Post by aldarron on Apr 26, 2010 19:45:00 GMT -6
Monsters in Dragons at Dawn have been left to the Referees to invent, but I know many (like me!) will be using D&D adventures with D&D monsters or possibly monsters from other games entirely. So I will share some thoughts on converting them.
Lets begin with Dave Arneson:
“AC was determined by description of the creature (hide, scales, etc.) and how impervious it was in the accounts given in mythology about it. HD was determined pretty much on the size of the creature physically and, again, some regard for its mythical properties. For regular animals that were simply made larger, like Beetles, a standard text book provided interesting facts about the critters and all were given HD proportionate to their size, relative to other Beetles for instance. Insects were all given about the same AC with additions, again, for unique properties.” (From FFC introduction)
While that’s straightforward enough, it doesn’t really give us specifics. However there are some further clues in the FFC to go off of. We have some apparently “unconverted” Armor Class stats from the Blackmoor Dungeon level 1-6. These seem to include all of the human types (magic users, priests and warriors) and the randomly generated insects, some of whom have AC1.
Most of the humans have very low ACs ranging from 1 to 5. For example “3 Giant Beetles: AC 1, 9/27 HTK”, “3 Evil Priests {Sorcerers: AC 1,6/19 HTK; AC 4 6/23 HTK; AC 4, 6/21 HTK”
Regarding Creature hit point ranges we also get some notes that relate to Dave’s pre D&D system. For intstance from the Loch Gloomen section:
“If 1 Dragon encountered, can take from 4-24 Hits depending on age…. An Orc (Isengarder) can take from 1-3 Hits each.”
and
"TROLLS & OGRES: These creatures are worth 18 pts. (or hits) with variations."
Okay, so first for AC, we see that in most cases it is very low. Meaning, that most creatures “Hide, Scales, etc.” will not provide much defense in combat, and it would be a rare occasion that an Armor class Saving Throw would prevent them from taking damage. Armor class as is optional for NPCs anyway and for many creatures, in only natural armor, the referee may safely not bother to record an Armor Class at all, reserving that as a privilege for the players as Arneson did.
Second we see that, among the more common creatures, even a creature as powerful as a dragon has HPV’s not radically out of line with those of the player characters, and lesser monsters such as orcs have less HPV’s than the average human with 1d6.
So that gives a rough guide for both conversion and the creation of new creatures. I would assume though, that most people will, like me, be using a lot of D&D monsters. However, both armor class and hit points for D&D monsters can be stronger than they should be for Dragons at Dawn at the same level/Hit Dice.
Taking a closer look at the relevant D&D stats:
Hit Dice – for the most part these are exactly the same. In some cases you may wish to tweak.
Hit Point Values – In most cases Dragons at Dawn monsters should have 1-3 HPV per hit dice. Only in some rare and very specific cases should a DaD monster have more than 3 HPV per HD. To calculate HPV then, multiply HD times 2 or 3. This can often (but not always) mean Dungeons &Dragons monsters will have their HP reduced when converted.
Armor Class – as mentioned, its up to you weather to even give your monsters an armor class save, but if that’s part of your game, you will have to judge it on a case by case basis by comparing the “imperviousness” (to quote Arneson) of the “skin” of the creature with the armor types listed in the Dragons at Dawn Armor class table. In most cases it won’t be a straight conversion. For example, a dwarf is AC4 in D&D and that is the equivalent of AC6 in D@D, but I see no reason for a dwarf to have such a tough natural AC so I would rate them as a 1 or 2 in D@D terms.
Lets begin with Dave Arneson:
“AC was determined by description of the creature (hide, scales, etc.) and how impervious it was in the accounts given in mythology about it. HD was determined pretty much on the size of the creature physically and, again, some regard for its mythical properties. For regular animals that were simply made larger, like Beetles, a standard text book provided interesting facts about the critters and all were given HD proportionate to their size, relative to other Beetles for instance. Insects were all given about the same AC with additions, again, for unique properties.” (From FFC introduction)
While that’s straightforward enough, it doesn’t really give us specifics. However there are some further clues in the FFC to go off of. We have some apparently “unconverted” Armor Class stats from the Blackmoor Dungeon level 1-6. These seem to include all of the human types (magic users, priests and warriors) and the randomly generated insects, some of whom have AC1.
Most of the humans have very low ACs ranging from 1 to 5. For example “3 Giant Beetles: AC 1, 9/27 HTK”, “3 Evil Priests {Sorcerers: AC 1,6/19 HTK; AC 4 6/23 HTK; AC 4, 6/21 HTK”
Regarding Creature hit point ranges we also get some notes that relate to Dave’s pre D&D system. For intstance from the Loch Gloomen section:
“If 1 Dragon encountered, can take from 4-24 Hits depending on age…. An Orc (Isengarder) can take from 1-3 Hits each.”
and
"TROLLS & OGRES: These creatures are worth 18 pts. (or hits) with variations."
Okay, so first for AC, we see that in most cases it is very low. Meaning, that most creatures “Hide, Scales, etc.” will not provide much defense in combat, and it would be a rare occasion that an Armor class Saving Throw would prevent them from taking damage. Armor class as is optional for NPCs anyway and for many creatures, in only natural armor, the referee may safely not bother to record an Armor Class at all, reserving that as a privilege for the players as Arneson did.
Second we see that, among the more common creatures, even a creature as powerful as a dragon has HPV’s not radically out of line with those of the player characters, and lesser monsters such as orcs have less HPV’s than the average human with 1d6.
So that gives a rough guide for both conversion and the creation of new creatures. I would assume though, that most people will, like me, be using a lot of D&D monsters. However, both armor class and hit points for D&D monsters can be stronger than they should be for Dragons at Dawn at the same level/Hit Dice.
Taking a closer look at the relevant D&D stats:
Hit Dice – for the most part these are exactly the same. In some cases you may wish to tweak.
Hit Point Values – In most cases Dragons at Dawn monsters should have 1-3 HPV per hit dice. Only in some rare and very specific cases should a DaD monster have more than 3 HPV per HD. To calculate HPV then, multiply HD times 2 or 3. This can often (but not always) mean Dungeons &Dragons monsters will have their HP reduced when converted.
Armor Class – as mentioned, its up to you weather to even give your monsters an armor class save, but if that’s part of your game, you will have to judge it on a case by case basis by comparing the “imperviousness” (to quote Arneson) of the “skin” of the creature with the armor types listed in the Dragons at Dawn Armor class table. In most cases it won’t be a straight conversion. For example, a dwarf is AC4 in D&D and that is the equivalent of AC6 in D@D, but I see no reason for a dwarf to have such a tough natural AC so I would rate them as a 1 or 2 in D@D terms.
