Monsters from Jenaerika

[AresLunthar]

A pair of "Vermin" from my not-so-micro micro-setting Jenaerika.  I use a custom rule where the standard Base Hits are adjusted based on the "Monster Class".  One of my observations about Novus is that there are not a lot of Level 1 intro to adventuring monsters in it.  So, I wanted to create a way that the existing monsters could be adjusted a little in addition to creating a few more.  I'm not going to write out the descriptor of each Monster Class but this was a nice, quick, and simple way to re-balance the monsters:

Vermin -20 BHP
Minion -10 BHP
Marauder +0 BHP
Monster +10 BHP
Master +20 BHP
Behemoth +40 BHP

So, when we apply this to the 2 Level 1 monsters in NOVUS (That I can see at a quick glance) we adjust their Hit Points to:

Giant Ant: Hits 27
Kobold: Hits 20

It's worked well in my own games to create that One Hit Wonder aspect.  Plus, you can mix in the other MCs and create diversity among the same adversaries.  So, you could have  Kobold Chieftan (Master) at 40+20=60 Hits, Captain (Marauder) 40+0= 40 Hits, Striker (Minion) 40-10= 30 Hits, and Rabble (Vermin) 40-20= 20 Hits.

Anyway, enjoy, any feedback our your own contributions are always welcome!


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[AresLunthar]

Two more- the Brigand is built as a Minion from the previous post

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[AresLunthar]

Two more: a Giant Rat (I couldn't believe there wasn't one already!) and a Cultist.  I'm going to branch into mid and higher level bad-guys so my output might slow down.  I also have enough material developed for Jenaerika that I am starting to put together the setting document and have a longer adventure in the works using some of the monsters & adversaries in this thread.

Any requests for monsters?  Anything Novus fans might want to see?  Let me know.  As always any feedback is welcome & your own contributions are encouraged!

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[Maestro]

These aren't low level monsters, but two (what I consider to be) classic monsters that are missing from the Novus general monster list are: 1. Lizardmen. A great variability exists within such a race too!
2. Elementals. Probably higher level, and with special abilities beyond just "attack"

[AresLunthar]

Agreed! I can whip up a lizardman easily.  The Elemental.....hmmmm...I was thinking about a Construct too

[AresLunthar]

There are lizardmen in Libram #7 actually

[AresLunthar]

The Skeletons & Undead Mass from Novus Mini #5 plus a Skeletal Beast variation....put them to foul use! LOL

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[Maestro]

In #7 you say? Hmm... I'm not sure I have that one

[AresLunthar]

Yes- it also contains the size building blocks that i referred to in the posts about strength etc.....I think I am going to play with those today and see if I can use them as the basis for some "interaction" rules.  I also started thinking about the Elementals you mentioned earlier....if you have some theory on elements you want to share before I dive into it please feel free...I am bsaicaly making them for you, so, they might as well fit your concept perfectly!

[Maestro]

Nothing set in stone. When I think of elemental, I usually think of beings that are intangible by physical things, unless its something like an earth elemental. I also picture them as having abilities or spells specific to their element (as in, a fire elemental should have fire spells.)

[AresLunthar]

I am going to start by using the Ghost as a template/

[AresLunthar]

So, I re-read Libram 2 which has the Cosmology info for Novus in it.  The Elemental planes are not detailed (only having a paragraph) and there are no attacks or abilities listed.  However, in the Novus Full Rules we have a couple of existing monsters we can use as a guideline.  First and most relevant is the Spirit Entity which is an ethereal hop, skip, and jump from actually residing on the elemental planes.  The second is the Nature Spirits (which have various elemental spirits listed) but these seem to be spirits that reside on the mortal plane.  Not the summoned Elemental that I think you are looking for.  And lastly, we have Demons. 

To me aside from actually creating a Lesser & Greater Elemental I think we need to have the summoning and controlling spell too.  I kind of assume your end game is to have it accessible to one of your players?

As for the actual Elemental; I think we need to define what type of being it is.  Is it an alien monster that is used as a weapon by it's summoner?  Basically a mindless brute that shrugs aside most weapons, is vulnerable to a "bane element" and wields a portion of it's elemental power on the Mortal Plane?

Or, is it a cunning entity fueled by a primal hunger who serves under the agreement that their need to consume will be sated for a short time? 

In game terms I would split them into a Lesser Elemental.  This could be basically a demi-giant/ogre with resistance & susceptibility to elements and maybe a few lesser abilities to manipulate their source element on the Mortal Plane.  This would be the mindless brute type.

A greater Elemental would have evolved a consciousness and be serving to consume all things with their element.  Philosophically, all elements railing against each other constantly would be a vital battle of chaos vs. balance that could be part of the energy make-up of the cosmos.

So, thoughts before I proceed?

Regards
James

[Maestro]

Actually, my players don't currently seem interested in summoning. However, having elementals will give me a variety to play with for my campaign, including the possibility of the enemy summoning or creating them. In helping a friend with another RPG system, we talked about elementals and for his, we decided that they were alchemists creations, sort of like golems.
  However, I personally like variety. The idea of lesser and greater elemental is cool to me. Perhaps it could be as simple as, the lesser mindless ones are created, but the greater sentient ones are summoned? Or is that unfair to the Novus rules?

[AresLunthar]

I think that the Novus rules leave room for both.  It could be that a suitable mixture of pure element and orrichalcum/essential salts (forgive the spelling there, I don't have my book LOL) are achieved via a Magecraft roll and then infused with a spirit summoned from the Elemental Plane to create a golem-esque elemental- these lesser spirits might be more easily summoned but have no corporeal form?  The greater spirits would be summoned more in the same fashion as a Demon.

[imported_Rasyr]

This is what I use in creating Monsters...

Size Category	Old Starting Hits	Revised Starting Hits	ReRevised
Trivial	5	3	3
Miniscule	10	7	7
Tiny	15	10	10
Small	20	14	14
Medium	30	20	20
Large	40	26	26
Huge	50 + 5 AR	33 (+5 AR)	33 (+3 AR)
Gigantic	75 + 10 AR	50 (+10 AR)	50 (+5 AR)
Monstrous	100 + 15 AR	66 (+15 AR)	66 (+8 AR)
Colossal	150 + 20 AR	100 (+20 AR)	100 (+10 AR)