Monsters and Other Childish Things
Encyclopedia
Monsters and Other Childish Things is a comedy
horror
role-playing game
about small children with horrible pet monsters. It is published by Arc Dream Publishing
and written by Benjamin Baugh, with illustrations by Rebecca Ivey and Rob Mansperger. Initially available as a 52 page expansion of the Godlike
rules in 2007, it was expanded into a "Completely Monstrous Edition" in 2008. This later version is an independent game using its own variation of the One-Roll Engine
. The Completely Monstrous Edition was republished in conjunction with Cubicle 7 Entertainment in a smaller, softcover format as the "Pocket Edition" in 2010.
Stories in Monsters revolve around the normal trials of childhood, aided and complicated by the monsters. The game is explicitly intended as allegory; Baugh says the monsters "represent lots of things"; the monsters form bonds only with children because they are more "emotionally exposed" than adults, who have learned to guard their feelings to protect themselves. This combines with the fantastic setting to make a game which is serious in subject matter, but light-hearted in tone.
s of d10s are used to determine the outcome of actions; success is determined by sets of dice which show the same number. In Monsters, the traditional stats and skills are replaced by more childlike descriptions of a person's capabilities; instead of "Strength", "Dexterity" etc. the stats are named "Hands", "Feet", "Guts" and so on. The skills are similar modified. An important addition are relationships; these are any person or thing important to the character, and can add dice to appropriate roles. For example, a kid with a relationship with his mother might add dice to rolls to escape a kidnapper if he fears he'll never see her again. All kids have a special relationship with their monster called the bond.
Monsters do not have regular stats and skills; instead points, each worth five dice, are allocated directly to body parts which can be used to Attack, Defend or do Useful Stuff (movement, senses etc.). Dice allocated to a body part can be sacrificed to gain special attributes; these include adding extra basic abilities (so the same body part can both Attack and Defend), adding more Useful abilities, improving damage, defence or speed, or allowing one die from the pool to be set by the player (before or after the roll, depending on the dice spent on this quality).
The book also includes notes for using the Monsters rules with other versions of O.R.E.
. Road Trip and Curriculum of Conspiracy were written by Ross Payton.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
about small children with horrible pet monsters. It is published by Arc Dream Publishing
Arc Dream Publishing
Arc Dream Publishing is a small role-playing game publishing company founded in 2002 by Pagan Publishing veteran Dennis Detwiller and editor Shane Ivey after the release of their first roleplaying game Godlike: Superhero Roleplaying in a World on Fire, 1936-1946 was published by Hobgoblynn Press.As...
and written by Benjamin Baugh, with illustrations by Rebecca Ivey and Rob Mansperger. Initially available as a 52 page expansion of the Godlike
Godlike (role-playing game)
Godlike: Superhero Roleplaying in a World on Fire, 1936-1946 is an alternate history World War II era Superhero role-playing game, created by Dennis Detwiller and Greg Stolze. Godlike was originally produced by Dennis Detwiller and John Tynes of Pagan Publishing , and published by Hawthorn...
rules in 2007, it was expanded into a "Completely Monstrous Edition" in 2008. This later version is an independent game using its own variation of the One-Roll Engine
One-Roll Engine
The One-Roll Engine is a generic role-playing game system developed by Greg Stolze for the alternate history superhero roleplaying game Godlike. The system was expanded upon in the modern-day sequel, Wild Talents, as well as the heroic fantasy game Reign and the free horror game Nemesis. A...
. The Completely Monstrous Edition was republished in conjunction with Cubicle 7 Entertainment in a smaller, softcover format as the "Pocket Edition" in 2010.
Setting
The world of Monsters is much like the real world, except that monsters are real. Monsters can take any form imaginable, but are universally terrible and powerful; they frequently combine elements from Lovecraftian cosmic horror (existing outside of normal dimensions, unnatural physiology etc.) and children's stories. They do not need to eat, drink or breathe, instead feeding on the emotional connections between human beings - especially children, with whom monsters form special bonds. They love their children and will do anything for them, though they are not necessarily obedient. It's mentioned that the world at large is aware of monsters, but because they are so good at remaining unnoticed children are usually the only humans with whom they interact.Stories in Monsters revolve around the normal trials of childhood, aided and complicated by the monsters. The game is explicitly intended as allegory; Baugh says the monsters "represent lots of things"; the monsters form bonds only with children because they are more "emotionally exposed" than adults, who have learned to guard their feelings to protect themselves. This combines with the fantastic setting to make a game which is serious in subject matter, but light-hearted in tone.
System
The original edition of Monsters used a modification of the One-Role Engine as it appeared in Godlike, but the later Monstrous Edition uses a repurposed and simplified version of the system. As in other versions of the system, dice poolDice pool
In some role-playing game systems, the dice pool is the number of dice that a player is allowed to roll when attempting to perform a certain action.-Mechanics:In most RPG systems, most non-trivial actions require dice rolls...
s of d10s are used to determine the outcome of actions; success is determined by sets of dice which show the same number. In Monsters, the traditional stats and skills are replaced by more childlike descriptions of a person's capabilities; instead of "Strength", "Dexterity" etc. the stats are named "Hands", "Feet", "Guts" and so on. The skills are similar modified. An important addition are relationships; these are any person or thing important to the character, and can add dice to appropriate roles. For example, a kid with a relationship with his mother might add dice to rolls to escape a kidnapper if he fears he'll never see her again. All kids have a special relationship with their monster called the bond.
Monsters do not have regular stats and skills; instead points, each worth five dice, are allocated directly to body parts which can be used to Attack, Defend or do Useful Stuff (movement, senses etc.). Dice allocated to a body part can be sacrificed to gain special attributes; these include adding extra basic abilities (so the same body part can both Attack and Defend), adding more Useful abilities, improving damage, defence or speed, or allowing one die from the pool to be set by the player (before or after the roll, depending on the dice spent on this quality).
The book also includes notes for using the Monsters rules with other versions of O.R.E.
Books
As well as the three versions of the main game, adventures and expansions have been published for Monsters. Creator Baugh wrote The Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor, a campaign sourcebook which presents an alternate take on the basic setting, and Bigger Bads, an expansion which adds additional options for monsters. Bigger Bads was funded through KickstarterKickstarter
Kickstarter is an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors, ranging from indie film and music to journalism, solar energy technology and food-related projects.-Model:...
. Road Trip and Curriculum of Conspiracy were written by Ross Payton.
See also
- GodlikeGodlike (role-playing game)Godlike: Superhero Roleplaying in a World on Fire, 1936-1946 is an alternate history World War II era Superhero role-playing game, created by Dennis Detwiller and Greg Stolze. Godlike was originally produced by Dennis Detwiller and John Tynes of Pagan Publishing , and published by Hawthorn...
- Wild TalentsWild Talents (role-playing game)Wild Talents is a superhero role-playing game published by Arc Dream Publishing and written by Dennis Detwiller, with Greg Stolze, Kenneth Hite, and Shane Ivey, with illustrations by Christopher Shy, Sam Araya, and Todd Shearer...
- NEMESISNEMESIS (role-playing game)Nemesis is a supernatural horror role-playing game, created by Dennis Detwiller, Greg Stolze and Shane Ivey, with game mechanics by Greg Stolze. The game is available electronically for free. Nemesis uses the One-Roll Engine gaming system, a dice pool system where matched die results determine...
External links
- Monsters and Other Childish Things Homepage the official Arc Dream page for the game
- Quick-play Guide for Monsters and Other Childish Things