Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

This subforum is for discussion of the Iron Falcon Rules for Classic Fantasy Role-Playing. Maybe someday they'll have their own forum, but for now I'm keeping the discussion here.
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mindtech
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Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

Post by mindtech »

I was just going through the monsters and attempting to stock a dungeon. I came across the Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins entries and was blown away by the No. Appearing. 40d10 and 20d10....wow... that's quite an encounter. I wouldn't even know how to begin to handle 200+ Kobolds vs a party of four adventurers.

Am I going crazy or are the No. Appearing for these monsters suppose to be how many would be found in their lair?
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Maliki
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Re: Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

Post by Maliki »

I don't see those kind of numbers in the BFRPG Core Rules, I see 6d10 for goblins, 5d8 for gnomes(and similar numbers for other humanoids), and that is in their lairs or in the wild. not as a random encounter. Random encounters are the first listing 2d4, 1d8, etc.
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Dimirag
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Re: Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

Post by Dimirag »

Maliki, this part of the forum is for the Iron Falcon RPG.

I think that the roll is the amount that will be across a dungeon and not all at once.
Sorry for any misspelling or writing error, I am not a native English speaker
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Solomoriah
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Re: Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

Post by Solomoriah »

Those are lair figures. Remember, Iron Falcon emulates a very early version of the game... some niceties we take for granted hadn't been invented yet.
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Maliki
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Re: Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

Post by Maliki »

Dimirag wrote:Maliki, this part of the forum is for the Iron Falcon RPG.
:oops:
mindtech
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Re: Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

Post by mindtech »

Solomoriah wrote:Those are lair figures. Remember, Iron Falcon emulates a very early version of the game... some niceties we take for granted hadn't been invented yet.
Solo. Thanks for the response. I would gather that it is the same for the treasure table? Those values represent treasure found in lairs?
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Re: Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

Post by Solomoriah »

Yes, that's correct.
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Trashcan
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Re: Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

Post by Trashcan »

The earliest iteration of the game anticipated larger parties of players than is the contemporary norm, and far larger retinues of hirelings and henchmen. The passages about designated callers make most sense if there is a small throng of players at the table, and the numbers expected for encounters are often terrifyingly large. That remained true into 1e: according to the Monster Manual, Orcs were encountered in groupings between 30 and 300; Kobolds between 40 and 400; Gnolls between 20 and 200; and Goblins between 40 and 400. The demihumans were found in similar numbers.
I always thought that bit deepest when adventuring in the wild, rather than in a dungeon. Given the numbers involved in encounters, travelling out of doors, with encounter checks between 3 and 6 times a day depending on terrain, quickly became very hazardous to all but the most formidable parties.
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Re: Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Gnomes & Goblins (No. Appearing)

Post by Dimirag »

No. Appearing: The number of the given type of monster to be found in a group. Usually given as a die roll. Multiple options may be listed for different situations, such as encounters in a dungeon (the default type), in the wilderness, or in their lair.
I think the bold part is what generates the confusion as monsters don't indicate where do they appear...
Sorry for any misspelling or writing error, I am not a native English speaker
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