monsters

THE MONSTER GENERATOR

Basic Overview

The MG allows a GM to rapidly create an exotic cast of creatures for use with any RPG setting. There are several advantages to using the MG. Monsters made with the MG, unlike traditional RPG foes, will have an array of unpredictable attack and defense modes; players will never have encountered them before. Using the MG can lend an almost alien flavor to a campaign world. Also, this system allows GM's to archive their favorite beasties with an easy-to-use "genetic" code. New creatures can be whipped up before each game. Favorites can be made a permanent part of the GM's campaign flora and fauna file.

How to Use the Monster Generator

Roll a number (from 1-20) for each of the desired or appropriate tables below. These tables include the following:

Body	This covers the basic body shape of the creature.
Skin	Color markings, epidermis or outward appearance.
Head	Type of head or minor head feature.
Locomotion	The means by which the monster moves.
Appendages	Limbs of various sorts.
Attacks	Noteworthy attacks in addition to normal kicking and biting.
Defenses	A listing of protective characteristics.
Intelligence and Social Order	Creature IQ and grouping habits.
Weird Traits	Timid GM's may want to omit.

Tables of Characteristics
0I Body

01	Man—roughly anthropomorphic
02	Slug—large, medium or small as desired
03	Centaur—humanoid from the waist up, animal below
04	Quadruped, small—an animal like a cat, dog, weasel, wolf or rat
05	Birdlike—large, medium or small as desired
06	Serpentine—something like a snake, eel or worm
07	Ray—flat, like a manta ray; not necessarily aquatic
08	Fish—not necessarily aquatic
09	Plant—rooted or ambulatory
10	Man-animal—roughly anthropomorphic body, but animal-headed
11	Bug—spider, scorpion, wasp, mantis, moth, tick or crustacean
12	Blob—an amorphous mass of some organic material
13	Balloon—a sac, filled with gas or liquid
14	Squid (or octopus)—not necessarily aquatic
15	Man-snake—half humanoid, half serpent
16	Vine—free-roaming or rooted
17	Quadruped, large—an animal like a bear, horse, deer, goat, puma or bull
18	Man (Huge)—roughly anthropomorphic, but hulking
19	Snail—large, medium or small as desired
20	Starfish—not necessarily aquatic

02 Skin

01	Tough—normal appearance, but resistant to minor heat or damage
02	Smokey—constantly emits wispy vapors
03	Shadowy—skin absorbs light, wraith-like
04	Flesh—mostly flesh, patches of fur or hair
05	Scales—partially or fully scaled, resistant to attacks
06	Spots—partially or fully spotted, various color schemes
07	Fur—protection from cold
08	Bald—creature is hairless, fleshy
09	Sores—scabbed or oozing pus
10	Ridges—corrugated flesh or ridges of exposed bone
11	Spines—creature has partial or full coverage
12	Moldy—host to a thick, colorful skin fungus, or actually is a fungus
13	Carapace/shell—bone or chitin armor, highly resistant to damage
14	Loose folds—able to glide down from heights and/or enwrap victim
15	Ciliated—covered in wiggling cilia, long or short, thick or skinny
16	Bioluminescent—glows faintly or brightly, constantly or at will
17	Transparent—internal organs and half-digested foods are visible
18	Color shifting—chameleonic
19	Slimy—covered with a gel or mucus-like substance
20	Stripes—partially or fully, various color schemes

