We're just starting up with a Bestiary and Seneschal's rescource book. We want to include NPCs, Beasts, and even some sample floorplans, etc. Instead of going for "quantity" ala D&D or Hackmaster (which is the perfect incarnation of D&D, I might add), we wanna go with "quality." Fewer creatures, but meatier entries.

The basic entries will include:
Color Text (that is meaningful)
Stats
Ecology or Mythology
Prominent NPCs (where applicable)
Adventure seed based on this creature/NPC/place

Because the rare and magical is supposed to be rare and mysterious, we'll don't want to make any of our spiffy monsters (especially mythical ones) "mundane." In the ecology/mythology section we will generally focus only on one or the other. Ecology is for animals, people, and other well-known or mundane types. Mythology will deal with what is believed about these creatures, and will strive to retain their "mystical" flavor while still giving Seneschals lots of ideas and guidelines.

We will be expanding those creatures found in the core rulebook, and wish to add more. We want stuff inspired in flavor if not in fact by actual myths (esp. norse and celtic, though there are some cool asian ones...I'm not personally too big on greek) and by films and literature such as the Dark Crystal (and anything done by Brian Froud, for that matter), LOTR (heaven forbid!), and old legends/horror stories/myths.

So what I'm really doing here is saying "the door is open for submissions." Although we'll have more detailed guidlines for critters and NPCs later, I'd like to see what you all can come up with now.

Jake

Personal opinion.

I HATE bizarre "monsters". To understand my definition of bizarre monster reference any creature listed as an "Aberition" in the 3E Monster Manual.

What I'd like to see in a bestiary is something that draws from the actual mythology of the region for which the Wyerth nations are proxies...

Beyond that, include some mundane animals that would be of interest...the usual assortment of wild boars, bears, harts, foxes that would be part of a "hunt". Maybe a few exotic animals from deepest darkest africa that wind up in some nobles menagerie.

But IMO, stay clear of the nutty stuff.

Valamir wrote:

But IMO, stay clear of the nutty stuff.

::cracks knuckles:: Got one for ya.

Hearn and the Wild Hunt.

Origins: Mostly Celtic/Welsh, I believe. Don't quote me, as it's been forever since I've read the books mentioning this.
Flavor Text: Hearn is the Huntsman, a being of mythic proportions. He is said to have the feathered eyes of an eagle, the face and form of a man with the teeth of a wolf, ears of a deer, and antlers or horns. Few claim to have ever seen him, and even the Fey speak of him with an awe approaching dread. He is said to be of the Fey, but of an infinitely older race still.
One night every year, Hearn leads the Wild Hunt. All who are wise stay within doors, or under cover on this night, for any who are caught in the open are surely doomed. Most who have been chased by the Hunt are never heard from again, but some who have survived have been struck mad. It is from their garbled tales that all descriptions come.
The Hunt, it is said, is heralded by a long, mournful sound, as of a hunting horn being sounded. Then, wherever the Wild Hunt courses, there is the sound of yelping and baying. Those who have seen the Hunt claim that Hearn runs with a pack of monstrous hounds, all of huge proportions, and each white as snow, with eyes of luminous red, and ears the color of blood.

Stats: Don't worry about it. You won't survive.

Hearn is said to be neither good, nor evil. He hunts because he is the Huntsman, no more nor less than that. He and his hounds care not what the prey is, but only that there is prey, and they will course until their desire for the chase has been satisfied.

Adventure seed based on this creature/NPC/place: Uh... got me there. Perhaps a Siehe has need to speak to Hearn, but doesn't wish to be caught up by the Hunt?

Lance,

That's a good one. I think that's exactly the sort of "higher end" critter/whatever I'd like to see in the supplement.

Maybe it's the biologist speaking, but one thing I've always liked for games with geographical settings is for the creatures to be fairly restricted to specific areas. The idea of travelling to place X where creature A lives makes a lot more sense to me than just "oh, here are all the creatures, scattered any ol' which way across our otherwise carefully-constructed landscape."

