Same monster different look...

[jlord]

I have heard a lot of DM's use monsters but color them differently to get a totally different monster out of them. I was wondering what people have done that worked well in this regard. In my next game I want to make things a bit different from the pathfinder/d&d norms. A few Ideas I had were:

Mice men:
Use Kobolds but they look like mice like humanoids, and they ride dire rat mounts into combat.

Gobble-lins
Exactly like goblins, but in my campaign they are ravenous eaters, they eat almost anything except metal and stone, they have a bite attack, and "hobgoblins" are matured goblins that have eaten enough strong beings that they grow into a stronger form. Otherwise they become hobble gobble-lins.

In the end, very little actually changes, just what the monster is. Has anyone else done anything like this?

[DSRMT]

jlord wrote:

I have heard a lot of DM's use monsters but color them differently to get a totally different monster out of them. I was wondering what people have done that worked well in this regard. In my next game I want to make things a bit different from the pathfinder/d&d norms. A few Ideas I had were:

Mice men:
Use Kobolds but they look like mice like humanoids, and they ride dire rat mounts into combat.

Gobble-lins
Exactly like goblins, but in my campaign they are ravenous eaters, they eat almost anything except metal and stone, they have a bite attack, and "hobgoblins" are matured goblins that have eaten enough strong beings that they grow into a stronger form. Otherwise they become hobble gobble-lins.

In the end, very little actually changes, just what the monster is. Has anyone else done anything like this?

It's mostly for GM's who have players that immediately know what to do about a monster thats been around for a while, even if their character shouldn't

"Oh great, it's a troll guys, make sure you have your acid and fire ready"

However, there isn't anything wrong with using one monster to show another, especially if they're going to be pretty much the same thing. However, I personally like to alter at least a little bit about it, maybe lightning resistance instead of fire, or whatever, so it's at least a partially different creature.