“The sight of it made the earth seem unearthly. They were accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there—there you could look at a thing monstrous, beautiful, and free.” —Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness. My first Old Hat Monster article was about breathing new life into the classic monster races […]
Old Hat Monsters: Tribal Chieftain Template Read More »
Gnolls are one of my all-time favorite monsters. From the blue box’s hyena-men, to the latest variations, these monsters have been hacking at parties for time immemorial. The following mini-ecology is system neutral, and it can inspire gamemasters and players to help cover the world with these beloved-yet-despised creatures. Feral hunter-scavengers, gnolls are demon-twisted humanoid
Gnasty Gnolls: Lore and Adventurers Read More »
We’ve civilized, mutated, and mashed our classic monsters into a fantasy paradox; they’re familiar yet new. On the horizon I have at least three more monster templates ahead that may well breathe new life into your old favorites, but I must confess that sometimes the best way to surprise your players isn’t to change the monster
Old Hat Monsters: The Encounter Read More »
Try to remember for a moment a more innocent time in your life. Back then, the thought of vampires and werewolves lurking in the dark might have sent a chill down your spine. These days, though, when people discuss shows such as The Walking Dead or Being Human, it’s not with the same sense of
Old Hat Monsters: Mashed Read More »
Last time, we went over a quick system for mutating your monsters so that they can provide a more unknown challenge for your player characters to face. Let’s take a look at a few examples, starting with the humble goblin. Goblins For starters, goblins are not CR 1. To get there, they need 2 player
Old Hat Monsters: Mutated (Part 2) Read More »
A good GM is one part entertainer and one part engineer. And, like a magician, you are only as good as your last trick. Players are like a savvy audience at a magic show—you aren’t going to wow them with the standard magic act. All too often, it seems like they’ve seen behind the curtain.
Old Hat Monsters: Mutated (Part 1) Read More »
“Orcs again—yawn. Wake me up when it’s my turn.” We’ve all been there. No matter what level your players’ current characters are at, your players have seen it all. Like a perpetual arms race, you can frantically try to find new monsters to throw at their CR or make up new ones, but the fact
Old Hat Monsters: Reborn Read More »
Powerful brandigs are among the greater dead, boasting superior reflexes and intelligence coupled with an uncanny ability to track their prey over great distances. These creatures are vaguely humanoid in appearance, though they have gray-green skin that drips fire and smoke, and their eyes burn with the soul of a dead spirit. Brandigs are often
Monster Monday: Brandig Read More »
During the Mage Wars, foolish wizards attempted to summon the Great Old One Tnkata, which was also called “The Eternal Hunger.” Tnkata, a mountain-sized mound of flesh surrounding a huge fanged maw, attempted to devour its summoners even before it fully emerged into Midgard. Desperate wizards sacrificed themselves to break the summoning and hurl the
Monster Monday: Flesh of Tnkata Read More »
At night, you see the cat walking on its back legs, glowing with evil magic, split tails waving in concentration, jumping over a fresh grave. The earth beneath its paws rumbles. Many animals, whether through a racial link to the First World or another mystical snafu, have dormant supernatural abilities. Cats are such animals, and
Monster Monday: Forked Cat Read More »
The world’s arctic region is both a place of great natural beauty and an inherently deadly environment. Freezing waters can turn blood to ice in mere minutes. Avalanches can bury entire parties, hiding their bodies forever under a mountainside’s worth of snow. As deadly as the arctic is, a wide variety of monsters call it
Blood-Stained Ice: Monsters of the Arctic—Soul Render (Part 5) Read More »
With each installment of Creature Comforts, we take a deeper look into a legendary monster that adventurers might encounter while journeying through the world. In this installment, we venture further into the concept of snow giants, which has a statistics block in part 3, along with several magic items you can add to your game.
Creature Comforts: Frost Giants (Part 4) Read More »
Looking for some seaworthy creatures to use in your game? How about one that can help your player characters or unexpectedly hinder them when faced in larger numbers? You can also take a look at Journeys to the West for more useful seafaring material for your campaign.
Seafaring Creature: Salt Mouse Read More »
The world’s arctic region is both a place of great natural beauty and an inherently deadly environment. Freezing waters can turn blood to ice in mere minutes. Avalanches can bury entire parties, hiding their bodies forever under a mountainside’s worth of snow. As deadly as the arctic is, a wide variety of monsters call it
Blood-Stained Ice: Monsters of the Arctic—Hammer Moose (Part 4) Read More »
Looking for some seaworthy creatures to use in your game? Well, the carnivorous ship just might fill that need for you. You can also take a look at Journeys to the West for more useful seafaring material for your campaign. Also called a ship mimic, the carnivorous ship sprang out of the turmoil of an
Seafaring Creature: Carnivorous Ship Read More »
With each installment of Creature Comforts, we take a deeper look into a legendary monster that adventurers might encounter while journeying through the world. In this installment, we bring you some magic items, plus another creature you can add to your game. You can see more about frost giants in part 1 and part 2.
Creature Comforts: Frost Giants (Part 3) Read More »
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