AWW: Adventure and Monster Design
Jun. 5th, 2012 01:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexandraerinTHE GIANT IN THE HILLS
This is a fairly brief, fairly rough draft of a typical one-off adventure for A Wilder World to show some of the philosophy behind adventure and creature design. This kind of adventure is meant to reflect the kind of problem/resolution plot you'd find in a single episode of an episodic fantasy series: group reaches town, town has problem, group solves problem.
Depending on the group (and the optional elements used), this could be a very combat-heavy adventure, one that revolves around figuring out what's going on and how to make people happy while avoiding combat, or something that takes a middle path.
The actual adventure write-up would include more numbers (Target Numbers for checks to notice things, convince people of things using different approaches, etc.) and some outlines for particular NPCs (for example: a village leader, a hothead, an advocate for calm)
Adventure Overview
The party is traveling through a hilly region when a sound like a distant rumble of thunder reaches their ears. The sky is clear. Anyone with knowledge of weather or natural phenomenon is able to identify the fact that the sound is neither. Tracking the sound to its source is possible but not easy, due to the way it echoes off the hills around them. If they continue along the road, they'll find the village of Stoneveil, a pastoral community of mostly shepherds and goatherds.
The villages are skittish and jump when there's a particularly loud crash, but they look with hope upon the arrival of the heroes. Their leader explains that a shaggy giant has taken up residence on one of the slopes near their grazing lands, and is spending its time digging a quarry and hewing great stones out of it with its bare hands. It inspects the stones and if it finds them to its liking, it shapes them by hammering and shaving them with stone tools, or else it smashes them to bits. These labors, of course, are the source of the noises that resound throughout the region. It drags the completed stones up to a particular hilltop. The purpose of these activities are unknown, but it goes at it day and night.
No one has gotten a sound night's sleep in weeks. The giant hasn't caused killed anyone yet, but it takes from the local flocks when it's hungry and injured a man by sweeping him away with its stone club when he tried to protect his sheep. It has also reacted threateningly to people who approach the grounds upon which it works.
The villagers fear that the giant is building some sort of habitation and will take up permanent residence. They are sure that things will end in bloodshed... theirs, or the monster's.
What's Going On
The giant is called the Eldermason (or possibly an Eldermason, there might be more than one. If asked, it says "There may have been, once."). Someone with relevant Knowledge (legend, history, giants, places of importance) might recall legends of hairy giants that are said to have erected great monoliths and stone rings in ages past, but it's a very obscure matter.
The Eldermason travels from place to place, erecting stone structures to answer some need or drive that cannot be explained. To the Eldermason, this labor is as essential as breathing. It isn't random. The need cannot be slaked by packing up its stones and putting them somewhere else. The exacting nature of its labor means that it might spend months to a year in a single location, making sure that things are perfect before moving on.
Additional Elements
Resolutions
Obviously, the party can simply fight the Eldermason. It cannot be driven off, but it can be killed. Its high HP and combat abilities mean that outright defeating it would be a difficult task. It won't kill attackers, but will drive them off. If they're defeated it will roll them down the hill. Attacking the Eldermason does not endear the attackers to the giant, but its perspective on human-sized characters is that they are mostly nuisances, anyway... attacking it and failing does not rule out a more diplomatic approach.
If the party approaches respectfully, the Eldermason will be suspicious and dismissive at first, but can be persuaded to put its labors on hold long enough to come and parlay. If the party shows interest in its work before moving on to prickly matters like stopping what it's doing and leaving, it will explain something about its nature. If the anyone asks about the purpose of the stone structures or suggests they might have magical or mystical significance, the Eldermason will become a bit philosophical, suggesting that perhaps it is called to construct stone circles and pillars to serve some greater purpose... but it will deny any knowledge of such a purpose and say that ultimately it doesn't matter to the mason what the stones are for.
The Eldermason can ultimately become downright friendly to people who express an interest in its work and show no signs of interfering. This in and of itself will not solve the village's issues, but provides a starting point for negotiations. Since the Eldermason has no animosity towards people not interfering in its work, convincing the village that the giant is benign will be harder than befriending it.
The other starting point for compromise would be to force the Eldermason to agree, by defeating (without killing) it or otherwise making it clear that the group has the ability to defeat it and/or destroy its work but won't if it will abide by terms. As a sort of middle ground between beating it into submission or befriending it, the Eldermason can be challenged to a fight or some other test or trial, as it has a strong sense of honor.
