So, I had an idea for a limited CR setting.
That’s is
one where the number of higher Challenge Rating foes decrease the more powerful,
they are. Now most of these sorts of ideas tend to be very focused, a selection
of monsters meant to fit a theme, usually mythological. But by applying it to
all of them I hope to see what interesting concepts shake out of the exercise.
I’ll be
using the Pathfinder 1E Bestiary 1, since that’s about as good a collection of
concentrated OGL monsters as you can get.
The idea
goes like this: There should be only one of each monster above CR 20 because there
is only one Tarrasque.
Therefore, there should be 10 of the next range below and further down. I had
originally debated whether to divide the 20 or so CRs into blocks of 4 or 5 but
settled on the latter for neatness. I assume there is no limit to the number of
monsters at CR ½ or under. Which overruled another idea to have 100,000 for CR ¼
to ½.
CR 21+: 1 of Each
CR 16-20: 10 of Each
CR 11-15: 100 of Each
CR 6-10: 1,000 of Each
CR 1-5: 10,000 of Each
This immediately lends itself to a Tolkien-style setting.
Not one based on choice, but simple because the two dominate forms of humanoids
are the playable set, known as Demi-Humans in prior editions and the Orcs and
Goblins.
I started by going through them alphabetically, but gave up when I realised how many fall under animal or one-off humanoid. Only writing entries when something interesting cropped up.
Aboleth - CR 7 so only a 1000, if there were any more once,
they probably weren't many more than that. A Leviathanic civilisation.
Leviathanic in this case referring to Hobbes, as each intelligent
creature is its own body politic, self-sufficient and not inherently needing
each other except for mating.
Same for Intellect Devourers.
Angles - CR 14, 16 and the Solar at 23.
The number of Angels in existence is 111, and there is 1
Solar, who is the second most powerful individual creature in the setting. Not
just the founder of cults but a being whole religions are built around.
Animated objects range from CR 1/2 to 11. So, expect only a
few to be named foes but everyone knows about them, even if they never saw one.
Archeons are less so, CR 2, 4 and 14 means they are the heavenly
host that fill the background scenes of illuminated scrolls, with only the 100
Trumpet Archons possibly being listed in grimoires with names.
Azata are just kind of there, just like in regular
Pathfinder filling a planar slot. There are enough to fill an afterlife but
again, only the top hundred at CR 13 would be known.
If any has used them as a major plot point, I would like to
know.
Barghests come in multitudes and probably tie to Goblin
lineages and tribes where they form a kind of evil ancestor/fiendish spirit.
There are only 10,000 Goblin Dogs so maybe the mark of a chief is the ownership/companionship
of one. To be a king is to have a warren of these to outfit a calvary squadron
independent of Worgs.
Lots of humanoids in the 10,000 category. Much more likely
to be weirdos who have travelled long distances to sit in dungeon environments
or more interestingly, there are homelands where they concentrate.
Boggard Swamp isn't just a big swamp but a region where
nearly all 10,000 of the nasty toads dwell and defend. Makes recruiting or dissuading
them much more of a plot point, if the villain is seeking to raise an army from
each homeland.
Elves and Gnomes probably gave up a lot to become playable
characters, there are enough fey, fey-like beings or spirit written up as physical
monsters (Naga for example) to fill several kingdoms, but they suffer the same
limiting factor as non-playable humanoids where the hard limit restricts them
to world-wide bands or a single region as Their Land
Things in the 10,000 categories portray a mosaic ecology,
where you only get so many of each medium or largish mammal and the next region
over it's a raptor or a giant spider occupying the same ecological niche.
Something is supressing the spread of these monsters or supplanting them.
For some stupid reason D&D 3E decided a non-magic wolf
of normal size was a threat on its own for four, armed people.
But big animals and oozes are much rarer, Cave Bears,
non-Raptor dinosaurs, fake-dragons and elephants are only a thousand each.
Either very rare or found in very specific and fragile environments.
Non-earthly ecologies tend to fit around this number as
well, a thousand of each monster. Maybe the world is quite desolate, where
monsters and people are few and far between.
While most dinosaurs are in the 1,000-creature range,
Deinonychus and Pteranodon are CR 3. Meaning they feed into the widely spaced mosaic
ecology or it implies there is a lost world region if not scattered.
Didn't remember that Cyclops Ogres and Trolls fall under CR
5, so there are enough that everyone will probably encounter them but few will
see them without adventuring. Since 10,000 across the world is still sparse.
But still 10 times as likely as a chimera. Manticores are CR 5 meaning them
show up relatively frequently as well.
Likewise, there being a limit of 10,000 doppelgangers and
other gotcha monster like Were-Rats and Were-Wolves is interesting. From the
description they are immediate threats any community, yet even regular D&D
and Pathfinder tend to use them sparingly. Everyone knows there is only so
many, so there is unlikely to be one here. But there are maybe 10,000
settlements (maybe an appreciative fraction) where they lurk, stirring up
trouble. Or they are like Lamia and Medusa (1,000) and hide out sometimes in
the wilderness like Eberron Shifters, with their own secret codes and
societies.
