Favourite d20 Creatures as Traveller Aliens

[Falkayn]

Guys & Gals,

I'm wondering if outside of the Monster Manual, there are any great d20 creatures that would make believeable Traveller aliens.

I've scoured several sources available to me and found very few d20 creatures that could be converted to Traveller. But I know there must be more somewhere ... Please help!

Thanks muchly,

 

[GypsyComet]

The various dinosaur books (including the new "Dinosaurs that Never Were") from Goodman Games.

Just about any monster book's Animals and Beasts, and some number of the Plants, Oozes, and Aberations. Depends on how inately psionic you like your TU, as a fair number of odd abilities can be explained that way. You can also use sonics and pheromones for some things that are "supernatural" in a D&D monster...

As for sentient races, I'll freely pick up nearly any low ECL race and monkey with it until it works. A little modification of the Lizardfolk is likely to become the T20 stats for the Tekot, a race I'm placing near my Daibei campaign (and who use the GW Kroot minis).

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Id bet my last Credit that Mind Flayers (the Illithid) would make excellent foes for staltwart adventurers... I see them taking over a low population planet, Space Station, or ship for use in thier evil plans...

 

[lightsenshi]

Nothing quite like the player's faces when they realize that it's a collossal red dragon flying next to their ship.

 

[tjoneslo]

Traveller aliens are difficult because the Traveller background makes two demands: The aliens be based in sound science, and they can't be simple tropes (E.g. "Bear-like aliens", "Insect-like aliens", etc.) The real problem with D&D monsters as T20 aliens is the D&D wants the super-fantastic creatures rather than the normal boring ones. Why fight a bear when you can fight a bug-bear or an owl-bear.

Anyways, if you can swallow a fair amount of scientific gobbleygook, the "Ecology of..." articles in Dragon may provide you with a good starting point for either using the creatures referenced or as a starting point to explain other creatures.

I found the looseleaf version of the Monstrous Compendium (for 2nd Edition AD&D) very useful because I could pull out all the "Normal" creatures, and their giant/tiny relatives to populate my Traveller worlds.

The suggestion has been made to search through other D20 monster books. Dinosaurs, pliocene era creatures, non-magical variations on real creatures would make fine aliens.

I frequently use the random animal generation tables in the Traveller books (See the T20 Generating worlds section.) You can get a goodly number of creatures, but no explinations.

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Here's an idea, let me know what you think.

A Zhodani ship enters Imperial space. It is of a type used exclusively by nobility. It broadcasts a distress beacon. The weapons and maneuver drive are both shut down. There is barely enough fuel left to maintain life-support.

An Imperial Interstellar Marine prize crew boards the vessel and makes four significant findings:

1) An unconscious Zhodani Noble is at the helm, and she's wearing a very illegal (for Zhodani) and active psi helmet (?!).
2) A male Zhodani noble seems to have died in the act of impaling the now-dead occupant of a low berth.
3) The rest of the crew is dead (it seems they all killed each other).
4) The occupant of the low berth is humanoid, with mauve skin, four tentacles around a sucker-like mouth, an immense brain, and eyes like pinhole cameras (no iris or lens).

Ship's logs reveal that somewhere on the fringes of the Zhodani Consulate, the ship encountered a race of beings with high-level psionic ability. One was captured and put in low berth. While in jump, members of the crew started going mad. Only the heroic self-sacrifice of the Captain (and a psi-helmet that was quickly cobbled together) saved the ship and pilot.

Are these new aliens a threat to the Consulate?
Are they a greater threat to the Imperium?
What is this 'Cthulhu' that the Illithid race seems to worship?
How did the ship get this far from home?
Where the smeg is my curried pizza?

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Keklas Rekobah:
Here's an idea, let me know what you think.

Oooh, scary!

I'd hate to be one of your players!

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by tjoneslo:
Traveller aliens are difficult because the Traveller background makes two demands: The aliens be based in sound science, and they can't be simple tropes (E.g. "Bear-like aliens", "Insect-like aliens", etc.) The real problem with D&D monsters as T20 aliens is the D&D wants the super-fantastic creatures rather than the normal boring ones. Why fight a bear when you can fight a bug-bear or an owl-bear.

Anyways, if you can swallow a fair amount of scientific gobbleygook, the "Ecology of..." articles in Dragon may provide you with a good starting point for either using the creatures referenced or as a starting point to explain other creatures.

I found the looseleaf version of the Monstrous Compendium (for 2nd Edition AD&D) very useful because I could pull out all the "Normal" creatures, and their giant/tiny relatives to populate my Traveller worlds.

The suggestion has been made to search through other D20 monster books. Dinosaurs, pliocene era creatures, non-magical variations on real creatures would make fine aliens.

