| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 09 Mar 2025 : 23:55:32
I don't know how interested in this folks would be but I am considering (and this would take me a long, long time) updating monsters to the exact format they used for the new Monster Manual for essentially a Forgotten Realms Monster Manual.
Getting the CSS formatting perfect, considering I cant code for my life was a nightmare for me, and I am still unable to get those fancy little frames around monster images, but I am trying my best to make it look the same as the professionally done book. I'd love to hear your opinions.
Whether or not I do this, I will be posting monsters here as I make them.
Alaghi: https://i.imgur.com/uEfIZja.png
Alguduir: https://i.imgur.com/RCQzt3a.png
Asabi: https://i.imgur.com/Ws4h6Lv.png
Asperii: https://i.imgur.com/ln7ABy2.png
Ascallion: https://i.imgur.com/4i1YqxB.png
Baneguard
Belabra: https://i.imgur.com/jlx2NRc.png
Blood Horse
Brown Dragon: Pg1 https://i.imgur.com/Mtnp5iG.png Pg2 https://i.imgur.com/fcP28xv.png Pg3 https://i.imgur.com/uIqzgOO.png
Calygraunt: https://i.imgur.com/xauWalT.png
Dark Tree
Deepspawn
Duleep
Dyll Swarm
Gemstone Golem
Groundling
Nymph https://i.imgur.com/7x50x8D.png
Laraken: https://i.imgur.com/fb559Jr.png
Lightning Golem
Peltast: https://i.imgur.com/2madMSt.png
Phaerimm
Sha’az
|
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 09 May 2025 : 02:04:16
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Null
Malatra could be a hidden valley or kingdom like meru in the howards conan stories
Oh it already has a vast quantity of lore from the whole Living Jungle campaign. But I’m not sure how many new monsters it has other than dinosaurs. Saru, katanga and bakemono are there but those already belong in Kara Tur.
Yeah, I was thinking the same think, because katanga are just a different variation of hengeyokai... which are just another variation of animal shapechangers from humanoids. I actually wonder how many "races" we could find that could in essence be framed as just another kind of hengeyokai (i.e. the Lythari elves are essentially just elves that turn into wolves, because even though some books call them "lyncanthropes" .... that's very wrong since its not a curse spread through bite/claw and it can't technically be "cured"). Selkies similarly were shapechanging women that turned into seals, but the big thing (like swanmays as well) was that they needed some kind of totem to do so (i.e. a seal skin... forget what swanmays needed.. maybe a feather)
Which that discussion makes me wonder ..... IS THERE a creature that you've noted that specifically met the idea of "the little mermaid" in that it was a merperson who could switch pretty much anytime between fish bottom and land legs? Similarly, a creature that switches between land legs and octopi tentacles?
From what I remember, there were additional katanga in Malatra that never appeared in K-T though, like the ostrich katanga. This is just going from memory.
|
| sleyvas |
Posted - 08 May 2025 : 12:58:01
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Null
Malatra could be a hidden valley or kingdom like meru in the howards conan stories
Oh it already has a vast quantity of lore from the whole Living Jungle campaign. But I’m not sure how many new monsters it has other than dinosaurs. Saru, katanga and bakemono are there but those already belong in Kara Tur.
Yeah, I was thinking the same think, because katanga are just a different variation of hengeyokai... which are just another variation of animal shapechangers from humanoids. I actually wonder how many "races" we could find that could in essence be framed as just another kind of hengeyokai (i.e. the Lythari elves are essentially just elves that turn into wolves, because even though some books call them "lyncanthropes" .... that's very wrong since its not a curse spread through bite/claw and it can't technically be "cured"). Selkies similarly were shapechanging women that turned into seals, but the big thing (like swanmays as well) was that they needed some kind of totem to do so (i.e. a seal skin... forget what swanmays needed.. maybe a feather)
Which that discussion makes me wonder ..... IS THERE a creature that you've noted that specifically met the idea of "the little mermaid" in that it was a merperson who could switch pretty much anytime between fish bottom and land legs? Similarly, a creature that switches between land legs and octopi tentacles? |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 08 May 2025 : 04:56:21
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Null
Malatra could be a hidden valley or kingdom like meru in the howards conan stories
Oh it already has a vast quantity of lore from the whole Living Jungle campaign. But I’m not sure how many new monsters it has other than dinosaurs. Saru, katanga and bakemono are there but those already belong in Kara Tur. |
| Lord Null |
Posted - 07 May 2025 : 22:56:28
Malatra could be a hidden valley or kingdom like meru in the howards conan stories |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 07 May 2025 : 19:41:22
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Null
Vol 2 can be zakhara, Maztica plus kara-tur and realmsspace. vol3 can be from dragon and polyhedron magazines and source books.
