Get ready to channel your inner Dr. Frankenstein as we launch March Monster Madness: the AGE System Monster Design Challenge!
During the month of March we are running an AGE System Monster Design Challenge in partnership with Open Design/Kobold Quarterly. There are two categories for you to submit your monstrous creations to:
- Best Classic Fantasy Monster: Any creature from classic fantasy, whether literary or adventure gaming, converted to AGE System. [KQ Forum Thread]
- Best Midgard Monster: Any creature originally published by Open Design in one of the Midgard canon products (see below) for another system converted to AGE System. [KQ Forum Thread]
The winner of the Classic Fantasy category will win a $10 gift certificate to RPGnow/DriveThruRPG.
The winner of of the Midgard category will win a 1-year PDF Subscription to Kobold Quarterly courtesy of Open Design.
The winner of of the Midgard category will win a 1-year PDF Subscription to Kobold Quarterly courtesy of Open Design.
Contest runs from March 1-31. Voting on the best monster runs from April 3-10. Winners to be announced on April 11.
Start practicing your “It’s Alive!” cry of victory and may the best demiurge win.
Rules:
- All monster conversions must be posted to the dedicated threads on the Kobold Quarterly forums (Classic Fantasy Monster Thread; Midgard Monster Thread).
- Include the link to the specific post with the final version of your monster in the comments below. Specify to which category you are submitting to. Only monsters linked to in the comments below will be entered into the challenge and become eligible to win.
- Classic Fantasy Monster entries may be drawn from classical literature, myth, legends, or from the System Reference Document. The idea is that these are drawn from public domain, non-copyrighted or IP-free sources. No monsters based on a copyrighted IP will be eligible to win. Also, note that entries drawn from the SRD do not in turn become open via the Open Game License as the AGE System is not an open system. The SRD is to serve as inspiration only for classic monsters from fantasy adventure gaming.
- Midgard Monster entries may be drawn from any of the following canonical Midgard sources published by Open Design: Zobeck Gazetteer (Print, PDF), Imperial Gazetteer (Print, PDF), Sunken Empires (Print, PDF), Dwarves of the Ironcrags (Print, PDF), Courts of the Shadow Fey (Print, PDF), Tales of Zobeck (PDF), Soldiers of Fortune (Print, PDF), KQ #1 to 16: Free City of Zobeck column (Print and PDF). You must have the original source material for the monster(s) you are converting as this will not be provided. All entries for the Midgard Monster category become the property of Open Design and may be used by Open Design in any of its projects.
- You may submit as many monsters as you want in either category.
- Got any further questions? Just ask!
Mar 02, 2011 @ 11:26:42
great to see this interest in AGE system by Open Design
Mar 02, 2011 @ 11:30:52
Wolfgang has been awesome, indeed. You should see the Midgard Patron forums, too; the AGE contingent is on fire, cranking out monster conversions, background ideas, magic system suggestions, etc.
Mar 04, 2011 @ 09:37:25
It’s Alive! « Kobold Quarterly
Mar 07, 2011 @ 02:14:11
Mar 08, 2011 @ 23:42:05
Medusa for the Classic Fantasy Monster category: http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=21981#21981
Mar 09, 2011 @ 19:18:42
There’s always room for Gelatinous Cube!
http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=22031#22031
Mar 09, 2011 @ 19:56:19
We were at the beach / Everybody had matching towels
Somebody went under a dock / And there they saw a rock
It wasn’t a rock / It was a rust monster!
[one of the greatest bass lines of all time plays]
http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=22035#22035
Mar 10, 2011 @ 17:51:13
I would think Gel Cubes and Rust monsters are pure Gygax (along with Beholders, and the other monsters he made out of the small toys he had bought).
Mar 10, 2011 @ 18:58:18
It’s too bad we can’t make Beholders. They’re quintessential fantasy RPG to me, for obvious reasons.
Mar 15, 2011 @ 12:16:22
I really wanted to make up some mind flayers, but they aren’t open.
Mar 10, 2011 @ 23:51:59
First two of the Midgard Monster entries are up! The dragons who haunt the deep reaches of the subterranean realms beneath Midgard are truly fierce creatures. Does your AGE-system hero have what it takes to defeat them?
First is Crag Drake from Dwarves of Ironcrags: http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=22111#22111
Mar 10, 2011 @ 23:54:33
And for those foolhardy adventurers who think they can best the Crag Drake, there’s a Cave Dragon nearby waiting to feast on their bones!
Young Cave Dragon from Imperial Gazetteer: http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=22112#22112
Mar 13, 2011 @ 19:58:18
More crazy creatures from the streets of Zobek and beyond for the Midgard portion of the AGE Monster Design Challenge.
First is the firegeist: http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=22274#22274
Mar 13, 2011 @ 20:00:08
But that’s not all. Order now and you can receive a mechanical soldier fit for all the diabolical plans of your mad geniuses.
I bring you the Clockwork Myrmidon: http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=22275#22275
Mar 14, 2011 @ 16:39:48
Added a generic Dragon to the classic monster thread.
http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=22321#22321
Still unsure of a couple aspects about it. Main thing I wanted was for it to be able to handle itself against a large number of heroes (hence the Uncanny Retribution power). I am the most unsure of its hit points mainly because I don’t want the fight to drag on (no pun intended) for too long, but I don’t want it to seem anemic either. Please let me know your thoughts.
JesterOC
Mar 21, 2011 @ 00:33:47
Jester,
You’re a Midgard patron, right? Go into the DA Bestiary Briar Patch thread and download some of the leveled up playtest characters I posted (should be on last page as of this posting). I think your dragon conversion looks good, but when assessing power levels it’s a good idea to ask what level of characters do you want the creature to be a challenge for.
I’m still waiting to see what the Set 2 monsters look like in final form before I make any judgments about the Open Design monsters I’ve converted so far, but just based on the level 10 characters I’ve built using the Set 2 playtest, I would say every monster I’ve developed, or seen developed, for DARPG so far is underpowered compared to a group of 10th level characters.
I haven’t decided what this means for monster design yet, though.
Good luck in the contest!
Mar 21, 2011 @ 14:25:12
Yes I’m a patron (although I have not visited the forums enough lately). Thanks for the playtest characters that should help me (and everyone else) make level appropriate monsters. I will check them out.
And of course good luck to you too.
JesterOC
Mar 21, 2011 @ 21:59:46
Just to be clear: I’m still basing my conversions on the DARPG Set 1 and Set 2 playtest monsters. Leveling up the playtest characters just makes me think that either the final versions of the Set 2 monsters will be tougher, or I’m missing something in how high-level (10th at this point) combat plays out in DARPG. Thus the playtest idea for the AGE conversions.
I wouldn’t change things much for the sake of the contest.
Mar 28, 2011 @ 00:22:36
Hydra for the Classic Fantasy Monster category:
http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=22858#22858
Mar 31, 2011 @ 11:46:45
One Last entry:
http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=23089#23089
The Brownie as a classic “monster”
Mar 31, 2011 @ 19:45:13
I’ve submitted a STIRGE!!!
http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=23127#23127
Mar 31, 2011 @ 19:46:20
Um, it’s a classic!
Apr 01, 2011 @ 01:13:01
Kobolds. Why’d it have to be kobolds?
http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?p=23134#23134
Apr 01, 2011 @ 11:24:43
Please note that with a few lucky rolls, you can go from a party facing one kobold to a party facing an infinite number of kobolds in one turn. This is a design feature, not a flaw.