Best,
Ron

I agree completely with the sentiment that most creatures should have a geographic area associated with them. I have no idea what sort of difficulty it would be to implement, but I'd love to see a small image showing a map of Weyrth (minus details, of course) with the areas a crature (or whatever) is found shaded in. You could have one of these small maps with each entry.

But, in an effort to contribute to the original topic of this thread, I'll make a suggestion for an entry in the book...
Perhaps an entry on the Erl-king? I'd say that considering the way the Fey are rooted in myth and legends of our past, not mentioning him at some point would be impossible.

Perhaps a detailed entry on him and his court. This could also provide insight into the workings of the Fey society for those who just gotta play Fey characters. There could even be mini-entries for important members of his court.

Hope this is useful! :-)

Regards,
Brandon

Jake wrote:

Valamir wrote:

But IMO, stay clear of the nutty stuff.

Then we agree perfectly.

We don't need more stuff to kill; I'd like to see monsters that players
might interact with in ways that don't involve combat (at least, not always
involving combat).

Jake wrote:

Amen to that! Take a look at the "monsters" we included just in the core rulebook. Most of them would tear a player apart (especially one made by "pure" TROS chargen). On the other hand, there are some really cool stories in there. I've got one of the "monsters" done, and I'll post it here so that you call can get an idea of where we might be going with this.

Jake

Hey, Jake... how long do you want these bestiary thingies to be?

-Nevermet

This is a sample (and real, but not proof-read) entry for the beast part of the bestiary. I didn't include an adventure seed, though a single paragraph long one at the end might be nice. On the other hand, "adventure seeds" seem to be littered throughout the entry.

Yr Tair (Tair y Cleddyf) The Three Swords
Tegaarn (esp. Anghard, Picti, etc).

We had been told not to go into the north woods. We had been told twice not to wander near the old shrine of Morrigan. And three times we had been told not to even be near the woods after nightfall.

We did it wrong, though it took a while to realize it. The shrine was beautiful, even if it was old and covered in vegetation. Davin really wanted to see it…he said he had something to ask the old goddess. We prayed by the crumbling shrine, left some fruit and a hare for an offering, and turned for home. That was about noon, I think.

Within the hour we were lost, and within two the sun had set. At two o’clock, the sun set…and it was dark. The summer warmth of the woods turned to a chilly, autumn cold, giving life to our foggy breath. And we realized then that Morrigan must not like rabbits.

First, the sensation of being followed. Then, the sound of cloth dragging through the leaves and underbrush sitting beneath the birch trees. “To the right,” Davin said, and I looked. A single figure, not quite 5 feet tall, glided through the leaves some 20 yards off. Looking to the left we saw another, and our blood ran cold.

“Run,” I said, and we did. We ran as far as we could, until we were sure that the forest should have ended by now, and that we should be standing amidst crops and scarecrows. But there were no rows of wheat—only the ghostly white trunks of birch trees.

We turned to the rear, and saw one drifting through the undergrowth, exactly centered behind us. He seemed tall, despite his height. Perhaps it was his head, longer than a man’s and a bit narrower. His head, bald as a stone, seemed to reflect the moonlight and canopy shadows coming through the forest roof, his ears shot upward like daggers on the sides of his skull, and his half-round eyes shone dimly and white. The wind blew up behind him, sending ripples through the long black cloak that even then dragged leaves behind it. He wore a sword on his back, and the pommel gleamed in the moonlight.

Davin and I began backing away. I wanted to run, but knew it would do no more good against this little man than it would against the wind itself. My only consolation was that Davin was here with me, and we both came armed.

But there were two more, I had forgotten. They came up behind the one in the center, leaves stirring about their black cloaks, and took their place behind him on either side. Three of them, all identical, all with the same long swords across their backs. Davin drew his weapon and I followed—if they carried swords, perhaps they could be killed by them. We stood silently, preparing our selves and muttering prayers to whatever gods or spirits ruled these woods—though I believed that perhaps we stood now to face them.

