Monsters and Their Uses

By Cherub bobT

Well, I am sure that we have all played through many adventures and have at least once come across a monster that just would not go away. A good scenario design is not always about creating great maps with lots of land challenges, it can sometimes use monsters and warriors to wreck havoc on the player. Designing a scenario that balances these invasions is where the challenge and beauty of it comes into play. Monsters have a role in any good scenario, and should not be used unless they have a purpose. I have run across adventures that pit the player against wave after wave of military strikes, and then toss in a few monsters and angry Gods to totally frustrate the player. This is not good adventure design. Players must always have an out somewhere.

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, and now with the addition of Poseidon, they also fly. So in order to get things to work out just right, you must plan your monster invasions in such a manner that they have a workable effect on the player’s goals and thoughts.

One of the first things you must do when planning monsters, is to place them in an area of the map that will not later be populated with housing or other structures. This sort of planning will prevent monsters from appearing in the middle of housing blocks or palaces and sanctuaries, and will give the player a chance to defend.

Always make sure that you set entry points for your monsters as well. If you do not set these points up, monsters will arrive at the entry point of your population and make it very hard to defend. Also make sure you place the right monster point with the corresponding monster. Seeing the Kraken stuck in the meadow just wont do and Talos will rust if he has to swim to far.

When using the editor to place your monsters and then setting them up within the game as an event, you can then set strength of the monster. Monsters should always be set to a level, which supports the surrounding terrain. If you set monster strength to high, and it is to appear close to the population, things may not go as planned and in fact, you may find players cursing your name.