Monstrous Mondays: Monsters of the Multiverse (5e)

Back to Monstrous Mondays!  A quick update on where I am at with my Basic Bestiary.  Book 1 is done, I just have some editing and making sure my numbers are doing what I want them to do.  I am going back and increasing the Treasure amounts a little.  It has been pointed out to me that my Old-School games are rather light on the treasure.  I also want to make sure that my XP values are appropriate for the monsters' special abilities.  Book 2 needs a bit more work since I have a ton of undead, but I have a plan for that.  When I am done with all the "level setting" of Book 1, Book 2 will go much faster.

So what does that mean for you my good reader?  Well for the most part I am not going to post new monsters for a couple of weeks at least since I am not actively writing monsters.  That could change if I come across an entry that needs a top to down rewrite.

For a bit I am going to review some of the monster books I have here.  Not so much for the individual monsters, but for a feel of how they work together.  I am not looking for a unified milieu of monsters. On the contrary, the original Monster Manual was an odd collection of monsters of myth and legend and it is now my gold standard.  But at least how they can group together thematically.  Even if that theme is "fantasy roleplaying."

I am going to start with my newest one first.

Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse

Monsters of the Multiverse is the newest book in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition line.  It has been eagerly anticipated since the announcement of a rules update coming in 2024 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of D&D.  The new rules are likely to be something akin to D&D 5.5 or even D&D 5r.  I am not expecting a full-blown 6th edition yet. But that is for another time. Today my focus is on this new monster manual because that is indeed what it is.

Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse.  288 pages. Full-color cover and interior art. Part of the D&D 5 gift set, available separately in April.

Monsters of the Multiverse is split into two large chapters.  

Chapter 1: Fantastical Races

This chapter covers the various races that can be used as Player Characters. All in all there are 30 races (33 with subtypes) that are available to use as characters or NPCs here.  Many have appeared in other books and most date back to the 1st Ed days.  In particular, there are the expected choices like Deep Gnomes, Eladrin, Goblins, Minotaur, orcs, and so on.  There are a few I want to focus on.

Fairy. This is fun class and one that began in official D&D books in 4th edition. They are a fun little character that has worked well in other non-D&D FRPG for decades.  D&D in finally catching up.   I converted my own Dirty Nell from Ghosts of Albion and she worked out great. 

Goblins are getting some lore updates tying them deeper into the Feywild.  Again, D&D started this in 4e but are playing catch-up here.  Now you can play a Labyrinth style goblin or even one like you find in GURPS Goblins (a completely underrated and underappreciated GURPS supplement).  Of course, there are still many, many evil goblins and they are likely the majority.  But PCs are of any alignment.  My character for this race is Nik Nak, by Chaotic Neutral Goblin Warlock.

Minotaurs go back to 1st Ed Dragonlance as a PC race.  Well, now they are back.

Satyrs are now a playable race.  They were back in 4e where they are a male-only race with hamadryads as their female counterparts. In 5e this is expanded, satyrs can be male or female.  Now if you tell me satyrs are only male I am going to remind you there is a reason why you failed art history.  There are plenty of female satyrs depicted in art over the last few centuries.  I might be playing the stereotype here, but my satyr character is a bard named Roan.  For the hell of it he plays the bagpipes.

If you must have a male-only satyr race, then by all means do that. There is nothing in the rules that say you can't.  I am still a HUGE fan of the Hooves and Green Hair article by Bennet Marks in Dragon #109.  I even commented in my This Old Dragon for #109 that they would make great races for D&D 5.

Shadar-Kai the S&M goths of 4e are updated again for 5e. They premiered in 3e as a type of elf. They are back to being elves here (they had been re-introduced as a race in previous 5e books). My "evil Wonder Twins" of Runu and Urnu are my goto Shadar-kai. 

No race has a default alignment. Indeed alignments for races are never mentioned.  