While there are only a thousand horses suitable for riding,
there are an unlimited number of ponies and riding dogs. Travel is at a bit of
a slow pace.
Most demons types are only a 1000 to 100 of each (excluding
Dretch and Quasits at 10,000), enough to fill obscure and blasphemous tomes but
too many for general circulation. But most of the iconic ones are CR 15-20,
meaning the 10 are certainly referenced by name and a GM might want to assign
one when such a creature comes up.
Balor Lords are called out as being CR 21-25 with unique
Demon Lords at CR 26 or greater. Since the rules stated that Anything above CR
20 was unique, it means perhaps you skip the Demon Lords of the abyss at all
and just have ruling Balor Lords, who do
not deign to leave their plane of power except to bring about the end of
creation.
One hundred Retrievers means those are precious status symbols
that filter down to lesser powers. Assume each Balor Lord and regular Balor has
one and have the rest pop up wherever.
Everything that applies to Demons applies to Devils. With
the exception that Bearded Devils, being CR 5 form a clearly distinct Legion of
the Hell vibe and witnessing their marching might convey the scale, despite
being 10,000 max. Hellhounds being 10,000/1,000 in number means you would see
them mixed in for pretty much everything.
The whole planar ecology is small and mostly in the 1,000 to
100 range per species. They are immortal creatures, each with a set range and a
set prey.
Half-Celestials and Half-Fiends might be a more common foe
for cults to use where another game would use summoned monsters. Just because
their CR+1 to +3 more easily allows them to fit under the limit.
Kytons (Pathfinder's Not-Chain Devils) are CR 6 and get
thrown far into the background as a mere 1,000 monstrous freaks. Sprinkle them
as creepy cult leaders or an adventure for thwarting their collective schemes.
Just know that a concentrated effort to get rid of them from the players might succeed.
Dragons are interesting.
While they have a fairly linear growth pattern, moving up a
CR band each major growth stat block, it means that dragons are broadly OK with
losing 90% of their cohort each stage of their lives until there are only 10
remaining. The Ancient Dragons of their colour.
On the face of it, the greatest of the dragon species should
be known far and wide, sine there are the 100 greatest dragons whose hunger and
plans could threaten empires and obliterate kingdoms. Song and grimoire
dedicated to their history and cataloguing their actions and weaknesses. Even
for the 1000 Elder dragons. With the frequency that D&D-derived games use
dragon gods, these 100 could be the mortal instruments of speakers for them, Bahamut
and Tiamats’ cardinals or apostles.
But even within the pattern worldbuilding wrinkles appear.
Red and Gold Dragons Wyrmlings and Young Dragons start in
the CR 5-10 range, a mere 1,000 and Red Dragons stay that way as Young Dragons.
Maybe Red Dragons disperse and though tough enough for their birth environment,
find themselves outmatched as they approach maturity but are not yet powerful
enough to take on full adults. Gold Dragons bulge out at the young and adult
stages, keeping to 100 of each. Maybe they are just so powerful that when they
seek out danger, they take on only the greatest challenges.
Silver Dragons also start at CR 6 and are Young Dragons at
CR 10. Considering their natural shapeshifting, the 1000 of each cohort are probably
nested within humanoid settlements until they reach maturity, they have to
struggle with the rest.
White Dragons are a different set all together. Their
Ancient Dragons top out at the 1,000 mark. Meaning there is 10,000 Young White
Dragons and another 1,000 Adults. Substantially outnumbers all other dragon
colours.
What implications do we draw from this?
That to most of the inhabitants, a dragon’s breath is cold?
That the mountain tops and frozen wastes are dominated by hundreds of
comparatively weaker and dumber dragons? That most heroes have slain a white
dragon in their lives, and it's seen less of a triumph than a milestone?
The arbitrary limit I imposed of choosing the number by the
monster entry CR also explains the mosaic ecology. As there are so many dragon
entries, the number of dragons increases compared to all other animals. The
majority of higher trophic positions in the ecology, the apex predators, are
filled with dragons. Young Dragons gorging themselves for the next fight or
Adult and Ancient Dragons (mostly White Dragons) dominating whole regions to
feed their Leviathanic existence.
Half-Dragons defaulting to CR 7 means there are maybe 100 of
each colour if split evenly. So very rare and if there is a dragon religion,
following the words of the Ancient Dragon council(s), they might serve as a
caste or one-off creature made for a purpose.
The 100 Crag Linnorms and the 10 more other each of the
other two are everything I just wrote about dragons but more concentrated. Like
how Golarion has Linnorm Kings, where Vikings only pick a king who has slain
such a beast. Here, there are Linnorm Emperors, Brytenwalda who can meet a
"Dragon Emperor" face to face. Or they are just exceptionally nasty
creatures which are the doom of many proper dragons and dwell in the north,
maybe the White Dragon's natural foes.
