Roleplaying Creatures

Whether it's an adversary or a potential ally, a creature might have a very different worldview than the PCs. When roleplaying creatures, think about how they experience the world differently due to their senses, physiology, and habitat. Each creature entry in this book gives you some context about the creature's worldview, motivations, ecology, and societies. Many sections have sidebars that provide relevant facts about creatures (labeled with the icons shown on below). You can use the information in each creature entry as cues on how to roleplay the creature in and out of combat. These cues can be as simple as a difference in idioms (perhaps saying “in the other tentacle” rather than “on the other hand”) and as complex as determining the motivations, hopes, and dreams for an individual creature. Understanding a creature you're playing also informs what tactics it uses, as well as whether it's willing to surrender or flee when losing a fight. A cybernetic zombie, for example, generally approaches situations by mindlessly following its creator's instructions or otherwise looking for something to kill, but you might also have it behave erratically, as if its damaged cybernetic implants are causing errors in its “programming.” Sidebar Icons Each sidebar in a creature section is marked with an icon identifying the type of information it contains. Additional Lore Locations Related Creatures Treasure and Rewards Additional Rules Hazards