In the last entry, I used Kevin Crawford’s Other Dust
to flesh out a ruined cul de sac complete with a insectoid mutated military
scientist bent on unleashing a massive colony of radioactive bugs onto an
unsuspecting wasteland. The mad
scientist, who I’ve decided to call Dr. Levinson, needs some stats. I’ll be using ideas from Silent Legions
and 13th Age to create the good doctor.
Silent Legions builds on the monster/mutant/alien
toolboxes in Stars Without Number and Other Dust by presenting a
menu of base creatures and adding a few add-ons to make the creatures
unique. I chose the Humanoid Thing, Average as the base for Dr. Levinson. (Silent legion presents creatures as a
generic type like Hulking Brute and Verminous Beast and gives three variants
of each--weak, average and strong—with appropriate stats for each.) Average Humanoid Things have the
following stats:
AC: 8. HD:2. Attacks: bite+wpn. +Hit:+2. Damage: 1d6+wpn. Speed: 30'. Morale:8. Skill:2
I’ll give him the Acidic template, which modifies his stats
by upping damage and +Hit, but lowers morale.
Additionally, Dr. Levinson will be in body armor and carrying a laser
pistol. 13th Age has some compelling reasons for giving monsters static damage rather than dice, so his final stat block is this:
AC: 4 (14 if using ascending AC). HD: 2. Attacks: Caustic claw and laser pistol. +Hit: +3. Damage: Caustic claw 3 +1 acid, 1 acid for 1d4 rounds/ laser pistol 3. Speed: 30', wall crawler (can move on any surface like walking). Morale: 6. Science: 2.
One of the things I love about the Sine Nomine sandbox tools
is how they allow the GM to discover the game setting right along with the
players. Monsters with lots of GM
activated powers turn the play experience into a tactical battle, while
monsters with only claw/claw/bite can be tiresome.
13th Age monster design has
monster abilities activating based on the to-hit roll or the number on the
escalation die (a die that counts rounds and has other mechanical effects in
that game.) Applying that principle to
OSR monsters allows the gm to watch and enjoy the experience of the combat
without switching roles from tour guide to tactical opponent. (Of course, if you want to match wits with
your players as a combatant, feel free.
However, I would rather facilitate their experience than be responsible
for remembering how many times a breath weapon has been used or whether the
spell-likes have been activated.) I want
Dr. Levinson to have some acid-puke ability as well as a swarm summoning
that comes after a certain number of rounds.
I will also throw in a random mook bug showing up with certain die
results. To add this kind of AI to the monster, I’ll tie certain effects to d20
rolls.
Even Hit 16+: Acid vomit.
Does 5 damage and 2 ongoing acid damage for 2 rounds. Fortitude save for half and negates ongoing damage.
Even Miss: One heritor bug appears to fight with Dr.
Levinson. (Heritor bugs are giant roaches; any low-level vermin will do.)
Natural 20: An Ankheg appears to fight with Dr. Levinson
Should he fail a morale save, Dr. Levinson will retreat
easily by scooting up the wall and out a window or into a hole in the floor. His
insect minions will not follow him, but will continue to fight the PC’s to
block any attempts at pursuit. Dr. Levinson will disappear and become
impossible to catch if he is not caught in three rounds.
Now I have a boss monster for my cul de sac, a summoner with
a ranged and a melee attack who will run away to fight another day. Dr. Levinson could be a short fight or a
recurring villain, always seeking to cleanse the earth of the plague of
primates that prevent the ascendency of the insect horde. The final form of Dr.
Levinson is this:
AC: 4 (14 if using ascending AC). HD:2. Attacks: Caustic claw
+laser pistol. +Hit:+3. Damage: Caustic claw 3 +1 acid, 1 acid for 1d4 rounds/ laser pistol 3. Speed: 30’, wall crawler (can
move on any surface like walking). Morale:6. Science:2.
Even Hit 16+: Acid vomit.
Does 5 damage and 2 ongoing acid damage for 2 rounds. Fortitude save negates ongoing damage.
Even Miss: One heritor bug appears to fight with Dr.
Levinson. (Heritor bugs are giant roaches; any low-level vermin will do.)
Natural 20: An Ankheg appears to fight with Dr. Levinson