This was actually pretty close to my plan. I’m still working on Appendix II which I hope to update pretty much every remaining creature I didn’t in Appendix I. Then if I’m not exhausted by this I’ll go straight to Al-Qadim. Moving from there will either be Kara-Tur or an amalgam of Maztica Realmspace, Horde and Malatra (not working Malatra into Kara Tur). It really all depends on how much updating 500 monsters is possible.
By the way, Appendix II is at about 35 monsters already. |
| Lord Null |
Posted - 07 May 2025 : 04:30:11
Vol 2 can be zakhara, Maztica plus kara-tur and realmsspace. vol3 can be from dragon and polyhedron magazines and source books. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 06 May 2025 : 21:32:08
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Hey everyone, I finished it, at least appendix 1. There are about 150 stat blocks in here and depending on if its popular or not I might do another one (or two) in time. I have a huge list of creatures I could update for those.
Anyway, thank you for all your help and advice. If you'd like to pick up a cheaper version, use this link for a discount:
https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?discount=9d9d3347ba
If it runs out of discounted versions let me know and I will put up more.
I just had a moment to click this link. I noticed the cover looks like an antlered cat. Is that actually a thing? We were talking about that as a possibility in AJA's thread a couple weeks ago.
EDIT: well, it was still only 3 bucks, so I bought it. So, Calygraunts is an actual creation of Ed's (also called Feystags). I recognized the picture the second I saw it (the one in MC annual volume 1), but I had totally forgotten them. Black versions of these feystags have to absolutely be tied to Beshaba, especially with their ability to activate magic items randomly that they study, even if they don't possess it.
Hmmm, and looking at the cantobele... my first thought is "six legs like a displacer beast and a type of cat.... and with abilities to hide/confuse folks".
Which given your own interest into native american lore... the wampus cat is a 6 legged cat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLRV4bsLh7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf0ahpuk078
Going through the products I grew up with was eye opening. To see the images of calygraunts and such that were buried in memories that you haven’t seen for years. It’s been so much fun putting these together.
Yeah one day i might update the Maztica/Anchorome/Lopangan monsters too so that might be a nice addition in the future |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 05 May 2025 : 20:43:33
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Hey everyone, I finished it, at least appendix 1. There are about 150 stat blocks in here and depending on if its popular or not I might do another one (or two) in time. I have a huge list of creatures I could update for those.
Anyway, thank you for all your help and advice. If you'd like to pick up a cheaper version, use this link for a discount:
https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?discount=9d9d3347ba
If it runs out of discounted versions let me know and I will put up more.
I just had a moment to click this link. I noticed the cover looks like an antlered cat. Is that actually a thing? We were talking about that as a possibility in AJA's thread a couple weeks ago.
EDIT: well, it was still only 3 bucks, so I bought it. So, Calygraunts is an actual creation of Ed's (also called Feystags). I recognized the picture the second I saw it (the one in MC annual volume 1), but I had totally forgotten them. Black versions of these feystags have to absolutely be tied to Beshaba, especially with their ability to activate magic items randomly that they study, even if they don't possess it.
Hmmm, and looking at the cantobele... my first thought is "six legs like a displacer beast and a type of cat.... and with abilities to hide/confuse folks".
Which given your own interest into native american lore... the wampus cat is a 6 legged cat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLRV4bsLh7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf0ahpuk078 |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 04 May 2025 : 14:24:55
Despite the release of the book, I have continued to update monsters possibly for a volume two or just for personal use/sharing. One of my goals since the beginning has been to make the creatures accessible to any campaign, so I avoid FR specific names where I can, but try to make it obvious to fans. Do you think changing a Beast of Malar to a Beast of Savagery is going to far? A beast of Xvim/Bane to a Beast of Tyranny?
Here is the Beast of Malar: https://i.imgur.com/sIzF9r9.png
|
| Seethyr |
Posted - 27 Apr 2025 : 19:37:07
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Null
Maybe you can put out a table showing where they were first introduced. That way newer players can check out their history and read the articles and game books they were in.
I will try to include this in an update and in fact, had it at one point. It looked out of place and I removed it half way through but in hindsight that will definitely go into the next update. One issue I had too was determining which source to list. Do ai include 4e products I know nothing about? Do I prioritize Monsters of Faerun over others? I might just eventually include EVERY book they’ve been in but that task started to seem monumental as well. |
| Lord Null |
Posted - 27 Apr 2025 : 19:09:46
Maybe you can put out a table showing where they were first introduced. That way newer players can check out their history and read the articles and game books they were in. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 27 Apr 2025 : 08:19:33
Hey everyone, I finished it, at least appendix 1. There are about 150 stat blocks in here and depending on if its popular or not I might do another one (or two) in time. I have a huge list of creatures I could update for those.
