Friday, July 20, 2012

Post #200... Bestiaries and Appendix A

For some time, I've had the idea of a 'living' book of beasts; the idea is that instead of multiple monster tomes, you have a single monster book that constantly gets updated with new information and monsters as the game grows. While this is a cool concept, I've had trouble with the implementation. It seemed that every update would cause minor changes (at the very least in formatting) of previous releases, so that printing it would be quite the chore for the user. I've also gone back and forth between the stat block I use for monsters; I have a somewhat longer and more comprehensive block for the full beast listing, and an abbreviated stat block with a short monster description. Through the rules for Mythweaver, when I introduce a major creature or character, I use the comprehensive block; Appendix A appears at the back of the rules, which is a brief listing of a number of foes, using the abbreviated stat block.

I've decided that Appendix A is going to be this living document. It will include (upon release) all of the beasts that appear in the core rules, using the abbreviated format. Then, any new release will have its monsters listed in the comprehensive block, with an abbreviated entry appearing in Appendix A, with update. Appendix A will have no artwork; it is just a list of monsters in alphabetical order. I assume that as new abilities and traits are added to the game (beyond those in the core rulebook), I will have to include these in the appendix as well, so that the full monster list remains compatible with only the core rules.

I find this especially handy because Appendix A will be easy to print out or have open in another window, allowing you to quickly cross-reference your nasties as the heroes encounter them, without having to flip back through the core rules. If you want to find the full stat block, you can always look that up, but you won't need it the majority of the time.

Appendix A will be a free supplement for Mythweaver: Legacy, will be fully compatible with Resolute; Legacy, and will be updated with new creatures every time I release a supplement that includes beasts.

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