Make Your Own New Crobuzon
Stolen from here. Thanks, Judd!
Okay, here's how I'm playing it. I don't have "the Monster Manual" or at least not the modern one. But I have the old AD&D Monster Manual, and the Fiend Folio, and the Monster Manual II. I will also be working off the descriptions in those books.
So here's how I'm interpreting the rules:
1) Take one human-ish monster out of each book, and they are minority citizens in the city. (So, three total) Detail how they get along, how being in the city has culturally changed them, and what niches they fill in the city. How do the powers that rule the city keep them down?
2) Take one really bizarre fucking monster from each book and figure out how they exist in the nooks and crannies of the city, and how the powers that rule the city keep these beasts from doing unacceptable amounts of damage.
I give you... Tribibilia.
1: Illithid (MM), Skulk (FF), Cyclopskin (MM2)
Illithid - Driven to the surface by a war with other subterranean beings (likely Drow), the Illithids were granted sanctuary by the City Fathers. As they detest sunlight, it is rare to find a mind flayer in the city in the daytime. Once the sun goes down, they wander the streets. It is rare to find anyone murdered by a mind flayer - and when that happens, they often police themselves, knowing the fragile peace that exists between them and the City Watch. However, they do participate in the slave trade, and often feed off slaves (of course, killing your own property is not murder). Many are not the evil beasts in myths, but they fight their hunger.
Skulk - Nobody knew the Skulks were there when the city was built. For a long time they waged a secret war, striking from the shadows. The city was the greatest bounty they had ever seen, and so instead of stopping it from being built, they allowed its completion, and became urban rats. Soon after the Illithids were given sanctuary, they were discovered. As part of the armistice signed between the City Fathers and the Skulks, Skulks are required to wear bright clothing, which interferes with their ability to blend into the background. They must also carry passbooks, and be registered with the City Watch. Whenever they move between boroughs, they must get the proper clearance (a visa, mainly) to visit, and may always be challenged by the Watch for their book.
Cyclopskin - Hired as mercenaries to protect the city during its construction, the Cyclopskin later settled in the city. Apart from having one eye, and being slightly stronger than the average human, their integration has been the smoothest. They have their own neighborhoods, which are usually more dilapidated than average, covered with graffitti and grime. Laws do not allow them to carry melee weapons.
2) Displacer Beast (MM), Cifal (FF), Vapor Rat (MM2)
Displacer Beast - Once trained pets of the Cyclopskin, most of these have gone feral. They mostly make their dens in alleyways in the dingy Cyclopskin neighborhoods. The Cyclopskin feel enough kinship to these creatures that they have been known to leave out food for them. To keep them down, the City Watch has trained blink dogs, which are the natural enemies of the Beasts. The City Fathers have often regretted outlawing keeping the Beasts as pets - for rather than putting them down, the Cyclopskin let them free.
Cifal - There is something about the area, or the insects of the area, that encourages them to occasionally conglomerate into a humanoid form. When one appears (and stopping the mechanism to make it appear seems to be impossible) it is quickly taken down - after damaging 20% of its mass, the rest simply scatter (and probably pass the trait on).
Vapor Rat - Yes, for some reason, the rats of the city CAN TURN INTO MIST. Rat poison is popular, while traps are not. Taking care of this rat problem has frustrated the City Fathers for a long time - for on death, or significant threat, the rats release a stinking cloud.
Notes:
From the FF I could have taken the Gith, or even Slaadi, but I decided to pick something I'd never heard of.
From the MM2 I was sorely tempted to take the famous Yuan-Ti, but again decided to go for something else.
On the beast side, from the MM it was a struggle between the Displacer Beast and the Beholder, but I think I went the right way. From the FF I could have picked the Yellow Musk Creeper (and had them deal with zombies) but I figured that would not be the most interesting way to go. From the MM2, there wasn't much that really attracted me, nothing that seemed nasty, beastline, and also urban. So I went with the vapor rats, which had a very urban feel to them. However, the 'Cat Lord' was tempting. Maybe they also have one of those.