I frequently use the random animal generation tables in the Traveller books (See the T20 Generating worlds section.) You can get a goodly number of creatures, but no explinations.

I'm looking for two things really. d20 creatures than can be validly re-used under the Open Gaming License, and creatures that are well enough described that they are more than a simple bunch of stats (because you can always generate those yourself).

Some of the new MM creatures are actually VERY well described in terms of ecology. But unfortunately that stuff has been cut out of the SRD - they still have a nice flavour though. One of my favourites is the Ankheg, basically a giant cockroach with acid dripping from its mandibles .... very possibly an alien creature!

The intelligence of the normal MM creatures is what throws me, so many of them are given at least a 10!? The magical abilities can always be described as either normal science, psionic or genetic manipulation.

What I'm really wondering is are any of the creature books put out by other d20 companies any good for Traveller aliens?

 

[sandman]

The best D20 monsters I've known...


It's the Munchkin.


He lives in Dark and Foreboding Places, filled with smoke and weird music. He lives on bag-like things with patterns seeming to spell words like "Ley's", "Sprongles", "Rolled Old". he
also derives much pleasure in torturing some small critters and splattering them on flat bread, covering them with cheeze like stuff and heating it 'till it's crisp.

They can attack others by "Quoting Rules" (Once per round, see CoC D20 for Sanity Rules, the other round must be spent reading the Holy Munchkin Book, also known as "The Rules") or by asphyxiation through its powerfull "Body Odor" (Range 1/3/5, Damage: Nausea, Crit(18): stunned)

One of the two ways to get rid of a Munchkin is to outwit him, but only characters with INT and WIS 16+ can attempt this. The Munchkin is entitled to a Will save against Adverse Reasoning. The other way is to Mystically Banish the Muchkin. It's not magic, but they believe it is. You must invoke the "Referee's Litany":

The Ref is Always Right
It's Just a Game
You must not OverRef
Rule is the mind-killer
Rule is the little-death that brings total obliteration
I will renounce my Rules
I am God so kneel or get out!


Normally a Munchkin will either cower in fear or retreat to his nearest FLGC (Friendly Local Gaming Cave)

 

[GypsyComet]

Originally posted by Falkayn:
I'm looking for two things really. d20 creatures than can be validly re-used under the Open Gaming License, and creatures that are well enough described that they are more than a simple bunch of stats (because you can always generate those yourself).

Welll...
Stats in most 3rd party books will be OGC, the color text and artwork are a toss-up depending on how the OGC is defined in that particular product.

In the WotC stable, the MM is, so far, IT, and only to the extent seen in the SRD...

You asked a "referee" question, and I gave a similar answer. Had you asked as an "author", the answer might have been different, because the SRD and OGL are very like the "Canon" for Traveller: they are for authors, NOT for referees, to really worry about...

 

[Nurd_boy]

ABOLETH !!!!
big, evil, psionic fish....what more could you ask?

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by GypsyComet:
You asked a "referee" question, and I gave a similar answer. Had you asked as an "author", the answer might have been different, because the SRD and OGL are very like the "Canon" for Traveller: they are for authors, NOT for referees, to really worry about...

Sure, but many of us are referees and wannabe authors ...

I was interested in d20 publishing long before the T20 rules came out. It's amazing how little stuff is actually Open Gaming Content (OGC). The QuikLink guys have been quite generous in that regard, at least allowing the results of their design standards as OGC.

Anyway, I decided to look at a bunch of other d20 products, and it seems the only creatures that people want to publish are demons, devils, dragons and drow (and some other intelligent races). Very few new creatures available.

 

[clementk]

Originally posted by Falkayn:
Guys & Gals,

I'm wondering if outside of the Monster Manual, there are any great d20 creatures that would make believeable Traveller aliens.

I've scoured several sources available to me and found very few d20 creatures that could be converted to Traveller. But I know there must be more somewhere ... Please help!

Thanks muchly,

If you mean intelligent species, here is a previous post of mine on the matter.

Now as to OGL "animals", the d20 Modern SRD has a decent number of them. As for not having an "ecology" entry, well that leaves more room for you then. (and more work too

) If it's OGL can't you just add your own OGL ecology to your version of the animal?

The problem is that the "description" portion of a animal entry usually contain IP and is thus often not made Open Content. (from what I can tell)

IIRC Tome of Horrors by Sword & Sorcery is largely or all OGL and their Creature Collections have some good "monsters". The 2nd one is likely of less use, and make sure you look at a corrected printing of the 1st book or view the errata.

I recomend taking a look at Enworld and Mortality.net for lots of reviews and sample the free stuff/samples at Rpgnow. There's one or two template files that might be useful for example.