The one on the back left reached forward and grabbed the leader’s sword by the hilt, and slowly spun around, unsheathing the weapon. His twin on the back right took the spinning one’s sword, and set into rotation himself. Finally, the one in the front grabbed the second’s sword at the tail end of the spin, himself never having turned—never having taken those ghastly eyes off of us. All three of them now held the sword of one of their brethren.

That’s when the fighting started.


ST 5 WP 7 Ref 9
AG 9 Wit 9 Aim 7
TO 5 MA 1 KD 6
EN 8 Soc 1 KO 8
HT 2 Per 6 Move 10

Longsword* 8 (CP 17)
Theif/Woodsman Skills (SR 7) Except: Sneak 4
Glamour 3


In the language of Angharad Tair y Cleddyf means “the three swords.” The Stahlners call them Die drei Schwertekin, or “the Three Sword-Kin.” These powerful and wordless killers haunt the enchanted woodlands of the world, always near the dilapidated shrine or temple of some abandoned or forgotten god. They are often attached to Morrigan, the old Celtic goddess of death; some say that they are her children, sent to tend the graves of dead gods and spirits.
They are move almost soundlessly until they wish to be seen, move with lighting alacrity, and always travel in a group of three. They use their glamour magic whenever possible to scare and unnerve their “prey,” whom they work very hard to prevent from leaving their protected forest or lands alive, if at all. Very few have been able to make it out of the Sword-Kin’s territory before dying, but enough have that the story is well known in lands where the Sword-Kin stalk. If you can get out of their woods, though, they will not follow so long as you have taken nothing from their chosen shrine or holy place.
The Sword-Kin will never leave the corpse of one of their brethren behind, though they will retreat and return for it if they are grossly outmatched. Patient and methodical, the Three have decimated small armies bit-by-bit in order to regain one of their number. If all three are slain, other Siehe (seelie and unseelie) will come for the bodies sooner or later.

*The swords carried by the Three are exceptional, with a -1 to both ATN and DTN due to fine quality and mild enchantment. The drawback is that they cannot be drawn by the same person who is wearing them. Thus one character can draw the sword from his friend’s back or side, but not from his own back or side. Anyone but the wearer can draw one of these swords, making the Three Sword-Kin exceptionally vulnerable when alone, as an enemy might be able to draw the sword, but they cannot.

WOW! That's awesome! I've never heard of that before. Is that from real world myth or did you make it up? Ok, I'm sold. Tell me where to send my money for the book!

Brandon

Those are Weyrth-only, albeit inspired by bits and peices of Celtic mythology (the name is Welsh). We want to have the kind of critters that you belive came from somewhere, though.

Jake

Just thought I'd throw the latest entry into the bestiary for you all to look at, add to, or complain about (seeing as it was discussion in this forum that got me thinking in the first place about how cool zombies could be). There's actually a wee bit of commentary that I'm going to throw on this yet, but all the core stuff is here.

Walking Dead (zombies and skeletons)

“So this is the tomb of Ghar-khan, is it?” I asked our guide.
“It is, young master, it is. Here they buried the old murderer, along with the bodies of all those he killed.”
“Why would they do a thing like that?”
“So that their screams might torment him in the afterlife…and to protect his tomb from intruders like us.”
“How could the dead do that?”
“You’ll see, young master, but I’ll not be going down there with you. I’ll be taking my payment right here.”
Having passed the ratty little man two Farrenshire shillings, my sword-brothers and I pulled the old iron door open and went inside. All around us lay the half-rotten corpses of dead men, intermixed with the sticky-looking bones of human skeletons. Some of the dead—the freshest, I supposed—looked to have died scratching at the iron door behind us. The others…all the others…seemed to be scratching at them.
“Garet—hold the door open,” I told our youngest companion at the back, and began the short walk from the door to the stone coffin at the far back of the tomb. The light of flickered off of the still wet cadavers nearest the doors.
“Hey Marek,” Garet called to me, “Why are there juicy bodies in a tomb that’s been locked up for 57 years?”
I would have answered him, except that when I turned back toward the exit I saw a pair of maggot-covered hands grip the iron door and slam it shut on the poor boy, leaving his lower half to fall with a splash in the tomb’s belly. He died first, he died fastest.
Then the dead rose around us, soundlessly and without malice coming up from all sides. They fought without arms, without heads, without fear…I prayed the Merciful Hand that I would not be joining them in the slaughter of the next poor fools to seek treasure here…


