Here at Periapt Games I've just reached the first milestone on some fantasy monster design work for an upcoming book. The first milestone is "all the content is drafted". The second milestone will be getting through all the playtesting and ensuing revisions; third is finishing the supporting text and copy-editing; fourth is the layout being done; fifth is the art being finalised and proofs approved; etc.
(A major lesson in writing for production is that the actual writing is only a sliver of the process.)
What's my philosophy of fantasy monster design?
A monster should be easy to run. It should be plausible and/or fit a specific setting. It should be fresh. It should touch on classic tropes, but should also be weird. It should be easily tweaked or be presented alongside minor variations.
That means...
Aberrant grazers. Sorcerous byproducts. Creatures that lurk, beguile, and trap. Entities which warp the world around them. Small things made giant. Spells escaped from spellbooks and given form. Swarms which actually work the way they ought to. Monsters that are also transdimensional portals. The world's largest garden pest. Ethereal spirits lurking at the heart of permanently raging storms. And many many more.
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| And maybe whatever this thing is? |
Hopefully I'll be able to share a more substantive update before the end of the year!
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