If you’re walking in on the middle of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons series, there’s an index here.

Remembering that whatever weird design approaches I take, this is full intended to be a cross compatible D&D clone, there are two things to talk about on the topic of monsters: Compatibility in the context of changing combat systems and their role in the campaign itself.

In terms of compatibility second edition and B/X stat block looks awfully similar: Number appearing, attacks, THAC0, damage, armour class, hit dice, movement, morale, treasure, special notes in attacks and defences. The only differences are save as and intelligence. In second edition, all monsters save at their HD level of warrior, so Save As is unnecessary. I can’t speak for the importance of intelligence, though. For Advanced Fantasy Dungeons, we can eliminate the need for some of these, to remain compatible with both B/X and Second Edition. This minimum is:

A monster requires the following statistics:

Number appearing, attacks/damage, save as, armour, hit dice, movement type, morale, treasure type, special notes on attacks and defences.

All numbers are all compatible with the basic and second edition versions of the game, except for armour and morale.

It may be beneficial to in addition add information on frequency, organisation, intelligence, ethos, diet, sleep cycle, climate and habitat, society and ecology, or tactics, to assist the GM in running the monster.

Morale is equivalent to second edition, but B/X uses 2d6 roll. I want simplicity, so rather than directly translating probabilities we’ll use rough equivalents:

If using a monster in B/X, if their B/X morale score is <5, their morale rating is 5; if their B/X morale score is 6-9 their morale rating is 10; if their B/X morale score is >10, their morale rating is 15.

Armour is more complicated, because it’s more meaningful under the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons rules. Simplifying, I suspect, will result in weird edge cases in conversion, particularly for high level monsters, but nevertheless:

To convert an NPCs armour class in B/X or AD&D 2e to Advanced Fantasy Dungeons, consult the armour table and assign an equivalent armour type.

This makes me realise that I probably need a “natural armour” comment somewhere, but that should just amount to “natural armour as leather”, or instead perhaps I need to include examples like “Red dragonscale armour” to give an indication of the breadth of possibility in the armour system.

I mentioned earlier in “stat blocks” frequency, organisation, intelligence, ethos, diet, sleep cycle, climate and habitat, society and ecology, or tactics, which brings me to different types of monsters: There are two types of monsters, the mythic and the natural.

Second edition leans into the natural monster. Paraphrasing Dan D.: A natural monster isn’t evil; it is a symptom, merely the the immediate threat. When it is defeated another will come, because the conditions that created it will create another. Those conditions are complex and rooted in past events, and are the true challenge to overcome (or perhaps, impossible to overcome). The question in response to a natural monster is: “What is disrupting the world?” How do I codify this?

For a natural monster, consider first the immediate cause, then the distant cause which caused that. Finally, choose a sign that might point you to each of those causes. All natural monsters have IDS.

For example, there is an bear-owl rampaging through the farmland, killing the dairy cattle that keep the locals in coin. The bear-owl’s diet consisted easy to catch humming-bloods, but a local priest ordered them hunted down and their nests burnt to prevent further plague. That plague was being spread by the humming-bloods, but only because they’d been used by a young love-witch who used them to steal blood for love potions for the youth of the local town. Corpses of humming-bloods full the bear-owls den and it is pocked with scars from their proboscis, and there have been a run of marriage among the young of the town lately, against all the expectations of the village gossips.

Mythic monsters on the other hand are without cause outside their own determination. Regardless of intent, a mythic monster is likely to be perceived as evil by those it imposes its will on. The dungeon hates you is the most prototypical version of this, but anything can be an incursive force. If your orcs are mythic, they are not born but bubble up from the ichor vomited out by their god Gruul when they died in range battling Ellicon the Bright. There might be only the five dragons, or better a singular Dragon. The Planetar of Elflander bringing their myopic vision of justice from above. Monsters are also often uncategorisable – perhaps a place, perhaps an animal, perhaps a spirit of vengeance? Most monsters in dungeons are mythic, and most monsters in the wilderness are natural. How do we codify the mythic monster?

For the mythic monster consider first the monsters alien purpose, secondly how it’s environment and its associated monsters, act in concert with its intent, and finally what it are it’s eyes to learn how to achieve them. Mythic monsters have PIE.

My biggest hesitation is that I’m not sure that this adds anything to the previously existing NPC framework. Should all monsters be NPCs? How do I choose when to IDS or PIE and when to A-DNA or A-VOW? This all feels a bit fucking much to me at this points. I’m going to rewrite them as a set of principles and not rules.

For a natural monster, always have an immediate cause in mind, then the distant cause which caused the immediate one. For the mythic monster, consider how the environment and any associated monsters will act in concert with it, and what it’s malign intent is.

That’s less concrete, but also less complex and clearer. The example for the natural monster is still useful, and I can write a similar example at a later date for the mythic monster.

This has been a part of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeon Series! Let me know your thoughts on monsters, converting monsters, and how monsters fit into your campaign!

Idle Cartulary

29th May 2022