Gamer ADD: Monster Manual II Part 7

Wandering Monster Table Level 3

Oozes and Slimes continue to be my bane when trying to come up with Wandering Monster Tables for an MMII version of Moldvay’s Basic D&D. Even when I finally have an ooze that is appropriately powered, Moldvay puts two in his 3rd level WMT. Thus, once again, I am forced to be creative. Cave morays are described as slug-like, which (like fungi on my earlier WMTs) will have to suffice. Please note: according to the MMII both cave morays and cave fishers have a 100% chance of being in their lairs. Normally, this would disqualify them for a WMT; however, the Basic D&D stat block has no such entry. Thus, whether or not these creatures can wander (and both are capable of movement) is entirely up to the Referee/GM/DM. Especially since I am running short on appropriate monsters to fill these roles, I am using that implied freedom to allow these creatures to roam:

1. Banderlong (4 HD)
2. Pedipalp (2+2)
3. Derro (3*)
4. Land Urchin (3+3)
5. Cave Fisher (3)
6. Scorpion (4+4*)
7. Shadow Dragon (4*)
8. Chrystal Ooze (4*)
9. Fire Bat (2)
10. Elfin Cat (3+6*)
11. Taer (3+6*)
12. Swordmaster (3rd level fighter)
13. Myconid (4*)
14. NPC Party (var.)
15. Cave Moray (4+4)
16. Ophidian (3*)
17. Elemental (Harginn) (4+4**)
18. Giant Bee (3+1*)
19. Zombie, Juju (3+12*)
20. Zombie, Monster (6)

Seriously, I am more and more interested in this implied world. It has a dark fantasy feel to it, with a constant sense of corruption and decay. In a weird sense, it reminds me of Ravenloft, only better. There is no need for special rules, the undead are all man-made Frankenstein’s monsters, and the vampires aren’t Transylvanian, they’re reptilian. Plus, it has dinosaurs. Yep, I’m going to have do something with this…

Gamer ADD: Monster Manual II Part 6

Wandering Monster Table Level 2

For this Wandering Monster Table (WMT), I again used the break-down of Moldvay’s WMT as a template. As happened with the Level 1 WMT, I ran into several problems filling out slots. Oozes and slimes once again proved to be overly powerful. Interestingly, though, the MMII has three different creatures that are all basically the same idea, but with slight variations in powers: olive slime, phycomid and zygom. They are all plants/fungus. All infect a host which is then mentally taken over in order to reproduce and find more hosts. Of these I like the olive slime the best from a descriptive point of view: it's telepathic, it's a slime and the creatures it produces are humanoid slime-things. Unfortunately, they cannot be harmed by normal weapons at all. The least powerful is the zygom, but it does have a fun factor: the attack that infects a host only works with skin contact, otherwise it acts like a super glue that will eventually harden and destroy whatever it is stuck to. Therefore, the zygom makes this list in place of an ooze or a slime.

Another difficulty was the undead entries. As I have stated before, there aren’t many undead in the MMII and those that are not Animal Skeletons are on the more powerful side. The MMII, however, does have a number of mobile plant-like creatures that don’t really fit into any of the categories I used to break down Moldvay’s tables. Therefore I put some of the walking plants (the kamfult and mandragora) in the place of the undead.

Finally, there aren’t any real low-level constructs in the MMII and that is an entry that shows up on the Level 3 WMT. The vilstrak, which is a kind of stone creature that can move through solid rock, kind of fits the bill, but is less than 1 HD. Therefore, I switched out one of the mammal entries in this WMT and put it in the Level 3 WMT. The slot was then replaced with the “construct” and the vilstrak:

1. Scorpion (2+2* HD)
2. Conjurer (3rd level MU)
3. Vilstrak (1-1)
4. Wild Elf (1+2)
5. Kamfult (2)
6. Azer (2+1*)
7. Zygom (3*)
8. Hybsil (1-1)
9. Dinosaur (4+2)
10. Myconid (2)
11. Mudman (2)
12. Warrior (2nd level fighter)
13. Buckawn (1-1*)
14. Giant Fly (3)
15. Vapor Rat (2)
16. Constrictor Snake (3+2)
17. Solifugid (3+3*)
18. Magman (2*)
19. Robber (3rd Level thief)
20. Mandragora (1+1)

This isn’t your father’s D&D. There are fantasy elements that will feel familiar, but there is no sense that the world described here has any kind of foothold in Tolkien or any of the worlds that his imagination inspired. This is stranger and more primordial. This is quickly becoming a world I want to play.

Gamer ADD: Monster Manual II Part 5

Wandering Monster Table Level 1

I have been trying to work on some Wondering Monster Tables (WMT) for a Moldvay Basic Edition using only MMII monsters and it hasn’t been easy, especially compared to my efforts to do the same for the Field Folio. While my original break down of Molday’s WMTs is still relevant and useful, finding monsters to fit that break-down is not nearly as straight-forward as it was with the FF.

