Monster Design

[jivex5k]

Monsters, what kind would you like to see in this game?

Personally, I like the third option. I want to fight my old-school beasts mostly, but would like a new concept here and there.

 

Maybe this poll is stupid or biased but it is what it is.

 

Oh and of course I'd love to see unique bosses and unique version of known monster types.

Like some giant beholder named: "The Eye"

 

And the monster types i'm speaking of are the standard D&D/Tolkein fantasy stuff.

 

Orc, Ogres, Kobolds, Smart-mouth genies, and dragons that ask you riddles that will eat you if you answer wrong.

Edited October 11, 2012 by jivex5k

[rjshae]

There's no "Whatever Obsidian things is appropriate for the setting" option.

[nikolokolus]

50/50 mix would do me good.

[jivex5k]

There's no "Whatever Obsidian things is appropriate for the setting" option.

Fixed

[rjshae]

There's no "Whatever Obsidian things is appropriate for the setting" option.

Fixed

Well it's not stupid; I just thought that would balance out the poll. Thanks.

[Leonel]

If it's a whole new world, I want monsters I've never seen before

[Piccolo]

I think a mix is good.

 

I don't want too many monsters in the game though. I think I appreciate them more when there's only a few in the world, that are whispered about by NPCs and mentioned in lore books, but really rare to actually encounter.

[jivex5k]

I think a mix is good.

 

I don't want too many monsters in the game though. I think I appreciate them more when there's only a few in the world, that are whispered about by NPCs and mentioned in lore books, but really rare to actually encounter.

That sounds awesome!

Man is the true monster after all.

[FlintlockJazz]

I think a mix is good.

 

I don't want too many monsters in the game though. I think I appreciate them more when there's only a few in the world, that are whispered about by NPCs and mentioned in lore books, but really rare to actually encounter.

 

This. I find it a bit silly when there are dozens of races. There are better ways of creating variety such as having different forms of demons and enemies from different cultures so they wear different armour from the others.

[Jarmo]

Mostly I'd like to fight humans and other playable races.

 

I was going to vote "mostly established" as I don't want to meet a bewildering bunch of new thingies.

But then I started thinking what the established monsters are, and I really could do without beholders

or gelatinous cubes or carrion crawlers or any of the old D&D silly wonderments.

 

Believable, spooky, monstrous, demonic. All are fine if they're rare.

And please go light with the undead...

[Hassat Hunter]

Last option is tempting.

 

I would go 50/50. And disagree with everyone here about sticking only to humans. The more enemy variety the better. Cure me of my Darkspawn Slaughter Disease (or whatsitcalledhere).

Not disagreeing some powerful monsters being very rare is an excellent suggestion and should actually go without saying.

[NWN_babaYaga]

I´m for the mixed option too. But what´s important to me is dont place monsters randomly just for the gameplay/ difficulty. Make them believable in the places where they appear.

[Tsuga C]

Give me the 80/20 mixture or maybe a 90/10 ratio of familiar to new creatures. I don't see any point in trying to completely reinvent the wheel monster-wise and I like much of what's been done in the past with D&D. The suggestion to make monsters less common is a good one as many of the monsters offered would quickly rise to the level of alpha predators and would seriously derange any conventional ecosystem.

 

While we're talking about opponents, I think it'd be a good idea to make most of the normal animals neutral in terms of their factions. It's more than a bit silly that every normal predator (e.g. wolves, great cats, etc.) are automatically hostile towards the party in a lot of cRPGs.

[Caranthir]

A healthy mixture, leaning more towards the well-known ... it makes people quickly feel "at home" in a setting, especially if the setting is not "run-of-the-mill" medieval fantasy, but more 15th century (with firearms). And I believe it fits better with the fact that Obsidian has been pretty conservative with races and classes (at least as far as I know).

 

But: no monster inflation ... monsters should be special, a highlight encounter.

 

And: while a "troll" is a staple monster and we all have certain expectations (big, strong), that does not mean that it cannot be a bit different (looks, abilities etc.).

[limaxophobiacq]

I voted 50/50 I'm fine with them having mostly or only established monsters as long as they have their own takes and aesthetics for them. Ogre doesn't have to mean 10 foot neanderthal, dragons don't have to come in 12 different-coloured varieties, trolls don't have to be green and fear fire & acid damage etc..

Edited October 11, 2012 by limaxophobiacq

[Tychoxi]

why can't I have a Mostly original with a some established designs. (80/20) option?

 

I DEMAND more options out of your puny poll!

Edited October 12, 2012 by Tychoxi

[Shevek]

You want some original stuff, sure, but some classics never hurt. I think established monster concepts can be valuable in helping people connect with the game. Hell, imagine if they had monsters from settings like Ravenloft or somesuch? Who wouldn't wanna go adventuring while fighting some classic baddies?

 

[Hormalakh]

I grew up learning about a whole bunch of different fantasy creatures in my childhood: some from Eurocentric cultures (ala most of the dragons, goblins, orcs, etc in DnD), some from Middle Eastern traditions as well (Djinns, phoenix (simurgh), buraq, scorpions, karkadan, manticores, rocs) and some from the Eastern traditions (Chinese dragons, Cangjie, Chang'e, Sun Wukong, some of my favorite creatures actually come from Animes like Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away). There are also quite a few nice ones in the Mesoamerican myths that I sometimes like to consider (quezacotl, Ahuitzotl, chaneque, xelhua).

 

I guess one thing that I would really enjoy is thematic monsters. Like someone else said, let the monsters fit the theme of the area that one is in. It might be interesting to see a dragon (if that is what we're going for) that is more Asian than what we are used to when we're in a area that might have been affected by that ethnicity. I mean obviously this is going to be a thoroughly huge universe and we won't get to see everything, but I'd really like to see the creative design theme really letting themselves be influenced by mythology from around the whole world when discussing monsters. It'll definitely spark some fresh ideas and it'll make for a refreshing new universe without so many typical zombies and vampires and dragons that we've all come to hate.