A 1,000 Driders means something, an exclusive process as
punishment or reward, but rarely given. There are 10,000 Drow Nobles. 10 great
houses more like Hindu Varna where they form sub-castes or semi-independent
tribes or 100 houses of large extended families?
Maybe split the difference and give the Drow a little
flavour by having both, one for each civilisation of dark elves.
Dryads, Nymphs and elementals (including stuff like
Invisible Stalkers, Mephits and other elemental outsiders) are interesting. The
arbitrary limit means there are only so many places magically charged to house
such monsters outside their planes. Elementals cross the CR 10 mark as Elder
Elementals, meaning the 100 or so of each should have had their identities
listed in a tome.
Special attention must be pointed out to the Froghemoth at
CR 13, a 100 and no more roam the earth and since they came from Expedition to
the Barrier Peaks as aliens, it seems fitting to make them such again, terrible
beasts brought to the setting by some cosmic force and now strike terror in the
lands.
100 Devourers. 1,000 Ghosts. 1,000 Mohrg. 10,000 Ghouls. 100
Liches. 10,000 Mummies. 10,000 Skeleton Champions and the same again for each
skeleton variant. 1,000 Spectre. 1,000 Vampires (10,000 Spawn). 10,000 Wights.
10,000 Wraiths and 1,000 Dread Wraiths.
The undead are numerous and probably one of the most common
type of monster the CR imposes on a setting, not that implies every graveyard
has one or two of them. But there must be ancient cities and lost crypts filled
to the brim with them or emptied out to serve as armies of the dead by
necromancers.
The limited number of higher-tier undead suggest that there
is a finite amount of negative energy on the material plane. And most of it is
bound up with the greater undead, the Liches who might have ruled or still do
rule an empire. Like the Tomb Kings from Warhammer. You could even use the WFB
4E+ idea of Vampires vs Mummies by having the 1,000 Vampires be an
alchemical/ritual splinter group, one which preserve more of their bodies at a constant
cost in blood.
That might be their MAD doctrine to the mortals, do not destroy
us or the number of undead in the world will increase. It could also be taken
that maybe the ways to make undead are lost arts except to them. It's a very
different setting if every Ghoul and Mummy has a serial number made of hieroglyphics
marked on its arm or torse.
Without the binding magic of the long-forgotten kings or
priests, the dead remain spirits or mindless skeletons/zombies. If you want to
make the undead lords entirely bad, maybe they preserve the ritual that allows
spirits to manifest on the plane itself.
The Shadows, Spectres and Wights are a special problem.
While they have always been an issue due to their ability to accelerate their
numbers and overwhelm a setting, the low number of monsters, most of whom are
low CR/HD made this a bigger setting issue.
Assuming the power limit is essential unless they drift off
to the Negative Plane quickly. The undead can create more of themselves, but
the CR limits mean once they hit the cap, they lose the ability, merely killing
the target.
Though Yellow Musk Creepers are not undead, they have the
same issue and at CR 2, are relatively plentiful for a monster. But the CR
limit might just be the carrying capacity of whatever limited environment they
find themselves competing in.
There are 100 each for Cloud and Storm Giants and a 1000
each of the rest. Still just about fall under the banner of humanoids, with
their small bands of seperate homelands, just scaled up. But expect the more
friendly giants to be miffed if you don't know their name or who their
relatives are.
Gibbering Mouthers are very common for a monster at CR 5,
bubbling up from the deeps, spun off the 10 Shoggoths who restless pace the
lower strata or lie beneath some forgotten realm. Or shoggoths are the final stages
of Gibbering Mouthers, what happens when the monster learns placidity.
Golems are rare and there are only 10 Iron Golems in the
world, maybe the secret is lost. Iron Cobras might be their replacements at CR
2-3.
There are 10 Krakens and they rule the deep. Cults serve
them since their domains, if not their names are known.
10,000 Nightmares but only 100 Cauchemar Nightmares. The
evil Shadowfaxs.
100 phoenixes at CR 15 probably means they keep all their
special symbolism. Maybe individuals have regional distinctions that locals use
in their depictions. Birdwatchers track genealogies. Similarly 100 purple worms
mean the dwarves and sages know them all and their locations. Killing one is a
big deal for the setting though doable by a band of heroes with
"only" CR 12.
Weirdly, a 1000 Rakshasas mean they are substantially fewer
in number than their real-life mythological counterparts. No doubt they all
have monikers passed down through the ages. But still as many as required to
have them appear as foes without being setting shaking.
100 Ropers mean those areas of the underground are clearly
marked or widely estimated.
Even the base game says there is only one Tarrasque. And on
the material plane it is the most power force. At CR 25, only the Balor Lords
are greater and they never leave their realm. Only the Solar and the armies of
the church or the might of the dragons could force it back to sleep.
At CR 1/2, there are unlimited numbers of Tengu, when some
of the specialised races of playable characters like Svirfneblin (Deep Gnomes)
hit the 10,000 limit at CR 1.
A 1,000 Treants means there is one Fangorn Forest alike or
only a few in any major woodland.
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