Chapter 2: Bestiary 

This section covers 250 of the total 288 pages.  Here we get over 250 (259 by my count) monsters for 5e. This is the most of any book aside from the Monster Manual.  This makes this book more akin to the Fiend Folio or Monster Manual 2.  

There are some duplications here. If you have other books then it is very reasonable to ask do I really need this book?  I can't say how much each monster was updated.  A few had some edits and some were largely the same.  BUT I can let you know what monsters are here and where they came from first.

I have created a Google Sheets spreadsheet with all the monsters from all the D&D 5 books except the Monster Manual.  I'll add that one later, but I wanted to focus on all the "new" monsters first.  You can see the duplicates and what books have which monsters.

Despite the whinging of old men online, all the monsters in this book do in fact have alignments. Even ones that have playable race options.  There are still plenty of evil creatures to fight and kill. It is true that the alignments are prefaced by "typically" but that is just saying the quiet part out loud.  That was true for 1st ed and it has been true for every other edition too.  5e is not getting rid of alignment.  

If I had a complaint it is that major unique characters such as Fraz-Urb'luu, Graz'zt and Geyron are not listed under demons or devils, but rather alphabetically by name.  Oh they are still demons and devils and they are still evil to the core, they are just alphabetized by proper name instead of "Demon, Graz'zt." A nitpick to be sure. I kept them like that in my list.  Dinosaurs are listed under Dinosaur, however.  There is a listing for a "Brontosaurus" as opposed to the "Apatosaurus" but I kinda like that to be honest.  Also, my all-time favorite, the Dimetrodon, is here even though it is not a dinosaur. 

Who should buy this?

Well, that is a good question. Largely it depends on much you play D&D 5e and/or how much do you love monsters?   I love monsters. So this is a no brainer for me.  This is D&D 5e's Monster Manual II.

If you play D&D and do not have the other books listed in my sheet then yes get this. 

If you are looking for insight into what might be in D&D 5.5/5r well there is little new knowledge here.

If you play D&D and want to try out these new races, then yes, this is a great choice. 

For me?  I love it, I think it is fantastic and worth the money spent.

Mail Call: Art Package from Djinn

One of the things I feel is my privilege is the ability to share with you my readers and friends all the new and wonderful artists I can find.  I love getting art and if I can help out an artist on the way, well that is even better. 

But when the artist shares something with me?  That is the best of all!

So imagine my delight when the postman rings my doorbell today to have me sign for a package from Italy!

And what a package it is!

I had just featured some art from Djinn in the Shade this morning on my Dirty Nellie write-up.  She was the first artist I have ever had make some art for Nell.

And here is what I got!

This one is one of my favorites and it is based on Witches going to their Sabbath (1878), by Luis Ricardo Falero.  It features her OC sorceress Solaine (who is her Pathfinder/D&D character and star of her own comic strip) and my witch Larina.  There is an uncensored one as well. 

Halloween

Stickers!

Djinn also featured our witches in jail in a new bit of art this week to mark her "shadow ban" from Instagram for having "inappropriate art."  

So I am thrilled to death with these!

You can find Djinn on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram (for now!), and most of all on her Pateron site. She was also one of my first Featured Artists here.

Thank you my friend for such wonderful art!

Character Creation Challenge: Dirty Nellie, Street Fae

So far my dive into Dracula and then Victorian characters for NIGHT SHIFT has been a lot of fun.  Also, my characters have largely been based on other people's characters or, in the case of Lincoln, real people. 

Today I want to do one of my original characters (OCs for the kids online). She is also one of the characters I had in mind for the Supernatural character rules.

I had introduced you all to Dirty Nellie a few years back (2009!) for various Victorian-era games including Ghosts of Albion, Savage Worlds, and Victoriana 2nd Edition.

Briefly, she is a Street Faerie. These are members of the Fae that have chosen to live in cities.  They are like pixies, complete with wings, but are more human-sized, if a bit shorter.  Their wings look like those of the Peppered Moth.   The obvious reason why is due to the case of the evolution of the peppered moth due to the Industrial Revolution.  Just like the moth, these fae have adapted to the grim, gaslit streets of London.

