Medieval-Man's Monster Thread (Retired)

[SmootRK]

You do realize that we cannot simply copy various monsters from the history of D&D editions or from other games/editions, those creations belonging to those game owners. Can such things inspire us? Sure. Can such things be rather close approximations? perhaps.

Basically what I am saying, is that we will not be including in "BFRPG Official Documents" (meaning something that gets on the official downloads and/or print option) any intellectual property that belongs to others. We will not utilize materials that are not substantially re-imagined, re-named, and totally original in their writing. I have not researched any of these recent additions for such viability. Some may or may not be usable. Chances are that if they appear in a document elsewhere, but do not specifically appear in the OGL or SRD documents.. then they are likely "Protected" Intellectual Property. Even questionable items are not viable...as we cannot fight any legal issues (having no budget for legal expenses, and no desire to actually fight over such matters regardless).

I hate to sound like rain on a parade... but this needs to be absolutely clear.

So, coming up with our own "bird-man" may be fine, but Aarackocra is likely not-usable. The original Fiend Folio is not an OGL document, nor Forgotten Realms books, or whatever. Of course, this is not to say that what one uses in their home games is their own business... it is just that these sorts will likely never see print under a BFRPG logo.

[MedievalMan]

I do my best to change them in enough ways so as they at least appear original. Now that being said I will drop everything not of my own creation until I can edit the others.

Also you might want to drop the Odem I sent you. It was heavily "inspired" by a monster of the same name from Denizons of Dread. Though, again, I heavily edited its description to not outright copy the monster as is.

Anyway thanks for the heads up. Nuking thread... now.

[SmootRK]

Don't drop from the thread. They are likely fine here.. and can be further refined here with the help of the community.

Just making it clear about inclusion elsewhere.

[MedievalMan]

Alright I am going to admit, I may have overreacted in deleting all those monsters. But if they were not ok to use, then I don't want to have them posted. I will repost those monsters which are mostly original.

Now, anyone have any ideas for new monsters? Preferably ones that aren't a joke.

[MedievalMan]

Monster Collection 1

Derro
Armor Class: 14 (11)
Hit Dice: 2*
No. of Attacks: 1 weapon
Damage: 1d6 or by weapon
Movement: 30' Unarmored 40'
No. Appearing: 1d10, Wild 2d10, Lair 6d10
Save As: Fighter 2
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: R, S each; E, N in lair
XP: 100

Derro are degenerate human-dwarf crossbreeds who live in the dark caverns beneath the earth. They appear as hunched thin creatures with bluish-white skin, limp grey hair, and wide staring eyes. Derro are incredibly cruel, but in an unfeeling, almost machine-like way. They raid surface communities for slaves, who they force to expand their tunnels and also eat. Humans and dwarves who are captured are systematically tortured and then bred with to create more derro, before at last being eaten. Derro are rarely seen by surface dwellers and thus are often the origin of many legends involving underground boogeymen and tales of mysterious disappearances. Derro can speak both common and dwarvish.

The statistics given above are for a standard derro warrior in leather armor wielding a shield; they have a natural Movement rate of 40' and a natural armor class of 11.

Derro are adapted to underground life and have darkvision with a range of 120 feet. They are experts at the art of the ambush, and surprise foes on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6.

One out of every eight derro will be a raid leader of 4+2* hit dice (280 XP). Regular derro gain a +1 bonus to their morale when they are led by a raid leader. In derro lairs, one out of every twelve will be a lesser savant of 6+3** hit dice (610 XP), who has the ability to cast spells as a magic-user of level 1d4+1. In lairs of 30 or greater, there will be a derro savant of 8+4** hit dice ( 1015 XP), who has the ability to cast spells as a magic-user of level 1d6+2. In the lair, derro never fail morale as long as their savant lives.

Ophidians
Armor Class: 15 (12)
Hit Dice: 6**
No. of Attacks: bite or 1 weapon
Damage: 1d6 + poison or by weapon
Movement: 30' Climb 20' (40' Climb 30')
No Appearing: 2d4, Wild 5d4, Lair 10d4
Save As: Fighter 6
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: U each; F, N in lair
XP: 610

Ophidians are an ancient and secretive race of serpentine humanoids whose wickedness, cunning, and ruthlessness are legendary. They appear as humanoids with serpent features and a snake tail instead of legs. They are devout worshipers of their own serpentine deity, and offer sacrifices to pits filled with thousands of wriggling snakes. Ophidians prefer to lair in wilderness locations, typically dwelling in old ruins or cave systems. From these hidden strongholds ophidians launch raids on nearby settlements and work to manipulate humanoids to their own dark ends. Ophidians speak common and their own hissing tongue.