Such terms or negotiations cannot result in the Eldermason abandoning its labor, but can result in an improved situation for both sides. For example: the Eldermason restricts the hours of its work and aids the villagers in performing some labor that is difficult for them but trivial for it in exchange for being given food.
A really favorable resolution will result in the heroes being acclaimed by the villagers and the Eldermason both. A subpar resolution may involve telling the villagers that the giant will leave eventually anyway, and in the meantime they should probably just throw some goats its way from time to time to prevent further misunderstandings. If the Eldermason is still alive and well-disposed to the heroes, it can easily show up in a future adventure to render aid, as it is migratory by nature.
Abject Failure
If the Eldermason becomes convinced that the villagers (or the PCs, as their agents) represent a serious threat to its work, it will rampage through the village and destroy it. The heroes can prevent it from doing serious harm as long as they're engaging it in combat, but if they're all taken out of the fight, the village is destroyed and the survivors scatter. Depending on what precipitated this chain of events, refugees from Stoneveil with a long and unflattering memory of the PCs' actions might be an inconvenient presence in future adventures.
The Eldermason
Body: 7 Mind: 3 Perception: 2
Prowess: 4 Defense: 5 Reflexes: 0
HP: 40 Tactics Level: 7
Creature Design Notes:
Monsters/NPCs aren't designed at all in the same way that PCs are. They're a lot simpler, and the lack of concern for non-adventure stuff mostly becomes a lack of concern for non-combat stuff. The Eldermason doesn't have any notes about its skill with carving and shaping stone. That's just what it does. The GM isn't going to be sitting there rolling dice the whole time that it's smashing and crashing around.
The six stat block at the top of the listing is a drastically simplified version of the stats used by PCs, since the average NPC doesn't require the same degree of resolution. Any stat that's not included is considered to be equal to the nearest equivalent that is. (There is a table, so no arguments or guesswork. An actual finished listing would probably have the "sub stats" listed in smaller type underneath the "main stat" name..
If an NPC has specific capabilities that aren't reflected by the simple stat block, they show up in the first line of notes. For instnace: the Eldermason here would use the Body score of 7 for Brawn Checks, but the note indicates the Eldermason is noticeably stronger and uses 10 instead. Likewise with the keen sense of smell compared to its Perception of 2.
The Eldermason is intended to be a match for any ordinary sized adventuring group by itself. The Eldermason's ranged attack and defenses against ranged attacks are intended to make it unfavorable for the entire party to keep their distance and pick it off. Note that instead of giving it a bunch of extra attack actions, two of its attacks (the club swipe and the foot stomp) specifically are designed for fighting crowds of enemies at once. The ground pound specifies that it is an attack for effect, which means it does no damage but instead inflicts forced movement or imposes a condition.
This is a fairly brief, fairly rough draft of a typical one-off adventure for A Wilder World to show some of the philosophy behind adventure and creature design. This kind of adventure is meant to reflect the kind of problem/resolution plot you'd find in a single episode of an episodic fantasy series: group reaches town, town has problem, group solves problem.
Depending on the group (and the optional elements used), this could be a very combat-heavy adventure, one that revolves around figuring out what's going on and how to make people happy while avoiding combat, or something that takes a middle path.
The actual adventure write-up would include more numbers (Target Numbers for checks to notice things, convince people of things using different approaches, etc.) and some outlines for particular NPCs (for example: a village leader, a hothead, an advocate for calm)
Adventure Overview
The party is traveling through a hilly region when a sound like a distant rumble of thunder reaches their ears. The sky is clear. Anyone with knowledge of weather or natural phenomenon is able to identify the fact that the sound is neither. Tracking the sound to its source is possible but not easy, due to the way it echoes off the hills around them. If they continue along the road, they'll find the village of Stoneveil, a pastoral community of mostly shepherds and goatherds.
The villages are skittish and jump when there's a particularly loud crash, but they look with hope upon the arrival of the heroes. Their leader explains that a shaggy giant has taken up residence on one of the slopes near their grazing lands, and is spending its time digging a quarry and hewing great stones out of it with its bare hands. It inspects the stones and if it finds them to its liking, it shapes them by hammering and shaving them with stone tools, or else it smashes them to bits. These labors, of course, are the source of the noises that resound throughout the region. It drags the completed stones up to a particular hilltop. The purpose of these activities are unknown, but it goes at it day and night.
