What makes a monster fun?
EP at Indie Game Fair, fragile design, making monsters fun, pre-orders, and Nemesis
Welcome to Exeunt Omnes, the official newsletter for loyal fans and sworn enemies of Exeunt Press, creator of games such as Exclusion Zone Botanist and Eleventh Beast. You can find digital games at games.exeunt.press and physical products at shop.exeunt.press.
TL;DR Summary
📚 Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair
💪 How fragile is your game design?
👹 What makes a monster fun?
💀 Pre-order fulfillment update
🎃 MÖRKTOBER begins October 1
🎲 Recently played: Nemesis
📚 Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair
Exeunt Press will be at the Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair this weekend, Saturday, September 28th from 12 pm - 5 pm. Hosted by People’s Book in Takoma Park, MD, local designers will be showcasing, selling, and chatting about their indie games and zines.
There is also an Indie Games Panel (4 - 5 pm) including Elizabeth Hargrave (Wingspan), Tory Brown (Votes for Women), and Connie Vogelmann (Apiary). Their games will be on sale after the panel.
The event is free but registration is required. I hope to see you there!
RSVP: Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair hosted by People’s Book
💪 How fragile is your game design?
What do we call things that requirements of a game, and yet can’t be explicitly written into the rules?
That’s the question at the core of the fragile game design, a topic recently covered by Skeleton Code Machine.
It’s a concept I first heard about via the January 2023 “Interview with Cole Wehrle” episode of Game Design Deep Dive. In it, Cole describes what he calls fragility in game design. It is the unspoken and unwritten guidelines that float above the rules, but are just as important as the rules. Strangely, making them explicit might actually detract from the play experience!
READ: How fragile is your game design? at Skeleton Code Machine
Skeleton Code Machine is an ENNIE-nominated weekly publication that explores tabletop game mechanisms. It’s been called a “Seemingly endless source of gaming ponderings” and a “Goldmine.” Check it out at www.skeletoncodemachine.com.
👹 What makes a monster fun?
In the past we’ve looked at what makes a hexcrawl great and what makes a MÖRK BORG module good. I enjoy questions like these because: (1) there is no right answer, and (2) thinking about possible answers can lead to creative inspiration.
There was a thread on Reddit not too long ago asking a similar question: What makes a monster fun?
Good question! Here are some things that stood out, along with some other thoughts:
First, define fun: It is important to recognize that different players have very different concepts of what “fun” is when playing a game. Understanding The 8 Kinds of Fun is a good starting point to try to answer this question, and the Bartle Taxonomy can be helpful too.
Have a backstory: I love random tables as much as the next person, but some of the best monsters are ones that we expect due to foreshadowing. In Nemesis and Mothership, we sort of expect xenomorph-style monsters, and yet it is that expectation that can ramp up the dread. A wolf is just a wolf, until it’s a wolf that the characters have heard about terrorizing a town and now finally come face to face with it.
Thematically integrated mechanisms: This is easier to do in heavier, simulation-style games than in rules-lite ones. If the monster has two heads, how does that change it’s behavior or the method of defeating it? Does it have acid blood? Can it fly? Trying to tie each key descriptive element to a mechanical or strategic impact can make the combat more immersive.
Monster as puzzle: Certainly, some monsters are just there to roll dice and eventually kill them. Great monster are, however, puzzles to be solved. It is the act of trying to find the weakness that makes it fun. The players focus on finding the silver bullet, a magic potion, or a special combination to defeat the creature. In a way Eleventh Beast does this by focusing on researching the monster rather than the final battle.
Steal ideas from video games: A while ago I mentioned how to steal video game boss fight mechanisms to use in TTRPGs. Things like secondary health bars, extra tasks to maintain the fight, and changing locations can all make monsters more engaging and memorable.
Keep it dynamic: A dice-rolling slugfest can become boring pretty quickly: I hit the monster; the monster hits me; repeat until someone dies. Having a monster that starts with one strategy and then changes during the fight can keep things fresh. Also consider changing the monsters form or the form of the battleground.
