Random Monster Generator (Rules-lite)
Apr 9, 2015 20:40:08 GMT -5
Admin Pete and Necromancer like this
Post by tetramorph on Apr 9, 2015 20:40:08 GMT -5
Geoffrey over at ODD74 hipped me to James Edward Raggi IV's unbelievably awesome "The Random Esoteric Creature Generator."
As soon as I read it I started thinking of ways to house rule it! I guess I am on the right forum!
I love it but it is too "rules heavy" for me. Anytime I have to roll 2d% my mind starts reeling.
Here is what I have come up with so far:
RANDOM MONSTER GENERATOR
After all this work, I still cannot recommend more highly the Random Esoteric Creature Generator. Check it out, it is just awesome.
One final note: my approach to D&D is so focused on exploring the core archetypes that I rarely have any desire to use any monsters described in later D&D and other RPG literature. I love the Random Esoteric Creature Generator, and my own "rules-lite" generator, above, for random, gonzo, frightening one-off monstrosities to throw the players off, engage them, keep it mysterious and fun.
Caller: "What was that?"
Referee: "What was that?" (Smile).
As soon as I read it I started thinking of ways to house rule it! I guess I am on the right forum!
I love it but it is too "rules heavy" for me. Anytime I have to roll 2d% my mind starts reeling.
Here is what I have come up with so far:
RANDOM MONSTER GENERATOR
Determine HD:
Method 1: Average party HD +1d6
Method 2: Dungeon Level +1d6
Method 3: Total party HD then add or subtract based upon the following table:
I would use the first method most generally, especially for low level PCs. The second method is especially for stocking dungeons in advance without knowledge of party HD. The third method is for truly high level PCs and probably for a wilderness rather than a dungeon adventure, generating entire armies rather than simply one enormous creature.
In 0e, HD alone suggests a lot. It suggests relative size, or size of pack or swarm, and relative "toughness."
Depending upon modification based upon later rolls for description, HD alone may also suggest the possibility of multiple attacks:
Determine AC:
Roll a d10 to determine AC, with "0" indicating "0," not "10." AC alone suggests certain descriptive possibilities:
"Magical," indicates that this creature has magical properties of self-protection. Roll also for other random magical characteristics on the table provided for such, below. "Armored," does not necessarily indicate the wearing of armor, but things such as thick-scales, shells, exoskeletons, and armadillo-like hides. "Tough hide," indicates a thick, leathery epidermis. "Fleshy," indicates normal human-like skin and other squishy, squeeze-y, membrane-like (and possibly transparent, gooey, glowing, shiny?) epidermises.
At this point, the creative and on-the-fly-style 0e referee may have enough to go on for his or her own imagination to build the rest. For more help, or more fun, keep going, using as many or as few of the following tables and suggestions as helpful to spur on the creative 0e referee's imagination as necessary, below:
Further Descriptions:
Basic Shape
"Flat," might indicate something manta-ray-like (perhaps it magically floats through the air!). "Serpentine," may still have legs but must force itself along on its belly. "COMBINATION," indicates rolling two (or more!) times and combining the two descriptions to freakish results. "Multi-pedal," indicates, of course, something centipede or millipede-like. "Amorphous," indicates something like a gelatinous cube or ochre jelly, or some other single-cell-like monstrosity. NOTE: if "Amorphous," is rolled, AC should drop to "9" unless previously magical.
Size
HD may have already indicated size to the referee's imagination. Or consult the following table:
"Micro," may be literally microscopic, as in spores from yellow mold, etc. Or they may be very tiny creatures, like mini-pixies. In either case, and together with "tiny" sizes, there may be no need for over-all HD adjustment by choosing to send them in as a pack, herd, cloud or swarm. "Huge," and "colossal," creatures will perhaps make more sense in the wilderness than the dungeon unless within a large cavern or great hall. Just re-roll or adjust as per necessary.
Basic Type
Use the following table for imagining basic animal (or vegetable!) characteristics:
"Marine," indicates anything found in water, an amorphous marine might be a floating jelly-fish like-thing, others could be whale-like, shark-like, etc. For "COMBINATION," roll two (or more!) times and combine for freakish results, e.g., a furry iguanadon, a scaly wolf, etc. "Vegetable," can be tree, vine, bush, or even fungus-like.
Movement
At this point, previous descriptions should suggest basic movement style to an 0e referee. To inspire the imagination, use the following table to add other possible movement types to the basic movement suggested by the general description. NOTE: if the animal is magical, the referee may choose to add some magical form of movement such as "blinking," "phase-shifting" (movement through solids without tunneling), teleportation, dimension door, etc.
