Beware, Monster Crossing Ahead!

Monday, September 14, 2015

Today we reveal our Top 16, who have survived the Open Call of creating magic items, and the dreaded Map Round (which is the newest of our challenges, having just been introduced last year). These 16 worthy contestants now have until September 17 to submit their entries following the Official Rules for round 3.

So as we turn our thoughts to Round 3, both voters and contestants are likely to wonder what judges are looking for in an RPG Superstar monster entry. Luckily, two of our judges have offered fairly extensive thoughts on that question. Developer Adam Daigle has a whole thread with more than a years worth of advice, obsercvations, and commentary! Adam has been in charge of assigning and developing so many freelance monsters for Paizo over the years that "I write monsters for Adam" is a common identifying statement as at any Pathfinder-freelancer gathering.

Our other judge to offer specific notes about monster design is Neil Spicer, a winner of RPG Superstar and one of our most prolific and popular judges. I offer his advice below, as he sent it to me.

"Going into monster design, a freelance designer has to recognize certain basic elements of the game (IE: the give-and-take of all the variables upon which it's mechanically founded). The most important defining characteristic (which has a trickle down effect) in monster design is its Challenge Rating (CR). The rules for Round 3 will either tell you what that'll be, or you'll have to determine it for yourself (IE: CR X). Thus, the "test" for the monster round isn't just determining if you can cook up a really great idea for a monster. That's expected! But, it's also to see how well you can interpret what a CR X monster is meant to have, mechanically-speaking, that distinguishes it from a CR X-1 or a CR X+1 monster.

Aside from the mechanical aspects of what a CR X monster should generally have (which can be derived from the table for monster design in the Core Rulebook), you've also got to know certain foundational elements about monsters. For instance, unlike NPCs, monsters should be built around the non-standard array for their ability scores (IE: 11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10) before applying racial adjustments. Any adjustments after that should always come in even-numbered increments (IE: +2, +4, +6, etc.). That means for a basic monster design (one without class levels), you should end up with three odd-numbered ability score values and three even-numbered ability score values. Personally, I think you should also decide on a monster's role (combat, skill, spell, etc.) to get an idea of which ability scores should stand out versus which should be more muted. Monster roles are also a good guideline for determining what kind of society intelligent monsters come from and how they think.

Lastly, once you've got that foundation, you can start building in universal monster abilities, special abilities, and other considerations to round out what makes your monster unique and special. In my opinion, for RPG Superstar, I think the wisest course in monster design is to demonstrate two things: 1) the ability to blend in existing abilities and rules by referencing them the proper way rather than reinventing the wheel and wasting word count, and 2) the ability to innovate while showing us something entirely new with a signature special ability that gives us a new way to surprise players with what your monster can do. Now all of that is on top of having a really compelling idea for a monster that fits its design niche and the terrain in which you'd find it. The monster design round is once again that perfect blend of Superstar ideas built with Superstar execution, both in the mechanical side of things and the professional polish you bring with your submission.

So, that's pretty much my baseline tactics for creating monsters as well as how I tend to assess them when judging for RPG Superstar and voting alongside the general public. I look for maximized creativity around an interesting idea, and then execute it to the best of my ability using the existing rules and monster abilities in the game, as well as crafting something new to give my monster a unique identity/niche at the gaming table."

There you have it! I also encourage both contestants and voters to read through both the Official Rules for the entire contest, and the rules for Round 3, to ensure that every requirement is met, and that everyone understands what this round is (and isn't) about.

So shut the city gate, batten down the hatches, light the torches, and call out the guard. The monsters are coming!

Owen K.C. Stephens
Developer, RPG Superstar Host