Your world is usually filled with all kinds of creatures, from friendly NPCs to powerful monsters. The GM can create any kind of creature that they think will fit into the story, but here are some rules they can follow to help them create balanced creatures. These rules are also used to create creatures that players can summon and transform into. Note that player characters count as creatures, and these rules apply to them as well. You can find a list of creatures here. You can find a tool for balanced encounters with creatures here.
Creature Types and Categories
Creatures have four categories which themselves have different types. Here you can see an overview of all categories and types.
Biological
Biological creatures are mostly made of living organic tissues, like flesh, bones, or wood. In most settings, they are the most common creature category. They have the following types:
- Humanoid: Creatures of roughly humanoid form and intelligence, no matter the size. Player characters and creatures are, by default, Humanoids. Examples: Humans, orcs, elves, giants, most humanoid aliens in sci-fi.
- Alien: Creatures, who are utterly alien, be they from another planet or another dimension. They bend the normal definition of what counts as alive. Examples: Eldrich monsters, extradimensional lifeforms, highly abnormal organisms.
- Animal: The normal Fauna of your setting. Examples: Dogs, horses, elephants, crocodiles, dinosaurs, sharks.
- Mutant: Creatures whose genetic material has been extensively modified, be it on purpose or by accident. Examples: Radioactive monstrosities, creatures that are biological weapons, twisted experiments.
- Mystical: Creatures of legend with clearly supernatural powers that are still primarily biological. Examples: Dragons, fairies, unicorns, werewolves.
- Plant: Creatures, which consist mostly of living plant matter or mushrooms. Examples: Ents, talking flowers, mushroom people.
Material
Material creatures are mostly made out of non-organic physical matter. Some are closer to an object than what most might call a living being. They have the following types:
- Animated: A construct that has been animated through mostly supernatural means. Examples: Elementals, golems, animated armors, possessed dolls.
- Mechanical: A machine that has been animated through mostly scientific means. Examples: Robots, drones, artificial intelligence.
- Vehicle: An object or creature that can be piloted by another. They have additional rules. Examples: Cars, mech suits, planes, tanks, spaceships.
Vehicles
Vehicles are a special type of creature with special rules. They can be sentient or non-sentient. A non-sentient vehicle cannot act on its own and does not have any Intelligence, Charisma, Instinct, or Will. It also only starts with 16 Stat Points at Level 0. It has no Primary or Secondary Stat.
A creature of a smaller size category than the vehicle can pilot it. The vehicle takes on the Intelligence, Charisma, Instinct, and Will of the primary Pilot. The Primary Stat of the vehicle becomes the Vehicle Handling Skill Level of the primary pilot plus 10, and their Secondary Stat becomes the Instinct of the primary pilot. A pilot cannot be damaged from outside the vehicle while the Vitality of their vehicle is above half of the vehicle’s maximum, but even then, the pilot still has half cover.
Creatures can also pilot sentient vehicles if the vehicle allows it, but in that case, no Stats are replaced, and the vehicle uses its own Primary and Secondary Stat.
Entering and leaving a vehicle requires an action (3 AP). Any AP or RP that the Vehicle uses also uses up the AP and RP of every creature piloting it.
The GM can decide that a creature with incompatible anatomy cannot use a specific vehicle. A horse, for example, should not be able to drive a car.
Spirit
Spirit creatures are always of supernatural nature. They often have no true physical body but consist of mystic or spiritual energy. They have the following types:
- Angel: Spirits that are aligned towards good forces and deities. Examples: Guadian angels, good-natured gods, cherubim.
- Demon: Spirits that are corrupted and serve evil forces. Examples: Devils, Yokai, Succubi.
- Sprite: Spirits that are more neutral and not bound to any black and white morality. Examples: Kami, Fey Creatures, Manifestations of the Land.
Undead
Creatures that died but that are bound to unnatural life. Most of them can be categorized as dead biological lifeforms that somehow are still exhuming life-like patterns. They have the following types:
- Ghost: A undead creature that has no physical body. Examples: Poltergeists, haunting souls, banshees.
- Rotten: A dead decaying creature that is still moving. Examples: Zombies, skeletons, liches.
- Undying: A creature that somehow resists the effects of decay while still being technically dead. Examples: Vampires, ghouls, cursed immortals.
