What if the Monster Descriptions were well written?
Mar 26, 2023 16:10:44 GMT -6
tombowings likes this
Post by tdenmark on Mar 26, 2023 16:10:44 GMT -6
The Monster Manual was one of my favorite books, like it was for many of you. It still is. I reread it from time to time. I have since come to appreciate Monsters & Treasures for its succinct treatment of monster descriptions.
Gary Gygax is capable of really beautiful writing, with the elegant detailed and wandering style of his favorite authors like Jack Vance. He can also write confoundingly obtuse and, frankly, a little boring at times. As my taste for literature has changed and grown over the years, some of the D&D books he authored aren't quite as wonderful as they used to be. This doesn't mean I like them any less!
With that prologue out of the way I was thinking about how monster descriptions are written, there has been a trend since AD&D to write them increasingly bland and matter-of-fact so as to eliminate any mechanical confusion. The optimization is for legibility more than for flavor. For the most part that is a good thing, as exemplified by OSE which I consider to be the highest level of clarity and succinct writing we've seen in the OSR since Swords & Wizardry.
I can't help but feel some loss though, and have wondered what an entire Monster Manual written as beautiful literature, rather than as a dry rulebook, would be like. So, while I lack the writing skills to elevate these descriptions to such a state I still thought it would be fun to try.
TROLL
No. Appearing: 2-12
Armor Class: 4
Move: 12
Hit Dice: 6+3
% in Lair: 50%
Treasure Type: D
Spindly and repulsive in their sinuous forms, the abhorrent Trolls possess a dread ability to regenerate their loathsome flesh. Scarcely has the third melee round elapsed after a Troll has been struck, when the creature's unhallowed vitality shall begin to mend its wounds. At the unnerving pace of three hit points per turn, the regeneration proceeds, inexorable and relentless.
Even a Troll torn asunder by its foes shall eventually reform, its monstrous essence defying oblivion. Thus, the only recourse against these odious horrors is to consign their remains to purifying flame or the corrosive embrace of potent acids; for when their vitality has been restored to a measure of six or more hit points, the Troll shall rejoin the fray, undaunted and undeterred.
In strength, these loathsome beings rival the brutish Ogres, yet their chosen instruments of destruction are their own talons and razor-edged fangs. When they strike their prey, they inflict but a single die of damage, as though to prolong the agony of their victims and savor the terror they inspire.
Gary Gygax is capable of really beautiful writing, with the elegant detailed and wandering style of his favorite authors like Jack Vance. He can also write confoundingly obtuse and, frankly, a little boring at times. As my taste for literature has changed and grown over the years, some of the D&D books he authored aren't quite as wonderful as they used to be. This doesn't mean I like them any less!
With that prologue out of the way I was thinking about how monster descriptions are written, there has been a trend since AD&D to write them increasingly bland and matter-of-fact so as to eliminate any mechanical confusion. The optimization is for legibility more than for flavor. For the most part that is a good thing, as exemplified by OSE which I consider to be the highest level of clarity and succinct writing we've seen in the OSR since Swords & Wizardry.
I can't help but feel some loss though, and have wondered what an entire Monster Manual written as beautiful literature, rather than as a dry rulebook, would be like. So, while I lack the writing skills to elevate these descriptions to such a state I still thought it would be fun to try.
TROLL
No. Appearing: 2-12
Armor Class: 4
Move: 12
Hit Dice: 6+3
% in Lair: 50%
Treasure Type: D
Spindly and repulsive in their sinuous forms, the abhorrent Trolls possess a dread ability to regenerate their loathsome flesh. Scarcely has the third melee round elapsed after a Troll has been struck, when the creature's unhallowed vitality shall begin to mend its wounds. At the unnerving pace of three hit points per turn, the regeneration proceeds, inexorable and relentless.
Even a Troll torn asunder by its foes shall eventually reform, its monstrous essence defying oblivion. Thus, the only recourse against these odious horrors is to consign their remains to purifying flame or the corrosive embrace of potent acids; for when their vitality has been restored to a measure of six or more hit points, the Troll shall rejoin the fray, undaunted and undeterred.
In strength, these loathsome beings rival the brutish Ogres, yet their chosen instruments of destruction are their own talons and razor-edged fangs. When they strike their prey, they inflict but a single die of damage, as though to prolong the agony of their victims and savor the terror they inspire.
