Monster Villages

Monster Villages

Monster villages are the small, usually isolated habitations that occur frequently on the open terrain of the Gragot plain and other areas.  Here in the wilds a symbiotic relationship is often the best way to achieve some kind of safety.  Conscious monsters will have an INT of at least 6, and are likely to be able to communicate with villagers or at least the village elder(s) in one way or another.  I'm using these tables to generate the random villages players are likely to stumble across in the wilderness beyond the great cities.

Roll for your village (1d20, 1d4, 1d6, 1d12, 1d20, 1d8, and 1d8).  Start with general ideas and let the progression of rolls build the whole picture in your mind.

1.Monster (1d20)

1. Elder Dinosaur – a tremendous dinosaur of great age, one of the three classic forms: rex, tops, and brachy.

2. Swarm – S-M sized creatures that function as a single monster: bees, termites, rodents, crabs, etc.

3. Flightless Terror Bird – sees villagers as its “chicks”/sits on entire village as egg.

4. Ancient Treant – sprawling ambulatory elder tree being, generally benign.

5. Huge Lungfish – great amphibious fish, eel or catfish-like.

6. Great Antlered Owl – giant, intelligent bird with legendary hearing and sight.

7. Pitmaster (Giant Antlion) – hungry jaws at the bottom of an inescapable pit.

8. Passive Intelligent Plant – often a vine that covers the village, a fruit all villagers eat, a pod-person plant, etc.

9. Active Intelligent Plant – semi-mobile carnivorous plant, something with grasping tendrils that eats people.

"Ia! Praise Her!"

10. Serpentine Dragon – great snake-like beast, quick and mobile in the air/earth/water.

11. Burrowing Dragon – heavy digging beast.

12. Flying Dragon – aerial beast, wyvern or stork shaped.

13. Lumbering Dragon (kaiju) – colossal over-amped battle beast, may love children.

14. Chimerical Beastgod – literally anything, generally a demigod born from the sea or deep underground.

15. Ancient Golem – stone, wood, or metal based, perhaps constantly repairing or guarding the village site.

16. Amoebic Blob – fills/dwells in a pond, well, or underground water source, metamorphic or rapidly multiplying.

17. Butterfly or Moth – huge lepidopteran insect.

18. Communal Spirit – direct amalgam of the energies of the villagers.

19. Elemental – type appropriate to environs.

20. Mysterious Egg – an enormous strange egg.

2.Villagers (1d4)

1. Mixed species: iele, fasinaa, goboda, chrichoral, umash.

2. Mixed iele – different appearances and traits

3. Tribe of iele – homogeneous appearance and traits

4. Mostly fasinaa

3.Relationship (1d6)

1. No benefit/Unaware of

2. Mutualism – monster and villagers benefit

3. Commensalism – monster benefits, villagers do not

4. Commensalism – villagers benefit, monster does not

5. Parasitism – monster benefits, villagers suffer

6. Parasitism – villagers benefit, monster suffers

4.Environs (1d20)

1. Plain

2. Giant tree

3. Ring of massive natural stones

4. Natural cave complex

5. Colossal rib cage

6. Colossal skull

7. Hilltop

8. Mesa

9. Giant fungi

10. Giant beehive

11. Pillar garden

12. Mineral/Hot spring

13. Valley

14. Lakeside

15. Cliffs

16. Levitating mineral formation

17. Metallic ruins

18. (roll 2x, ignore 18-20)

19. (roll 2x, ignore 18-20)

20. (roll 3x, ignore 18-20)

5.Made of... (1d12)

1. Nothing

2. Large uncut rocks

3. Worked stone

4. Bone

5. Adobe

6. Adobe

7. Adobe

8. Thatch

9. Huts on stilts

10. Artificial excavation (mine/Coober Pedy dugout)

11. Timber

12. Concrete

6.Specialty (1d20)

1. Trade of gemstones

2. Trade of copper

3. Trade of gold ore

4. Trade of bone

5. Root vegetable crops

6. Herbs / Tea

7. Vegetable crops

8. Grain crops

9. Game meat and hide

10. Guerilla warriors

11. Knightly warriors

12. Magi warriors

13. Slavery of outsiders

14. Slavery of villagers

15. Oracular source

16. Leyline(s)

17. Beast trainers

18. Beast riders

19. Salt

20. Monster byproduct

7.And (1d8)

1. The monster can be harmed by silver weapons.

2. The monster has a phylactery where it keeps its heart.

3. The monster has the villagers under mind control.

4. The monster has long periods of dormancy and is in one now.

5. The monster has long periods of dormancy and is awake.

6. The monster demands regular sacrifice of intelligent beings.

7. The villagers seek another monster village.

8. The monster can teach unique magic.

8...And (1d8)

1. The monster can be harmed by magic weapons.

2. The monster has a heart protected by magic wards.

3. The monster cannot leave the village area.

4. The villagers cannot leave the village area.

5. The monster is a great secret.

6. The monster demands sacrifice of animals.

7. The village is opposed to another monster village.

8. The village appears and disappears magically under a certain condition.

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Still working on megadungeon stuff, I haven't given up on it.