03 Head

01	Fangs—subtle or pronounced
02	Slitted eyes—resistance to glare and (perhaps) enhanced vision
03	Pointed ear—subtle (elfin) or pronounced (wolfish)
04	Flapped, large—ears covered like a hound dog or elephant
05	Large—ears are oversized
06	Single Eye—limited depth perception
07	Multifaceted—great peripheral vision
08	Multiple eyes—clustered (great depth perception) or scattered
09	Snout—enhanced sense of smell
10	Horns—one or multiple, useful for goring, head butts
11	Crest—a ridge, tuft, or plume
12	Eye stalks—can be extended/retracted at will (like a crab or slug)
13	Forked tongue—enhanced smell
14	Antlers—useful for goring
15	Bristles—partial (mane) or full body coverage, stubby or long
16	Antennae—allow for navigation in total darkness (radar)
17	Trunk—prehensile, enhanced olfactory capability, good for snorkeling
18	Headless—head features are absent or elsewhere (like chest or hands)
19	Tusks—boar-like, for goring
20	Tentacles—single or multiple, long or short, growing from lips, head, etc

04 Locomotion

01	Glide—can glide when dropping from heights
02	Marathon—can run for enormous distances without fatigue
03	Sprint—capable of short bursts of great speed
04	Jump—hopping (as a mode of travel) or single leap (for attacks)
05	Burrow—gofer-like means of travel
06	Teleport—line of sight, to several set locations, or anywhere at will
07	Swim—might also breathe water, resistant to pressures
08	Brachiate—must have canopy of tree limbs or overhead handholds
09	Summon mount—steed, avian or other, comes from distance or appears
10	Follow river—enter stream at one point, then (instantly?) exit at another
11	Gate—can teleport from like points (trees, monoliths, pools, coffee shops, etc)
12	Tumble—can either dry up and drift (tumbleweed), or roll end over end
13	Step multiply—each step doubles in distance (2', 4', 8', and so on)
14	Water walk—can walk (or skim) across liquids at will
15	Land surf—rides a small wave of earth that temporarily liquefies
16	Fly—full flight capability, with or without wings
17	Spirit-like—can become ghostly and float along, through solid objects
18	Electrical—can travel along conducting materials or as a bolt of lightning
19	Host—enter an object or device, then emerge later at will
20	Host—enter another creature, emerge later (might not control creature)

05 Appendages

01	Retractable claws—allow for raking attacks and enhanced climbing
02	Tentacles—in addition to (or instead of) other limbs, many or few
03	Claws—allow for raking attacks and enhanced climbing
04	Multiple limbs—copies of limbs, spirit or flesh, perhaps differently sized
05	Pseudopods--prehensile amoeboid extensions, can be extended/retracted
06	Odd tongue—prehensile, stinging, forked, extra long, or other
07	Pistoning limbs—jab forward with great velocity (jaws, arms, tongue, etc)
08	Tail—prehensile, spiked, stinger-equipped, clubbed, swim-aiding, etc
09	Fins—enhanced swimming
10	Wings—bat, bird or insect, for full flight or wing-assisted leaps
11	Hoofed feet—good for running, strong legs for pulling
12	Webbed hands or feet—enhanced swimming
13	Plumes—colorful, perhaps retractable
14	Snake body—serpentine from the waist down
15	Exostosis—exposed bony spurs in various places, useful for slicing
16	Odd aura—faintly radiating nimbus, at will or uncontrollably
17	Large hands—oversized, strong
18	Parasites—creature is visibly infested with bug(s) or other thing(s)
19	Whiskers—long, fine hairs for navigation in darkness
20	Talons—hands and/or feet are actually falcon-like talons

06 Attacks

01	Mind assault—can cause fear, damage, intense pleasure or apathy
02	Organic projectile—explosive or ballistic seeds, flesh clumps, teeth
03	Acid—spat, squirted from orifice, oozed from skin or other
04	Lignify—can turn opponent into a tree, temporary or permanent
05	Conjure—can summon creature(s), random or always same type
06	Pyrotechnic—project, summon or breath flames (streams, shapes or balls)
07	Electricity—arcs of electrical energy, or summoned lightning from above
08	Gas—exhaled or sprayed from orifice, blinding, noxious, paralyzing or other
09	Venomous bite—fangs, external mandibles or tongue , poisons or paralyzes
10	Venomous claws/spines—poisons or paralyzes
11	Multiply—can quickly clone self
12	Thorns—projected or used in bodily contact attacks
13	Paralytic—by touch, beams or mental attack
14	Sonic shriek—harmful or stunning noise
15	Suggestion—spoken or mental projection
16	Constriction—crushing grip with limbs, tail or other appendage
17	Sleep—can stun or knock opponent unconscious by some means
18	Spirit leech—can drain life energy (by touch, gaze, proximity, etc)
19	Frosty breath—can exhale air at extremely low (damaging) temperatures
20	Shape shift foe—change enemy into alternate form, random or specific