Both the MMI and the FF have a wide variety of monsters of all power levels: everything from the lowly 1/2HD humanoids to god-like unique monsters. Each is a manual that can serve a Referee/GM/DM well for a campaign that spans several PC levels. One of the main reasons I have never liked the MMII — its theme of Gygax’s underdark and planar cosmology — is also the reason why the MMII does not do a good job of serving up monsters of variable levels for a Referee/GM/DM to use over the course of a whole campaign.

The MMII is top-heavy. PCs that are going to explore the underdark and/or the other planes of Gygax’s cosmology are necessarily going to be higher level. Thus, virtually every monster in the MMII either comes from a mid-to-high level module or is designed to challenge higher level characters. There are a number of low hit die creatures that are very capable of taking out an entire 1st level party. Sure, a well-organized group of kobolds could do the same, but not as some random encounter.

For example, the Quickling has the following spell-like abilities: ventriloquism, forget, levitate, shatter, dig and fire charm. When motionless, they are invisible. They save as 19th level clerics. They cannot be surprised, have three attacks per round and have an AC of -3. Did I mention that are 1.5 HD creatures?

Thus, it took a lot longer to arrive at the following 1st Level WMT:

1. Seer (2nd level MU)
2. Veteran (1st level Fighter)
3. Cave Cricket (1+3 HD)
4. Mongrelmen (1 HD)
5. Myconid (1 HD)
6. Vulchling (1 HD)
7. Ustilagor (3+3* HD)
8. Dreurgar (1+2 HD)
9. Pedipalp (1+1 HD)
10. Tasloi (1 HD)
11. Dinosaur (3+1 HD)
12. Formian Worker (1+1 HD)
13. Giant Squirrel (1+1 HD)
14. Animal Skeleton (1-1* HD)
15. Muckdweller (1/2 HD)
16. Giant Termite (1+2 HD)
17. Gripple (1+1 HD)
18. Webbird (1/2* HD)
19. Footpad (2nd level thief)
20. Coshee (3+3 HD)

The MMII does not lack for jellies, slimes and oozes. The problem is that they are meant to be a nuisance to mid-to-high level characters and therefore are not really appropriate for a 1st level WMT. As such, I substituted the ustilagor, which is described as a fungi.

This list suggests a world that passingly resembles a fantasy world, with its fey touches and its hat tips to elves and dwarves; however, there is a strong suggestion that this world has been ravaged by the effects of pure chaos. When a creature does appear to be somewhat normal, it seems like it was ripped from another time. Otherwise, this is a nice, large helping of weird.

Tinkering with Weighted WMTs

I first encountered the idea of weighted Wandering Monster Tables in the MMII, where encounter tables were designed to use 2 dice (1d8+1d12) to produce a number from 2-20. Due to the bell curve produced by this set-up, it is possible to arrange WMTs based on frequency — Very Rare, Rare, Uncommon and Common.

Recently, I have been meditating upon a different way to weigh a WMT based upon time. For years, my mom has had a bird feeder on her porch. In that time, she has noted that there is a general pattern as to when a type of bird is most likely to be feeding. It isn’t identical every day, but there are times when there are types of birds that will not be there.

One might use such a concept in a dungeon or wilderness area where the longer one stays, the more dangerous it gets because bigger and badder monsters come out to play. This could also be used in an area being contested by different factions. During the first part of a day, each side is preparing and planning, therefore most encounters at the beginning of a day will simply be one faction or another; however, later in the day (when these plans come to fruition), most encounters will find the factions in combat with each other.

To set up such a WMT, a chart with 19-23 slots can be made (the following example might be used in a 1st-level dungeon):

1. 1/2 HD Creature
2. 1/2 HD Creature
3. 1/2 HD Creature
4. 1 HD Creature
5. 1 HD Creature
6. 1 HD Creature
7. 1 HD Creature
8. 1+1 HD Creature
9. 1+1 HD Creature
10. 1+1 HD Creature
11. 1+1 HD Creature
12. 2 HD Creature
13. 2 HD Creature
14. 2 HD Creature
15. 2 HD Creature
16. 2+1 HD Creature
17. 2+1 HD Creature
18. 2+1 HD Creature
19. 3 HD Creature
20. 3 HD Creature
21. 4 HD Creature
22. 4 HD Creature
23. 5 HD Creature

To use the table, roll 1d12. For every hour spent in the area add an additional +1 to the roll. Thus, if a '10' is rolled for an encounter with an adventuring party that has been in the area for 4 hours, the final result will be 14 (10+4). If the party has just arrived and has yet to spend an entire hour in the area, nothing is added to the roll.

Using this method, such a table could represent an 8-12 hour period of time (where 19 slots = 8 hours and 23 = 12 hours). This would allow for the above process to be reversed with a 12 hour table (the 8 hour table would sit on the low end or high end of the table for several hours). Alternatively, one could add the bonus for every 2-3 hours and have the whole process cover a 24-hour period.