Grunkies on their own are mildly more interesting than giant rats, because players haven't encountered them before, and in their overlord form are dangerous due to the multiple attacks. But really, there's nothing particularly exciting about them on their own - they don't have anything really cool going on. Very few of the monsters I've put together for the first-level party do, of course - all that cool stuff will kill them just the same as a 1d6 bite attack, so all the best abilities get saved for higher level monsters.
That doesn't mean there isn't a way to spice all this up a bit more.
The beggars who infest the City Underfoot have seen a hideous shape swimming beneath the filthy waters - "Near as big as a man, yet it was a grunkie! Tore poor Gorm's throat out, and nearly swiped me pine-liquor!" Not having a background in post-apocalyptic zoopathology, these beggars are entirely ignorant of the horrible affliction that is Grunkie Overlordism. They tell tales of men turning into grunkies under the light of the full moon (how this light penetrates into the sewers is left unasked and unexplained), and how only silver can slay these man-beasts.
Indeed, on two occasions the crowds of beggars have caught this were-grunkie, and slain it with their pitiful daggers, incurring great loss of life and moonshine. They toss the corpse triumphantly into the sewage, but each time the beast has soon returned, and its predations grow more and more frequent.
Stupid beggars.
Anyhow, that's all I've got right now. The eBay sale has completed, and now I'm in shipping hell. I'll put yet more junk for auction up next week, but I need some time to recuperate from this batch first.
Hi Pat, just wanted to let you know you won the prestigious Newbie Blog Award! Well, it's not very prestigious, but you won it anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think there is more than the fact that players haven’t seen them before. Lizard monkeys in the ecological niche of rats are far more interesting than just reskinned rats – now they can stand upright, maybe they have opposable thumbs? You can also make different breeds, different colored ones with some being rare, and therefore their hides are more valuable. On the other hand, the were-grunkie story idea is a great one, and I’d love to see what a group would do with that plot hook.
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats on the award!