d20radio.com

This is Chronicle's ongoing supplemental for the Monster Mash segment.
Soon it will be properly fleshed out with a more polished and complete presentation!

Episode 4 - Beholder and Oread
Episode 6 - Hook Horror and Ephemeral Swarm
Episode 7 - Cerebrilith and Mind Flayer
Episode 8 - Sylph, Shaedling and Banshrae
Episode 9 - Byakhee and Umber Hulk
Episode 10 - The Abishai + ToC
Episode 11 - Glastig and Warbound Impaler
Episode 12 - Boneleaf and Mi-Go
Episode 14 - War Troll and Tomb Spider

When can we expect #10 of the monster mash?

Not too sure if I like the upcoming change, I like the monster conversions and think they will be more useful the encounters. But time will tell.

I feel the same apprehension. I like the monster conversions a lot, but the podcast has been so well done that I'm more than willing to wait and see what the guys produce.

Fear not fellas, Mark will still be putting his gift of conversion and crunch to the task for you each episode!
Instead of just going over the stat-block, we plan to incorporate his monsters into a full blown encounter.

As always, we'll see how it goes and what you think about the changes...

I liked the encounter bit done on podcast 11. I will try to fit it in my game in the next upcoming sessions after it gets posted.

011:Monster Mash

I think I may place a Glaistig Mind-bender (sorcery levels depending on party level and going with elemental (water) instead of fey bloodline) at the waterfall location in book one of, "Legacy of Fire" just in case they explore that location. It will probably be accompanied by an electric eel (her familiar with improved familiar feat), a dire eel (depending on party level) and a charmed gnoll (with warrior levels depending on party) that it's saving for dinner. Since the Glaistig has a steady diet of gnolls it's probably not hungry and may be more informative or amorous... though it may be nice not having to bite through all that gnoll hair to get a meal for once. Decisions decisions, perhaps all would work.... Hmmm, a little light conversation, then dinner and a date or visa a versa.

I'd probably go with the LG, "The Shrouded Shores of Abanfyl" method of alerting the Glaistig with a horn on a rocky outcropping in the pool of the waterfall (I ran that one three times).

Also a small cave system behind the waterfall (like in ,"The Revenge of Rusak") where the gnoll would be happily waiting for his best friend in the world (beguiling song, hypnotism+suggestion (and if she has levels in sorcery) charm turning our gnolls brain to obedient mush). For a kicker my little glaistig could be keeping the gnoll alive by feeding it the previous gnoll (prestidigitation helping there). Thus if the PC's kill it, it would raise as a ghoul or ghast later.

Oh the possibilities... Post, post, post the glaistig please.

FYI: On page 29 of, "Howl of the Carrion King" there is a map with a spot marked falls and that is where this encounter would be placed. Most likely they will go there at 5th level perhaps on the way up the House of the Beast. Since it's there I'd also make an encounter for the "Ruined Fort", Most likely go with a worldworks four story (70') tower and make it simply a watch tower with an out building that the gnolls and others occupy in weekly shifts, watching the valley floor.

We're still working on the whole Encounter Laboratory idea; obviously, something like this is highly dependent upon the .pdf as the released encounter to satisfy your expectations.

In other words, this is more of a printed product than it is a verbal podcast piece I think. Certainly, just as much a pdf as verbal, at any rate. So we need feedback on the pdf as well please.

We'll try and get it all up ASAP and I'm sure the concept will be improved and modified on a going forward basis as we continue with the concept. Please provide us with as much feedback as you can so that we can improve the MM/EL and make it as helpful as possible to you all.

_________________
.Robert

The pdf is awesome! Thanx for doing this.
However, it would be cool, if you could also insert the source of the monster.
That way, I maybe would be able (if I have the source) to check out an ilustration of the monster.

Sometimes the best illustrations are just on Google images. For example the glaistig from page 60 of the MM III is just a beckoning woman in the water (could be nymph, nereid or a shape-shifted nixie). But if you Google it you will find 2-3 good images of a Glaistig. Most really are just women with their legs covered, but some show the cloven hooves. Actually, with a glaistig your really just looking for a beautiful woman in the water so I may just hunt down some images from http://www.deviantart.com, Luis Royo or Boris Vallejo. If your players can't see the cloven hooves then it would be very difficult to identify a glaistig for what she truly is and your players will be thinking, "Could be nymph, nereid, a shape-shifted nixie or..."

Oh and I agree the source book and page would be helpful...

Updated for Episode 012 goodness!

Sorry for the delay.

Question: What about adding a lore paragraph for the creatures, is that getting into copyright infringement? I have most books, but not all and was just wondering why you didn't include the lore section.

One other thing I would like to see (not that your no busy enough - working for free no less) is a knowledge check results table. When I see those listed in the d20psrd it makes my GMing so much easier. I typically go with 10 + CR and you know traits related to the, "creature type", +5 next creature type and once they exhaust the creature types then I dole out more of the meat of the monster. Allowing players to pick and choose what knowledge they want to know (like we tended to do in LG) is a bit too meta-gaming for me. I think those tables help to underscore that you can't do that type of thing anymore.

2 cents.

We've been using DC = 15+CR for the first "weakness" or special ability, for every 5 you beat the DC gives you another weakness/ability. I suspect my players are more interested in fighting the monster than anything else, so that seems to be what they want to know. I usually give them something even if they don't make the DC, but then it's more things like how fast they are or the general attack routine (claw/claw/bits, but you have to watch for the tail as well, etc).

The DC varies also - 10+CR for relatively common monsters, 20+CR for things like one of the monsters in Rivers Run Red, which was listed as being "incredibly rare and legendary" (as well as originally being from Tome of Horrors III, which none of had even heard of).

I'm not sure of the legality of quoting the lore stuff - in many of the past cases, there hasn't been one so I'd have to make it up.

Oops.

By lore section, I thought you meant the lore table, something like

DC Result
10 The Foo monster is an aberrration that lives in swamps.
15 It blargs on people when it gets excited. This causes fire damage as well as loss of confidence.
20 The Foo monster secretly pines after pop stars, and it's treasure mostly consists of old vinyl records.

If you meant the monster description - I'm still not sure of the legalities. I've often quoted the special ability descriptions where they're unique, although even there I've tried to put it in my own words.

Any tentative schedule on when the Monster Mash/Encounter Lab for Episode 15 will be up? I've got a party poking around south of Varnhold.