Monster Manual Questions

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Monster Manual Questions

Postby Hannoske » Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:24 am

So, the secret squirrel committee of folks working on the Dor update for v8 are moving to a new format you may have heard about for monsters. Namely, monsters will no longer have levels, instead, your level in Monster will affect which monsters you can play in battlegames. Additionally, scenario (formerly known as quest) monsters are now completely separated, and are not being balanced to fit into standard battlegames.

Monsters have two key numbers associated with them (and these may not be directly related).
First, the monster level required to play them. This is based on how complex the monster is.
Second, the Power Rating, identifying how powerful the monster is relative to a regular player class.
Example: Orc is a Level 3 monster, with a PR of 2.
Example: wrote:Orc
PR: 2
Level: 3
Armor: 2 points (worn)
Weapons and Shields: All melee, Medium
Abilities and Traits
Immune to Command (T)
Berserk
Fight After Death 1/Refresh
Adrenaline 1/life
Scavenge 3/life
Harden (self-only) 1/life


Additionally, there is a new Look the Part concept being designed, whereby a player my wear garb that portrays a monster really well, while playing a traditional class. Doing so will give an Alternate Look the Part bonus that replaces the classes natural one with a low powered monster ability related to that monster. No, not every monster is getting one, but some of the more common humanoids are. Now your Elvish persona actually matters!

Example: wrote:Race: Elf
Garb: Pointed ears
Description: Elves are the longest lived of all the civilized races. Their thin limbs and beautiful features cause many races to underestimate the Elven Nation – much to the dismay of any enemy who has lost a war to the graceful elves.
If you qualify for Look the Part, you may, optionally, switch out your Look the Part bonus for the following ability:
Tracking (Ex) 1/Refresh, Charge x4


Looking for feedback.
What are your thoughts on these concepts?
How do you feel about monsters not needing to be 6th level to get all the goodies?
Would you feel you wasted leveling up because you your favorite monster does not require 6th level?
Does a system without levels make monsters simpler?
Would this make planning your battlegames easier or harder?
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Re: Monster Manual Questions

Postby Grimbold » Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:26 am

I like it so far. I would love to have a few sample monsters to playtest and see how they work on the field.
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Re: Monster Manual Questions

Postby Clenawe » Wed Apr 02, 2014 11:33 am

There are more than a couple of monsters available to playtest. The official DUA X facebook group is here, and there are playtest rules for dozens of beasties already written up.
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Re: Monster Manual Questions

Postby Mannanan » Wed Apr 02, 2014 11:47 am

I have not had the chance to give the new monster manual a through read but I did see the look the part, non human race section. I would love to see the look the part section expanded to include more options for 'bad guy' races. Goblin assassin, Ork barbarian, Ilithid wizard, Troll warrior, and undead GUM healer come to mind. But I suppose I should pass that on to the Dor comity.
- Baronet Mannanan, MaA to Baronet Torbjorn Kegslayer Esq.
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Re: Monster Manual Questions

Postby Clenawe » Wed Apr 02, 2014 1:51 pm

We've been talking about that, and we've been working on expanding that section. It has been really well received.
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Re: Monster Manual Questions

Postby Hannoske » Thu Apr 03, 2014 12:30 am

If it wasn't apparent, Clanawe has been a big player in the committee, contributing many monster updates to the project. You should buy him a beer next time you see him.

I will see about cross posting the current play test version here. Of note, it is still a working copy, and not fully ready for release. Just trying to get it into some peoples hands to point the committee in the right direction. Also, any version I link to here will not get any of the real time updates the committee makes. I know Luke tries to keep the facebook group updated about it.
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Re: Monster Manual Questions

Postby Orko » Tue Apr 08, 2014 7:28 pm

Sometimes at night I lay up wondering to myself.

The other night I turned to Noodle and I weeped.

Hannoske doesn't play Amtgard anymore, I told her.
He can't.

It was all a lie. I was just protecting myself. If he had left, that would be that.

BUT HE LIVES!
THE RAINS TODAY!
THE BEAUTIFUL LIGHT HAS BEEN SEEN!

HANNOSKE STILL PLAYS AMTGARD!
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Re: Monster Manual Questions

Postby Azalin » Sun Apr 27, 2014 9:33 pm

I think this new way of managing the monster class will make monsters easier to play at smaller parks. I've never played the monster class but have always been wanting to try. Problem was that besides the few QM 1:1 monsters in DUA 8, I couldn't play any of the other monsters because their QM was too large for the group. I like the idea of gaining access to iconic monsters at various levels and that I could play them without worrying too much about balancing issues. I would like to see monsters more often (last monster sighting I had was almost a year ago when Smiley would play goblin every week for an entire summer).

I'm not sure how I feel about monsters not gaining benefits as the player gains level in monster. I mean, if I play goblin every week, it won't get any better - only I will get better. I don't think it makes the goblin any less desirable though --> in DUA X 1.0, being able to come back to life twice per life in a "Contingency" style effect is pretty useful at all levels.

Regardless, I definitely want to try a monster or two at SSD and see what the rest of the park thinks.
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