No one has gotten a sound night's sleep in weeks. The giant hasn't caused killed anyone yet, but it takes from the local flocks when it's hungry and injured a man by sweeping him away with its stone club when he tried to protect his sheep. It has also reacted threateningly to people who approach the grounds upon which it works.
The villagers fear that the giant is building some sort of habitation and will take up permanent residence. They are sure that things will end in bloodshed... theirs, or the monster's.
What's Going On
The giant is called the Eldermason (or possibly an Eldermason, there might be more than one. If asked, it says "There may have been, once."). Someone with relevant Knowledge (legend, history, giants, places of importance) might recall legends of hairy giants that are said to have erected great monoliths and stone rings in ages past, but it's a very obscure matter.
The Eldermason travels from place to place, erecting stone structures to answer some need or drive that cannot be explained. To the Eldermason, this labor is as essential as breathing. It isn't random. The need cannot be slaked by packing up its stones and putting them somewhere else. The exacting nature of its labor means that it might spend months to a year in a single location, making sure that things are perfect before moving on.
Additional Elements
- A group of brigands may be operating in the area, using the giant as cover. Perhaps there has already been a murder by them attributed to the giant. (Additional mystery element.) Perhaps the brigands are planning to wipe out the village and take everything of value and must either be hunted down or their attack repelled. (Additional combat element.)
- A curious child could have gone and befriended the Eldermason, or at least observed it closely from a semi-cautious distance. This is a good way to give the heroes some hints as to the Eldermason's nature and proclivities. The child could either approach the group after hearing the adults of the village describe the Eldermason as a monster, or the child's parents might approach the group to say the child has gone missing in the hills (lost track of time, but the parents fear the worst.) This can serve as an additional hook if the group is more inclined to get involved in a situation that threatens a child's life.
- The villager's warriors could take it into their heads to go up and tear down the Eldermason's construction. This should happen only after the party has come to understand that this is the one thing that will make an enemy of the giant, so they understand the stakes and can either take out the giant, or try to restrain or talk the villagers out of their plan.
- The village elder could offer a reward for resolving the issue. If this reward factors into the group's larger quest, it could be the reason the party is traveling this way in the first place.
- There could be some impediment to continuing on the road that can only be addressed when the giant is gone. For instance, a broken bridge that no one will approach to repair, or a pass that's become impassable due to avalanches triggered by the Eldermason's labors. This sort of thing opens the possibility of a resolution where the Eldermason is convinced to help clear the way.
- The Eldermason's construction site could be right in the path of the PCs. They might some element (for instance, a flower or berry) that grows where it's building. If it's a particularly rare plant, there might even be a fear that it will unwittingly destroy the only available sample.
Resolutions
Obviously, the party can simply fight the Eldermason. It cannot be driven off, but it can be killed. Its high HP and combat abilities mean that outright defeating it would be a difficult task. It won't kill attackers, but will drive them off. If they're defeated it will roll them down the hill. Attacking the Eldermason does not endear the attackers to the giant, but its perspective on human-sized characters is that they are mostly nuisances, anyway... attacking it and failing does not rule out a more diplomatic approach.
If the party approaches respectfully, the Eldermason will be suspicious and dismissive at first, but can be persuaded to put its labors on hold long enough to come and parlay. If the party shows interest in its work before moving on to prickly matters like stopping what it's doing and leaving, it will explain something about its nature. If the anyone asks about the purpose of the stone structures or suggests they might have magical or mystical significance, the Eldermason will become a bit philosophical, suggesting that perhaps it is called to construct stone circles and pillars to serve some greater purpose... but it will deny any knowledge of such a purpose and say that ultimately it doesn't matter to the mason what the stones are for.
The Eldermason can ultimately become downright friendly to people who express an interest in its work and show no signs of interfering. This in and of itself will not solve the village's issues, but provides a starting point for negotiations. Since the Eldermason has no animosity towards people not interfering in its work, convincing the village that the giant is benign will be harder than befriending it.
The other starting point for compromise would be to force the Eldermason to agree, by defeating (without killing) it or otherwise making it clear that the group has the ability to defeat it and/or destroy its work but won't if it will abide by terms. As a sort of middle ground between beating it into submission or befriending it, the Eldermason can be challenged to a fight or some other test or trial, as it has a strong sense of honor.
