Friday, April 18, 2014

Monstrous Workshop: Special

Flipping through the "Denizens" chapter of the Torchbearer rulebook, you'll notice most creatures have a "Special" category in their statblock. These entries detail any special advantages the creatures have, ways in which they break break the rules, and further define their behavior. With few exceptions, any creature you make should have a "Special" entry. The book is rife with examples to steal or model your ideas upon, which I've catalogued below.

A simple way to decide what your creature's Special should be is to think what a Lore Master/Hunter roll would reveal about this creature. Sure, we know a red dragon has a breath weapon, but that's rather obvious and doesn't really get to the unique thing about the creature. However, saying, "Red Dragons are the most covetous of all--they sleep with one eye open so they can count their gold in their dreams and watch for thieves who would try to sneak into their lair," does get at this. A simpler example is Trolls. It's hard not to think about the Troll's weakness to fire and their regenerative abilities first and foremost.
  • Undead Traits 
    • Barrow Wights, page 151
  • Disease Transmission 
    • Barrow Wights, page 151
    • Giant Rats, page 154
    • Wererat, page 158
  • Corrosive Effects 
    • Black Dragon, page 152
  • Terrain Advantages 
    • Bugbears, page 152
  • Anatomical Advantages 
    • Creeping Ooze, page 152
  • Weapons that paralyze 
    • Ghoul, page 153
  • Weapons that poison 
    • Stone Spider, page 157
  • Variant Species 
    • Giant Bats, page 154
  • Animal Companions 
    • Gnolls, page 154
  • Racial Advantage/Disadvantages 
    • Goblins, page 154
    • Orc, page 156
    • Red Dragons, page 156
  • Natural Armor 
    • Guardian Statue, page 155
  • Conflict Immunities 
    • Guardian Statue, page 155
    • Tomb Guardian, page 157
  • Charm Effects 
    • Harpy, page 155
  • Weapon Preferences 
    • Hobgoblin, page 155
    • Tomb Guardians, page 157
    • Wererat, page 158
  • Cultural Hierarchies 
    • Lizardman, page 156
  • Magic Immunities 
    • Tomb Guardians, page 157
  • Regeneration 
    • Troll, page 158
  • Weaknesses 
    • Troll, page 158
  • Lycanthrope 
    • Wererat, page 158

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