Bestiary:Introduction
Foreword
As you read through this book you may find that many of the creatures contained in it are beasts, animals and aberrations. Also included are entries for some of the races of Otherworld or Burning Destiny, some of which are available as player character races. Scattered around in there are some malignant spirits and undead. Finally, we've peppered the bestiary with a few mechanical creatures.
I've never liked that in many pen-and-paper RPGs, as well as in games and stories of many kinds, one can tell the bad guys because of how hideous they are. This seems to be the case in many "high-fantasy" stories. To my way of thinking, this started harmlessly enough. Early storytellers must have wanted to evoke feelings of fear and horror with these tales of ugly, scary baddies. In the battle of good vs. evil, it was ok to make the evil guys not only act evil, but look evil. The trend which developed, however, was a fallacy. It soon became accepted that not only were monsters ugly, but inversely, that all ugly things were monsters. Oops.
While some of the creatures in this bestiary are indeed pretty hideous, that's not an automatic indication of evil. In fact, you will likely not find the word "evil" used many times in this book. The responsibility for making your villains diabolical, monsters terrifying, and cast of characters three-dimensional, lies with the storytellers. Placing labels isn't my thing. This is a book of easy-reference stats. We have provided you with a body and brain, like the faithful henchmen we are, but you, like Dr. Frankenstein, you must breathe life into the creatures in your stories. Two tools for use here are Personality and Motivation, which can be found explained in detail in the Core Game Book.
I encourage both Game-masters and players to think outside the box a little bit with how they craft their stories, including the flora, fauna and foes which fill their fictional worlds. This all being said. its not that you can't run a game where all the monsters are ugly and the heroes engage in a near-mindless slaughter of evil. This game was designed to allow for a wide range of gaming experiences. What I'm saying is that you, as gamers, shouldn't be confined in your approach.
If you want to make the villains in your world the shifty, cunning Pookah, or the sagacious Ginsha, go right ahead. Perhaps the villains are humans and the heroes are made up of the other races in a fight against the encroaching humans, who seek to take over their world. Perhaps the Apsarava are the victims of a propaganda war started by the haughty Vidari. Perhaps the players characters are all Green Men or Weren, fighting the other "civilized" industrial races which seek to destroy their home in the forest. There are many possibilities here for great stories, interesting protagonists, and wicked villains.
Have at 'em.
The Three Types of Enemies
In nearly any good action film, the heroes go around chasing after the man behind it all, the mastermind, the source of the disruption; we call these characters Villains. Before the heroes can reach the villain, it is inevitable that some of the villain's best men will step in to stop the heroes. These foes are known as Henchmen. Throughout this journey to overcome the henchmen and catch the villain, the heroes come across a number of bad guys who are easily mowed down, but still pose a threat to the heroes' progress. Usually, it takes one well placed shot and these guys are dead as doornails. These foes are known as Fodder.
Each entry lists stats for each of these types of foes. Fodder have limited stats and can only take one hit, Henchmen have improved stats and significantly more Health Points and Villains have great stats and plenty of HP.
Not every story has all three types of bad guy. Some stories involve only richly detailed, well-rounded NPCs and Monsters, which would fall under the Villain and Henchmen categories. Other stories are filled to the brim with so many Henchmen and Fodder that by the time the heroes face the Villain, he appears merely as the top dog of an army of foes.