The statistics given above are for a standard ophidian in leather armor with a shield; they have a natural movement rate of 40' (Climb 30') and a natural Armor Class of 12.

Ophidians are geniuses and fight as such. They use their surroundings expertly in combat, preferring quick ambushes and staged retreats rather than direct confrontation. They favor ranged weapons over melee weapons and use whatever magic they have at their disposal to the best of their abilities. All ophidians are able to hypnotize any creature of greater than animal intelligence by staring into their eyes. Targets of this ability must make a save vs Magical Devices or be entranced for 1d10 rounds, being unable to perform any actions other than stand or sit motionless. An ophidians bite is highly venomous. Those bitten must make a save vs Poison or die in agony 1d4 rounds later.

One out of every eight ophidians will be an elite warrior of 8+2** Hit Dice (1015) with a +2 bonus to damage, and an Armor Class of 17 (12). In lairs of 24 or more ophidians, there will be a champion of 10+4** Hit Dice (1480) with a +3 bonus to damage, and an Armor Class of 19 (12). Ophidians gain a +2 to morale if led by an elite warrior or a champion. In addition, there is a 3 in 6 chance that a priest will be present in a lair. A priest is equal to an elite warrior statistically, but possesses 1d8+2 levels of Clerical abilities.

Tentacled Horror
Armor Class: 14
Hit Dice: 10+20*
No. of Attacks: 5 tentacles + crush
Damage: 1d6/1d6/1d6/1d6/1d6 + 3d6 crush
Movement: 30'
No. Appearing: Solitary
Save As: Fighter 10
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: None
XP: 1,390

Tentacled horrors appear to be something drawn from a madman's nightmare. They are roughly 50' in diameter and are composed of hundreds of thick wriggling tentacles. They have no discernible body beyond the mass of pseudopods and move by undulating across the ground. They are summoned from some otherworldly realm by mad wizards and are typically used as guard beasts when found under such circumstances. They speak no languages but seem to understand the orders of those who summon them.

Tentacled horrors lack subtlety in combat, simply moving in and flailing away with their numerous tentacles. A successful hit with three or more tentacles indicates a crush attack for an additional 3d6 hit points of damage. Those who witness a tentacle horror for the first time must make a save vs Spells or flee in stark terror for 1d20 rounds.

Tentacle horrors are incredibly resilient, non-magical weapons only deal 1 point of damage to a tentacled horror, while magic weapons, fire, electricity, and acid only deal half damage. They are immune to sleep, charm and hold magics.

Edit 1
Alright having now bookmarked the SRD to see what is fair game and what is not, I feel reasonably confident I can post the following monsters.

Nymph
Armor Class: 12
Hit Dice: 3**
No. of Attacks: 1 weapon
Damage: 1d4 or by weapon
Movement: 40' Swim 20'
No Appearing: Wild 1d4
Save As: Cleric 3
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: B
XP: 205

Nymphs are the embodiment of pristine natural locations and their beauty exceeds mere words. The appearance of the individual nymph varies, but all appear to be young women of human size, with voluptuous figures, luxuriant hair, and perfect features. Their demeanor is charming and pleasant, and their minds quick and witty. Nymphs only inhabit the most remote and pristine wilderness places; ocean grottoes, crystalline caverns, mountain pools, old growth groves, and the like. Though normally solitary, nymphs sometimes aid good beings in combating evil. Nymphs typically only speak elvish.

Though nymphs are peaceful creatures they bravely defend their lairs and any creatures they see as under their protection. A nymphs appearance is so overpowering as to affect the mind of mortals who look upon her. Creatures of greater than animal intellect who look upon the nymph must make a saving throw vs Spells or fall into an enchanted stupor for 1d6 hours. A nymph can grant a creature immunity to this ability by kissing them.

Nymphs have an intrinsic connection to nature and can cast several spells. A nymph can cast Speak with Animals at will, Cure Light Wounds, Detect Evil, and Charm Animal three times per day each, and Cure Blindness, Cure Disease, Cure Serious Wounds, and Neutralize Poison once per day each.

Being fey creatures, nymphs are immune to Charm magics.

Rakshasa
Armor Class: 19
Hit Dice: 7+7***
No. of Attacks: 2 claws/1 bite or 1 weapon
Damage: 1d4+1/1d4+1/1d6+1 or by weapon + 1
Movement: 50'
No. Appearing: Solitary
Save As: Fighter 7
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: D
XP: 865

Called by some the very embodiment of evil, rakshasa's are some of the most malevolent creatures in existence. Rakshasa's in their natural form appear to be humanoid tigers or panthers that stand around human height. They garb themselves in the finest clothes and wield the best weapons they can get their claws on. They love rich living, using their cunning and inherent power to maintain as decadent a lifestyle as possible. They can read and speak nearly every mortal language, and can telepathically speak to any living creature within 200'.

