Basic Stats for your monsters

[Zulgyan]

Hey, I'm slowly developing my own MM for OD&D. I've found that this are the basic stats I use for a monster.


Name, AC --; Move --; HD --; Morale* --

Anything special worthy of note is included in a small monster description.



What is your case?


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*I'm using the B/X system for this.

[foster1941]

Not to derail your initial premise (I use the all of the stats from vol. II plus alignment and intelligence (non-, semi-, intelligent, or highly intelligent), but what sort of morale rules are you using? Those from Chainmail?

[Zulgyan]

See note! ;D Seems you missed it! ;D

(I use the all of the stats from vol. II plus alignment and intelligence (non-, semi-, intelligent, or highly intelligent)

I don't use alignment in a stat block because it has no combat relevance AFAIK or in my games. Alignment is OK for a table just like the one on p. 9 of M&M that gives you an idea on how "sides" are conformed in the game world.

As for intelligence, I think that OD&D did not touch the subject because it assumed that the DM would know that Goblins are stupid and Djinns are geniuses, and the same for the rest of the critters. The DM would roleplay the monsters as he would know them from literature, movies, or just make that up.

I think that only when newer and more strange or unique to D&D monsters where introduced the need for the "Int" stat arised. The author needed to communicate the reader what the critter was about, so something to describe it's intelligence was needed.

In my own MM I would only make mention of INT when it is particularly worthy of note. Otherwise I would a assume average intelligence.

Also, if I give stats for a lion, you already know about it's intelligence and there is no need for a stat or something to specify it.

[foster1941]

Heh, guess I did miss that note.

Looking at my various monster creations, I only use alignment and/or intelligence when they matter -- an animal isn't going to have either listed. I also list # of attacks and/or damage (together on 1 line) if they are outside of the ordinary (i.e. 1 attack for 1-6 damage).

[Zulgyan]

I start from the base that all attacks deal 1d6.

Then, I've been inspired with some ideas from Melan on monster design and adopted something very similar for my games:

Some monsters are "plussed" and therefor posses over-the-ordinary strength and toughness.

So, HD 4+2 means that the creature adds two pips to the last hit point die and that it deals +2 damage on the damage die (1d6+2)

So in my OD&D, an ogre is a creature with HD 4+2. There I got that information. So need of another place to reference on ogreish prowess.

For creatures such as giants, that deal 2 or 3 dice of damage I've thought something like HD 8x2. That would mean that the last hit point die is multiplied by 2 and that the creature deals 2d6 damage on a hit.

As for multiple attacks, I'm yet undecided, but I would like to use something in the same style as the above.

[Zulgyan]

As for AC, I'm using this Dave Arneson rule:

6) The +X on a magic sword represents the amount of positive magical energy in that weapon. When you meet a AC -3 creature, you need to make your THAC0 roll and you must have a +3 weapon because you need that much "positive" magic to counter the "negative" magic that protects that creature - thereby allowing your physical weapon to hurt things like ghosts and stuff. Part of going into dungeons was to retreive these things and most monsters would not weild magic items because they were "positive" magic.

This also puts more info into the statblock and out of a separate monster description. More info in the simplicity of the numbers.

The maximum AC would be -3, reserver for powerful demon lords and gods.