If the creature is already "avian," perhaps re-roll for "flying." Or perhaps all other avians are "flightless"! The referee might add wings to a creature that rolls up "flying" -- or invent another creative means of flight. "MULTIPLE," indicates rolling two (or more!) times for many different movement styles. "Swimming," may give a creature for water encounters, or perhaps indicate some magical mode of "swimming" through air! "Wall-crawling," grants spider like capacity to cling to even the smoothest walls and ceilings. "Levitation," may indicate some odd physical means of "floating" in air -- a balloon-like creature -- or may indicate a magical means of conveyance. If so, the referee may want to roll for other magical abilities as per the table, below.
Unique Details
Use the following lists to mix things up a bit more.
Unique Details on d20
Special Details on d10
"Parroting," indicates that the creature, whether intelligent or not, madly parrots whatever it has heard (usually the dying cries of its previous victims!). "Wings," on a non-avian may be useless, useful for attack but not flight, or may suggest flight. The "Special Details," in the main describe some fearsome quality that describes, covers, envelopes or otherwise exudes from the creature's epidermis.
Magical Characteristics
Previous details may have indicated magical capacities in the creature, or perhaps the referee would just like to add some anyway.
"Forget," indicates that the creature has a chance, each round, of causing any MUs to forget one of their memorized spells. "Contagion Undead," indicates that any creatures killed by the monster but left unconsumed will transform into another such monster within a certain number of combat rounds. "Resistance," indicates a heightened resistance to magic used against them, generally in a bonus (say, +2) to STs, but a referee may choose to give the monster total immunity. "Contagion Living," indicates that any living creature that successfully takes a hit from the monster must save against contracting a diseases which, in a certain number of combat turns, will transform them into another such monster. "Reflect," indicates that a successful save sends any spells cast against the creature redounding upon the caster.
Enjoy!
Method 1: Average party HD +1d6
Method 2: Dungeon Level +1d6
Method 3: Total party HD then add or subtract based upon the following table:
| 2d6 | +/- |
| 2 | -3d6 |
| 3-4 | -2d6 |
| 5-6 | -1d6 |
| 7 | n/a |
| 8-9 | +1d6 |
| 10-11 | +2d6 |
| 12 | +3d6 |
I would use the first method most generally, especially for low level PCs. The second method is especially for stocking dungeons in advance without knowledge of party HD. The third method is for truly high level PCs and probably for a wilderness rather than a dungeon adventure, generating entire armies rather than simply one enormous creature.
In 0e, HD alone suggests a lot. It suggests relative size, or size of pack or swarm, and relative "toughness."
Depending upon modification based upon later rolls for description, HD alone may also suggest the possibility of multiple attacks:
| HD | # attacks |
| <1-3 | 1 |
| 4-7 | 2 |
| 8-11 | 3 |
| 12-15 | 4 |
| 16+ | 5 |
Determine AC:
Roll a d10 to determine AC, with "0" indicating "0," not "10." AC alone suggests certain descriptive possibilities:
| AC | Epidermus |
| 0-1 | Magical |
| 2-4 | Armored |
| 5-7 | Hide, tough |
| 8-9 | Fleshy |
"Magical," indicates that this creature has magical properties of self-protection. Roll also for other random magical characteristics on the table provided for such, below. "Armored," does not necessarily indicate the wearing of armor, but things such as thick-scales, shells, exoskeletons, and armadillo-like hides. "Tough hide," indicates a thick, leathery epidermis. "Fleshy," indicates normal human-like skin and other squishy, squeeze-y, membrane-like (and possibly transparent, gooey, glowing, shiny?) epidermises.
At this point, the creative and on-the-fly-style 0e referee may have enough to go on for his or her own imagination to build the rest. For more help, or more fun, keep going, using as many or as few of the following tables and suggestions as helpful to spur on the creative 0e referee's imagination as necessary, below:
Further Descriptions:
Basic Shape
| 2d6 | Shape Description |
| 2 | Flat |
| 3-4 | Serpentine |
| 5-6 | Bipedal |
| 7 | COMBINATION |
| 8-9 | Quadrupedal |
| 10-11 | Multi-pedal |
| 12 | Amorphous |
"Flat," might indicate something manta-ray-like (perhaps it magically floats through the air!). "Serpentine," may still have legs but must force itself along on its belly. "COMBINATION," indicates rolling two (or more!) times and combining the two descriptions to freakish results. "Multi-pedal," indicates, of course, something centipede or millipede-like. "Amorphous," indicates something like a gelatinous cube or ochre jelly, or some other single-cell-like monstrosity. NOTE: if "Amorphous," is rolled, AC should drop to "9" unless previously magical.
Size
HD may have already indicated size to the referee's imagination. Or consult the following table:
| 2d6 | Size | HD adjustment |
| 2 | Micro | -2HD |
| 3-4 | Tiny | -1HD |
| 5-6 | Small | n/a |
| 7 | Human-like | n/a |
| 8-9 | Large | n/a |
| 10-11 | Huge | +1HD |
| 12 | Colossal | +2HD |
"Micro," may be literally microscopic, as in spores from yellow mold, etc. Or they may be very tiny creatures, like mini-pixies. In either case, and together with "tiny" sizes, there may be no need for over-all HD adjustment by choosing to send them in as a pack, herd, cloud or swarm. "Huge," and "colossal," creatures will perhaps make more sense in the wilderness than the dungeon unless within a large cavern or great hall. Just re-roll or adjust as per necessary.
