Monster Scaling and Traits for Lore and Player Knowledge

Greetings, Acendians! We’re excited to showcase our Monster Scaling & Traits for you today. ​ The information in the guide below should illuminate how we create monsters, threats, and adversaries, and keep them accountable for both players and staff. By sharing this document with the public, we hope that it helps establish a sense of accountability on the fields of battle, so that we can reduce the amount of negative experiences with hidden knowledge.

We’re mostly speaking about the meta-play behind monster stats. As in most roleplaying games, knowing the stats of the enemy you face off against can be both wildly beneficial and rewarding, but also immersion-breaking. Furthermore, it opens a space for players and staff to clash over what exactly is acceptable within monster creation; which often result in hurt feelings, accusations of favoritism, or pointed jabs about metagaming. We’re hoping to dispel a lot of these feelings before they start. Eliminating frustrations behind unknown stats is, to us, a huge Return On Investment, as far as effort. By providing creation guidelines, both players and staff can be assured that the creatures roaming the countryside are well-crafted, balanced, and held accountable.

If, for whatever reason, you believe a creature breaks these guidelines, we want you to speak up. The best practice is to inform a staff member when the combat has slowed down, or the mod has ended.

We hope this document at least provides a serviceable frame of reference for creatures in the future. Last note: will not be giving out the direct numbers of creatures in our examples, nor releasing a full “monster manual” for players to peruse at-will. (Where’s the fun in having no mystery at all? Plus, we don’t want to steal the thunder from some players currently working in-game to craft such portfolios.)

Enjoy!

Important Concepts for this Document

● These monster rank traits are constants that apply to all creatures within Acendia. ● When encountering creatures, players can expect that they will fall into these rough categories of levels. ● Skills, abilities, or items will be needed to identify creature ranks when encountering them, but this guide is intended as an insight into the parameters of staff creature creation.

For ease of understanding, we’ll be using the Pyreborn as our example for these Ranks. These creatures are absolutely fair game for the future, so expect to see them roaming around at your local game.

Summoned by an unhinged druid adept in Candle magic, the Pyreborn are a kind of Undead that have been merged with dangerous Fire Elementals during their creation. The most common method to create Pyreborn is a gem-dusted funeral pyre. A druid interested in this usually sneaks into a funeral procession and throws the gem dust into the fire, then returns later to imbue the inert Pyreborn with elemental magic.

Rank 1 Traits

Rank 1 monsters are your fodder, your swarms, and your expendables. While armies and rulers often recruit low level creatures with promises of glory or power, these poor souls are usually thrown away, used to weaken or tire an opposing force. Rank 1 monsters can also be natural creatures of the world that are young or inexperienced.

● Cannot exceed 25 Body. ● Cannot swing more than 3 damage. ● No more than one skill and one spell of rank 1 or 2.

Rank 1 Example:​ P​ yreborn Recruits

Fresh from their rebirth in fire, Pyreborn Recruits are the endless swarm of smoking bodies that accompany Pyreborn armies. Making up the majority of the Pyreborn threat, Recruits are often reckless and bloodthirsty, driven by instinct and hunger rather than intelligence. They use their superior numbers to overcome their enemies. A common technique among the mindless recruits is piling their smoldering bodies upon a defender’s fortifications, igniting the material beneath them. Their lack of self-preservation also makes Recruits ideal candidates for shock troops, hell-bent on overwhelming their foes.

?? Body. Swings ? fire or ? decay; may switch at will. One rank 2 fire spell Receives double damage from Glacis magic or ice effects.

Costuming Pyreborn Recruits: Covered in black soot, and dressed in rags. Simple white ​ beaters should suffice, and NPCs should hiss constantly, to simulate the slow-burning flesh of Recruits.

Rank 2 Traits

Rank 2 monsters are your rank-and-file creatures. As trained soldiers, captains of the guard, mercenary leaders, etc, Rank 2 threats are more well-trained than their Rank 1 counterparts. Rank 2 threats are difficult adversaries on their own, but when surrounded by a pack of Rank 1 creatures, they can be downright deadly.

● Cannot exceed 200 body. ● Cannot swing more than 5 damage. ● Access to skills or abilities totalling 50 build points. ● No more than 50 MP and rank 2 spells. ● Custom skills are allowed, but must be reviewed before entering game space.

Rank 2 Example: Soot Soldier

Trained warriors in life, Soot Soldiers are the backbone of a Pyreborn army. While they retain little of their time before Undeath, Soot Soldiers do remember how to effectively kill their opponents with a combination of unnatural strength and battle-honed techniques.

??? body Swings ? fire or ? decay; may switch at will. Parry x ? Ignore Pain x ? Break limb x ? Magic resistance x ? Healed by fire damage. Receives double damage from Glacis magic or ice effects.

Costuming Soot Soldiers: Similar to Pyreborn recruits, except armed with real weapons and ​ dressed in armor. Soot-stains and burns are still prevalent, but Soot Soldiers do not need to hiss constantly; instead they should be giving commands to Recruits via wordless shouts and grunts.

Rank 3 Traits

Rank 3 monsters are where the threats move from common to uncommon. Similarly, the danger of these threats compared to the lower Ranks spikes drastically. Furthermore, these creatures are a sign of a more senior power pulling the strings; something that is absent from mindless hordes and their battlefield captains. Rank 3 creatures represent middling-authority, and more power than the average adventurer. Alone, Rank 3 threats can be menacing, but when coupled with subordinates, they become terrifying and life-threatening. These threats usually have access to special skills, effects, or gear that may pose a serious problem to its adversaries.