Creature Size
A creature’s size affects more than just the amount of space they occupy.
Creatures gain -2 Evasion for each size category larger than Medium. The range of their melee attacks also increases by 1 m for each size category larger than Medium, and the amount they can carry increases by their Strength Stat for each size category larger than medium. They gain +1 Armor for each size category larger than Medium.
The damage of area-of-effect Abilities is increased by half against creatures of size category Big + or bigger if the effect covers the entire creature.
On the flip side, for each size category smaller than Medium, a creature gains +2 Evasion and -1 Armor. Their carry capacity is halved. Creatures of category Small – or smaller receive only half damage from area-of-effect Abilities
Weapons and armor that are effective for the different sizes increase and decrease in weight correspondingly. For smaller creatures, it is only half as heavy. For bigger creatures, it increases by an amount equal to the normal weight for each size category larger than medium.
General Creature features
There are four ranks of non-player creatures: Minor, Normal, Elite, and Boss. Each represents different levels of complexity and strength that are useful in different situations.
Creatures have Levels, Tiers, Stats, Skills, Abilities, resources, and features just like player characters, but they do not have any Archetypes and can learn any type of Ability. However, they do (except for Minor) have three creature classes that determine their Vitality, WP, and the number of Abilities they can learn. Those are Fighter, Hybrid, and Caster. Fighters have more Vitality and proficiency with three weapon categories and all armors, but less WP and Abilities. Casters have more WP and Abilities but are only proficient with one weapon category and light armor and have less Vitality. Hybrids are the balance between the other two with a decent amount of Vitality, WP, and Abilities and proficiency with two weapon categories and light and medium armor. It is generally recommended not to equip your creatures with equipment of a Tier that is higher than they are.
| Creature Class | Vitality per level | WP per Level |
|---|---|---|
| Fighter | 7 | 2 |
| Hybrid | 5 | 3 |
| Caster | 3 | 4 |
Non-character creatures cannot use their Narrative Momentum to reroll dice.
Non-character creatures do not gain features like characters. They instead gain Creature Talents. A Creature Talent gives the creature the choice between one Greater Talent, two Lesser Talents, or one Path. They can only choose a Path once, though. They can also choose one Tier 5 Sub-Archetype feature if they have all other features of that Sub-Archetype and are of at least Tier 5. They can do so only once.
They can have any Primary and Secondary Stat as long as it is not the same Stat. They can have one of the following Stats as Evasion Stats: Strength, Intelligence, Charisma, or Instinct.
Minor
Minor creatures are designed to be cannon fodder and are very useful if you want to throw hordes of enemies at your players. They only have 1 Vitality. This way, any hit that deals more damage than their armor will kill them, making it easier for the GM to track the Vitality of large groups of minor creatures. They do not have any Abilities, Temporary Vitality, WP, or Narrative Momentum and only up to 1 Creature Talent and up to 1 Path. They start with no additional Skill Points. If a path requires them to choose an Ability, they can learn Abilities that fit the required criteria.
| Level | Tier | Stat Points | Skill Points | Creature Talent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 0-2 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 8 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 11 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Normal
Normal creatures are your standard enemies and allies. They are weaker than a player character of the same Level, but they can still be dangerous in higher numbers. They gain the same amount of Vitality and Temporary Vitality as a player character. They only have half as much WP and Narrative Momentum as a character. They also learn fewer features and Abilities to keep them simple and easy to control for the GM.
| Level | Tier | Creature Talent | Stat Points | Skill Points | Abilities* | Abilities Total* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 3 | 1, 2, 3 | 1, 2, 3 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0, 0, 0 | 1, 2, 3 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0, 0, 0 | 1, 2, 3 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1, 2, 3 | 2, 4, 6 |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 0, 0, 0 | 2, 4, 6 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 0, 0, 0 | 2, 4, 6 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1, 2, 3 | 3, 6, 9 |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 0, 0, 0 | 3, 6, 9 | ||
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 0, 0, 0 | 3, 6, 9 | ||
| 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1, 2, 3 | 4, 8, 12 |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 0, 0, 0 | 4, 8, 12 | ||
| 11 | 1 | 1 | 0, 0, 0 | 4, 8, 12 | ||
| 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 2, 3 | 5, 10, 15 |
*Depending on Creature Class (Fighter, Hybrid, Caster)
Elite
Elite creatures are almost as strong as a player character of the same Level and have a good chance of winning in a straight fight. They are useful if you want to distinguish a strong individual from other creatures, like a general or a companion that is supposed to be on the same level as the player characters.
