Armor: Rock-Hard Hide (equivalent to plate) Instinct: I can only eat of the dead once.
Special: Filthy. At the end of any capture, kill or drive off conflict in which a team has lost one or more points of disposition, all team members must make an Ob 3 Health test. Recommended failure result: condition (sick) or twist (character is not infected but becomes a disease carrier, forcing anyone he shares food or drink with to make an Ob 3 Health test).
Looks nasty. I like the “swallowed” thing. Maybe the “filthy” attack shouldn’t kick in until after the fight is done, like with the giant rats.
Why did you set the Might to 5? Based on size? That means it’s beyond the ability of adventurers to kill without magic. Is that deliberate?
Right now it lacks a nature descriptor that would apply to killing an adventurer to eat him, except for Cooperating if it’s got some friends. That would suggest that the otyugh wouldn’t willingly attack adventurers alone, and would defend itself with only half nature. Is that deliberate?
Thank you for the feedback. I’d thought that adventurers could kill up to two higher on the Order of Might, but I see that I was mistaken. I wanted to model a monster that would be nasty in a straight-up fight, while hinting at ways in which it could be dealt with non-violently.
Cheers for the tip on giants rats. I was basing its special effects on the stone spider’s, but that was more of what I wanted initially. Probably I’ll change its special so it’s like that of the giant rat, but with an Ob 3 Health test, and save the swallowed effect for something else.
I see what you’re saying about the nature descriptors; perhaps I will change scavenging to something broader like devouring, so it could be used in a fight conflict. What you’re describing does fit with my concept, though. I wanted the otyugh to be territorial and fierce if cornered, but not be something that would hunt adventurers. Its cooperating descriptor was meant to play to the idea that the otyugh can be convinced to live side by side with civilized communities, feeding upon their refuse in exchange for not wandering around in search of food.
Please let me know if you have further thoughts, and I’ll post a revised version later this week.
Maybe change “cooperating” to “opportunist”… that would probably cover eating what comes to it rather than hunting. I might also suggest “indescriminate eater” in place of “scavenging”.
But I suppose that’s just a grammar exercise, right? You could use “Seizing Opportunities” instead of Opportunist. I like Devouring or Scavenging, though.
I like how the dire wolf has Hunting as its fighty descriptor. If you come at the dire wolf, that’s not how it prefers to fight and it will be at half nature. It wants to run you down and attack you on its own terms.
Daniel, if you get a chance would you look over my “old school monster” thread and give me your thoughts?
I think you are already achieving that by placing “Convince” as one of the listed conflicts.
How about Guttle? Not because it devours, but because I like the idea of distracting a Otyugh with food and even befriend it. Other thought I had was Wallow as a descriptor, so he can move in the filth.
Devouring is broader than guttling, which I like, but wallowing is great.
Can someone explain to me how to add conflict weapons to a monster’s dispositions in that conflict, please? I haven’t done that above. Is it per weapon, or is it related to the weapon bonuses?