Basic Type
Use the following table for imagining basic animal (or vegetable!) characteristics:
| 2d6 | Type description |
| 2 | Marine |
| 3-4 | Avian |
| 5-6 | Reptilian |
| 7 | COMBINATION |
| 8-9 | Mammalian |
| 10-11 | Insect/Arechnid-like |
| 12 | Vegetable |
"Marine," indicates anything found in water, an amorphous marine might be a floating jelly-fish like-thing, others could be whale-like, shark-like, etc. For "COMBINATION," roll two (or more!) times and combine for freakish results, e.g., a furry iguanadon, a scaly wolf, etc. "Vegetable," can be tree, vine, bush, or even fungus-like.
Movement
At this point, previous descriptions should suggest basic movement style to an 0e referee. To inspire the imagination, use the following table to add other possible movement types to the basic movement suggested by the general description. NOTE: if the animal is magical, the referee may choose to add some magical form of movement such as "blinking," "phase-shifting" (movement through solids without tunneling), teleportation, dimension door, etc.
| 2d6 | Additional movement |
| 2 | Tunnelling |
| 3-4 | Slithering |
| 5-6 | Flying |
| 7 | MULTIPLE |
| 8-9 | Swimming |
| 10-11 | Wall-crawling |
| 12 | Levitation |
If the creature is already "avian," perhaps re-roll for "flying." Or perhaps all other avians are "flightless"! The referee might add wings to a creature that rolls up "flying" -- or invent another creative means of flight. "MULTIPLE," indicates rolling two (or more!) times for many different movement styles. "Swimming," may give a creature for water encounters, or perhaps indicate some magical mode of "swimming" through air! "Wall-crawling," grants spider like capacity to cling to even the smoothest walls and ceilings. "Levitation," may indicate some odd physical means of "floating" in air -- a balloon-like creature -- or may indicate a magical means of conveyance. If so, the referee may want to roll for other magical abilities as per the table, below.
Unique Details
Use the following lists to mix things up a bit more.
Unique Details on d20
- Antlers
- Beak
- Eye-stalks
- Eyes-glow
- Eyes: multiple
- Faces: multiple
- Heads: multiple
- Horns
- Limbs: multiple
- Odorous
- Parroting
- Shell
- Stinger/Pincers
- Suction cups
- Tail (prehensile?)
- Tentacles
- Tongue: prehensile/forked
- Trunk-neck
- Wings
- Special (roll on next list)
Special Details on d10
- Bloody
- Boiling
- Exoskeleton/skeletal
- Fiery
- Oozing
- Shedding
- Shiny/Shimmering
- Slimy
- Transparent
- Wet
"Parroting," indicates that the creature, whether intelligent or not, madly parrots whatever it has heard (usually the dying cries of its previous victims!). "Wings," on a non-avian may be useless, useful for attack but not flight, or may suggest flight. The "Special Details," in the main describe some fearsome quality that describes, covers, envelopes or otherwise exudes from the creature's epidermis.
Magical Characteristics
Previous details may have indicated magical capacities in the creature, or perhaps the referee would just like to add some anyway.
| 2d6 | Magical Ability |
| 2 | Forget |
| 3 | Contagion Undead |
| 4 | Charm |
| 5 | Paralysis |
| 6 | Darkness |
| 7 | Resistance |
| 8 | Fear |
| 9 | Lightening/fireball/etc. |
| 10 | Contagion Living |
| 11 | Level Drain |
| 12 | Reflect |
"Forget," indicates that the creature has a chance, each round, of causing any MUs to forget one of their memorized spells. "Contagion Undead," indicates that any creatures killed by the monster but left unconsumed will transform into another such monster within a certain number of combat rounds. "Resistance," indicates a heightened resistance to magic used against them, generally in a bonus (say, +2) to STs, but a referee may choose to give the monster total immunity. "Contagion Living," indicates that any living creature that successfully takes a hit from the monster must save against contracting a diseases which, in a certain number of combat turns, will transform them into another such monster. "Reflect," indicates that a successful save sends any spells cast against the creature redounding upon the caster.
Enjoy!
After all this work, I still cannot recommend more highly the Random Esoteric Creature Generator. Check it out, it is just awesome.
One final note: my approach to D&D is so focused on exploring the core archetypes that I rarely have any desire to use any monsters described in later D&D and other RPG literature. I love the Random Esoteric Creature Generator, and my own "rules-lite" generator, above, for random, gonzo, frightening one-off monstrosities to throw the players off, engage them, keep it mysterious and fun.
Caller: "What was that?"
Referee: "What was that?" (Smile).
