The Grim & Deliberate Beast - Kickstarter Spotlight
/Combat. It’s often the first thing many folks think of when it comes to D&D or TTRPG’s in general. So much of the framework of these games is built around combat. And that’s understandable. Fighting enemies is the quickest and easiest way to interject stakes into an RPG campaign. And many many people love that, and battling monsters and entities is far and away the number one reason they play these games.
Here’s the thing though… combat, particularly as it pertains to 5th Edition, can easily turn into “They hit you. You hit them. Rinse and repeat for the next 45 minutes.” And that gets real boring real fast. Your campaign encounters should always strive to be as dynamic as possible. But the catch there is that requires more work and effort from the GM, who is likely already sinking many many hours into game prep. So, the challenge becomes “How do we enhance the experience of combat encounters without putting too pressure work and pressure on the GM’s shoulders?” Well, fear not, friends, because Dubious Merit Games and OneMillionNerds are here to help you with their latest collaborative offering: The Grim & Deliberate Beast
The Grim & Deliberate Beast is a system for quickly and easily generating unique and dynamic A.I. for your monsters & enemies. You might be asking “How does it work?” and “How is this different from other systems?” Well in the creators’ own words:
How does it work?
5 d100 dice rolls give you Monster Aggression Level, General Intelligence, Special Units, Special Abilities, and Weaponry for each Monster encounter. Use this info to decrease combat uniformity, decrease decision fatigue, increase species variability, and add theme interruption to your combat. Then delve into the Tome of Lore to add depth for each Monster species.
How is it different?
The Grim & Deliberate Beast is full of beautiful, original art, deep lore, and 100-rollable tools for devious dungeon masters.
Read about Monster Culture, Psychology, Special Units, Special Abilities, and Weaponry. This is new, unique writing not available anywhere else.
A deadly new system of A.I. with 750 narrative threads that unfold with combat, and change with Monster Aggression Level.
Plus unique extras for your campaign: 200 combat insults! 200 original new Traps! Brutal Critical Hit & Death Blow Tables.
Obviously, you might want to be a little more hands on when it comes to your Big Bads… your main NPC antagonists… but just think about how much more time and brain power you’ll be able to devote to crafting unique major villains when you don’t have to worry about fleshing out the nuances and details of all the minor minion combat encounters. You, as the GM, get to more fully realize your vision for your campaign. Your players get a more exciting and dynamic adventure.
Everyone wins here (except the monsters who the players kill, of course)
If that wasn’t enough to motivate you… check this out:
As of me writing this, their campaign is only about $2,500 away from unlocking the Tome of Lore. What is the Tome of Lore? I’m glad you asked:
Five tiers of A. I. to command your Horde, Heroic, Undead, Aberrant, and Mythical monsters.
A catalog of linchpin combat events and detailed blueprints for behavioral change as combat unfolds.
Deep lore on culture, psychology, special abilities, special units, grudges, and weaponry for each monster.
A library of over 200 combat insults for saucy monsters to hurl at your party.
Extensive Critical Hit and Death Blow Tables by weapon type and body location, for gruesome results.
Tricks and Traps! Over 200 original new traps, organized by lethality and environment.
So, seriously, what are you waiting for? There are only a few days left, so hurry the heck up and sprint-click over there right now!
Well, that’s all from me for now. Until next time…
Take Care, Owlbear
Pat
Featured Images: OneMillionNerds
Patrick Edwards is the co-writer of the upcoming 5E Campaign, The Red Opera, as well as the writer of the Space Tripping series of novels. Check him out on Twitter @ThePatEdwards or his website thepatedwards.com