● Cannot exceed 400 body. ● Cannot swing more than 9 damage. ● Can have limited access to spells and abilities. ● No more than 100 magic points and 100 build in skills. ● Custom skills and effects are allowed, but must be reviewed before entering game space.

Rank 3 Example: Ashwalkers

??? Body Swings ? fire or ? decay; may switch at will. ?? build spent in War. ?? magic points to spend on rank ?-? fire spells. Healed by fire damage. Receives double damage from Glacis magic or ice effects.

Death Curse — Upon death, curses the player that killing blowed it to a fiery death. If the curse ​ is not dispelled by the next period change, the character dies, exploding into fire and dealing ?? fire damage to all creatures within a ?? foot radius.

Champions — If a Cinderlord is present, Ashwalkers will be compelled after every three swings ​ to travel to the Cinderlord and strike the Cinderlord with fire damage in order to heal them. They may then reengage players in combat.

Costuming Ashwalkers: Ashwalkers should bear resemblance to a traditional reaper; hooded ​ in dark robes, and imposing. Additionally, they should wear similar charred rags, wear some armor, and wield real weapons. All Ashwalkers should wear a red glowstick around their neck. Rank 4 Traits

Rank 4 Monsters are always summoned by a ritual or event that sparks some primordial change. Monsters that are Rank 4 can only enter play after a specific ritual of some sort ​ has been performed in-game by an NPC or PC. If performed by an NPC, players will be given ​ a warning and an opportunity to prevent this ritual or event from occurring. Failing this attempt gives life to these creatures. Creatures born in these kinds of crucibles can often threaten a whole region simply by existing; when supported by an army or dedicated cult, Rank 4 threats become unstoppable and threatening enough to strike down a whole civilization, if not stopped. Often, these threats will be a weaving of multiple powers, as bound forces are stronger than those left separated.

Rank 4 Example: Cinderlords

When a Pyreborn is created, it usually receives a single portion of the funeral pyre’s power. However, Cinderlords are the exception; they require the use of a mass pyre, to which dozens or hundreds of people are sacrificed. Whereas Recruits or Soot Soldiers are often opportunistic risings, a Cinderlord is always intended. They represent the pinnacle of Pyreborn power, and threaten a whole region with its power. Cinderlords embody both the strength of Fire and the resilience of Undeath.

??? Body Swings ?? fire or ?? Decay; may switch at will. Once every ?? swings can swing for ??. Access to all Candle magic, and can swing these spells once every ? swings. Immune to damage other than Glacis spells or ice-based effects. Half damage from divine or pure magic damage. Heals from fire damage. Surrounded by ?? Ashwalkers. When it has received ??? damage, it will explode in a ?? ft radius that knocks the closest ?? characters into critical; everyone else within the radius takes ??? fire damage. Cinderlords recover from this damage and return immediately with full stats. When it dies a second time, the nearest ?? players drop into Critical from decay damage and it is finally killed..

Costuming Cinderlords: Red claws, with black soot smeared on them, ideally red/orange LED ​ ​ fairy lights wrapped around the players hands. Plastic or real chains wrapped around its torso.. Throw Smoke bombs to herald its arrival. Rank 5 Traits

Rank 5 threats represent the peak of danger to civilizations. Often a unique creature of mythical power, Rank 5 threats are truly a second apocalypse for those unlucky enough to be alive for its birth. In some cases, a Rank 5 threat can be a region- or town-wide effect brought on by the presence of a number of Rank 4 threats or a single unique creature capable of producing something cataclysmic. The example given is when several Rank 4 threats have assembled on the stage. Should these threats ever coalesce in a single area, the effects of their convergence can be catastrophic. At any costs, adventures, scoundrels, merchants, nobles, peasants, and all those who wish to live should work together to defeat a Rank 5 threat, or face oblivion.

Rank 5 Example: The Confluence of Immolation

It is unlucky to be alive to see a single Cinderlord in one’s lifetime. To live to see The Confluence of Immolation is to be so unlucky as to see three.

When a trio of Cinderlords surround a town and pool their collective powers, the following event is called “The Confluence of Immolation”. Any town, being, or speck of life caught in its wrath is subject to a warping of Candle-magic-laden energies. Candle mages that have studied the Confluence attest to being empowered beyond belief while inside, but terrified to use the power, lest it consume themselves as well as their foes. As Pyreborn are immune to flames of all kinds, those Candle mages left the town, and became its only survivors.

The Confluence of Immolation has only happened a handful of times, in history: four times during the course of God War, and once since the Fall. Each time, a region was brought to its knees and summarily burned apart, like a funeral burning of the Pyreborn’s creation.

Despite its terrible nature, there are a select few who crave another Confluence; it is rumored that powerful weapons and artifacts can only be forged in a Confluence’s flames, and that some derelict items could be brought back to power through a Confluence’s raw energy. All those living claim such a venture to be madness, and many who try to summon the Confluence end up burning upon their own ambition.

When three or more Cinderlords are present in a region or town, they will be compelled to surround it and begin their ritual to summon the Confluence. If they are able to each arrive at their ritual destinations successfully, the three Cinderlods will empower the surrounding area's Candle magic or fire effects from any source, increasing its damage by 100.