Nell herself is a central figure in my Victorian games.  She begins as a streetwalker but soon works her way up to running the notorious Gentleman's Club (in the Victorian sense of the term) "Mayfairs" in the late Victorian age.  She is an occult information broker and nearly anyone who is anyone in the occult underworld owes her a favor. Knowledge is power and Nell knows everyone and knows what they know.

Here she is for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

Nellie by Djinn in the Shade

Dirty Nellie

10th level Survivor (Supernatural, Faerie)
Archetype: Party girl Information broker

Strength: 10 (0) 
Dexterity: 14 (+1)
Constitution: 13 (+1) 
Intelligence: 15 (+2) S

Wisdom: 17 (+2) S

Charisma: 20 (+4) P

HP: 55
Alignment: Neutral 
AC: 6
Attack: 3

Fate Points: 1d10

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +5/+3/+2

Melee bonus: +1 Ranged bonus: +2

Saves: +6 against magic and supernatural attacks

Feed: Nell must engage in some revelry to feed.  

Faerie Powers

Innate Magic (Every 3 levels: Magic Missile, Charm Person, Produce Flame, Teleport), Double Damage from Iron weapons, +2 to Dexterity or Charisma, Glamour

Survivor Skills

Danger Sense, Sneak Attack +4 (x4 damage), Ritual Magic

Open Locks: 105%

Bypass Traps: 100%

Sleight of Hand: 110%

Move Silently: 110%

Hide in Shadows: 100%

Climb: 95%

Perception: 85%

Read Language: 80%

--

Nell is a great character and I have loved using her in many games. By the 1890s she is quite rich, very powerful, and someone that the PCs will run into at some point. 

Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more! 

Dirty Nellie, Street Faerie

For Ghosts of Albion I introduced a new race of fae call Street Faeries. They are fae that have choosen to live in the urban sprawl of large cities rather than their normal sylvan glades and woods. The most notorious of of all though was a little street fae name "Dirty Nel".

Dirty Nellie
She looked like child, one of those unfortunates forced to work the streets, though no child had such a licentious gleam in her eyes. Of course no human child had wings either. They were the same shape as other pixies, that of a butterfly, but these were more like that of a peppered moth. They were colorless, save for irregular patches of what appeared to be soot or grime. She smoked an American style cigarette, which of course was not only scandalous as a woman, but as a creature of the Fae. Her clothing was a motley assortment that revealed more flesh than even the most brazen dollymop would have been ashamed to show. I approached her to ascertain what sort of creature she was. She noticed me and said, "Oi! Piss off. Im trying to work ere!"
She disappeared in a shower, not of pixie-dust, but of soot and smoke.

- From the Journal of Tamara Swift

One of the more notorious Street Fae is a pixie named Nel, also known as Dirty Nellie by human occult researchers. Nel is a Street Faerie prostitute often working in the theatre district of London. She got her start at the dawn of the Victorian age as a simple street walker. She would use her minor powers of Glamour to appear as whatever she felt her clients were looking for. A low level of empathic powers helped her to seek out those whose need was great (and thus able to pay more) and what they were looking for. Her most oft-used guise is that of a coster girl who has lost all her snells and needs to make back all her lost money or her cruel stepfather will beat her. She has also been known to appear as dusky beauty for the orient, or a young lad lost in the city after leaving his boarding school.

Through guile, deceit, and lots of hard work, Nel worked her way into the prominent occult societies of the time. As her clientele increased in wealth and status, so did her own. She gained not only monetary wealth but a wealth of information about such organizations as the Algernon Club, the Rosicrucians, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (where she was Crowley's lover for a time), and the Theosophical Society. By World War I no living being knew as many secrets (and it is amazing how many secrets a man is willing to share in the cloak of night in the lover's bed) of the occult underground as she did.

