Matters of Cosmic Power! Monsters, Minions, Pawns, Or The Management of Evil On The Table Top

I'm a bit late to the table with this blog entry but the last twenty four hours have been interesting to say the least. The fall out from Steve's phone call is still echoing across the table here. I've been on the phone with two of my players who may be co opted into becoming co dungeon masters for this new campaign. The problem remains with the scheduling on my end. Work has had me on the ropes.
That being said I've taken advantage of my time both on line & within my stacks to take a deeper look into demi gods.
Sometimes as much play happens off the table as on. The players get into & excited about a campaign. They begin talking about what's happening within the game at home, on the phone, etc. As a dungeon master that gets the creative juices flowing! So I've been working with the Primal Order rpg cap system  & reading through an old interview of  Peter Adkison by  Christopher Helton.
The idea here is that Primal equals cosmic or god power & within the mathematics of the Primal Order system it makes gods.



 Sounds simple & to a certain degree it is. The Adkinson interview really breaks down the ins & outs of a very simple summery of the set up of the Primal Order; "Where The Primal Order really sings is in how it makes clerical characters stand out as something interesting and unique, rather than being a magic-user with a different set of special effects. At the core of this is what the book calls Primal Energy. If you have ever read a Jim Starlin comic where Adam Warlock and/or Thanos monologued about using their cosmic powers, you have an idea of what Primal Energy is supposed to be. It is a fundamental energy in the universe that makes gods into gods. It gives gods their immortality, their godlike powers and it is what allows them to do things like cast mortal magic. It is also the Primal Energy of the gods that empowers clerics, letting them heal and do things like cast spells."Primal energy is used by deities as a "wrath of god" style of energy attack that no mortal protection can stop. Primal energy can also create shields that no mortal magics can penetrate. The idea behind primal energy is to come up with a mechanic that can make fantasy game gods into something more than just high powered characters. No matter how much they try, mortals can never take on primal energy to use as their own. The very nature of primal energy is what defines the divine in The Primal Order. Sort of like how Doctor Doom always failed in the end when he would steal the power of The Silver Surfer or Galactus or The Beyonder. There are energies that are just not meant to be contained by a mortal body. The primal energy mechanic is point-based, new gods start with a base primal energy of 100 points with which to empower their abilities, and to imbue their followers with powers and abilities. Primal energy is regenerated by deities, but it can also be replenished by worship of the deity or sacrifices to them. As gods become more "powerful" and do their equivalent of leveling up, they also can access more primal energy."

This same princples can also be applied to monsters, tomb guardians, etc. This brings me to Monsters of Myth & Legend which came out in 1984. According to the Wiki entry; "Monsters of Myth & Legend was written by Greg Gorden and Neil Randall, with a cover by Boris Vallejo, and was published by Mayfair Games in 1984 as a 96-page book". Add in primal characteristics & your ready to rock & roll for a Troll Lords Castles & Crusades game!


So just add in some primal energy to your favorite menace or monster & your ready to run! Well not exactly. The Monsters of Myth series had a really nice range of cultures that it drew from; "Monsters of Myth & Legend is a sourcebook play aid containing encyclopedic listings of dozens of creatures and deities to add to an existing fantasy campaign or to help designers in coming up with their own adventures. Norse and Greek mythologies are covered, along with the legends of Ireland, China, the Australian Aborigines, and the American Indians. Each entry includes physical descriptions, backgrounds, game statistics and hints on play. Also included as a thorough index, four pages of GM tables, and a bibliography of sources." And in '84 it was & to a certain extent is the bee's knees but old school gamers can rattle off stats & numbers of monsters right before a DM's eyes. The good ones know their mythologies & some even have copies of Chaosium's All of the World's Monsters series. 


Don't worry I've got a cure for this! The fact is that its easy to handle those knowledgable players! Troll Lord Games Amazing Adventures! Rpg has the Book of Powers  now take your favorite old school monster book & individualize the dungeon guardian monster with your own special characteristics.  No god in their right mind is going to use an off the shelf monster & neither should you.

Primal Order's Pawns The Opening Move contains some solidly done guidelines for creating up divine monsters! Combined the two books & good luck to even god level heroes & heroines!



Now I spoke yesterday about the 'mess' that DM Steve has left me in. Well, we've already got an artifact of Luz in play. Its going to be gathering minions for its 'god' from the Earth  that its been brought to & beyond. Already a demon hit squad is gathering to take out this world's heroes! Will they be up to the challenge or will this Earth fall to the clutches of Luz?!


Stay tuned we've got more coming up including when, what,  & where the invasions begin! Who will save this Earth from the clutches of evil!