Template Monsters
After my nap, I started to work on template monsters for my 2nd Pathfinder adventure. It was while just getting started really, Cha called and offered to take us to dinner a Golden Corral. I know the manager, and he gave us a little discount which was nice. Afterwards I went over Cha's apartment again, and watched TV and worked on template monsters on my tablet for a few hours before coming back to my apartment.
Template monsters were one of the cooler things to come out of 3rd edition D&D. Prior to that one vampire (for example) was pretty much like another. When a mortal became a vampire they lost most of their former life and became a generic vampire. There was some attempt to differentiate vampires, the most famous example would be Strahd von Zarovich from the original Ravenloft, but there were others like an unnamed Drow vampire that makes a brief appearance somewhere in the D series modules. In 2nd edition the Ravenloft monster collection included different vampires for each of the main races, so an elven vampire was now different from a dwarven vampire, but each elven vampire was pretty much like another. It was in 3rd edition that vampires (amongst other creatures) became truly unique individuals. instead of a generic "vampire" there was now a vampire template. You start with a "base creature" which could be any humanoid or monsterous humanoid (in the case of a vampire) and add the vampire template to it. This would modify some attributes and traits, eliminate others, and add some new ones, while leaving some untouched. So an elven wizard who became a vampire, would still retain many of the powers and abilities it had in life, as would an orc barbarian, or a human rogue. All three would have some things in common, while each would be a unique creature. Vampires weren't the only template creatures. Ghosts, liches, skeletons and zombies were all template monsters. Nor were undead the only ones. You could create celestial or fiendish creatures out of ordinary ones by adding templates. There were also numerous half-breed templates, of which the half-celestial, half-dragon, and half-fiend were the most famous. I really love template monsters because they allow a lot of flexibility and customization.
Template monsters were one of the cooler things to come out of 3rd edition D&D. Prior to that one vampire (for example) was pretty much like another. When a mortal became a vampire they lost most of their former life and became a generic vampire. There was some attempt to differentiate vampires, the most famous example would be Strahd von Zarovich from the original Ravenloft, but there were others like an unnamed Drow vampire that makes a brief appearance somewhere in the D series modules. In 2nd edition the Ravenloft monster collection included different vampires for each of the main races, so an elven vampire was now different from a dwarven vampire, but each elven vampire was pretty much like another. It was in 3rd edition that vampires (amongst other creatures) became truly unique individuals. instead of a generic "vampire" there was now a vampire template. You start with a "base creature" which could be any humanoid or monsterous humanoid (in the case of a vampire) and add the vampire template to it. This would modify some attributes and traits, eliminate others, and add some new ones, while leaving some untouched. So an elven wizard who became a vampire, would still retain many of the powers and abilities it had in life, as would an orc barbarian, or a human rogue. All three would have some things in common, while each would be a unique creature. Vampires weren't the only template creatures. Ghosts, liches, skeletons and zombies were all template monsters. Nor were undead the only ones. You could create celestial or fiendish creatures out of ordinary ones by adding templates. There were also numerous half-breed templates, of which the half-celestial, half-dragon, and half-fiend were the most famous. I really love template monsters because they allow a lot of flexibility and customization.