I've been working with Wolfgang Baur over at Kobold Quarterly magazine to develop a series of web articles called Monday Monsters. The general theme of the series (right now, at least) is to take a modern myth, tell the story, and give it stats. When I started on these myths, I decided it would be cool to use d20 Modern notation (so, for example, it includes massive damage threshold, reputation, action points, Modern feats and skills, and so on). I will say right up front, though, that they all use D&D monster advancement rules, rather than d20 Modern.
I thought I'd come along and share them with the folks here, because there's a good chance some of you could get some use out of them.
The nain rouge (by me)
The Jersey Devil (by me)
Spring-Heeled Jack (by my buddy Josh Stevens)
Skinned Tom (by me)
Lyeflesh Zombie (by Josh)
Jack the Ripper (by me)
The Simurgh (by Scott Gable)
The Wendigo (by me)
The Huldra (by Dan Voyce)
and just released today:
Drop Bear (by me)
I hope folks enjoy them and get some use out of them! Of course, I'd be happy to discuss any of these if anybody has comments or questions.
Cheers!
Out of curiosity, why'd you redo Drop Bears? They're already in the Menace Manual.
lol,
Nope. Didn't know it was in there. I guess I probably shoulda looked...
and he changed it a bit if you noticed the stats
- Le Nain Rouge fills a need for more fey, as do the Spring-Heeled Jack and Huldra. Thank you for that.
- I love the Jersey Devil. I've always seen them made as Outsiders or Magical Beasts, but this is the first JD Aberration I've seen. That and some Weird New Jersey-style research of the subject wins brownie points.
- Skinned Tom gives a great new urban legend-style monster, and it's an undead that is thankfully not a dumb brute to be ordered around. The flay flesh ability is also creative.
- The lyeflesh zombie is just brilliant. I was thinking of a "soap zombie" when I saw such carcasses in a program on the Smithsonian, but you've saved me work.
- Jack the Ripper totally caught me offguard. I never thought to make him return as a spirit. I'll have to take that plot hook.
- The Simurgh seems a bit underpowered for the kind of creature it is, but the special qualities make up for it.
- There's not much to say about the Wendigo, other than that it is a good alternative to the urban wendigo from UA.
- I probably wouldn't use this version of the Drop Bear over the one in the Menace Manual, but I appreciate alternative stats when they are provided.
Now comes my personal question: are these stats Open Game Content, and if so, what copyright would I place in the Open Game License if I were to tweak and/or reprint them in a d20 Modern PDF?
Out of curiosity, why'd you redo Drop Bears? They're already in the Menace Manual.
Yeah, TS's quote of me comes from a PM. I actually don't have Menace Manual, and didn't think to check the SRD.
It does present an interesting look at design theory, though. We both tackled the same urban legend and ended up with creatures that are fairly different.
I am not the biggest fan of the newer format, but I am quite impressed with your monsters. A few personal opinions and queries from me:
>>snip<<
Thank you for you kind comments.
Skinned Tom gives a great new urban legend-style monster, and it's an undead that is thankfully not a dumb brute to be ordered around. The flay flesh ability is also creative.
I didn't make up Skinned Tom. He's an actual legend from Eastern Tennessee. When I was researching stuff to pitch, I came across it and fell in love with the story. Thankfully, Wolfgang agreed and purchased it.
Now comes my personal question: are these stats Open Game Content, and if so, what copyright would I place in the Open Game License if I were to tweak and/or reprint them in a d20 Modern PDF?
I'm looking into this for you.
Now comes my personal question: are these stats Open Game Content, and if so, what copyright would I place in the Open Game License if I were to tweak and/or reprint them in a d20 Modern PDF?
I've heard back from the publisher. These monsters are not released as Open Game Content. Hope that helps clarify things for you. And again, thanks for your kind words. I always appreciate honest feedback about my writing, and it's even nicer when the feedback is compliments.
I've heard back from the publisher. These monsters are not released as Open Game Content. Hope that helps clarify things for you. And again, thanks for your kind words. I always appreciate honest feedback about my writing, and it's even nicer when the feedback is compliments.
Ahhh, that's a shame, since I was hoping to be saved some work creating monsters for my PDFs. Oh well, you know what they say about no free rides... :P
I will still be looking forward to these as inspiration and research tools for my own d20 Modern work, though. It seems you guys took a good deal of time to gather data on legends and folklore for these creatures.
I hope they find use in somebody's game. If so, I'd love to hear how the encounter went!
Ia’Affrat the Insatiable by my friend Clinton Boomer (though, admittedly, probably not all that useful to a d20 Modern game - though there's some potential)
The Lambton Worm, by Daniel Voyce
La Llorona, by me
Green Children of Woolpit, by me
The Pope Lick Monster, by me
Hope folks get some use out of some of these for their games! Cheers!