Humanoid hero types

[GRWelsh]

Something else I was working on was write ups for humanoid hero types, or exceptional individuals beyond what is listed in the MM. The first issue of DRAGON Magazine that I ever bought was #63 (July 1982) which included humanoid gods of the kobolds, goblins and hobgoblins as well as a new undead monster -- the shoosuva -- to ally with gnolls. I also later found the prior article on the gods of the orcs in issue #62 (June 1982). These articles were written by Roger Moore and illustrated by Jim Holloway. I loved the art and enjoyed reading them at the time, but later I got to thinking that if they had been humanoid hero types instead of gods they'd be a lot more usable. The kobold demigod Dakarnok got me thinking about this because he only has 65 hp, is AC 4, does 5-11 hp per hit, has MR 15%, can only be hit by +1 or better weapons and has a special hide in shadows ability. He is perfect for challenging a mid level party. In last week's game my players thought they were fighting the kobold god because I plopped down a lizard humanoid figure to represent the kobold leader who would have been about 8' tall to scale. This prompted me to write up some more humanoid hero types that are beyond the chiefs and bodyguards in the MM but still below god level.

[grodog]

I was just thinking about demoting them to quasi-deities, perhaps, in another discussion somewhere online.

Allan.

[GRWelsh]

Yes Allan, that's pretty much what I was thinking of doing as well, or taking inspiration from those articles and doing my own write ups of humanoid hero types. I think back in the 1970's and early 80's before everything was so rigidly defined this sort of thing was more common and DMs exercised more creativity. I remember Gene having a 16th level fighter hobgoblin hero named Rub O Gob "Mightiest of Hobs" from his Horned Society notes. That's the sort of thing I want -- the occasional superior humanoid who can surprise and challenge player characters.

[geneweigel]

Yeah, I have hardcore humanoids all over. I had this valley, on the other side of the mountains where the Skulldon dungeon is, that had "heroic" humanoids with multiple branched enclaves of their types. They are hiding from gigantic Skulldon Dungeon rejects by day So most players never want to "invade" the upper areas. I later imported the "big gobs" to Bone March and the Pomarj. I restored them back to that area after I updated the map. Another humanoid zone, that I have is the wastelands to the south of the big city where it goes all the way down to "drow levels" with endless varieties of humanoids with big statted leaders.

[GRWelsh]

One thing I like about your approach, Gene, is that you have so many original humanoid monsters that players don't know what they're dealing with -- which is especially good if you have veteran players who've read all of the 1st edition books and modules over the years. I think back in the 70's DMs were more willing to take this approach prior to everything getting so well defined. I remember noticing in B2 that the orc chiefs were slightly different and one had 3 HD but the other had 4 HD and did +2 damage "due to his strength and skill." And the huge hobgoblin with the whip as a special attack was interesting. That got me to thinking that what is presented in the MM is just a template or baseline and there can be exceptional individuals. I don't often invent new humanoid races but I generally don't tell players what they're facing, either. I simply describe what they see and hear and let them guess. Humanoids from different areas or tribes can look significantly different. I think an important part of D&D is not always knowing what one is facing -- at least not with certainty.

[geneweigel]

The "Gob Men" in my campaign are probably the only stat recognizable "new" race because they are a leader race that comes in any stat variety like people but are usually classed. I'm going to put them in something sooner or later. They were born from people complaining that they didn't look like orcs and they were too big to be goblins.