Okay, here's how I'm playing it. I don't have "the Monster Manual" or at least not the modern one. But I have the old AD&D Monster Manual, and the Fiend Folio, and the Monster Manual II. I will also be working off the descriptions in those books.
So here's how I'm interpreting the rules:
1) Take one human-ish monster out of each book, and they are minority citizens in the city. (So, three total) Detail how they get along, how being in the city has culturally changed them, and what niches they fill in the city. How do the powers that rule the city keep them down?
2) Take one really bizarre fucking monster from each book and figure out how they exist in the nooks and crannies of the city, and how the powers that rule the city keep these beasts from doing unacceptable amounts of damage.
I give you... Tribibilia.
1: Illithid (MM), Skulk (FF), Cyclopskin (MM2)
Illithid - Driven to the surface by a war with other subterranean beings (likely Drow), the Illithids were granted sanctuary by the City Fathers. As they detest sunlight, it is rare to find a mind flayer in the city in the daytime. Once the sun goes down, they wander the streets. It is rare to find anyone murdered by a mind flayer - and when that happens, they often police themselves, knowing the fragile peace that exists between them and the City Watch. However, they do participate in the slave trade, and often feed off slaves (of course, killing your own property is not murder). Many are not the evil beasts in myths, but they fight their hunger.
Skulk - Nobody knew the Skulks were there when the city was built. For a long time they waged a secret war, striking from the shadows. The city was the greatest bounty they had ever seen, and so instead of stopping it from being built, they allowed its completion, and became urban rats. Soon after the Illithids were given sanctuary, they were discovered. As part of the armistice signed between the City Fathers and the Skulks, Skulks are required to wear bright clothing, which interferes with their ability to blend into the background. They must also carry passbooks, and be registered with the City Watch. Whenever they move between boroughs, they must get the proper clearance (a visa, mainly) to visit, and may always be challenged by the Watch for their book.
Cyclopskin - Hired as mercenaries to protect the city during its construction, the Cyclopskin later settled in the city. Apart from having one eye, and being slightly stronger than the average human, their integration has been the smoothest. They have their own neighborhoods, which are usually more dilapidated than average, covered with graffitti and grime. Laws do not allow them to carry melee weapons.
2) Displacer Beast (MM), Cifal (FF), Vapor Rat (MM2)
Displacer Beast - Once trained pets of the Cyclopskin, most of these have gone feral. They mostly make their dens in alleyways in the dingy Cyclopskin neighborhoods. The Cyclopskin feel enough kinship to these creatures that they have been known to leave out food for them. To keep them down, the City Watch has trained blink dogs, which are the natural enemies of the Beasts. The City Fathers have often regretted outlawing keeping the Beasts as pets - for rather than putting them down, the Cyclopskin let them free.
Cifal - There is something about the area, or the insects of the area, that encourages them to occasionally conglomerate into a humanoid form. When one appears (and stopping the mechanism to make it appear seems to be impossible) it is quickly taken down - after damaging 20% of its mass, the rest simply scatter (and probably pass the trait on).
Vapor Rat - Yes, for some reason, the rats of the city CAN TURN INTO MIST. Rat poison is popular, while traps are not. Taking care of this rat problem has frustrated the City Fathers for a long time - for on death, or significant threat, the rats release a stinking cloud.
Notes:
From the FF I could have taken the Gith, or even Slaadi, but I decided to pick something I'd never heard of.
From the MM2 I was sorely tempted to take the famous Yuan-Ti, but again decided to go for something else.
On the beast side, from the MM it was a struggle between the Displacer Beast and the Beholder, but I think I went the right way. From the FF I could have picked the Yellow Musk Creeper (and had them deal with zombies) but I figured that would not be the most interesting way to go. From the MM2, there wasn't much that really attracted me, nothing that seemed nasty, beastline, and also urban. So I went with the vapor rats, which had a very urban feel to them. However, the 'Cat Lord' was tempting. Maybe they also have one of those.