Anyway, thank you for all your help and advice. If you'd like to pick up a cheaper version, use this link for a discount:
https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?discount=9d9d3347ba
If it runs out of discounted versions let me know and I will put up more. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 23 Apr 2025 : 00:06:34
quote:
Originally posted by Marc
From the list noticed some of these missing: shadevari, shadow lich, sliver, spellfire horror, unholy hand of Bane, fogwarden, crustaid
I went from having never heard of this thing to having a blast putting it together. This took about two hours to put together, but thinking through the dynamics of its abilities was a lot of fun. It might have the longest attack range in the game, just like its 2e lore predecessor. Check out Polyhedron 130 for the original.
Crustaind Page 1: https://i.imgur.com/zbcb6tk.png
Crustaid Page 2: https://i.imgur.com/h9FeWbR.png |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 21 Apr 2025 : 01:56:45
Out of all 100 or so creatures updated, this is the one I deviated the most from the original. I really wanted to power these guys up to a high CR considering their rarity, existence since before time, etc.
Shadevar: https://i.imgur.com/UQa8JO6.png
I hope I was able to maintain their original flavor well enough from their origins. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 20 Apr 2025 : 21:17:30
quote:
Originally posted by Gary Dallison
If its in Bestiary of the Realms, then it meant that other realms designers considered it part of the forgotten realms. While not an official realms product i would consider anything in those volumes to be realmsian.
Funny thing is I had no idea about those volumes. Thank you all for drawing my attention to them.
On a side note, I’m going to put a “Special Thanks” for everyone that has helped me in this thread in the book when it’s eventually released. Please let me know if you have any special preferences for how I present your name. As a default I will use your Candlekeep moniker. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 19 Apr 2025 : 19:06:07
If its in Bestiary of the Realms, then it meant that other realms designers considered it part of the forgotten realms. While not an official realms product i would consider anything in those volumes to be realmsian. |
| Marc |
Posted - 19 Apr 2025 : 17:58:11
Fogwarden is from generic Dungeon 54 adventure and in Monstrous Compendium Annual 4 (same as firestar), but also it was later in 3.5e in Bestiary of the Realms vol. 2, don't know if that counts, Shadow lich also. Now I remember also, do you have Echohawk's Complete Monster Index ? you can filter monsters by setting |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 19 Apr 2025 : 01:08:07
quote:
Originally posted by Marc
From the list noticed some of these missing: shadevari, shadow lich, sliver, spellfire horror, unholy hand of Bane, fogwarden, crustaid
Going to add now, thanks so much!
Edit: Some questions and thought after I did a little research:
Shadevari: Unreal, these are going to be fun to do as really high CR fiends.
Unholy Hand of Bane: It behaves like a monster but is listed most places as a magic item. I’m not sure about doing this one.
Fogwarden: Unless I’m mistaken this isn’t a creature that has its origins or hasn’t been used even much in FR? Might hold it for a later book.
Crustaid: Thank you so much for bringing this one up. I had no idea about it as I never really had many Polyhedrons.
Sliver: Don’t know how I missed it. Thank you!
Shadow Lich: I can’t find this anywhere except as just a Lich. Is there a separate creature? |
| Marc |
Posted - 18 Apr 2025 : 21:09:06
From the list noticed some of these missing: shadevari, shadow lich, sliver, spellfire horror, unholy hand of Bane, fogwarden, crustaid |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 18 Apr 2025 : 13:23:28
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Null
They are a independent breed of dragon. Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Meant to be with the steel and mercury dragons. Just below the 5 originals.
Yes, and by “below” I’ll try to make sure that’s reflected in their CR, at least at the Ancient age category. Electrums capped out at CR19, just below whites and coppers at CR 20. I think Mercury and steel will both be 18, as will yellow. Brown dragons on the other hand were pretty tough and I’m not sure yet where fang will end up. I need to check earlier editions to see their relative power level. |
| Lord Null |
Posted - 18 Apr 2025 : 04:45:14
They are a independent breed of dragon. Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Meant to be with the steel and mercury dragons. Just below the 5 originals. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 17 Apr 2025 : 14:18:12
quote:
Originally posted by Athreeren
They're the offspring of gold and silver dragons, right?
You’d think right? I didn’t actually find that in the most recent lore though. They seem to be just another independent breed of dragon.
I’m guessing that concept is avoided because of the obvious repercussions. Does blue and red make purple? Etc etc. I think the idea was addressed in the earliest iteration of the Draconomicon but never since. |
| Athreeren |
Posted - 17 Apr 2025 : 09:35:58
They're the offspring of gold and silver dragons, right? |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 16 Apr 2025 : 17:23:19
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Null
Electrum dragon
As promised, here is the electrum dragon. Please note it hasn't been fully edited as of yet. I need to check the math on a few things. It was really difficult to do because the dragon's breath doesn't cause damage like all the others, so calculating CR was tricky.
