Mage Spirit

These spirits have the appearance of small wrinkled crooked old humans, always bent over a stick as twisted and gnarled as themselves. This is not their preferred form, however: they prefer to enter the mortal world via the mind of another, who they use to satisfy their lust for the arcane. Mage Spirits constantly the thrill of using magic, and all of their activities are centered around getting their next 'fix'.

Flame Brother

Flame brothers are spirits of heat, appearing as small (SM-3) beings made of ethereal flame. While they are not invisible, they blend in with flames and so normally go unnoticed by mortals.  They come to this world mainly to bask in its flames, from which they draw sustenance (magical flame provides no such food). They have the ability to travel instantly between extreme heat sources, though only limited distances and without crossing thresholds.

Flame brothers are quite quarrelsome and territorial with each other. They often form small gangs that defend coveted territory. Industrialization has been kind to them:

Assassin Hound

Rare creatures employed by the powerful and well versed in the occult, assassin hounds are dedicated hunters and killers. They are shaped like a very lithe and bony hound the size of a small horse. Their speed is incomparable they can achieve speeds of 120 miles per hour at their fastest. They have a superb sense of smell and are skilled trackers.

In combat an assassin hound relies on its resistance to weapons and extreme speed. If faced with determined and capable opposition,

Burning Terror

Burning Terrors are undead with control over fire and a taste for the fear of others. Their flesh is charred black and shriveled, yet holds together. Their voices are raspy and sound like they've been screaming too much. They can wreathe themselves in flames at a moments notice. they feed off of fear and have a dramatic streak a mile wide. As they gain sustenance only from fear rather than death, they terrorize their victims for as long as possible: quickly killing their victims quickly is distinctly inefficient.

One of a burning terror's greatest advantages is its ability to read the minds of those around it. This is instinctive, reflexive, and allows them to not only feed on fear but to anticipate opponent's actions and pinpoint their location. It will usually play with its prey using this ability .

Monster Generation Traits

In a previous post I talked about the tables I use to generate monsters. Here they are. As a warning, these tables are not provided with numbers to roll on, because they don't come out evenly. Either find an online random number generator or pad out your own table. Or just raid mine for ideas.

The monsters come out best when the traits are not particularly random, but with well chosen numbers of each type of trait. The two sets I use most often are

Monster Hunters: Demons and Fae

Gurps: Monster Hunters is a wonderful series of books about heroes who actively chase down vampires, were-wolves, demons, and the like. Its an engaging genre that appears to be on the rise in general.

Among the list of inspirations for the settings is the Dresden Files. Its particularly reference as an inspiration for Monster Hunters's magic system. Unfortunately, Monster Hunters only obliquely references the most common supernatural character type in the Dresden files: the fae. And while a 3e supplement of Gurps deals with faeries in general, it doesn't provide the right feel.

A few days ago, I had a revelation.

Worlds Beyond Earth

I am an avid world builder. Really, I am. When I'm trying to kill time on a long trip I play a game I call 'Science Fiction or Fantasy', where questions are asked between people to build an exotic world and the skeleton of a story. I have more fictional universes than I know what to do with, and even more partial universes.

This blog is so that I can share these worlds and ideas. Yes, its gratifying to make them, but its even more gratifying to share. 

Much of this blog focuses on GURPS: Generic Universal Role Playing System. This is for two reasons: 

1. Gurps is a great way to describe many of the concepts I have in my mind. It was designed to represent nearly any world and I exploit it for that fact. 
2. These worlds are probably funner and more accessible to game in than to write fiction in. My audience is the gaming community as much as any other.
3. I enjoy roleplaying, and this blog is an appropriate place to put my thoughts on the matter. 

I hope you enjoy this material

Eric the Red