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Thread: Using randomly generate monsters
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2017-08-26, 07:06 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2017
Using randomly generate monsters
Does anyone do that?
It sounds fun, using the same monsters all the time is kind of boring and predictable.
What is your opinion on the topic?
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2017-08-26, 09:41 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2014
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- Cleveland
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Re: Using randomly generate monsters
I did this back when I was a young, inexperienced DM.
It does nothing to advance the story, rarely makes sense based on other occurrences, and can produce poorly balanced encounters.
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2017-08-27, 06:28 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
Re: Using randomly generate monsters
Well, that sounds like the a bad implementation of the method.
Imo, "random" monsters should, first and foremost, always make sense. You don't encounter goblins outside of caves, demons outside of the abyss, elves outside the woods, humans outside of cities, or animals outside of zoos unless they have a reason to be there.
And caring about story or balance? You only do that if you're in one of those games. Real grognards abhor both.
Color this post blue to taste.
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2017-08-27, 07:19 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2017
Re: Using randomly generate monsters
Yes. It was a feature of old D&D and people still play those games, or retro-clones of those games (within the so called Old School Renaissance movement).
Eh? I'd expect the outcome to be the opposite - using random encounters means facing the same monsters over and over again.
Random encounters shine when you're trying to portray a real, living world. They're probably mostly used in sandbox games. A random encounter table is a representation of what lives in a region, what you could plausibly encounter there. A good table makes sense. That probably means you can't have 20 different large predatory monsters in the same region. Instead, you have 2 or 3 on your table (plus different kinds of monsters and encounters). And if the PCs spend an extended period of time in the region, they're going to face those 2 or 3 monsters multiple times. And that's a feature, not a bug. They'll start to learn what lives in the region, can take precautions etc.
If you don't use random encounter, but instead tailor every encounter to fit the party, it's probably possible to use a new monster every single time. The first four bestiaries of Pathfinder has 1216 monsters all together (according to a quick search here). If you have 4 encounters per session, and it takes on average 4 sessions to level (let's say you skip XP and go with story-tied levelling) you'd only need unique 320 monsters to take a party from level 1 to level 20. That's entirely doable.
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2017-08-27, 07:40 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2008
- Location
- Sweden
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Re: Using randomly generate monsters
Intelligent monsters like humans can use advanced tactics and strategy in battle, as well as a very wide range of weapons, and can be encountered in many many kinds of environments that create different advantages and disadvantages.
So no I do not at all agree that using the same monster over and over is even slightly predictable. The game master can easily be predictable and boring but I seriously doubt using different monsters (especially randomly generated ones) will improve the situation in any big way. Experience, curiosity and willingness to try different and new things is the only cure for being predicable. (yes, I know the potential contradiction there, using the same monster isn't willingness to try new things, my point is that having randomly generated ones isn't the answer)Black text is for sarcasm, also sincerity. You'll just have to read between the lines and infer from context like an animal
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2017-08-27, 09:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2009
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Re: Using randomly generate monsters
Random monsters, people. You are all talking about encounters. I interpreted the OP's question as being about things like Summon spell tables in Lamentations of the Flame Princess, the rules for demonic guests in Red & Pleasant Land, mutations for nameless creatures in Praedor: Kirottu Kirja, and other monster generators.
Anyways, as should be gathered from me already having named recent examples, yes, random monster generation is a thing. How well it works is a matter of implementation.
One of the more important questions is: is the monster supposed to be created on-the-spot, or as part of the game's set-up? Kirottu Kirja is an example of how to do the former well: each monster archetype has a ready-to-use chassis, and then a single short list of additional & optional mutations to roll for. The table is right next to archetype stats, so you'll have the mechanical abilities of the creature at a glance. You just have to invent how the creature looks.
Summon spell in LotFP is an example of how to do it not-well. The tables are chaotically-arranged across several pages, there are too many subtables referring each other and too many special abilities referencing other parts of the rules, if explained at all. By-the-book rolling for a Summoned creature can halt the game for fifteen minutes before the results are know."It's the fate of all things under the sky,
to grow old and wither and die."
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2017-08-27, 10:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2008
- Location
- Duitsland
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Re: Using randomly generate monsters
I think it's something that depends on execution, and context.
If you're in a situation where you need [X monster] but don't have the necessary mechanics, then it can work with some tweaking. It can offer inspiration, if you're not sure what to use, by offering unusual combinations ("Hmmm, what kind of creature would breathe underwater, swim, and have an affinity for fire / heat?") that you can build on.
So, I'd say it can be useful, as another tool in one's metaphorical toolbox.