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Thoughts on Playing or Using Monsters in Amtgard


Do you have a tip for role playing a specific monster? Garb ideas? Thoughts on how various monsters interact with each other, or with specific classes? Favorite monsters? Least favorite monsters? Additions to, or deletions from, the Transform and Reincarnation monster lists? Ideas on summoning Golems or Elementals in battle? This is the place to talk about them, in brief or at length!

The Monster class, in its multidimensional capacity for expression, is possibly the most difficult to play consistently, particularly with the wide variety of battle scenarios: the same person may play a Werewolf one day, a Dragon another day, then a Centaur, a Medusa, and a Zombie in later battles. This proves a constant challenge to one's roleplaying abilities, as you must instantly create a new "persona," along with all its goals, desires, mannerisms, speech patterns, fighting style, and ways of interacting with others; then use all those elements for perhaps an hour, never to see them again. I've seen it done well; and I've seen it done poorly. This section of the Monster page is intended to be a place where anyone can reflect on what it takes to play a monster (specifically, or generally) successfully, plus thoughts on the complex requirements involved in using monsters within Amtgard battles.


Read on the following topics:

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CREATING AN INEXPENSIVE MONSTER WARDROBE,
OR,
FLOODING YOUR LAND WITH MONSTERS (FOR A MINIMAL COST)

 (DS: Bjarni Egilsson)

In addition to carrying a copy of the rules for their monster, all monsters on the field must be in garb that at least suggests the monster they're playing. Period. No exceptions. But this, of course, leads immediately to a problem: limiting battle scenarios to stuff you already have garb for, or coming up with more garb fast.

In a way, limiting the monster types you allow can actually be good: it allows your populace to get to know the rules for those monsters, and how to recognize them, so there won't be any misunderstandings or arguments on the field. The last thing a GM of Monsters wants is for the populace to be unhappy with the inclusion of monsters in a battle. But limiting the types of monsters available also lends itself to a certain amount of, well, not necessarily "tedium," but certainly a sense that you're missing out on some great potential for fun.

I and (I'm sure) many other GMs have tried, with varying degrees of success, to get the populace to come up with battle ideas, and then to place on those people the burden of coming up with garb for the battle; but given that requirement, many people will simply abandon their battle idea so they don't have to go to the extra effort. (Some do accept this responsibility, though, and they are to be encouraged with every fiber of your being.) Typically, I have the greatest success with groups that are putting together quests: they understand that a certain number of props will be required, and that among these props are costumes for the monsters. Once the quest is finished, ask if you can borrow the monster garb for a while (or indefinitely) so the rest of the land can make use of it. Typically, you'll get a positive response, because people don't want to see things they've worked hard on used only once.

In my land, people can always tell when one of my monster battles is imminent, because I'm carrying my suitcase full of monster garb -- some I made myself, and some made by others and loaned to the club. I have found that having a central location for monster garb (typically, the GM of Monsters) makes battles much easier. Before I started using the suitcase, I would call people who had certain garb, and ask them to bring it that day; then the battle had to wait until all of those people showed up (or until an hour later, when I found out they weren't coming, and I had to improvise). By having the GM of Monsters personally responsible for garb, you can get things started much more quickly.

When creating new garb (or having someone else do it for you), you must balance looks versus utility. If, for instance, you make a beautiful griffon costume -- with a lion's body, feathered wings, and a beak -- it will look great, and will be readily identifiable, but you cannot use that same costume to represent anything but a griffon, which can be an expensive problem if you don't have many scenarios calling for griffons. Speaking personally, my resources don't allow that kind of specificity. Typically, any item of monster garb I make must be useful for several different monster types, simply because I can't afford to make (usually at my own expense) unique costumes for every creature. Thus comes the paradox: the better an outfit looks, the less usable it will be in the long run; while the simpler it looks, the more widely you can use it, but the less easily you can recognize just what it is supposed to be.

Therefore, in order to use a wide variety of monsters at minimal expense, you must make outfits which can each represent a variety of creatures. For example, a standard tabard made of a green scale-printed material can be a mermaid, a troglodyte, a lizard man, or any other green scaled creature. A winged brown tabard with feathers running along the arms can be a harpy, a griffon, a manticore, or any other brownish flying animal. The populace will easily recognize that this is a monster within a general category, and simply needs to be told which one it is for that battle. This seems to satisfy everyone.

Of course, if you can come up with something more specific that is still inexpensive, go for it! A spider, for instance, can be made very easily with a long-sleeved black T-shirt, a yard or so of black cloth, and some spare foam pieces (or batting). Cut and sew the fabric into four tubes roughly the size and shape of a human arm. Seal up one end, and stuff each tube with foam. Spacing them out, sew the four "arms," two on each side, to the sides of the shirt. Voila! When combined with black pants, instant eight-legged spider! A black cowl with multiple eyes would complete the effect, but isn't crucial.

