Monsters

The following rules describe how to create monsters for the Swords of Infinity system.

Building a Monster

The process for building monsters very closely resembles how characters are created. Monsters, however, have a few extra mechanics that can be added to them to make them more interesting.

Concept

Like with characters, a monster is built around its concept. Is this monster a troll? A dragon? A formless horror spawned in some hellish netherworld? The monster's concept helps to define its Ability Scores, Composition, Traits, and more.

Ability Scores

A monster's ability scores can be generated the same way as for characters. The following values can be used as a shorthand when using point buy to generate Ability Scores:

• 180 points (average Ability Score of 30), used for very tough monsters
• 150 points (average Ability Score of 25), used for most monsters
• 130 points (average Ability Score of 20), used for weak monsters

Negative Ability Scores

It is possible, particularly through the size modifiers described below, for a monster to have an Ability Score with a negative number. Generally a negative Ability Score means that success on Skill Checks cannot be achieved using that Ability unless a Specialization or situational bonus would add up to a positive value. Creatures with negative Vitality Scores have an effective Damage Threshold of one, and their Vitality Score is added to any damage they take.

Composition

The combination of arms, legs, wings, and other parts that may or may not make up the monster, its composition lists out all of the Damage Targets that the monster has and lets players know which parts of it they can attack.

Difficulty Level

A monster's Difficulty Level (DL) is a quick way to reference how challenging a monster will be for a player character to challenge in combat. Each Difficulty Level represents 100 points spent to build the monster, and so is analogous to the player character's Experience Level. A lone character facing off against a monster of Difficulty Level equal to his own Experience Level should just barely be able to best it using the Pushing Past Limits mechanic.

Point Buy

Monsters are built by spending from a pool of points, typically derived from its Difficulty Level. These points can be spent on skill specializations, special abilities, traits, immunities, and more as described below.

Natural Armor, Skill Specializations and Special Abilities

Natural Armor, Skill Specializations and Special Abilities are purchased using the same exponential scale that is used for character generation and device crafting. The table describing this scale has been reproduced below. For a refresher on Special Abilities see the section in the character creation rules. Natural Armor is an inherent resistance to damage granted by things like tough skin, hard shells, armored scales, etc. it does not cause Dexterity penalties and it stacks with regular armor worn over the top of it.

Score	Point Cost	Cost to Next Level	Total Experience Spent to Next Level
1-10	1	10	10
11-20	2	20	30
21-30	3	30	60
31-40	4	40	100
41-50	5	50	150
51-60	6	60	210
61-70	7	70	280
71-80	8	80	360
81-90	9	90	450
91-100	10	100	550

Size

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, and a monster's size has a noticeable impact on its Ability Scores. Sizes begin at a default of zero, the size of an average human person, and every increment greater than zero represents doubled size while every increment less than zero represents halving(e.g. a size 1 creature is twice the size of a human and a size -1 creature is half the size of a human). Several sizes, and their bonuses and penalties, have been enumerated in the table below as an example. Larger sizes cost 10 points for each increment, while smaller sizes grant an additional 10 points to spend for each increment.

Larger creatures are stronger and tougher, to account for their bulk, but their size also makes them ungainly and they lack the perspective of smaller creatures. Smaller creatures are weaker and more fragile, but they are more nimble and aware of their surroundings.

Size	Point Cost	Strength Modifier	Dexterity Modifier	Vitality Modifier	Awareness Modifier	Size Comparison	Example
-5	+50	-50	+50	-50	+50	Thirty two times smaller than a person	A kit fox (around 6 lbs.)
-4	+40	-40	+40	-40	+40	Sixteen times smaller than a person	An arctic hare (around 12 lbs.)
-3	+30	-30	+30	-30	+30	Eight times smaller than a person	A honey badger (around 25 lbs.)
-2	+20	-20	+20	-20	+20	Four times smaller than a person	A beaver (around 50 lbs.)
-1	+10	-10	+10	-10	+10	Half size of an average human person.	A chimpanzee (around 100 lbs.)
0	0	+/- 0	+/- 0	+/- 0	+/- 0	The size of an average human person.	An average person (around 200 lbs)
1	-10	+10	-10	+10	-10	Double the size of an average human person.	A lion (around 400 lbs)
2	-20	+20	-20	+20	-20	Four times the size of a person.	A leopard seal (around 800 lbs)
3	-30	+30	-30	+30	-30	Eight times the size of a person.	A water buffalo (around 1600 lbs)
4	-40	+40	-40	+40	-40	Sixteen times the size of a person.	A black rhinoceros (around 3200 lbs)
5	-50	+50	-50	+50	-50	Thirty two times the size of a person.	African forest elephant (around 6400 lbs)