Don’t always fight to the death: No every battle has to end with a clear victory for one side or the other. MÖRK BORG’s morale system is just one example of how to mechanically handle this in games. Having some monsters more likely to cut and run during a fight makes the world seem more realistic.
Make it unique: One can only get so excited about fighting yet another skeleton or yet another goblin. Making the monster feel different and special is a way to increase the fun of the encounter. A good example is how MÖRK BORG takes the common skeleton and turns it into Belze the Blood-Drenched Skeleton with special abilities. Small changes can connect a generic monster to the game’s theme.
Make it matter: If defeating the monster has no impact on the world of the game, then there is little chance that it will be memorable fun. Monsters usually have a consequence for not defeating them (e.g. they eat you), but what about if you do defeat them? Think about how that encounter changes the future.
How do you make monsters more fun? What are your favorite and most memorable monsters that you’ve fought?
READ: Boss fight mechanisms in TTRPGs at Exeunt Omnes
💀 Pre-order fulfillment update
Good news!
All pre-orders for Caveat Emptor and Make Your Own One-Page Roleplaying Game have been shipped. If you placed an order, you should have received an email with tracking information. Actual shipping times range from just a few days to up to three weeks for international orders.
Missed the pre-order? Additional copies of both books will be on the Exeunt Press Shop soon, and will be announced in this newsletter when ready.
You can also get both Caveat Emptor and Make Your Own One-Page Roleplaying Game as PDFs.
If you have any questions about your order, please email games@exeunt.press!
SHOP: Exeunt Press Shop
🎃 MÖRKTOBER begins October 1
MÖRKTOBER is coming!
Each day in October, make something for MÖRK BORG inspired by the prompt list and share it — an item, scroll, weapon, class, or anything else. Tag it #MÖRKTOBER.
This year’s prompts and FAQs are available now. The MÖRK BORG Discord server #MÖRKTOBER channel is active. You can even cover your body in MÖRKTOBER this year!
Watch for details about the related DOOM QUEST puzzle hunt!
CREATE: MÖRKTOBER hosted by Exeunt Press
MÖRKTOBER is an independent production by Exeunt Press and is not affiliated with Ockult Örtmästare Games or Stockholm Kartell. It is published under the MÖRK BORG Third Party License. MÖRK BORG is copyright Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell. MÖRKTOBER and the MÖRKTOBER logo are copyright Exeunt Press.
🎲 Recently played: Nemesis
I was able to play Mothership and Nemesis (Kwapiński, 2018) in the same week, two games that riff on the Alien movie franchise. Both were a lot of fun in their own ways.
I understand why Nemesis can be frustrating, arbitrary, and not fun for some board game players (e.g. the hosts at So Very Wrong About Games have been vocal about this). If you want to use strategy and planning to win… this isn’t the game for you.
As with all games, it really depends on the player’s expectations and the kinds of fun they are hoping to have. We went into it knowing that you might do everything right to win, but get your face eaten by a Queen and lose. The tiles are random, and you might not find the ones you need soon enough. Sometimes the dice just hate you and your poor Scout gets destroyed on the way to the escape pod (photo above).
If you are looking for a time to socialize, do some backstabbing, and let a story unfold, however, it can be a really fun time. Glad we were able to get it to the table!
PLAY: Nemesis by Awaken Realms
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- E.P. 💀
I really like this article about monsters. I will use a lot of these ideas when GMing and writing my next round of adventures. Thanks for sharing this.
Many Mork Borg monsters are interesting. Goblins for example. Normally just fodder for low level adventures, in some Mork Borg scenarios and attack from a goblin gives you the goblin curse. The only cure? You must kill the goblin who gave you the curse. It can create interesting combat encounters.
What if one goblin attacked and gave the curse to two players? Yikes. 😬