it. When an Armorer's host is badly hurt the Armorer will attack the host using the armor it has assumed because of this the Armorer deals damage depending on the armor type. Once the host is killed the Armorer will hold creature that died in it in its armored form and live off its corpse until another suitable host is found. Once a host is found the armorer will drop the corpse in a nearby location to be discovered and replace the armor that the creature is wearing, the new host does not know this is happening but if a fellow being is watching at the time they can see it clear as day.
Due to this creatures nature it can only be hit my magical weapons or spells, if the host is attacked by magic weapons or spells the Armorer will take equal damage, when an armorer fails its morale check it simply walks off the host leaving them unarmored. If the creature dies on a host the armor they were originally wearing appears near them out of the extra dimensional space it was being held, the armoer falls off the host and transforms into a pile of slime leaving the host unarmored. When the Armorer dies there is a 30% chance it drops another set of armor from previous hosts, the number of armor sets dropped is up to the current GM as only they know how many lives it has claimed.

d% Armor Type
01-31 Leather
32-64 Chain
65-96 Plate
97-100 Reroll + 1 Magic bonus
From what I'm reading, it looks like the monster is a parasite of some sort that replace the host's armor with a new one while keeping the original armor on a dimensional pocket...
But there are, to me, some holes in its description:
How the creature gets attached to the victim? attack roll? saving throw?
Can it be removed like a normal armor?
It says it can change to resemble any armor, but the percent table seem to the one that determines the one kind of armor it will become
What happens if the victim is using another kind of armor, or this monster becomes in an armor not allowed by the victim's class?
Suggestion: The damage formula should just be the die and armor bonus, to keep away the "armor as damage reduction" situation.

Lets hope Bodmir-The-Gnome can give us more insight.
Last edited by Dimirag on Sat May 05, 2018 9:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sorry for any misspelling or writing error, I am not a native English speaker
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

Post by Solomoriah »

Those were my questions as well.

Also, I was just reading the Black Knight, and I have two issues with it. First of all, the hit dice are 10+20**. +20?? Obviously something from the source material... it doesn't "feel" right for BFRPG. I think I'm going to make it more like 12+10**. Second, and more significant, this is an undead monster that cannot be Turned. This is a MAJOR power for an undead monster, but it's mentioned in a very offhand way. I'd love to see a rationale for this, or failing that, I'd prefer to remove it.

For that matter, I said two issues, but I'm not overly fond of the "with +3 attack" comment. Since this is a monster whose normal AB is different from its hit dice, the AB should be listed anyway. I'm amending the text to correct the issue.

EDIT: I went with 14 hit dice even. This is an average of 63 hit points, where the monster would have averaged 65 before, and bumps the AB from +9 to +11. I think this is more than reasonable for this monster. Still want to know why it can't be Turned.
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

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Okay, wow, reading the Black Knight some more... where did this thing come from? Casting detect magic and detect invisible at will??? Egad. And three each Fireball and Wall of Fire per day... wow.
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

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Ghostcap Blooms are undead plants, and can be Turned. However, when turned, the plant suffers a -3 on attack rolls. I don't think this fits the game... the plant has 0 movement, so it can't run away, but I suggest a Turned Ghostcap bush be forced to cease attacking just as any normal Turned undead would be.
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

Post by Solomoriah »

My initial pass is up to the end of the letter G. The Tin Golem's picture was pushed off of the page... will have to work something out. Maybe we can get someone to illustrate one of the other golems, pushing the Tin Golem entirely down to another page.

ALSO: The Greymorean Painting. How is this a monster? It sounds like a magic item to me... unlike the Sapient Glyph, this is not described as being like a "monster" at all. I see that this is by James Frost, so hopefully he can weigh in on the subject. It's not that I don't like the idea, but rather that I don't see how it fits into a monster book.
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

Post by Solomoriah »

I've done some musing in the time since my last post, and I've come to a conclusion: Any monster that has this text in place of a statblock:

All stats: Do not apply.

... is not a monster at all. Monsters are defined in a way similar to the way life is defined; for a monster, it must have hit points, and some way to attack, and some way to harm it. Most will have an armor class, but not all.

