The Unique Monster Feel
So was playing Diablo earlier today and reflecting on the differences and similarities of computer gaming and tabletop roleplaying. I tend to believe that I can bring more things from video games to tabletop roleplaying, than what is really appropriate. But they people who make video games really do figure some things out quite expertly. So for sure there are things to take from there. This time my thoughts centered on what I’ll call the Unique Monster Feel, or the UMF [pronounced oomph!].
To me, a good example of managing to give enemies some real UMF is (I consider this so minor spoilers that they’re not actually spoilers) goblins in rise of the runelords. Singing, chaotic, erratic behavior. Recurrent goblin encounters really give a feel for things. And in my experience, player groups adapt. We scare the goblins off with their superstitions, we manipulate them and appeal to their greed or lust for power or superstitions. Etc. We also get impressed when we meet a goblin who has his/her shit together, because that clearly separates them while they still may carry a bit of the same UMF.
An opposite example would be another iconic enemy, Gray Maidens. Elite, tough soldiers. What separates them from common thugs is possibly that they don’t ambush you, they don’t act erratically, and they don’t run away. Not much UMF there? Might be cool enough still, but:
In my opinion, fewer and fewer enemies actually have any real UMF as a campaign goes on, because the standard strategy of keeping AC high while killing enemies will win, while save-or-suck spells are rare enough (and succeed rarely enough) that you don’t have to adapt to them. It’s just damage out vs damage in, fights get quicker and more lethal the higher level which means it’s even more about damage out vs damage in.
Furthermore, just in general, pathfinder (which is in this regard a very, very old game) does not offer the tools to give monsters any real UMF. A dragon will do elemental damage and attack many, many times. Half of all high level encounters are with an outsider-style creature which has some attacks, some defenses, and will cast a spell or two if given the opportunity. It’s nothing you can or should adapt much to, apart from maybe breaking through DR and resistances.
Diablo, on the other hand, has me going OH WHY AM I ENCOUNTERING ONLY THIS MOB TYPE!!! And then I have to adapt my whole game plan to the projectiles which will easily kill me. I have cultists summoning huge monsters, and monsters stunning me to death unless I dodge well. Diablo is of course a perfect example of “just kill the thousand mobs before they kill you” but read with these glasses: in the most exciting and inspiring times in a game such as Diablo, it gives you a good feel for the different kinds of mobs you face, they are quite different from each other, they pose very different threats and demand different positioning and damage output from you.
- Now, do you as a player often experience that pathfinder enemies have UMF?
- What are your best tricks as a DM to give monsters and npcs UMF? And while story and performance is interesting, I’m interested most in how you get this into a feel in combat situations.
- Is my view of pathfinder too pessimistic? Do we have good tools for the UMF?