Another consideration is the range of people likely to play monsters. If possible, you should make garb that can be worn by people with a wide variety of physical builds. Particularly with your larger members, you don't want them to be embarassed by trying to fit into garb which is too small. For this reason, I tend to make outfits that tie on the side or can be laced up, or simple tabards which can be belted down. (Hoods representing the head of a particular monster are also great, since one size typically fits all.) I want to be sure no-one who wants to play a monster is kept from doing so just because the garb won't fit.

For a generic flying creature: a feather boa (a few bucks at your local craft store) can be glued down in a line, or cut into small sections so that you can accessorize several locations with puffs of feathers. Remember that you don't need to cover the entire garb with feathers -- you need only use enough so that you give the suggestion of a flying creature.

Fake fur is often expensive, but keep in mind that you only need to hint at full fur cover. A head piece, a tail, or a furry back may be enough.

Face paint can do a lot, too. With a few touches of face paint on a person in ragged clothes, you can differentiate between a zombie and an orc. With a bit of white and black face paint, a bare-chested man can quickly become a skeleton. (If they're skinny and pale enough, you only need to do the face.) ;) With variously-colored "war paint" stripes on the faces of people in ordinary garb, you can make opposing goblin armies.

So how do you come up with a basic set of inexpensive monster garb? Think of the monsters you would like to use, then think of the combinations which are likely to be present in a given battle you design, so you know how many generic garb items you'll need. In particular, think of which monster types are NOT likely to be in the same battle with each other, so you can start thinking of which creatures in one battle can double as another type of creature in another battle. Are there similarities in physical build (number of limbs, wings, etc.), color, or texture, so that the same outfit might conceivably represent both?

Once you have some basic ideas, start looking for fabrics. At the local Wal-Mart, broadcloth (a good versatile fabric) is less than $2 per yard. If you're lucky, you can get remnants of fabric at discount stores (or Wal-Mart) for $1 per yard or less. Particularly with remnants, I tend to let the pattern of the material suggest the creature it could represent: if you're lucky, you can find feathers, scales, leopard spots, animal stripes, tree bark, or fur striations in the print.

If you have the notion, and the fabric is cheap, be just as elaborate as you desire. But if you have a lot of garb to make, and very little cloth and/or time with which to make it, you can make a simple rectangular tabard with one yard of 44" fabric: cut it into two 36 x 22" pieces, then lay them end to end. Making sure to leave a neck opening, join the pieces at the shoulder, then hem all exposed edges, and you have a simple tabard which will fit just about anyone. Obviously, you can add details (shoulders, tummies, tails, etc.) to them to your heart's content, but even these simple tabards will mark the players as something out of the ordinary. (This is also a good way for cheaply outfitting an army for an inter-kingdom war!)

In this way, with a minimum of expense, you can create a versatile wardrobe which can be used for a variety of monsters, in a variety of scenarios. Add some face paint, some head gear, and a few more specialized costumes, and you're well on your way to an endless combination of possibilities.

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THE TRANSFORM AND REINCARNATE SPELLS, REVISITED

 (DS: Bjarni Egilsson)

This is just a quick note on the Transform and Reincarnation spells: as written, they don't sound very attractive, though they do allow you to play a monster without the need for a special scenario. Generally, you have to take a dead body and then have them sacrifice four lives (which seems to indicate that this is already limited to people who start with 5 or more lives) to play one life as the given monster. Since it's an enchantment, a single "Dispel Magic" (or a lucky shot) can wipe them out, and the person is suddenly out 4 lives. (A preface to what I'm about to say: the following applies ONLY to what we've done in Dragonspine, and is NOT intended to be taken as Amtgard Canon; though if you like it you are welcome to suggest it to the powers that be to try to enact these changes more globally.) Within Dragonspine, we thought long and hard about this, and have made the following local rules changes to make the spells more appealing: 1) These spells are now considered "neutral" magic, which means they cannot be dispelled; and 2) The spell is cast at the beginning of the battle -- the target comes out in approved monster garb (essential!), and sacrifices ALL class lives to play the STANDARD NUMBER of lives for that monster (as described in the Dor-Un-Avathar). A person thus affected is allowed to receive monster credit for that battle. If more people want to play monsters than there are willing 6th-level spellcasters, the GM of Monsters is responsible for seeing that everybody gets a turn eventually, and that no-one repeats until others have had a chance. How you do it in your local group is of course up to you; but this seems to work for us. - Bjarni.

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NEW SELECTIONS FOR THE TRANSFORM AND REINCARNATE SPELLS

 (DS: Bjarni Egilsson)

After we, in Dragonspine, had settled on the new definition of the Transform and Reincarnate spells for a greater game balance (see the previous article), the next step was to revise the list of available monsters. The remaining problem with the spells is that they were written years ago, and in the meantime the Dor-Un-Avathar (thanks to Ivar and a great many people) has undergone some major "transformations" itself (if you'll pardon the pun). There are now at least twice as many monsters available as before, and some of the old ones have been revised so that they are now stronger or weaker than they used to be. The DS Monster Guild felt that the list of monsters available for these two spells needed to be revised accordingly. We spent several sessions going through the Dor-Un-Avathar, monster by monster, discussing which ones were suitable both in the roleplay aspect (the Wizard spell tends more toward magical creatures, while the Druid spell leans toward forest-type creatures) and in power balance.