07 Defenses

01	Undead Neutral—ignored by low IQ undead creatures
02	Invisibility—can disappear at will (fade, vanish with a puff, etc)
03	Blink—can vanish and reappear elsewhere (nearby, behind foe, etc)
04	Play dead—heartbeat/breathing indiscernible, ooze blood, very convincing
05	Climb—by defying gravity, excellent grip, sticky hands/feet, or other
06	Levitate—ascend and descend only, can drift with wind currents
07	Darkness—can reduce light in localized area
08	Gas cloud—blinding, obscuring, noxious, or other
09	Assume noncorporeal form—can become gaseous, intangible, etc
10	Visual displacement—image appears a short distance from actual location
11	Quills—projected or used in body contact attacks
12	Stench—causes opponents to flee or fight at reduced efficiency
13	Bury self—only in loose dirt or sand, or can sink into any substance
14	Lignify self—can become a tree
15	Remote/multiple forms—several bodies (extras are dormant until needed?)
16	Pocket dimension—can escape into tiny metaspace or personal realm
17	Translucency—nearly invisible (especially in forest or at night)
18	Armored—external plating or simply tough skin
19	Shocking skin—discharges electricity (only when attacked or harmed)
20	Menacing appearance—when threatened, puffs up, hisses, looks mean

08 Intelligence and Social Order

01	Non-intelligent, loner—seeks food, avoids pain, seeks/avoids light
02	Non-intelligent, group-minded—seeks food, avoids pain, seeks/avoids light
03	Dumb, loner—incapable of strategy
04	Dumb, paired—incapable of strategy
05	Dumb, group—incapable of strategy
06	Animal, loner—cat level, instinctively tricky
07	Animal, paired—sheep dog-like tactics
08	Animal, group—dog-like tactics
09	Clever, loner—near human level thought, capable of simple planning
10	Clever, paired—near human level thought, capable of simple planning
11	Clever, group—near human level thought, capable of simple planning
12	Human level, loner—can plan and execute complex strategies
13	Human level, paired—can plan and execute complex strategies
14	Human level, group—can plan and execute complex strategies
15	Genius, loner—dazzling feats of logic and intuition
16	Genius, paired—dazzling feats of logic and intuition
17	Genius, group—dazzling feats of logic and intuition
18	Borrowed, loner—psychically utilizes the intellect of foe or nearby sentient
19	Borrowed, paired—psychically utilizes the intellect of foe or nearby sentient
20	Borrowed, group—psychically utilizes the intellect of foe or nearby sentient

09 Weird Traits

01	Death change—fades, liquefies, petrifies, reverts or explodes upon death
02	Animate shadow—creature’s shadow becomes its agent
03	Commune with dead—can speak with dead, summon ghosts
04	Gigantically proportioned
05	Telepathic—one or two way communication
06	Multi-headed—multiple sentient heads
07	Secondary form—assume a single alternate body/shape
08	Shape shift—alter body to any shape desired
09	Undead—monster is undead (zombie or ghoul-like)
10	Grow/Shrink—get larger or smaller at will (either or both)
11	Iron shift, active—skin becomes flexible metal, half mobility
12	Iron shift, inactive—creates protective metal shell, immobile
13	Amorphous shift—become a fluid blob at will
14	Spirit shift—become wraithlike at will, perhaps controls undead
15	Luminescent eyes—glowing, allows for night vision, easily spotted
16	Skeletal—flesh/organs nonexistent or hidden within bone frame
17	Poison flesh—flesh is toxic if consumed
18	Body switch—can swap bodies with opponent, temporary or permanent
19	Animated inorganic—active statue, machine or toy
20	Mental control—can command small creature(s), one type or multiple

Some Basic Guidelines

Have fun: Use your imagination to interpret the generator’s results. Create creatures you will enjoy using. Name your new creation and make it yours.

