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Monsters
and Their Uses
By Cherub bobT
Well, I am sure
that we have all played through many adventures and have at least
once come across a monster that just would not go away. A good scenario
design is not always about creating great maps with lots of land
challenges, it can sometimes use monsters and warriors to wreck
havoc on the player. Designing a scenario that balances these invasions
is where the challenge and beauty of it comes into play. Monsters
have a role in any good scenario, and should not be used unless
they have a purpose. I have run across adventures that pit the player
against wave after wave of military strikes, and then toss in a
few monsters and angry Gods to totally frustrate the player. This
is not good adventure design. Players must always have an out somewhere.
Monsters come
in all shapes and sizes, and now with the addition of Poseidon,
they also fly. So in order to get things to work out just right,
you must plan your monster invasions in such a manner that they
have a workable effect on the player's goals and thoughts.
One of the
first things you must do when planning monsters, is to place them
in an area of the map that will not later be populated with housing
or other structures. This sort of planning will prevent monsters
from appearing in the middle of housing blocks or palaces and sanctuaries,
and will give the player a chance to defend.
Always make
sure that you set entry points for your monsters as well. If you
do not set these points up, monsters will arrive at the entry point
of your population and make it very hard to defend. Also make sure
you place the right monster point with the corresponding monster.
Seeing the Kraken stuck in the meadow just wont do and Talos will
rust if he has to swim to far.
When using the
editor to place your monsters and then setting them up within the
game as an event, you can then set strength of the monster. Monsters
should always be set to a level, which supports the surrounding
terrain. If you set monster strength to high, and it is to appear
close to the population, things may not go as planned and in fact,
you may find players cursing your name.
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