30 Day Challenge, Part II

There are all kinds of problems with the “30 Day Challenge” questions.  One of them is that some of my answers shift over time.  For example, why did I not mention the ethereal filcher as a favourite aberration?  Because its lair is filled with stolen socks that don’t match, lost keys, glasses, and toys that fell behind the couch, it can actually be a pretty cool monster.  The “WotC-D&D Bias” of the questions is also pretty strong.

Let’s try and finish this up, though.

Day 18:  The Hound of Hirot.  Well, that was my immediate answer, but then I started to think about patrons in Dungeon Crawl Classics, which would effectively be immortals or outsiders.  That opens such a can of worms that I am not sure that I can answer that question effectively.  

Day 19:  That big mass of Sargasso in Crimson Tide.  Brilliant stuff, that.  Quite creepily done.

Day 20:  The Judoon, maybe.  Lots of other humanoids from Doctor Who.  Trying to determine a favourite humanoid is a pretty hard call, too.  There are so many interesting humanoids out there.  When I ran Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh as a DCC funnel, the goblins ended up herding geese and the gnolls whispered.  Minor changes like this make for interesting encounters.  In older D&D, I was always partial to the 1e Monster Manual bugbear.  But you want to choose between humanoids and fey?  Really?  My favourite fey-type would be the phouka or the hedley kow.  I am also partial to Jenny Greenteeth.

Day 21:  I am fully on board with Joseph Goodman in deciding that dragons should not be colour-coded to determine what their powers are.  Therefore, colour = random, and type = unique.

Day 22:  My favourite monster is whichever one is trying to chew on a PC’s face right at this moment.  But, really, if I have to choose, there are some purple slime monsters in Perils of the Sunken City that are enormous fun to read…even if my players never discovered what they are singing.

Day 23:  My least favourite monster is either the feebleblow flutterwing or the sillynamed doublespeak.

Day 24:  Really?  Favourite energy type?  Depends upon the time of day and who I am with, friend.  Currently, I’m being fuelled by coffee.  Black, no sugar.

Day 25:  Non-standard.  In the early days, the rope of climbing caught my fancy.  In Encyclopedia Magica, I discovered a stone ball that attracts birds, which I thought was cool.  Really, when it comes down to it, the hope is to keep magic unpredictable, with bonuses and penalties.  The item that forces you to choose whether or not it is worth using is ultimately more interesting, to my mind, that the one which is obviously optimal. 

Day 26:  In Dungeon Crawl Classics, characters in a 0-level funnel get mundane items based upon their occupation, including such things as a cow, or a bag of night soil.  These are fun, and require some creativity to use effectively.  They are often things that an adventurer would not have selected from a list.  BUT, if the question is to be taken as useful non-magical items, every party should have some rope, a few iron spikes, a pole or a staff, and maybe even a shovel.  It is amazing how often a shovel turns out to be useful.

Day 27:  One rolled randomly, using the DCC rules, for a funnel game, and then hopefully further.  Actually, a group of 3-4. 

Day 28:  Never say never again.  But my interest in dragonborn is close to zero…if playing in a game where that was an option, it is not one I would be likely to select.  But, again, never say never.

Day 29:  What number do I always seem to roll on a d20?  Let’s see.  “1” comes up about 5% of the time.  So does “2”.  And “3”.  And “4”… … … …

Day 30:  Either my brother, J., in high school, or Jesse Donahue in California.  Different styles, but both enormous fun.  Cheers!