ST 6 WP 1-6 (1d6) Ref 4
AG 2 Wit 6 Aim 3
TO 1-6* MA 0 KD 4
EN 10 Soc 0 KO N/A
HT 3 Per 5 Move 9 (but they can’t sprint)


The walking dead are not simply cadavers animated with the Movement Vagary of Magic—they are cursed souls, doomed to an eternity in a rotting body. They seem soulless and passionless, but this is not the case. Instead they bear a desire to reclaim the life and flesh that they have lost, and rend the living bit-from-juicy-bit to do so.
A number of important game mechanics surround the walking dead:
•The souls of the walking dead cannot be killed or destroyed except by banishment (although this is relatively easy to do—banishing three walking dead is the same as banishing one minor spirit). Their physical forms may be destroyed by fire or by dismemberment, although a severed hand will continue to grip, crawl, scratch, etc.
•Because their physical forms are quite dead, they feel no pain and never bleed (Shock and Pain modifiers from cutting and bludgeoning attacks are all reduced to 1/3, representing the physical damage caused but not the agony of a wound; make no Blood Loss rolls). Piercing attacks can pin a member of the walking dead, but never cause the right kind of real structural damage to put one out of commission (no Shock, Pain, or BL from puncturing attacks; roll a contest of ST with any walking dead you’ve successfully stuck to keep them pinned, TN=13-your WP). Beyond this, they are tireless and will follow prey forever, unless bound to a certain area or greater task.
•The TO of a zombie or skeleton directly corresponds to its level of decay. The freshly dead are padded by muscle and sinew, and are rather difficult to kill. Ancient skeletal remains, however, are brittle at best. This (optionally) affects the usefulness of certain weapon types against different kinds of walking dead. The TO (decay level) of a zombie or skeleton can be set by plot considerations, the Seneschal’s whim, or by rolling 1d6.

Decay Level for Walking Dead
TO (d6) Decay Level Damage Mods
1 Ancient bones Bludgeoning +2 Dam
2 Dry bones Bludgeoning +1 Dam
3 Juicy, stringy bones N/A
4 Gross flesh & bones N/A
5 Quite rotten Cutting +1 Dam
6 Fresh cadaver Cutting +2 Dam

•Gifted Characters wishing to create their own Walking Dead (a dark thing to do, to say the least), must imprison a spirit into a dead body. This can be done by imprisoning someone’s spirit into their body before they die (and then killing them), summoning a spirit and imprisoning it into a chosen body, or by otherwise imprisoning an “available” spirit into a host body. Unless the Sorcerer in question wishes a particularly special zombie, only a “minor” spirit need be used.

Spell: Create Walking Dead (from a living subject)
Spell of Many (Ritual)
CTN = 13 (casting time: 13 hours)
T: 3 (animal); R: 1 (touch); V: 3 (2000 lbs, assumes the caster is creating as many Walking dead as his MA); D: 0 (Instantaneous, made permanent—see Sorcery and the Fey); L: 6
Vagaries: Sculpture 3, Movement 1, Conquer 3, Imprison 1
Effects: Composition 3 (holds the body together), Speed & Maneuverability 1 (animates the body), Control 3 (allows the sorcerer to command the zombie), Imprison Spirits 1 (traps the spirit into the body—the inclusion of a spirit allows the zombie to carry out orders instead of being manipulated like a puppet action-for-action).
Instantaneous or Permanent

Whaddya think? And I'm STILL waiting for some actual submissions...If I like it, I'll print it...find a promise like that anywhere else!