Rakshasa's revel in close combat, which they view as a noble pursuit, and prefer to wield forged weapons over their own claws and teeth. Whenever possible they use their inherent abilities to tip the battle in their favor. A rakshasa can continuously detect the thoughts of every living creature within 200'. They can also assume any humanoid form of roughly human size or revert to their own form in one round. While in any form other than their own they lose their ability to attack with their claws and bite. A rakshasa is incredibly resistant to mortal magic, and has a 50% chance to ignore any harmful spell cast upon itself. They are highly practiced spell-casters themselves, and can cast spells as 7th level magic-users. Unlike mortal magic-users they do not require spell books.

Do to being evil given form, rakshasa's can be Turned as vampires. They can only be damaged by magic weapons and holy water, and take 1d6 points of damage from the touch of holy symbols. They are immune to sleep, charm and hold magics.

Edit 2
The following used to be the black fiend. The only thing still like the source was the name, which I changed.

Daemon
Armor Class: 17
Hit Dice: 6***
No. of Attacks: 1 gore or 2 claws or 1 weapon
Damage: 1d8 + 2 or 1d6/1d6 or by weapon + 2
Movement: 50'
No. Appearing: Solitary
Save As: Cleric 6
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: E, O
XP: 665

Daemons are evil outsiders from the dark below who are commonly summoned by evil sorcerers to either serve as assassins or to teach some secret of magic. At a distance or in the shadows a daemon appears to be a tall, muscular human wearing a horned helm. However, when seen up close or in the light their obsidian colored skin, ram horns, pointed ears, and cruel facial features betray them for what they really are. Daemons speak their own black tongue and are capable of speaking most mortal languages.

Daemons are highly intelligent adversaries, and use a mixture of stealth, brute force, and magic to defeat their enemies. Daemons are capable of manifesting on the mortal plane, or disappearing back to the dark below. This ability takes a full round to use, allowing the fiend to transport itself up to 1 mile in any direction from its current location. The daemon will never reappear inside solid objects or creatures wile using this ability. Daemons are capable of casting spells as magic-users of 7th level. They do not require a spell book like normal magic-users.

Do to their inherent dark nature, daemons can be Turned as spectres. They only take 1/2 damage from non-magical weapons, and also take 2d6 points of damage from holy water. Daemons are immune to sleep, charm and hold magics.

[Fabio_MP]

well you must also consider that almost everything in the SRD is free reign and there is also a lot of material open in the various OSR game so you can easily take head from there

the copyrighted one are very few

just for reference:

http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/monsters.htm

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/mons ... Index.html

http://creaturecatalog.enworld.org/

[SmootRK]

Well pardon my tone above. Its just that I have been doing this for awhile now and no one has seen to say that I shouldn't be doing it.

As for feedback, have you seen the thread? About the most I ever get is a "cool" or "I like that," which is nice an all but doesn't help with design considerations.

I browse through stuff, but I don't research each thing as people write them. But when I get to putting it into the Field Guide I give it more thought (and checking).

Perhaps I just assumed others understood this aspect of game design. I am sorry if this is not generally clear. You can perhaps see now why, when I write something, it may have seen light elsewhere, but I write without looking at the source material... generally to give it's own life and be original (except perhaps in general idea). I generally look for unique names as well to avoid all chance of "copy" accusation.

Basically, Duergar might be off limits, but a Coal Dwarf might be OK (with differences in detail as well). Arrackocra = not good, but a Falconian might be viable. etc. We blur the lines on occasion, but we still have to take measures to make the idea our own.

And you updated a post
Again, I don't necessarily research each thing people write, but sometimes things just stick out and make me think "this might not be feasible".

Directed more at Fabio: The copyrighted ones are NOT few... everything that does not appear in SRD is generally copyrighted, meaning the vast amount of material. Other games may declare stuff "open" as well, and so are fair game (unless of course, they have erred in their opinion that the material in question did not belong to another).

again, best solution is for creation of original materials.

[MedievalMan]

yeah sorry for updating a post on you, I was trying to get my thoughts in order.

[SmootRK]

Noted that Duergar is an SRD monster (and Open). That does not mean that we MUST COPY IT. There is no reason that we cannot have our own BFRPG take on the idea, about the same but subtlety our own flavor. If we do utilize them directly, I would suggest looking to the 1e or 2e in order to be truer to the roots of the idea.

[SmootRK]

Also you might want to drop the Odem I sent you. It was heavily "inspired" by a monster of the same name from Denizons of Dread. Though, again, I heavily edited its description to not outright copy the monster as is.

Are these Odems different enough from the source material that a name change would remedy?