Monster Conversions for AD&D 2e - Golarion and Mirrodin

I did some monster conversions for 2e. I figured I'd announce it in a post and also elaborate on why I decided on certain monsters

First up, the Golarion Appendix, featuring monsters converted from Pathfinder.

Baatezu, Greater, Uniila: There are surprisingly few devils/demons/etc. that really tempt casters with power. Yeah, Succubi and Erinyes can offer sex, but casters can already get that, especially clerics of Bast. Same goes for power promised by Glabrezu. Those fiends are also really, really bad at the whole subtle evil shtick. Enter the Cabal Devil/Uniila. She doesn't say "hey I'll give you a sweet spell if you kill Timmy the blind orphan kid"; she instead tells the wizard that Timmy's heart would function as a substitute for an expensive material component, and that would be true. It's an appeal to player greed.

Frost Firs: These guys fit a niche of low-HD plant monsters to throw against PCs. I also liked how despite being Neutral Evil and outright murderous at some points they do sort of negotiate with humans, etc. It shapes itself into less of a strict "Good v. Evil, a cosmic struggle writ small on the mortal plane" vibe that gets presented when orcs and goblins are presented against humans. It's more pragmatic.

Rakshasa, Amanusya: I read this entry and I had a vision in my head of the PCs sitting in some vaguely Arabic court with minor nobles, watching a dancing girl . . . and then all of a sudden her hands and head turn the wrong way and her foot-long tongue falls out. Definitely horror check material in a Ravenloft campaign. Plus, Succubi/Erinyes are old and busted.

Shabti: My implied setting unintentionally leans toward an Arabic/Egyptian flavor so I like these guys. They also combine the two paradoxical aspects of being special but also mundane, unlike Aasimar or Tieflings.

Sphinx, Cyno-: I just love the image of this huge hound holing up in a necropolis eating and conversing with corpses. It also evokes Anubis in a neat way.


Second, the Mirrodin Appendix featuring monsters from MTG's Mirrodin block. Mirrodin was my first set (although I really didn't play until around RTR) and holds a special place in my heart. I love the lore - or at least the lore my younger self created based on the ~30 cards I had. None of this soul-trapping and interplanar kidnapping silliness, just a world of metal. So I played fast and loose with the lore.

Leonin, Mirrodin: It's a bit odd to realize it but despite appearing in five different colors there are only a handful of humans in the Mirrodin blocks. Leonin dominate white, Vedalken blue, Elves green, Goblins red, Zombies black. Mirrodin Leonin are just really cool aesthetically. I plan on tackling normal leonin at some point too.

Zombie, Mirrodin: Nim are bit non-standard (cf. Nim Abomination). The fact that they're more or less natural works as a reversal of the old "undead have no place in ecology" trope so prevalent in AD&D. Probably depart from canon even more than the Leonin.

Rethinking Hobgoblins

I think it's safe to say that when most RPG players hear the word "Hobgoblin" they tend to visualize something that boils down to "a Goblin but bigger and with decent equipment". If we're mapping out an equivalency between Lord of The Rings and Dungeons & Dragons then Hobgoblins are the Uruk-hai to Goblins' Orcs (as an aside, I suspect that Bugbears are based the Olog-hai).
Of course, that isn't what Hobgoblins were like folklore (at least according to wikipedia):

Hobgoblins seem to be small, hairy little men who—like their close relative, brownies—are often found within human dwellings, doing odd jobs around the house while the family is lost in sleep. Such chores are typically small deeds, like dusting and ironing. Often, the only compensation necessary in return for these is food.
While brownies are more peaceful creatures, hobgoblins are more fond of practical jokes. They also seem to be able to shape-shift, as seen in one of Puck's monologues in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Robin Goodfellow is perhaps the most mischievous and most infamous of all his kind, but many are less antagonizing. Like all of the fae folk, hobgoblins are easily annoyed. They can be mischievous, frightening, and even dangerous.^[3] Attempts to give them clothing will often banish them forever, though whether they take offense to such gifts or are simply too proud to work in new clothes differs from teller to teller.

While certainly an interesting take, hairy little housekeepers aren't exactly prime material for most fantasy campaigns. At the same time, the militaristic Goblin jocks are a bit too overexposed. As an alternative, I present the Hobgoblins from Magic: The Gathering's Shadowmoor block:

Fair warning, I haven't been able to read the novels so the precise details might be off, I'm just going by what's on the cards. Shadowmoor's Hobgoblins are related to the setting's Goblins (who in terms of behavior are basically D&D Orcs). But they live in cozy cottages and pursue agrarian existences. So this is tying back into that domestic angle while also homaging Tolkienesque Hobbit/Halfling lifestyles. At the same time, they still have a sinister edge to them, as the flavor text for Hearthfire Hobgoblin (pictured above) states:

Hobgoblins are best left alone. They sharpen their farm implements far more than is necessary for their work in the fields.

