(TFT) monster husbandry

[Michael Taylor <MichaelTaylor1@compuserve.com>]

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>
>>>>>>Dear Michael
>>>>>>I agree with Ron, even looking at intelligent monsters, lets look at
>>>>>>dwarves. They get a +1 damage bonus with axe/hammer/mace which
doesn't cost
>>>>>>anything, likewise elves with +2 MA in certain situations. Similarly
if I
>>>>>>was ctraing, lets say, bugbears for TFT, I give them automatic SIlent
>>>>>>Movement because of their big fuzzy feet, whereas a human has to
spend time
>>>>>>and IQ points to learn this. I don't think there's anythnig wrong
with
>>>>>>monsters learning talents (and I encourage all to do so! ;)  )

I certainly agree in principle. I'd just like building new monsters to be a
little more 'scientific' than "splapping-abilities-together" and printing
it... there's nothing really wrong with that for any indivudal game, but
I'd like the rules to be more 'solid' than that - and I don't see any
reason I can't have the best of both worlds!

John Paul Bakshoian wrote a really good point-build system for races
(8/20/99 - Talent Packing for Races in TFT) and I'd like to do something
like that. 

TFT is such a good system that I always thought it was criminal that you
couldn't build monsters the same way you build characters. 

You bring up a *very* interesting point about racial abilities however.
Should they cost the same as "normal" Talents? Should there be some kind of
'racial' bonus for them? Should there be corresponding Handicaps for racial
abilities? Or should racial abilities be "free" if the GM decides they are
"racial". A way of saying, only the GM can decide when a Talent is "innate"
rather than bought. Thought?

>>>>>>It's not so much a question of how does one create rules for training
a
>>>>>>monster, but whether the GM running the campaign (with an adequate
>>>>>>gazetteer) has decreed whether what animals/monsters are common/rare
etc.
>>>>>>in domestication. For PCs to go and train monsters which have never
been
>>>>>>trained before and having no contact with trainers of that animal
should be
>>>>>>difficult without the aid of magic (i.e. the monty haul campaign
where the
>>>>>>anglosaxon halflings have come back with a horde of siberian tigers).
But

Well, I'm sure nothing I write will *stop* an FM from doing that, but for
myself - I just dont care that much, so I'd LIKE a set of rules that say,
"Hey, if you want to train a Slinker, go right ahead, here's what it eats,
here's how long it will take, and here's what Talents are needed.
Personally, I dont mind the halfings come back on siberian tigers --- as
long as the rules make it appropriate difficult and expensive enough so
that it wont unbalance my campaign. 

So for me, I'd LIKE to have those rules. As a GM, I can still say "no -
that's not what I had in mind for this campaign", but I'd like the rules to
give me that option by being there!

>>>>>>PS: its 2000 here and I'm still alive!!<

Me too - and surprised as all heck about it!

Michael 

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