The random encounter or more appropriately random event table has some impulses but the application is a little fucked. The map is pretty solid, with occasional use of secret doors to provide alternate pathways through the dungeon proper. What do I make of the decision to have random encounters take place every 10 minutes, unavoidably? We do not likes it my precious. Considerations of what the Goblins do if they are captured or bribed are good.
Versimilitude but at what price? The Goblin Complex is a monster lair, stuffed with guardrooms, storerooms, a pool, kitchens and thronerooms, and inhabited by Goblins, Hobgoblins, Ogres and the odd monster. One particular lair has been discovered and the PCs have been comissioned to ‘mop them up’ before they form a power base. Most of the monsters dispersed, some remained behind in various nooks and crannies.
A horde of monstrous humanoids invaded the region an masse, only to be driven back after months of fighting by the aid of a herd of Ki-rin.
Also pretty interesting, the house rules used for this adventure have been stated explicitly, allowing a deeper understanding of the execution. There are, apparently, some growing pains. Versimilitude and the Order of Battle at long last make their way into the pages of The Beholder with The Goblin Complex. Lvl 1-3 (but 6 characters of 3rd level is ideal). The author first suffered a TPK in G3, then is exposed to a litany of bullshit calls, anti-clerics and paladins in the same party, getting murdered because he announced the party was entering a door, and then the GM ruled only the character (an illusionist) went, getting murdered by a Clay Golem that the character was outrunning and dying in a low level dungeon because the character cast light on himself and tried to trick a group of hobgoblins into believing he was some sort of spirit and it did not work (I hope the GM at least allowed a morale check). The most interesting are the complaints of attending other people’s games and hearing the litany of terrible rulings. Someone needs to gather all of these motley freaks together and create a dungeon complex worthy of their strangeness.ĭragonmeet II. Shadows that can mimic voices, gold-plated rays that trip and choke enemies, a terrifying floating acid bubble that obliterates and maims with each shot, there are standout entries among the palette swapped kobolds, 1 HD creatures with a lightning bolt ability or a bizarre type of dog whose bite gives one natural armor. But why select these in favor of tiny fire-breathing flies, or the Greebly, a hairy, primitive form of Giant with d20 fist attacks and a mortal fear of fire (50% chance they go berserk instead). The Bleeder is a variant of rust monster that feeds on the iron in people’s blood, causing hemophilia with a touch, which progresses in 5 stages and takes time to recover. The Stone Creature is a sort of predatory ogre that can switch from stone form to flesh, and uses this to pose as an innocent creature and attack people in the rear, and while it does work, even the judge notes some sort of ambushing power would have helped flesh it out some more. The second and third are less strong then some of the other entries.
The contest winner, the Relkor, seems to have been inspired by the Burrough’s Kaldane. Hand drawn art, very important for a bestiary, adorns half the entries. The viewer submitted nature of the collection renders it less even then the usual bestiary, but for all that there are several interesting entries. Low on gygaxian naturalism, high on bizarre and interesting abilities. An eclectic collection of beasties in the image of White Dwarf Magazine. Interesting features are slowly starting to creep into the published adventures. The landmark ‘Monster Monster’ issue, containing not only the results of the monster design contest but also a review of the 1e Dungeon Master Guide.
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