| Level | Tier | Creature Talent | Stat Points | Skill Points | Abilities* | Abilities Total* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 6 | 1, 1, 1 | 1, 1, 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0, 1, 2 | 1, 2, 3 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 2, 3, 5 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0, 1, 2 | 2, 4, 7 |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 3, 5, 9 | |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 0, 1, 2 | 3, 6, 11 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1, 1, 2 | 4, 7, 13 |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0, 1, 2 | 4, 8, 15 | |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 5, 9, 17 | ||
| 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0, 1, 2 | 5, 10, 19 |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 6, 11, 21 | |
| 11 | 1 | 1 | 0, 1, 2 | 6, 12, 23 | ||
| 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 7, 13, 25 |
*Depending on Creature Class (Fighter, Hybrid, Caster)
Boss
Boss creatures are far stronger than a normal player character and are designed to be able to take down a whole group of them alone. All Bosses have advantage on all of their DRs.
There are different grades of Bosses. Each grade represents how many characters of the same Level it can take on. So a Level 1 grade 3 Boss is roughly as strong as three Level 1 characters.
| Level | Tier | Creature Talent | Stat Points | Skill Points | Abilities* | Abilities Total* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 9 | 2, 2, 2 | 2, 2, 2 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0, 1, 2 | 2, 3, 4 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 3, 4, 6 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0, 1, 2 | 3, 5, 8 |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 4, 6, 10 | |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0, 1, 2 | 4, 7, 12 | |
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1, 1, 2 | 5, 8, 14 |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0, 1, 2 | 5, 9, 16 | |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 6, 10, 18 | |
| 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0, 1, 2 | 6, 11, 20 |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 7, 12, 22 | |
| 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0, 1, 2 | 7, 13, 24 | |
| 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 1, 2 | 8, 14, 26 |
*Depending on Creature Class (Fighter, Hybrid, Caster)
The grade determines how high their Vitality and WP are. Their Vitality and WP are multiplied by their grade. For example, a Hybrid level 1 Boss creature with a Constitution of 12 and a Will of 10 would have a Vitality of 12+5=17 and a WP of 10+3=13 if they were grade 1. A grade 2 Boss would have 17*2=34 Vitality and 13*2=26 WP. A grade 3 Boss would have 17*3=51 Vitality and 13*3=39 WP, and so on.
For every grade beyond the first, they gain one additional turn per round. These additional turns are always after the turn of the next enemy that they are fighting. For example. You have a grade 4 Boss creature fighting against five player characters. Let us call them Abby, Betty, Charles, Douglas, and Eric. They have the following Initiatives: Boss 25, Abby 30, Betty 28, Charles 26, Douglas 24, and Eric 22. They would have the following order in the two first rounds:
| Round | Turn | Initiative |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abby | 30 |
| 1 | Betty | 28 |
| 1 | Charles | 26 |
| 1 | Boss | 25 (Grade 1) |
| 1 | Douglas | 24 |
| 1 | Boss | Grade 2 |
| 1 | Eric | 22 |
| 1 | Boss | Grade 3 |
| 2 | Abby | 30 |
| 2 | Boss | Grade 4 |
| 2 | Betty | 28 |
| 2 | Charles | 26 |
| 2 | Boss | 25 (Grade 1) |
| 2 | Douglas | 24 |
| 2 | Boss | Grade 2 |
| 2 | Eric | 22 |
| 2 | Boss | Grade 3 |
A Boss creature cannot gain more turns than there are enemies. It might be a better idea to have a higher Level Boss with a lower grade if you want to have a single boss creature fight a whole group of players. It can otherwise lead the player characters to feel like they are just watching the boss act without them being able to do anything.
One thing that you also should take into account is that there are many Abilities and features that are triggered on each of a creature’s turns. For example, a grade 3 Boss that is poisoned for five rounds would trigger it three times in one round.
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