What happens to monsters when they die?

[Unholy Carp]

I know it sounds like a silly question, but for some reason my suspension of disbelief isn't quite kicking in with what I've been seeing roleplayed.

When an adventurer dies, we know what happens. Even if their body is destroyed, due to the slinging of major divine mystical mojo, they wake up a short time later in the midst of dour looking priests of Helm. The temporary purgatory of the Forest of Night is forgotten as the soul is re-housed, though it's clear from eyewitness accounts that some sort of divine intervention is taking place. That's fine.


Does something similar happen to monsters? I've heard varying assumptions of aggressive breeding programs in vast and hidden breeder-cities, with new clan chieftains being selected, killed, and reselected every few game hours.

I could almost accept that idea, except for the fact that it evokes less an image of natural breeding cycles and more of poor goblin-women doubling as gateways to the Elemental Plane of Goblin; going through labor and having fully grown and armed Spittlefists crawling out of them every five minutes.


So what happens to monsters when they die?

[rustediron]

I've always disliked the idea of new clan-chiefs being elected everytime, etc etc... I've always just not mentioned it, and tried not to think about it

But this sounds like an interesting topic, what does everyone else think?

[ZubMessiah]

I think it's El Ni?o.

[Aux]

Deepspawn ... or dont think about it too much...

[Leevoth]

Maybe they go through a similar process. They awaken at a holy place of one of their gods, say 'what the hell happened' and make their way back to their outpost, to watch for the next intruders on their clan's land.

[Janus]

Good monsters go to heaven... the bad monsters go everywhere?

[undeadsteak]

I go with goblins breed like rabbits >>.

[Scavar]

In reference to the goblins specifically, I beleive they do breed like rabbits lore wise.

Everything else, you simply aren't killing them all...the forest is bigger than just the areas you travel through, you have patrols you missed, other leaders you haven't hit yet, and they have their own gods who might be bringing them back.


That's how I see it.

[Kangleton]

Elemental Plane of Goblin.

I really appreciate that humor.

I laughed, and woke up my father.

On a more serious note, I completely agree with the above-post.

[Dustiness]

I blame clerics and spirit shamans, hiding amidst the rocks then going around ressing all their comrades as soon as the adventurers leave!

[Machiavelli]

Goblins do indeed breed like rabbits...

Bear in mind that the numbers of beasties in the forest is huge! I've heard estimates of 30-40,000 mossclaws (though they'd probably all be dead by now!). And also the the spittlefist clan is a big one; they're probably hiding deep down among the rocks. Sneaky little things! As for the Necropolis; no problems there, you're only seeing the tip of the iceberg and it's packed with necromancers and corpses! As for the bandits... I don't know, any suggestions are welcome; a particularly vigorous recruiting programme perhaps?

[Raksha]

My personal explanation that I tell to myself to make myself happy. Keep in mind that none of this is official in the least.


Spittlefist Goblins
There are several passages of the cave that lead to blocked entrances or water, and it seems likely that there's an entire army of goblins scattered throughout the caves. Right now, they're not actively trying to take over anything, they're just being a distractive nuisance and hunkering down in the caves, waiting for stronger promised aid from you-know-who.

Mossclaw Alliance
Given that the number of Mossclaws in the forest is indeed estimated in the tens of thousands, what adventurers find and destroy each time is only isolated pockets of resistance. If the entire Mossclaw Alliance consisted of four dungeons for your adventure-running pleasure, they'd have been wiped out long ago. As it is, their numbers and faster breeding cycles mean that losses are replaced about as quickly as they happen. When you start talking tens of thousands of gnolls, that's a lot of four-pup litters.

Kurz Cartel
These are rogues and sneakies of various sorts. When the going gets tough, the sneaky play dead. Given the tendancy of most adventurers to simply loot and run, most of the theives can simply lie still and gurgle a bit until the overzealous raiders have passed, then make their way back to one of the safe havens. Good luck finding which ones are faking; maxxed Bluff has many applications. Add to this the fact that Kurz gets in a lot of expensive and illegal stuff, and just figure that he has a rod of resurrection or two in case some of his favorites get waxed by something that can't be faked around, like a <I>Finger of Death</i>. They still take losses, but not the Horrific, Catastrophic Losses that you'd normally think.

The Necropolis
There's actually a valid explanation for the corruption of the Necropolis, the abundance and persistence of high-level undead, and all of that stuff. Hence, I'll not spill any personal speculation for fear of giving away something important.

The Slitherscales
High-level clerics. The 'scales' link with their lizardy god is incredibly strong, and almost all of their shamans are capable of bringing back dead lizards who aren't too mangled. While the deaths of shamans, and certain lizards being Bashed Beyond Repair means that they don't get off free, combine divine magic with large numbers and you'll be looking at a menace that lasts for a good long while.

Veritas Syndicate
Needless to say, an organization with the Vertias' resources have any manner of ways to reclaim their dead. Multiple high-level diviners and clerics of Savras mean that they know who dies, or is about to die. Teleportation gets critically wounded officers out of the battle. Raise and resurrection for those who weren't lucky enough to make it in time, as well as for the 'grunts'. While such spells aren't free, and the Sundren military is trying to cut off the diamond supply, and some losses can't be avoided, they're doing just fine.

[Dune]

It's quite simple actually. When a creature dies, it is noted as dead to the system and leaves a loot-bag. Then after a short amount of time the server re-spawns them for you to kill again.
So really, the server is just a very promiscuous thing.

[Vichtor]

It's quite simple actually. When a creature dies, it is noted as dead to the system and leaves a loot-bag. Then after a short amount of time the server re-spawns them for you to kill again.
So really, the server is just a very promiscuous thing.

So what you're saying is....in essence....we're all playing with a...ah.... looking for a pg way to say this.... um.... "very loose woman"?

[Admir]

Anyone else see the irony in the fact a player gives an elegant description and a DM gives, well, gives that explanation. *giggle to himself*