The first Dungeon Fantasy Monsters book dealt with all sorts of
creature one might find while kicking in doors and killing the things
behind them. This one is more specialised, dealing specifically with
slimes.
While these might be regarded by us as slime-moulds, fungi, and
so on, Dungeon Fantasy is not a place for scientific curiosity: there
are strange magics warping the fabric of reality, and any terminology
only matches ours by coincidence. The general taxonomy here is fungus,
jelly, mould, ooze, pudding, slime and spore cloud, but the
classification is field-expedient, based on where the thing grows, how
solid it is, and how fast it moves.
The first section deals with the common characteristics of goo-type
monsters, such as the lack of internal organs to injure, then goes on
into specific details, giving stats for each type of goo. They get a
page or two each, giving basic stats and suggestions for variations:
for example, fungi get long- and short-range defensive powers, jellies
may absorb the powers of their victims, and moulds come in the
traditional variety of colours. (So do puddings.)
The second section discusses goo in play: how to recognise it, how to
use it in encounters (not to excess, because it'll slow down the game
as players poke every corner), and where it's thematic to have a lot
of it (which isn't as bad, since the players are expecting it and can
load up on appropriate spells and equipment). And, because it's
Dungeon Fantasy, some unusual goo is even valuable loot in its own
right.
This is a short and tightly-focussed book: if you're running a dungeon
where such things might show up, or indeed any sort of game with
strange magical monsters, it's potentially useful. (I'm not running a
dungeon bash, but I am running games with strange wizardly
experimentation that might produce such things as side-effects.)
GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 2: Icky Goo is available from
Warehouse 23.
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