monster Archives

Hometown Hazards. When you go home to your slayer heritage, who’s there to greet you?

By Victoria Jaczko / May 9, 2025 / Articles, Hometown Hazards

Adventures are usually about the events taking the heroes away from home. But this series explores possibilities when taking a character back home. What troubles lurk in a PC’s hometown? What manner of curse, bogeyman, disease, or nuisance was part of their upbringing? How does it now become part of the party’s greater story?

Hometown Hazards. When you go home to your slayer heritage, who’s there to greet you? Read More »

Monster Mix: turn the obliterator golem loose on your whole party

By Mike Welham / May 8, 2025 / Articles, Monster Mix

Intelligent alien creatures such as aboleths, as well as the occasional mad wizard or capricious deity, enjoy tinkering with creatures to make them more suited for their environments or just as a thought exercise. Let’s get in on the action.

Monster Mix: turn the obliterator golem loose on your whole party Read More »

Monster Mix: what animates animated armor?

By Mike Welham / April 10, 2025 / Articles, Monster Mix

Monster Mix: what animates animated armor? Read More »

A misty mountain with a remote building in Taiwan, perfect for hiking enthusiasts.

Hometown Hazards. What you get up to in the cloud heritage

By Victoria Jaczko / March 14, 2025 / Articles, Hometown Hazards

Hometown Hazards. What you get up to in the cloud heritage Read More »

Monster Mix: What if pegasi and unicorns were prehistoric animals?

By Mike Welham / March 13, 2025 / Articles, Monster Mix

Monster Mix: What if pegasi and unicorns were prehistoric animals? Read More »

Hometown Hazards. Trouble for folk from a salvager heritage

By Victoria Jaczko / February 14, 2025 / Articles, Hometown Hazards

Hometown Hazards. Trouble for folk from a salvager heritage Read More »

Monster Mix: double down on the monsters you make when you cross oozes with demons

By Mike Welham / February 13, 2025 / Articles, Monster Mix

Monster Mix: double down on the monsters you make when you cross oozes with demons Read More »

Hungry Undead: a pirate hungry for a dish best served cold

By Benjamin Eastman / January 24, 2025 / Articles, Hungry Undead

While the lore for many undead speak to a certain craving, there are few mechanical implications for their hunger. By adding game mechanics to these undead, the Tales of the Valiant framework offers more nuanced foes to challenge the players—but all the more so, to tell more interesting tales for their valiant heroes.

Hungry Undead: a pirate hungry for a dish best served cold Read More »

Hungry Undead: the crimson mist feeds on blood

By Benjamin Eastman / December 13, 2024 / Articles, Hungry Undead

Hungry Undead: the crimson mist feeds on blood Read More »

Arcane Season 2. The uncaged wrath of Zaun! A lair and monstrosity inspired by Arcane

By Evan Noone / December 3, 2024 / Articles, TV to Tabletop

How can you fill in a crime-ridden city or slum in your game? Put a monster in it. Warwick, the uncaged wrath of Zaun!

Arcane Season 2. The uncaged wrath of Zaun! A lair and monstrosity inspired by Arcane Read More »

Monster Mix: Jelly Demons arrive in time for the holidays

By Mike Welham / November 22, 2024 / Articles, Monster Mix

Monster Mix: Jelly Demons arrive in time for the holidays Read More »

Hungry Undead: beat swords into smaller swords

By Benjamin Eastman / November 8, 2024 / Articles, Hungry Undead

Hungry Undead: beat swords into smaller swords Read More »

Monster Mix! This Lichy Pixie Packs a Punch!

By Mike Welham / October 25, 2024 / Articles, Monster Mix

A sprite’s ability to determine a creature’s emotional state becomes a liability when it is in range of a powerful ego with magical might to match. When that ego is a lich that meets its end in combat and has lost its phylactery, it will seek refuge in any tiny body to stave off its ultimate destruction.

Monster Mix! This Lichy Pixie Packs a Punch! Read More »