Work your new creatures into your world: For instance, if it can "teleport to set locations" perhaps it is part of a bizarre cult, has undergone a magical ritualistic transformation and can teleport to the cult’s four scared temples, shrines or obelisks. From this sort of thinking, depth of play will arise; perhaps the players in your game can undergo the ritual and forever after use the teleport capability mentioned above.

Mix and match features: If a creature is amoeboid plus it has constricting attack, then it might be using its amoeboid body itself to apply the constricting attack

Discard unworkables: Some combinations may be too clumsy to use. However, don’t discard a seemingly unworkable creature too quickly; sometimes those provide the greatest interest.

Common sense placement: If the creature oozes liquid or has a mucus covered epidermis, do not drop it in the desert unless you have a good explanation for how it arrived.

Can be used to create exotic familiars.

Example Creatures

Listed below are three examples. In each case, traits were generated with the MG tables, then expanded upon. Each creature was given a name and its characteristics were listed in archived format.

Example I: Shimmer Cat

Table Results: (17) quadruped, large; (7) fur; (8) multiple eyes; (2) marathon; (16) odd aura; (1) mind assault; (18) armored; (9) clever, loner; (5) telepathic

Detailed Explanation: Resembling a mountain lion with dark blue fur and two sets of menacing yellow eyes, the shimmer cat is so named because of the unsettling indigo nimbus which faintly radiates from its body. A creature imported from the Plane of Shadow, it has incredible stamina and is capable of traveling for great distances on foot. Upon nearing an intended victim, the shimmer cat will usually employ stealth, stalking its prey for the thrill of the hunt. The cat will often taunt its victim with demoralizing telepathic images before attacking (with its mental assault ability). Defensively, the shimmer cat relies on its unusually tough skin.

Shimmer Cat, Archived Format: 17, 7, 8, 2, 16, 1, 18, 9, 5

Example II: Borzai

Table Results: (1) man; (18) color shifting; (14) antlers; (15) land surf; (4) multiple limbs; (18) spirit leech; (19) shocking skin; (14) human level, group minded; (1) death change—explodes upon death

Detailed Explanation: Borzai are malicious, four-armed humanoids with black antlers and skin that constantly shifts in color. Its touch drains the life energy of their opponents, and when struck borzai sometimes unconsciously discharge electricity into the attacker. They are exclusively nocturnal and move about in groups by surfing on a wave of temporarily liquefied earth. Borzai explode upon death.

Borzai, Archived Format: 1, 18, 14, 15, 4, 18, 19, 14, 1

Example III: Color Creeper

Table Results: (14) octopus; (8) bald; (2) slitted eyes; (3) sprint; (3) claws; (8) gas; (1) color change; (8) animal, group minded; (17) poison flesh

Detailed Explanation: Visually, this monster resembles a land-based octopus with large, slitted eyes. It lives in woodland areas, hunting in packs of up to 30 or so creatures. Using its color changing ability to remain unseen, it slithers into close proximity to its prey. When close, the color creeper sprints forward, hissing, attacking with the claws arranged along its eight tentacles, and releasing clouds of blinding, noxious gas.

Color Creeper Archived Format: (14, 8, 2, 3, 3, 8, 1, 8, 17)

Final Note

The Monster Generator should be fun. Experiment with it; use it as a creative catalyst. But don’t think of it as the final word—if you don’t like something about a creature generated with the MG, change it.

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