In LotFP it's a different story altogether. I embrace Raggi's philosophy that other humans should be the primary threat, with bizarre, true monsters showing up here and there to add to the weird. As I've gotten more and more into the game, I've started picking up various resources outside of LotFP, such as charts, random tables, adventure hooks, modules, etc. Some of these fit perfectly into the campaign, while others are still steeped in the "humanoid" mentality. What I'm looking at doing now is creating a list of replacements for when these humanoids show up.
Short Humanoids (goblins, dwarves, halflings, kobolds, etc.)
Children (think Lord of the Flies)
Crawling People
Legless Folk (they move using their hands and tiny stumps instead of legs)
Little People
Babyskins (something that has crawled into the flesh of stolen babies)
Animated Dolls
Walking Animals (rats, cats, dogs, goats, sheep, etc., walking on two legs)
Highly Intelligent Monkeys/Apes
For medium-sized humanoids (orcs, gnolls, bugbears, etc.)
Vikings
Visigoths
Exotic or Foreign "Savages"
Cannibals
Cultists
Druids
Wild Men
Lost Tribe
Bandits
Mutants (using The Metamorphica)
Animated Manikins
Feral People
Amazons
Artabtatitae (four-legged)
Astomi (mouthless)
Walking Animals (deer, pigs, wolves, etc., walking on two legs)
Highly Intelligent Apes/Gorillas
Large humanoids (giants, ogres, trolls)
Walking Animals (bears, elephants, camels, horses, cows, bulls, etc.)
(I think I'd be willing to use a single giant, ogre and troll once in a campaign, but most large creatures will probably be monstrosities. It would be difficult for any large creature to exist in great numbers during the Early Modern Era, right? Although an adventure inspired by Roald Dahl's BFG could be fun...)
What ideas do you have? Anything else I can add to the list to prevent humanoid fatigue?
UPDATE: Additions using community feedback!
First, Known World, Old World has a great way to deal with the tired, old bandit. Sometimes you need a mundane bandit, sometimes you need something more...
I will probably take what he started, and add some of the following to it (all applicable to otherwise normal humans):
-Depraved/Demented
-Demonically tainted
-Degenerate, inbred human clan ("Hills Have Eyes" sort of thing)
-Desperate, pushed to inhumanity
-Possessed (demons, evil spirits, skinwalkers)
-Righteous ("ends justify means")
-Foreign/Xenophobic (religion, language, allegiance, worldview, culture...)
-Offensive (pedophiles, rapists, necrophiliacs, etc.)
-Anachronism (removed from their own time, still carrying on their mission...)
-Infected (rage virus, etc.)
-Hosts (parasite that seeks to multiply, feed, etc.)
-Soulless
-Clones
-Mind/Body swapped
The following list are not humans:
-Minor demons
-Tcho Tchos
-Voormis
-Morlocks
-Aliens ("Greys" or maybe from Carcossa)
-Reptoids (or something else) wearing human skin
UPDATE: Additions using community feedback!
First, Known World, Old World has a great way to deal with the tired, old bandit. Sometimes you need a mundane bandit, sometimes you need something more...
I will probably take what he started, and add some of the following to it (all applicable to otherwise normal humans):
-Depraved/Demented
-Demonically tainted
-Degenerate, inbred human clan ("Hills Have Eyes" sort of thing)
-Desperate, pushed to inhumanity
-Possessed (demons, evil spirits, skinwalkers)
-Righteous ("ends justify means")
-Foreign/Xenophobic (religion, language, allegiance, worldview, culture...)
-Offensive (pedophiles, rapists, necrophiliacs, etc.)
-Anachronism (removed from their own time, still carrying on their mission...)
-Infected (rage virus, etc.)
-Hosts (parasite that seeks to multiply, feed, etc.)
-Soulless
-Clones
-Mind/Body swapped
The following list are not humans:
-Minor demons
-Tcho Tchos
-Voormis
-Morlocks
-Aliens ("Greys" or maybe from Carcossa)
-Reptoids (or something else) wearing human skin
I've been running a LOTFP style campaign for a while now - it's about a ruined alien city in the frozen north, discovered by Vikings (and the players are all Norse or related). Early on, most of the opponents were other raiders; more monstrous opponents involved other explorers infected by rage worms (a parasite in the water) and becoming Berserkers (or mutating further into muscled cannibals - Phase 2 and Phase 3 berserkers).
ReplyDeleteOther humanoid stand-ins have included "white apes" (violent near-human hominids); the ubiquitous morlocks, cannibal cousins of the white apes; frost gremlins, goblin-like nuisances created from the dripping ichor of a severed Jotun's head; plasticals (Marks I-IV) - the rubbery servitors of the ancient aliens that still maintain some of the equipment under the city.
Looks like you're going for a heavy Greek theme. I like the idea of Amazons and Myrmidons as berserkers; I've considered Satyrs and Bacchantes as violent replacements for Orcs. I'd also consider creating new races as servitors to the gods (assuming something like the Greek gods are somewhere in the background). Mechanical men or artificial men were spawned by Hephaestus; creepy black clad jawa-like things drag bodies down to the Underworld; Oreads or Nymphs can be turned into fierce analogs of elves and ward the wilds on behalf of Artemis.
Just make a shtick and slap it on a pre-existing humanoid. Pumpkin-headed goblins who drink blood. Orcs with tubular heads and frogs tongues. Ogres with the same body plan as giant crabs (but still with 8 legs and soft, shitty bodies). Just don't call them goblins, orcs, or ogres.
ReplyDeleteOr these guys:
http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2013/06/yoblins-funglybears-and-filth-libraries.html