Movement

The default rate of movement is 35 feet per action, it costs one point per additional foot (e.g. a movement rate of 45 feet costs 10 points) and reducing the monster's movement below 35 feet grants one point for every foot reduced (e.g. a movement rate of 25 feet grants 10 extra points that can be spent on something else).

Melee Range

All monsters start with a Melee Range of five feet and gain one foot of reach for every point spent (e.g. a range of 10 feet would cost 25 points).

Traits

Monster traits cost 10 points each, and function identically to character Traits. Storytellers can feel free to be even more creative with their monster traits, however, as monsters should be unexpected and frightening. Consider giving monsters a traits that grant a +10 bonus to their Success or Power Checks under the right conditions, or that allow them to take an additional action.

Example: Pack Tactics -- the monster gains +10 to attack Success Checks when attacking the same target in melee with an ally.

Immunities

Some monsters are immune to specific sources of damage, and adding one of these Immunities costs 100 points. Try to be specific about the source of damage that the monster is immune to, and always give players a way of circumventing this protection. The Immunity mechanic is intended to reward inquisitive players that research their foes and find their weaknesses.

Example: Werewolves are immune to damage from weapons unless they have the "silver" Trait, they take regular damage from spells and special abilities.

Designing Encounters

One of the more challenging elements for Storytellers in any role-playing game is designing the encounters that players have with monsters to be exciting and challenging. Too easy and players will get bored, while too hard of an encounter and players will get frustrated. This section aims to help Storytellers design encounters in a way that is satisfying for everyone at the table.

Target Difficulty

It is a good idea to target the total Difficulty Level (the sum of Difficulty Levels for all monsters in the encounter) around the total Experience Level of the character party. A party of four, Experience Level five characters should be effectively challenged by four, Difficulty Level five monsters. However, be careful with using a single very powerful monster (e.g. a Difficulty Level 20 monster against four, Experience Level five characters) as it would be capable of quickly killing characters, despite the levels all matching. For encounters with a tough individual monster, consider setting its Difficulty Level to the party's average Experience Level, plus one for each character in the party (e.g. a Difficulty Level nine monster should be an appropriate challenge for a party of four, Experience Level five characters).

There are any number of ways to make an encounter more or less difficult by changing the environment and circumstances of it (e.g. if the encounter starts with an ambush), so adjust the Difficulty Levels of the monsters to suit the intended degree of challenge. Combat encounters set the stakes in an adventure, the threat of death should loom over characters as they advance the story, but keep in mind that frequent character deaths can take a lot of the fun out of a game.

Hordes

Swords of Infinity gives combatants a lot of options and, while this makes the game very dynamic and exciting, it can also slow combat down when many participants are involved. To address this the Horde mechanic allows for many monsters to be treated like a single, more powerful monster. This speeds up play and allows Storytellers to keep their less powerful monsters relevant at higher levels of play, and players also really enjoy hacking through swaths of foes.

Horde Bonus

Hordes are made up of many copies of the same base monster that have a bonus applied to their Ability Scores based on the size of the Horde. A Horde uses all of the base monster's Ability Scores, armor, Traits, Skill Specializations, etc. and has a bonus to all Success and Power Checks that represents the improved odds of success gained when many creatures attempt the same task. The exact bonus can be found in the table below.

Number of Members in Horde.	Horde Bonus
2 - 3	+10
4 - 6	+20
7 - 10	+30
11 - 15	+40
16 - 21	+50
22 - 28	+60
29 - 36	+70
37 - 45	+80
46 - 55	+90
56 - 66	+100
67 - 78	+110
79 - 91	+120
92 - 105	+130
106 - 120	+140
121 - 136	+150

Defeating a Horde

kill a dude when damage => vitality, then reduce number of members and horde bonuses