The Green Slime in the Core Rules barely meets this requirement; I know more modern games define it as being more like a trap than a monster, and I can see that. For reasons of tradition, we still classify Green Slime as a monster. But for monsters not protected by tradition, I believe we must be a bit more strict.

On this basis, I'm omitting the Sapient Glyph and Greymorean Painting from the Field Guide. I'm not saying they don't belong in an adventure, nor that they aren't good (they are), but rather that they don't meet my definition of monster.

I am more than willing to discuss the definition in more detail, if anyone cares.
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 2

Post by Solomoriah »

I know they're in here somewhere, but for the record, here they are again:

Glyph, Sapient

All stats: Do not apply.

One of the weirder creatures in the worlds of Basic Fantasy RPG is the Sapient Glyph. Many creatures make writings. The more literate ghouls scrawl graffiti on the walls of their tombs, expressing their obscene hunger in verse or prose; demons pen missives of fury and contempt on the flayed skins of babies; mummies inscribe strange hieroglyphs in their pyramids; vampires may write of their thirst; werewolves of their rage; dragons of their greed. Few of these writings are anything more than they seem. But those which are written by magical creatures and heavily charged with emotion may, when subjected to an intense magical field, form a sapient glyph – a kind of sentient writing.

A sapient glyph lack a body and is completely sessile. It has no senses at all, no concept of time or the world outside. Its only means of release is if it is read. Thus until this happens, it resembles a trap, or curse, rather than a monster.

Reading a glyph is not normally an easy task. It is usually couched in tongues which are alien, ancient, or both, and unless both language and alphabet are known to the reader (or translated via such magics as read languages) it will have no effect. If the reader understands the glyph, he or she must immediately make a savings throw vs. Death. If the savings throw is passed, the glyph discharges its emotional burden through the character and is destroyed. The character will be incapacitated for 1d6 turns with the rush of feeling but suffers no other ill effects, and the writing will thereafter be merely disturbing.

If the savings throw fails, however, the character is overwhelmed with the emotion and the sapient glyph takes over. Initially it will try to express its pent-up emotion. A rage glyph will scream curses and attack a nearby creature; a hunger glyph will delve into its backpack for rations, or bite the closest thing that seems edible; other kinds will behave as appropriate. However, he or she will recover and seem to return to normal after 1d4 rounds.

It has access to the character's knowledge and will seek to pretend that it is the character. It will try, as subtly as it can, to persuade other characters to read the glyph (in this case, if they pass their savings throws and destroy the glyph, it will still exist in the minds of characters that have failed their savings throws against it previously).

The characters' actions will be appropriate to the emotion. They will behave in such a way as to maximize their chances of satisfying the glyph's desire, through eating, slaying, accumulating gold, etc. The glyph may be detected via the deductive powers of the party or an ESP spell (or similar magic), and destroyed by being exorcised by a Cleric or via a spell which causes strong feelings (such as fear or emotion). A forget spell will also slay it. In such cases the character it occupied will be unharmed.

A few of the most famous evil books, such as the demon-riddled Tome of Llashram Traust, are believed to contain glyphs which have been intentionally placed on certain forbidden pages as traps.


Greymorean Painting

All stats: Do not apply.

A Greymorean Painting appears to be a normal painting at first glance, however if anyone makes direct contact with the canvas he or she will be sucked into the painting. He or she will emerge within the scene depicted in the picture, and appear painted on the canvas to any external viewers. The character(s) inside the painting will have to face whatever is painted in the scene.

In order to escape, the character must find a picture frame within the scene and pass through it. Things from the scene cannot be taken out. When a character leaves, the version of them on the canvas is not erased and it will be present in the scene if anyone enters afterwards.
The painting can be destroyed by a casting of dispel magic.

The Greymoreans were a tribe of elves that wanted to preserve their history and culture by creating copies of notable figures and depictions of great events inside their paintings for future generations to visit. Unfortunately, they did not consider the effects of trapping sentient beings inside a small scene for near eternity, making the denizens of these pictures extremely aggressive.
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