Utility and extrapolation in Chimera stat blocks
I started thinking about stat blocks, and my fetish for making them as short as possible. In practical terms, a short stat block is easier to reference, which (ostensibly) makes running encounters faster. There are ancillary benefits, too: less to write, less to cross-check, easier to generate, and (to some extent) more accessible to people new to the game. Yet the Chimera stat block--in full form--has about 12 fields, which isn't exactly short.
What makes a Chimera stat block long? Well, you got stuff like Morale, Surprise, Frequency, specific Abilities, etc. These are all necessary when defining the monster, but not always required when referencing that monster in an adventure or running it during an encounter. Still, if you cut away these bits, you risk losing important monster detail.
So let's assume that simply removing stats from the stat block isn't a good answer. Instead, let's consider opportunities for shorthand by way of extrapolation. In other words, are there some stats that serve more than one purpose or provide more than one piece of information? For example, in D&D, each monster has Hit Dice, which gives you "level," hit points, attack capability, XP base, saving throw, and maybe a couple of other on-the-fly things. In terms of tightening up the stat block, you're getting 5 fields of information out of 1 stat.
Stat Shorthand
I'm thinking you could use monster Level as shorthand for several "default" stats during an encounter: Wound Limit, Surprise and Morale modifiers, and the AR for any pertinent Ability. Compare:
Full stat block
Ant, giant [1d4] (Lvl 1; MR 4”±1d2; WL 1 (T); DF 2 (+2); AB Athletics +1, Sneak +2; AT 1 bite +1 (IM +2, Dmg 1d2+grip†); SP Bug; RS +1: SR 9; ML 15; AL n/a)
vs.
Shorthand stat block
Ant, giant [1d4] (Lvl 1; MR 4”±1d2; DF 2 (+2); AT 1 bite (IM +2, Dmg 1d2+grip†); SP Bug)
Here's how the shorthand version works: anything not explicitly included is assumed to be (somehow) level-based. Since giant ants are 1st-level, they are WL 1 and any Ability, Morale, or Resistance rolls get AR +1; assume Surprise attempt TNs are increased by +1.
Admittedly, this is fast and loose--shorthand trades detail for brevity, and you get slightly different values than the full stat block (e.g., Morale and Surprise TNs). You also end up trading a roster of specific Abilities for a default AR that you apply to any Ability. [1]
Some of you will point out (correctly) that I'm fudging the monster by ignoring full stats. But ask yourself: is the variance significant? Is the shorthand version close enough for government work?
Final Words
Given all that, first question: does this stat block make it easier to run the monster during an encounter?
If the answer is yes, second question: does this set a precedent for how monster stat blocks should look like in Chimera? I mean, originally, I was thinking that you'd only use this approach for fodder or "minion" types (giving big bads the full stat treatment). But if the shorthand approach has value, does that value apply in all situations, for all monsters? If so, should it be the default (or, as I like to put it, The New Way of Things)? That would make it much easier to create monsters, too.
And--just to give you a bit more to chew on--consider another possible advantage (which you won't see coming unless you're Greg MacKenzie and therefore privy to my super-secret Chimera schemes): if you carry this a bit further, you naturally gravitate to a closer coupling between monster level and monster capability, which makes it easier to "rate" a monster's so-called challenge level. [2] In turn, this makes it easier to create challenge-based encounter tables.
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- Super-Useful-Extrapolation-Times: out of the gate, assume a monster has access to all Abilities. For stuff that the monster is definitely good at, apply the level-based AR. For stuff the monster might be good at, apply AR +0. For stuff the monster most assuredly sucks at, apply AR +0 and require a Critical Success on the Action Roll. This is a major opportunity to customise. Certainly your cave trolls are better at Spelunking than your swamp trolls. Similarly, I expect Sturluson dwarfs to be better at stealth than Tolkien's.
- I don't like this term or its connotations, and have no plans to incorporate some encounter-balancing mechanic. However, there is an intuitive need for some objective indicator of how hard an encounter is.
