I like the Rules Cyclopedia a lot, but parts of it can be pretty weird to players used to AD&D. The skill system and weapon mastery rules are decent rules, but they don't feel like core D&D mechanics to me. And the monster list varies a lot from the MM. Behold! The baddest dudes in the RC:Elemental (1-80 HD)
Gargantua (25-51 HD, but see below)
Dinosaur (1-40 HD)
Roc (6-36 HD)
Whales (6-36 HD)
Dragon Turtle (30 HD)
Nightshade (17-30 HD)
Dragon (6-22 HD)
Horde (3-21 HD)
Archon (20 HD)
Drolem (20 HD)
Giant (8-20 HD)
Golem (2+2 to 20 HD)
Beholder, Undead (20 HD)
Hag, Black (11-20 HD)
Efreeti (10-20 HD)
Greater Phoenix (18 HD)
Spirit (14-18 HD)
Aerial Servant (16 HD)
Mek (11-16 HD)
Giant Crocodile (15 HD)
Djinni, Greater (15 HD)
Purple Worm (15 HD)
Elephant (9-15 HD)
Hsiao (Guardian Owl) (4-15 HD)
Athach (14 HD)
Haunt (12-14 HD)
Cyclops (13 HD)
Frost Salamander (12 HD)
Sphinx (12 HD)
Phantom (10-12 HD)
Plasm (6-12 HD)
Hydra (5-12 HD)
Hydrax (5-12 HD)
Actaeon (Elk Centaur) (11 HD)
Beholder (11 HD)
Nuckalavee (11 HD)
Giant Sturgeon (10+2 HD)
Black Pudding (10 HD)
Great Boar (10 HD)
Giant Manta Ray (10 HD)
Revener (10 HD)
Spider, Planar (5-10 HD)
Grab Grass (1 HD per 5' square)
Grab Grass, like the Holmes version of Yellow Mold and the Fiend Folio Enveloper, is another monster with no theoretical upper limit. The hit dice range listed for Gargantua actually refers to sample creatures. The Gargantua is actually a pre-3e example of a template, though the terminology was not yet in use. IIRC any creature can be made into a Gargantua, which results in 8 times normal hit dice, with any bonus hit points turning into additional hit dice. So a Gargantua Giant Sturgeon would be (10 x 8) + 2 = 82 Hit Dice. I guess that means the biggest RC creature (aside from from a prairie full of Grab Grass) would actually be a Gargantua Elemental of largest size, weighing in at a whopping 640 Hit Dice!
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What about a prarie full of Gargantuan grab grass? That would be pretty nasty. I only used a few Gargantua back in the day though - pets for a few giants and a few Gargantua dinosaurs roaming around a higher-level version of the Isle of Dread.
ReplyDeleteThis list actually fits my memories of the game pretty well the few times we had games that lasted long enough to use all of the boxed sets - though the Immortal-level creatures are missing, of course (now I'm wondering how the demons compare to AD&D demons - I'll have to look it up when I get home). I never noticed that the power gap between the Beholder and the Undead Beholder was so large, though. Maybe because they were in different boxed sets before the RC came out.
You're right about the skill rules and the weapon mastery rules. We used those out of the Gazeteers and the Master's set (respectively) for a while, but eventually we just got tired of using them and mostly didn't bother once the RC actually came out.
Of course, now that I'm thinking back, I don't think the Weapon Mastery rules are as complex as some of the various "feat chains" that you can put together for 3e.
Hi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI wrote about Star Wars today and thought of your cool blog. I linked to you today.
Check the post out here:
http://6mm-minis.blogspot.com/2007/10/cool-stuff-star-wars-diagrammed.html
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
6mm-minis.blogspot.com
I read this post before my first cup of coffee and I swore that it said "Crab Grass". In my tired and semi-blind state, I cast a suspicious and slightly frightened eye out my window at the lawn.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading it now, a year and a half later and after a long day in the office, and I read "grab ass". A prairie full of grab ass would be a terrifying foe indeed.
ReplyDelete