Jake

ps...if it's considerable or numerous, I'll even pay for it... :-D

Jake Norwood wrote: Whaddya think? And I'm STILL waiting for some actual submissions...If I like it, I'll print it...find a promise like that anywhere else!

ps...if it's considerable or numerous, I'll even pay for it... :-D

Back when I said I was gonna set up bestiary guidlines I meant "I'll be putting an example up soon." So, now you all have two.

The guidelines are:
Short story/mood fiction for the critter/NPC/entry...if it isn't cool enough to spawn fiction, it probably isn't that cool.

Stats, as per my example, with notes for special cases

Notes on ecology OR mythology, whichever you want people to know.

Special game mechanics, if any.

An Adventure seed (optional).

Generally I'm looking not for "things to kill" but rather "things that can/will be important for a campaign or adventure." I want stuff that's beliviable and not over the top, although remember that the Siehe can get pretty weird. Just do your best to imitate that "Gritty TROS feel" that I keep on hearing about.

In short, I'm looking for quality and utility, NOT quantity. If there's only 30 critters in the book by the end, but you want to use every last one, then we got it right.

Also, put suggestions on this forum, or half-finished critters for discussion, but finished stuff goes to me via e-mail (norwood@theriddleofsteel.com). I'm looking for illustrators as well, to meet the large amount of art we'll need for this.

Yes, I'll pay, but only if I get consistent quality and multiple submissions. On the other hand I will do single submissions and work out deals with parties individually until we have a more concrete policy...just remember that if I pay you for any work, you'll probably be making more on it than me.

Jake

I'll have two critters done in 2 days.
Sorry about the delay.

Is Hearne a go, or is he too powerful and vague to actually be considered a "critter"? If he's good, then I'll re-write him in a similar format to what you wrote your examples (story-form, et al).. If not, feel free to use him in any sort of mythology stuff you might do, considering that I didn't create him.

Also, if he's good.. Should I alter the name?

Hearn is just fine. Try to give him stats, though, and for his dogs...it would be fun to let a character try to take him out...

Jake Norwood wrote: Hearn is just fine. Try to give him stats, though, and for his dogs...it would be fun to let a character try to take him out...

I'll respond with a writeup for Hearn soon, then.

As for quadrupeds, I think I remember seeing references to a hit chart for them, but never seeing one.. Am I stupid, or were there such references? Either way, I'd like to see hit charts for quadrupeds, as well as certain notes describing that for differing sizes, it may be easier/harder or even impossible to hit certain areas (Imagine a dwarf with a dagger declaring his strike for a shire horse's spine, after all). Just notes for the Seneschal to keep in mind, that's all.

Ooh, that also reminds me.. Been reading a Conan novel.. Are we allowed to steal unique monsters from other places? I got one from this book that would be perfect for RoS.. I'll post a writeup, and you make the call...

BrianL wrote: I'm tossing up about making a set of crit tables for quadrapeds such as dogs, horses, and such animals, because their physiques are very different to bipeds. Is this something you would be interested in Jake, or is it just too many tables?

Jake Norwood wrote:

BrianL wrote: I'm tossing up about making a set of crit tables for quadrapeds such as dogs, horses, and such animals, because their physiques are very different to bipeds. Is this something you would be interested in Jake, or is it just too many tables?

You're welcome to, but don't do too much work! In truth, the existing tables could be modified for quadrupeds to some degree. If you want to put one together I can e-mail you the original word file with all the damage tables on them--that way you could cut& paste whatever is appropriate.

And I would *love* to see someone that knows stuff about animals (like a vet...) to write up stuff for any animals, especially dogs, horses, etc...

And again, I'm paying for sizable contributions to this project (just remember that I've got a real limited budget).

Jake

2300AD had some hit location diagrams for quadrupeds of several stripes, and birds etc. Milleniums End has at least 2 for dogs, IIRC.

I would strongly recommend including such tables, because its annoying and interrupting to have to the extrapolation mid-play. This is especially true if you are producing a relatively low number of critters which may be otherwise be well realised - it feels like an oversight.

I support all attempts to realise animals properly in RPG.