S&W Monstrosities for C&C

[dcfitch]

Has anyone used the Monstrosities book for Swords & Wizardry in their C&C game? It is a great book, but I much prefer C&C as a system. It looks as though it would be easy to concert...even on the fly. Any have any experience with this?

[Treebore]

Has anyone used the Monstrosities book for Swords & Wizardry in their C&C game? It is a great book, but I much prefer C&C as a system. It looks as though it would be easy to concert...even on the fly. Any have any experience with this?

I have the book, I was just looking at it night before last, but I have yet to actually use it for my C&C. That being said, I have used monsters from S&W, 1E AD&D, OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, 2E D&D and 3E D&D. I think I even converted a few 4E monsters a couple of years ago. With S&W monsters, especially the low HD, its simply a matter of deciding which Primes they have, Mental or Physical, and just use their HD for everything else. If they have a special attack or ability, odds are you can use it as written, and base any CL's for saves on their HD.

[maasenstodt]

Has anyone used the Monstrosities book for Swords & Wizardry in their C&C game? It is a great book, but I much prefer C&C as a system. It looks as though it would be easy to concert...even on the fly. Any have any experience with this?

You're right... it is a great book. I have first hand experience in using it (and other S&W materials) with C&C and it works great, on the fly, with no real effort to speak of.

Have fun!

[dcfitch]

How about their campaign books like Sword of Air? Ordered it and am hoping to use it with C&C.

[maasenstodt]

How about their campaign books like Sword of Air? Ordered it and am hoping to use it with C&C.

The only issue that I've seen with using S&W materials with C&C is that as characters progress in the two systems, the way that saving throws work diverges quite a bit. Higher level adventures that call for saving throws are going to be more dangerous for C&C characters because, as the rules are written, you add the hit dice of the opponent to the target number needed to save. S&W characters, on the other hand, have a set target number that gets easier to make over time. Thus, S&W adventures are written with the expectation that characters are going to make saving throws more often than they will if you're playing C&C.

I actually prefer the C&C approach in general, but when using almost any other OSR material, that's the one thing you have to be aware of and possibly plan around. Having said that, the issue doesn't really rear its head until the middle levels.

[SmokestackJones]

I like using Frog God S&W stuff due to the fact that they include both ascending and descending AC which makes it quite versatile. Haven't got Monstrosities yet (I'll probably pick up a copy at NTRPG Con) but my favorite go-to monster book is Tome of Horrors Complete. I've used critters out of there and had great success with it.

-SJ

[Treebore]

Tome of Horrors Complete. I've used critters out of there and had great success with it.

-SJ

That is one THICK frikking tome. Hmmm... I should put it side by side with Monstrosities and see which is thicker.

[dawnrazor]

I use monsters from all editions and clones for all my games. Sure, they sometimes differ a bit, but I ascribe it to them being different variants or individuals.

For C&C, conversion is easy, just as described earlier in the thread. I haven't used Frog God's adventures using C&C, but I use them for my Blood & Treasure game and do the conversions on the fly, and I expect conversion to be equally easy for C&C.

[serleran]

Has anyone used the Monstrosities book for Swords & Wizardry in their C&C game?

No.

It is a great book

Is it? Haven't read it, preferring to keep the insane notion that my creations are not rip-offs. Even when they are.

It looks as though it would be easy to concert...even on the fly. Any have any experience with this?

Everything is easy to convert. For C&C, mostly all you need is to pick saves.

[SmokestackJones]

Tome of Horrors Complete. I've used critters out of there and had great success with it.

-SJ

That is one THICK frikking tome. Hmmm... I should put it side by side with Monstrosities and see which is thicker.

It is. I've barely scratched the surface of it.

I also like that they give you a small plot hook with every entry. Handy for building scenarios around the creature and really gives you a feel of how said creature works.

-SJ

[Buttmonkey]

I've got Tome of Horrors Complete, but I've never heard of Monstrosities. Lately, I've just been making up all of my own monsters. I don't see myself in the market for another monster manual, although every once in a while, I do like to page through M&T or another monster book to get some inspiration or a starting point to build my own stuff.

[dawnrazor]

When we're into monster books, I must admit that I'm a monster book addict. I collect monster books and use for all "old school compatible" (i.e. pre 3e) games, including C&C.

And my favourites these days are Complete Tome of Horrors, Monstrosities and Tome of Horrors 4. Another great monster book is the Adventures Dark & Deep Bestiary. Not as pretty as the S&W ones, but filled with about 900 monsters. Very easy to convert to C&C or any old school game.

I also find the Pathfinder monster books a great source of inspiration.

[Omote]

I'm a fan of the S&W Monstrosities book, but I do not use it at the table. I will say this, the S&W Monstrosities book has so much white space, that it is easy to jot down conversion notes to C&C. The same can really be said for the S&W version of Tome of Horrors as well.

~O

[SmokestackJones]

Here's another current favorite:

http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/richard- ... 33783.html

-SJ