Note to Modern Directors: Dirty Nellie has not been seen since the Blitz of WWII. If she survived (and many suspect she did not) she must be using a new guise or has moved on to another city.

Roleplaying Dirty Nellie
Nel is the archetypical good-time girl. When not working she can be found in gambling houses, public houses, or even an opium den. Her looks in any form are striking. She is a bit vain and proud of her looks, so in any guise her midnight black hair (cut short), green eyes and many piercings remain. She is fond of soldiers and once traveled to India to be with an entire troup. She returned to London with a pierced nose and an addiction to the cigarettes smoked there. Her favorite trick is to produce one she has pre-rolled from nowhere and light it with the tip of her finger. As a Faerie, Nel is immune to the harmful effects of her addictions to smoking, alcohol and drugs. She is also immune to the diseases that plague her trade, but Directors may decide she is a carrier and say there is a chance that her paramours could contract syphilis themselves.
Nel in any part of the Victorian age is a wealth of information and can act as a Criminal or Supernatural Contact. In the time of Ghosts of Albion (early Victorian) she is worth up to 3 points of Criminal Contacts (she knows everyone and most owe her) or 2 points of Supernatural. As the 19th Century progresses she can be bought fo up to 3 points of Supernatural but only 2 of Criminal.

Nel is not a fighter. She not above threatening someone with her knife or even throwing a bit of fire at someone, but she will not engage in most forms of combat. Nel would rather seduce someone and then poison them in the bed chamber if she wants someone dead. Usually though trouble finds Nel and not the other way around. A possible introduction would be having her running for her life and smack right into the Cast.
Despite some of her addictions, arrogance and her rather rude habit of calling humans monkeys, Nel is actually a very sweet faerie girl. She is also just determined to do things her way. One thing is certain, it is never boring with her around.

Ghosts of Albion stats
Name: Nel, Dirty Nellie (various human guise names are Alice, Little Mary, Tommy Atkins)
Motivation: To make some money and have a good time while doing it
Creature Type: Faerie (street faerie)
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Constitution 4, Intelligence 4, Perception 5, Willpower 6
Life Points: 34
Drama Points: 15
Qualities and Drawbacks: Addictions (Hashish 1, Opium 1,Smoking 2, Sex 2), Adversaries (Police, various rivals, various demons she owes money to), Blink 2, Criminal (Prostitute), Contacts (Criminal 3, Supernatural 3), Elven Soul Flame, Emotional Problems (Covetous, Cruel, Faerie Arrogance), Faerie, Glamour, Minority (Woman), Resources (start at -6 works up to +2).

Manoeuvres
Name Score Damage Notes
Dodge 11 Defence action
Grapple 7 Resisted by Dodge
Punch 5 4 Bash
Knife 11 4 Slash/Stab* Plus Elven Soul Flame



Dirty Nellie in Rippers & Gaslight (Savage Worlds)

Dirty Nel. I am afraid no amount of Ripper Tech can prepare you for that tangle with the supernatural.
- Attributed to Jonathan Harker, circa 1890

You can't be truly initiated into the inner ranks of the occult until Nel initiates you herself.
- Alistair Crowley, 1899

By 1892 Dirty Nellie (now mostly known as just Dirty Nel) is still doing what she does best. While not uncommon (Faeries have all sorts of obsessions), keeping the same job for 60 plus years is quite a feat for a little Street Fae.