 So behind this idyllic Shire-esque surface there's something dangerous, something murderous. But still, despite their seeming homicidal tendencies they don't seem to bother anyone who doesn't bother them. But look at the flavor text for Rugged Prairie:

Hobs bury their kin far from home. They believe the dry, open ground keeps hags from stealing the bones and gwyllions from stealing the spirits.

So what happens if a party of adventurers or Joe the peasant stumbles onto a Hob funeral? What happens when a Human village starts expanding out into Hob burial grounds? Sounds like an interesting potential encounter.

Extracting these Hobs from their native setting, think about how they could fit in to a "Traditonal" Fantasy setting. How are Hob-Halfling relations? What about Hobgoblin-Goblins relations? Are the Hobs ultimately just a weird off-shoot of Goblins or are they the product of Human-Goblin/Halfling-Goblin/Hobbit-Goblin pairings?

The last idea to consider is a bit more radical: Give Halflings the boot and replace them with Hobs. If the Short Guy PC race is composed of rustic axe-murderers instead of rustic thieves then it changes the flavor of the setting to something more sinister.

Slivers in Heroes & Other Worlds

Yesterday I was nosing around C. R. Brandon's Heroes & Other Worlds blog and found a nifty Magic: The Gathering to HOW creature converter. It's a nifty little spreadsheet and I really like MTG so it was a good find. Unfortunately, 1) it can really only convert vanilla creatures & 2) it doesn't work well for tokens.

Take Sliver creature tokens as an example: ST 0, DX 8, IQ 2 (chosen by me), MV 4, AR -2.
By RAW in HOW, the Sliver is already dead; by RAI, the Sliver is unconscious and just an immobile bag of XP.

The solution I devised was to convert one of the classic buffer Slivers, in this case Sinew Sliver: ST 10, DX 8, IQ 2 (chosen by me), MV 4, AR -2, Other Slivers within 50 spaces get +6 adjusted ST.

This not only reflects the traditional MTG flavor of Slivers but also functions in a very flavorful way; taking out the Sinew makes the larvae fall back into hibernation. By the same token, it makes tactical planning very important because you don't want to lead a Sinew Sliver into a room full of larvae!
Granted, the Sliver Larvae are weaker than a peasant with a Sinew Sliver around. That can always be fixed by throwing a few more Sinews to the group~

Creating a quick fantasy setting using Magic: The Gathering

Tired of medieval fantasy in pseudo-Europe? Want to make a strange game setting but don't know where to start? I've got an idea for you to use. It involves seeing random Magic the Gathering cards and then creating a world based on those details.

Step 1: Go to http://magiccards.info/random.html (my preferred database) or http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?action=random

Step 2: Note the first 5 non-Legendary creatures you find (including subtypes like Elf, Orc, Wizard, etc) and the first 3 lands (Mountain, Plains, Forest, etc.) and/or landscapes (Sunken City, Fog, etc.)

Step 3: Put it all together.

Let's make a quick world!

Creatures:
-Alphetto Alchemist, a Human Wizard according to errata. The Morph ability might also be an interesting twist.
-Myr Sire, a Myr (magic robot) that creates more Myrs.
-Brassclaw Orcs, hardy Orc tribes
-Sewer Rats, and lots of 'em!
-Diligent Farmhand, a Human Druid. It's looking like Druidism and Alchemy might be two competing philosophies in this world

Land(scape)s:
-Stomping Ground, ruins reclaimed by nature and beasts.
-Murmuring Bosk, a haunted or otherwise sinister woodland.
-Blood Moon, a magical red moon that alters the world.

Putting it all together:
The world is choked with forests that spread like a plague across the land, swallowing up cities. In the oldest forest strange sounds are heard; some say that spirits from another world are trying to enter into this one. A baleful red moon glares upon the land at night, and all blame it for the sudden surge in forest growth. Rats, once restricted to sewers, are now virtually everywhere; disease outbreaks are becoming more common. The Orcs still persevere amidst the unnatural woods thanks to a mixture of healthy superstition. The Humans of the world have polarized into two camps: The Alchemists, who want to use magic to reverse the "sylvan scourge" and the Druids, who want to use magic for the adaptation/evolution of their people.