EDIT: Privateer Press's Monsternomicon is my favorite d20 "Monster Manual". Presented like a fantasy ecology text it has some very creative designs and very writing. I don't have my copy handy so I can't remember how much is OC though.

HTH,

Casey

"So you misjump and wind up outside of your ship in the weirdest, biggest city you've ever seen full of all sorta of sophonts, most species you've never seen before. Looking up you see the city curving up over your head, many kilometers away, several kilometers wide.

A human sized metallic cube with legs, arms, and gears walks up and says, 'New. You? Yes? No? Sigil. Welcome. To. Lady. Of. Pain. Will. Want. Meeting. You. Soon. BERKS!' Clank clonk brizzt.

So what do you do now?"

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Falkayn:

Oooh, scary!

I'd hate to be one of your players!

I regularly quote one of my favorite philosophers - Frederick L. Krueger - to my newest players, to wit: "How sweet; fresh meat!"

 

[Spinward Scout]

OK, I had a strange thought while reading this. Has creativity gone out the window? In the traveller game that I've started to run, my main villain is basically a necromancer in space. Granted, he uses science instead of magic, and his "zhombies" are created from a virus and controlled by machines, but it's still the same concept. Very victorian/frankenstienish, and Space Operaish. Anyways, You can take any Monster or creature and make it your own. You are the Ref. It's your game.

Scout

 

[Nurd_boy]

Originally posted by ScoutCadet469:
OK, I had a strange thought while reading this. Has creativity gone out the window? In the traveller game that I've started to run, my main villain is basically a necromancer in space. Granted, he uses science instead of magic, and his "zhombies" are created from a virus and controlled by machines, but it's still the same concept. Very victorian/frankenstienish, and Space Operaish. Anyways, You can take any Monster or creature and make it your own. You are the Ref. It's your game.

Scout

dead people kept animated by nanotech? I wonder if a psi would retain his abilities that way?...thinking space liche here

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by ScoutCadet469:
OK, I had a strange thought while reading this. Has creativity gone out the window? In the traveller game that I've started to run, my main villain is basically a necromancer in space. Granted, he uses science instead of magic, and his "zhombies" are created from a virus and controlled by machines, but it's still the same concept. Very victorian/frankenstienish, and Space Operaish. Anyways, You can take any Monster or creature and make it your own. You are the Ref. It's your game.

Great idea! There are a wide range of possibilities in the Traveller universe. You could even have the 'Virus' not be a computer bug, but actually be the zombifying agent that spreads horribly quickly. Then you aren't just fighting insane AIs, but all sorts of zombies. Very 'Evil Dead' type of concept ...

IMTU we stick closer to canon, and more of a technothriller/intrigue type of game. I like the PCs getting mixed up in all sorts of complicated political shenanigans, which they resolve through dint of hard work, upright character and a fair degree of smarts. More Tom Clancy 'Jack Ryan' or '24' type stories than anything else (although I watched an excellent British show last night, 'Spooks').

 

[kafka47]

I have often thought a pocket empire of Githyanki from Foreven would be a rather nice suprise for my players who until now maintained a three system cluster by STL transport. That is until Jump technology got leaked by some unscruptious traders.

 

[LostWorldsMike]

Originally posted by Baron Saarthuran:
Id bet my last Credit that Mind Flayers (the Illithid) would make excellent foes for staltwart adventurers... I see them taking over a low population planet, Space Station, or ship for use in thier evil plans...

I'm liking this idea very muchly. Thanks Now I'm gonna have to find time to run a T20 campaign...

 

[Eric]

Originally posted by ScoutCadet469: OK, I had a strange thought while reading this. Has creativity gone out the window? In the traveller game that I've started to run, my main villain is basically a necromancer in space. Granted, he uses science instead of magic, and his "zhombies" are created from a virus and controlled by machines, but it's still the same concept. Very victorian/frankenstienish, and Space Operaish. Anyways, You can take any Monster or creature and make it your own. You are the Ref. It's your game.

Originally posted by falkaynGreat idea! There are a wide range of possibilities in the Traveller universe. You could even have the 'Virus' not be a computer bug, but actually be the zombifying agent that spreads horribly quickly. Then you aren't just fighting insane AIs, but all sorts of zombies. Very 'Evil Dead' type of concept ...

I'm actualy runing a similar champain right now. Here's what's happenin. My PCs will find them selves on board a very big lab ship. the former occupants of this ship were conducting research and experiments on genetic manipulation. Every thing was just peachy until, Oops! one of the experiments got loose, and uh oh! so did the mutation virus. Buy the time my guys get there the place will be crawling with mutated version of every form of life imaginable, including humans.