Since the dawn of the Victorian age when she gained certain infamy in occult circles she only become more notorious. Some time in the 1840s she caught the attentions of a few occult researchers and scholars. Originally she was the subject of much discussion in the inner circles of occult lodges, discussing her the same way they would the tomes of Agrippa or a new species of vampire. That is till one of them decided to just approach her. When the young research returned from his visit, he spoke of her charm, her wit and of course her skills. Soon Nel was being visited by most of the members of the lodge and of a few others. Each would share some secrets with her, as is common with paramours. She went from back alley toffs to receiving gentlemen in her apartment. Her fees increased, not that the erstwhile men of learning noticed, and she increased her own knowledge. By the time anyone had figured out what was happening it was too late. Nel knew all their secrets, all their enemies secrets and a few more besides. She bartered her knowledge and took over one of the clubs where the men had met, the Mayfair House, and converted it into a club catering to me with a taste for both forbidden knowledge and forbidden carnality. While it is money that is often paid with her real currency is information and secrets. The Mayfair Club becomes a central gathering place for members of the occult community. She hires several girls, many with faerie or other blood in them, but most are still just human. She provides the men with a place to talk and relax, like any other Victorian club, but she provides other services as well. By 1892 the Mayfair Club is the place to go to get answers or find someone in the occult community. To date she has not hired any demons, werwolves or vampires, but she is getting more requests a day for even more forbidden fruit.

She has a lavish flat in Highgate, paid for by her many paramours, both with occult and terrestrial power. She is also now often paid just to be seen with someone, rather than have sex with them; though she still does that as well.

Nel after Rippers

People have been excommunicated or executed for less.
- One occult scholar failing to describe the events of the Mayfair Club party on New Years Eve, 1899.

During The Great War Nel provided financial power to protect her own homeland against the threat of the Kaiser, but that was not her major concern. She was also dealing with worsening relations with the Seelie and Unseelie Courts and ultimately the Shadow War between them. Nell like many Street Fae refused to choose sides and she was branded a traitor by the Seelie Court Queen. Hoping the further her own end the Unseelie Court Queen granted Nel Safe Passage for her services to the Unseelie Court (mostly by keeping Englands occult community in a sex-crazed haze to keep them out of the Courts business). This infuriated the Seelie Queen and she order Nels death.

During the Pulp Adventures ages (an age I think Savage Worlds is best at) Nel can be found at Mayfairs (the Club was dropped years ago) but her lust for life is mostly gone. Though adventurers search for some artifact will certainly find their trail leading to her door. She now employees a number of Unseelie Court faeries, but she even admits they are more likely to be spies for either Court.

The last reported sighting on Dirty Nellie was during the final Blitz of WWII. If she survived (and many suspect she did not) she must be using a new guise or has moved on to another city. Given the events of the Shadow War between the Fae, it is unlikely that the Seelie Court could have made good on their threats to kill her. But various stories suggest she was killed in the Blitz, or a jealous lover killed her or even more fantastic that the Devil claimed her as his own bride. Though it is also likely she has slipped away to live quietly. Though anyone that knew her cannot believe that.

Mayfairs remained closed till the 60s when it reopened as a center of the psychedelic drug culture. Since the middle 70s it has been owned and operated by a vampire couple who brought back to its roots of a contact place of the occult and the mundane.

Dirty Nellie (Savage Worlds)
Agility d8
Smarts d8
Spirit d8
Strength d6
Vigor d8

Charisma 4/2/0 (humans/other street fae/seelie court fae)
Pace 6
Parry 3
Reason
Toughness 6

Skills
Climbing d4
Fighting d4 (Nel is a lover, not a fighter)
Guts d10
Intimidation d4
Knowledge (Occult) d12+3 (if Nel does not know it, its probably not true)
Knowledge d10
Notice d10
Persuasion d8
Riding d4
Spellcasting d6
Stealth d8
Streetwise d8
Survival d10
Taunt d6

Hindrances
Compulsions (Smoking, Sex) (Used as Habit (Major)), Delusional (Faerie Arrogance, Minor), Illiterate, Outcast (unwelcome in the Seelie Court, treat as Outsider in respect to Seelie Court Fae), Weakness: Iron

Edges
Connections, Faerie Attractiveness (Adds +4 to Charisma for humans), Hard to Kill, Rich

Powers
Arcane Background (Magic Glamour)