We came up with a list, trimmed it, voted on it, and then brought it before the populace for further discussion, revision, and voting. Here is the final result we came up with (and which is now in use in Dragonspine):

Wizard "Transform" spell: Deep Dweller, Dryad, Giant (Hill), Goblin, Gremlin, Mummy, Orc, Siren, Spider (Giant), Unicorn (as in the 6th edition Dor-Un-Avathar).

Druid "Reincarnate" spell: Brownie, Catperson, Centaur, Dryad, Entangling Mass, Giant (Hill), Goblin, Lizard Man, Minotaur, Orc, Siren, Spider (Giant), Troll (Regenerating), Unicorn (as in the 6th edition Dor-Un-Avathar; not 7th edition).

You will note that both lists are about twice as long as the versions in the rulebook; but since there are now at least twice as many monster types in existence as there were when those rules were written, we felt it was a fair assortment. - Bjarni

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CHARIOTS OF FOAM

 (SA: Glenalth Woodwalke)

Parts of the chariot

Charioteer: The charioteer may be of any class and must always carry the chariot, unless it is stopped. The charioteer must give the commands to the horses, for the horses will not listen to others, teammates or not. The commands are also important to keep the chariot together.
Horses: The horses are played by one person (click here for the rules for Chariot Horses). If the horses pull away from the chariot by more than seven feet, then the chariot is considered to have broken away from the horses. (Note: there are no ropes holding the chariot together for safety reasons.)
Chariot: The chariot is a large shield in the shape of, and decorated as, a chariot. A chariot made specifically for combat may be destroyed with ten hits from a bladesharpened weapon (20 pts), two fireballs, two lightning bolts, one sphere of annihilation, or warp wood. Enchantments may be placed on the chariot to change this. A normal or repaired chariot may be destroyed in five hits from a red weapon (10 pts), one lightning bolt, one fire ball, one sphere of annihilation, or warp wood.
Passengers: In addition to the charioteer, the chariot may carry two non-fighting passengers or one fighting passenger. There is just not enough room for two people to be fighting, and the charioteer.

Special chariot stuff: Under normal use a chariot simply transports people from place to place, but in combat...
The charioteer may call a "charge:" A charge may only be called by the charioteer when the horses and chariot are clear of combat. A charge gives all passengers and the horses, 1 point of temporary armour. All melee weapons wielded by persons in the chariot deal 1 extra point of damage to armour. Anyone that is too slow or stupid enough to stand in front of the chariot is trampled, as per a siege weapon hit and the charge is stopped. When charging, the chariot must maintain a constant speed and may not make any sharp turns. Anyone exiting the chariot will receive the wound of their choice.
The charioteer may repair the chariot 1/life: Repairing the chariot takes a 300 count; additional charioteers reduce this by 50 each. A normal chariot or a chariot that has been destroyed by fire balls, lighting bolts, sphere of annihilation, or warp wood may not be repaired. Repairing a chariot reduces it to a normal chariot from a combat chariot, making it easier to destroy the second time. (Note: spells may also be used to mend a broken chariot -- this does not reduce the quality of the chariot)

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DRAGON VARIATIONS

 (Multiple authors)


Going through old stacks of e-mail, I thought that a short discussion of possible Dragon variations (which was an ongoing conversation a few years back) might be of general interest. The author of each section is listed after that section. - Bjarni

How about this one... "CHAOS DRAGON." Works like the other dragons except he carries two of each type of breath weapon in a bag (so he can't see which one is which). To throw his breath weapon, he says "breath weapon" grabs a bolt without looking and throws it. I think this would be fun to play, adding the randomness to the play. I suppose you could have more than two of each bolt, just as long as you have the same number of each color. - Avery

Building on Avery's idea...

Lets make it even nastier. Tie six people together to simulate four limbs, a tail, and a head. The head gets the spellballs and daggers, each limb fights florentine to simulate claws, and the tail gets florentine flails. Each person is given the points of invulnerability armor. Killing someone means that the dragon is limited to the speed of the dead person moving on their knees (unless the dragon flies); you have to kill two limbs or the "head".
Could be fun... - Jetara

This next one was written in response to Glenalth's "Chariots of Foam," but I thought it actually made a better follow-up to the dragon discussion, and thus have included it here. - Bjarni
I have seen something similar in a beast from the edges of the Dimlands called the Craw Dragon.
Essentially the Craw Dragon was Thistlevey's, some of you might remember that he was at one time the kingdom level Guildmaster of Monsters over here in the Celestial Kingdom, in an effort to teach those of us at Tirana teamwork and tactics.
The Craw Dragon (I do not know where they got the idea, but I strongly suspect certain Magic cards may have influenced them) is basically four people tied together. You have one person for the head with two people tied by about six feet of rope to a pair of people in front of him that represented the forelimbs. Finally you have one person tied to about ten feet of rope behind to represent the tail.
All body parts possess four locational protects.

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