Such terms or negotiations cannot result in the Eldermason abandoning its labor, but can result in an improved situation for both sides. For example: the Eldermason restricts the hours of its work and aids the villagers in performing some labor that is difficult for them but trivial for it in exchange for being given food.
A really favorable resolution will result in the heroes being acclaimed by the villagers and the Eldermason both. A subpar resolution may involve telling the villagers that the giant will leave eventually anyway, and in the meantime they should probably just throw some goats its way from time to time to prevent further misunderstandings. If the Eldermason is still alive and well-disposed to the heroes, it can easily show up in a future adventure to render aid, as it is migratory by nature.
Abject Failure
If the Eldermason becomes convinced that the villagers (or the PCs, as their agents) represent a serious threat to its work, it will rampage through the village and destroy it. The heroes can prevent it from doing serious harm as long as they're engaging it in combat, but if they're all taken out of the fight, the village is destroyed and the survivors scatter. Depending on what precipitated this chain of events, refugees from Stoneveil with a long and unflattering memory of the PCs' actions might be an inconvenient presence in future adventures.
The Eldermason
Body: 7 Mind: 3 Perception: 2
Prowess: 4 Defense: 5 Reflexes: 0
HP: 40 Tactics Level: 7
- The Eldermason has a total +10 to Brawn, +6 to Willpower, and +6 to Smell.
- Physical Attacks that miss the Eldermason by 3 or less should be understood to be hits that failed to do noticeable harm.
- Getting around or behind the Eldermason requires an additional Move, unless you can make an Agility Check with a Target Number of 7 to scramble over it or dart between its legs. Failure on the check means the Move is wasted, and you are disadvantaged for the next round.
- The Eldermason's immense stone club is capable of making close physical attacks against all nearby opponents with a single action (except those who are behind the Eldermason). Adding effects to the attack costs one action for the whole group. The Eldermason cannot make multiple attacks in a round in which it attacks with its club. It can make strong attacks against multiple opponents, but measured or careful attacks must be against a single target.
- The Eldermason can block ranged attacks with its club as an undeclared Free Defense. It has a +3 bonus to block. It will not take any defensive actions except to block ranged attacks.
- The Eldermason can make ranged attacks by throwing rocks. These attacks inflict the knockdown effect in addition to damage. It takes no multiple attack penalty to these ranged attacks.
- The Eldermason can make an attack for effect by stomping or pounding the ground. This takes one action. Additional dice can be added to the attack at a cost of one action per die. This attack either targets everyone within a range of 1 or a single target. The attack takes a +4 bonus when it has a single target. The only normal defense possible is a dodge (essentially, a timed jump or an attempt to keep one's footing on unstable ground).
Creature Design Notes:
Monsters/NPCs aren't designed at all in the same way that PCs are. They're a lot simpler, and the lack of concern for non-adventure stuff mostly becomes a lack of concern for non-combat stuff. The Eldermason doesn't have any notes about its skill with carving and shaping stone. That's just what it does. The GM isn't going to be sitting there rolling dice the whole time that it's smashing and crashing around.
The six stat block at the top of the listing is a drastically simplified version of the stats used by PCs, since the average NPC doesn't require the same degree of resolution. Any stat that's not included is considered to be equal to the nearest equivalent that is. (There is a table, so no arguments or guesswork. An actual finished listing would probably have the "sub stats" listed in smaller type underneath the "main stat" name..
If an NPC has specific capabilities that aren't reflected by the simple stat block, they show up in the first line of notes. For instnace: the Eldermason here would use the Body score of 7 for Brawn Checks, but the note indicates the Eldermason is noticeably stronger and uses 10 instead. Likewise with the keen sense of smell compared to its Perception of 2.
The Eldermason is intended to be a match for any ordinary sized adventuring group by itself. The Eldermason's ranged attack and defenses against ranged attacks are intended to make it unfavorable for the entire party to keep their distance and pick it off. Note that instead of giving it a bunch of extra attack actions, two of its attacks (the club swipe and the foot stomp) specifically are designed for fighting crowds of enemies at once. The ground pound specifies that it is an attack for effect, which means it does no damage but instead inflicts forced movement or imposes a condition.