I also took the liberty of changing their appearance slightly. Electrum as a metal can be slightly gold in color (of course considering its half gold) and every depiction of the dragon I have seen has been grayish. I hope that isn't a turn off.
Electrum Page 1: https://i.imgur.com/1djopDF.png
Electrum Page 2: https://i.imgur.com/6tvyacX.png
Electrum Page 3: https://i.imgur.com/71LQZ2q.png
Electrum Page 4: https://i.imgur.com/TbTpr1D.png |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 15 Apr 2025 : 17:55:33
quote:
Originally posted by Alberto_Magnus
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
quote:
Originally posted by Alberto_Magnus
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Here’s the baelnorn that was requested before.
Page 1: https://imgur.com/a/J9GkrCV
Page 2: https://imgur.com/a/0fy1XGi
Edit: Noticed a slight error in the Gear portion of its stats - this will be fixed for the final book.
The current book has 83 updated entries with a hundred or so stat blocks already. Check out the updated list of what has been completed, and what I plan on putting together below.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1K_r3Cfu7ZzhMJ7xEQpU44tUJCr9MG1Ju/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msexcel
Great work on the Baelnorn. You're doing an absolutely stunning job.
Can't wait to see the final product!
Thank you so much for saying that! I’m just nervous right now because the platform I am working on has been down for two days now. If this is gone forever I’m going to be a tad bummed.
No backups? 
lol yeah. I had about a third of it backed up. I made a lot of progress in the last week or two and didn’t copy the code again.
Going to share the Electrum Dragon soon today per request. |
| Alberto_Magnus |
Posted - 15 Apr 2025 : 17:12:23
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
quote:
Originally posted by Alberto_Magnus
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Here’s the baelnorn that was requested before.
Page 1: https://imgur.com/a/J9GkrCV
Page 2: https://imgur.com/a/0fy1XGi
Edit: Noticed a slight error in the Gear portion of its stats - this will be fixed for the final book.
The current book has 83 updated entries with a hundred or so stat blocks already. Check out the updated list of what has been completed, and what I plan on putting together below.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1K_r3Cfu7ZzhMJ7xEQpU44tUJCr9MG1Ju/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msexcel
Great work on the Baelnorn. You're doing an absolutely stunning job.
Can't wait to see the final product!
Thank you so much for saying that! I’m just nervous right now because the platform I am working on has been down for two days now. If this is gone forever I’m going to be a tad bummed.
No backups? |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 14 Apr 2025 : 17:35:25
quote:
Originally posted by Alberto_Magnus
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Here’s the baelnorn that was requested before.
Page 1: https://imgur.com/a/J9GkrCV
Page 2: https://imgur.com/a/0fy1XGi
Edit: Noticed a slight error in the Gear portion of its stats - this will be fixed for the final book.
The current book has 83 updated entries with a hundred or so stat blocks already. Check out the updated list of what has been completed, and what I plan on putting together below.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1K_r3Cfu7ZzhMJ7xEQpU44tUJCr9MG1Ju/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msexcel
Great work on the Baelnorn. You're doing an absolutely stunning job.
Can't wait to see the final product!
Thank you so much for saying that! I’m just nervous right now because the platform I am working on has been down for two days now. If this is gone forever I’m going to be a tad bummed. |
| Alberto_Magnus |
Posted - 13 Apr 2025 : 09:44:13
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Here’s the baelnorn that was requested before.
Page 1: https://imgur.com/a/J9GkrCV
Page 2: https://imgur.com/a/0fy1XGi
Edit: Noticed a slight error in the Gear portion of its stats - this will be fixed for the final book.
The current book has 83 updated entries with a hundred or so stat blocks already. Check out the updated list of what has been completed, and what I plan on putting together below.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1K_r3Cfu7ZzhMJ7xEQpU44tUJCr9MG1Ju/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msexcel
Great work on the Baelnorn. You're doing an absolutely stunning job.
Can't wait to see the final product! |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 12 Apr 2025 : 22:14:54
Here’s the baelnorn that was requested before.
Page 1: https://imgur.com/a/J9GkrCV
Page 2: https://imgur.com/a/0fy1XGi
Edit: Noticed a slight error in the Gear portion of its stats - this will be fixed for the final book.
The current book has 83 updated entries with a hundred or so stat blocks already. Check out the updated list of what has been completed, and what I plan on putting together below.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1K_r3Cfu7ZzhMJ7xEQpU44tUJCr9MG1Ju/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msexcel |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 12 Apr 2025 : 22:10:07
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Null
meant from best of dragon magazine #3 (rappers)
Finally found my old paper copy. Pretty cool concept that would go great in Dwarves Deep. |
