Monsters

nonmembers of swil and their friends are recruited to be monsters. we do not advertise all-campus for monsters, since we got too many monsters and not enough hunters when we tried that. get monsters by sending a signup sheet at meeting and e-mailing it to curswil. if multiple people want to be a particular monster, wizards decide. seniors get preference.

here's a list of the (current as of fall 1999) basic monsters. i've given some casting advice where i can think of any. usual advice about grains of salt applies (especially since i've never been a hunt wizard, though i've helped out a few times):

• pterodactyls (2): kill hunters by squirting them on the armour with a water gun, and are killed by being hit three times on the feet with a newspaper sword, by someone with a hunting license. each pterodactyl carries a glowing heart (glowstick) around his neck, which is redeemable for a free pizza by whoever kills the 'dactyl.

• dactyl guards (6): these are orcs (or is it hobgoblins?) with pencil swords and shields with relevant verse written on them. they guard the pterodactyls (three per dactyl). near the end of the evening, it is sometimes advisable to disband the dactyl guards so the hunters have a better chance, at which point they all become ordinary orcs (or hobgoblins).

• oracle (1): cannot kill hunters or be killed. the oracle sits in her tower¹² and offers advice to hunters, who must kill the black knight to approach her. hunters may offer some sacrifice in order to get better advice, and then may ask a question. it is valid for the oracle to reveal ways of killing monsters, locations of pterodactyl eggs, etc. the oracle has always been female, as far as i know. ren faire dress is appropriate.

• black knight (2, trading off): guards the oracle and fights hunters in single combat. this can take place with ordinary swords, in which case the black knight must, in monty python style, be hit once on each arm and each leg (but still kills with one hit to the hunter's armour), or with pvc swords, if anyone has them. in either case, the black knight should have some advantage, and should probably be a reasonably good swordfighter as well. the black knight often gets swamped with attacks, so it has been suggested that it should be possible for some hunters to bypass the black knight by bribing the oracle.

• jabberwock (1): armed with two newspaper swords, killed by a hit on the armour with a vorpal (gold) sword. the jabberwock is a good candidate for someone who's not an especially good fighter, since then hunters who buy a vorpal sword have a better chance.

• werewolf (1): kills by touch, killed by a hit on the armour with a silver sword. the werewolf is a fun part for someone who likes to dress up and has a good recipe for fake facial hair. as with the jabberwock, no particular talent is required: the werewolf is unarmed, so once someone has the silver sword, it's almost impossible for the werewolf to defend himself except by running.

• wizards' familiar (1 or 2): kills by touch, cannot be killed. the familiar is basically a cat, and can dress for the part as much as desired. the familiar is placated by fish, and can do something useful when offered fish, if someone thinks of something, or can simply not attack.

• fishmonger (1): cannot kill or be killed. the fishmonger wanders the playing field selling fish. there is not a fixed price for the fish. it is not appropriate for the fishmonger to tell hunters what the fish actually do, but he should try to come up with other reasons they might want them. this part is largely irrelevant to the action of the hunt, but can be a lot of fun if played enthusiastically. if there is no fishmonger, sell fish at hunt central for a fixed price.

• vampire/shadow (2): vampire kills by touch, shadow is harmless; neither can be killed. these can be played by similar-looking people (we had identical twins one year), but, at any rate, should have some token which they pass back and forth to identify which is the vampire at any given time. the vampire must stay away from hunters with amulets¹³. the shadow doesn't need to be warded off by the amulet, but can pretend to be. costume is encouraged.

• troll (1 or 2): cannot kill or be killed. the troll wanders the playing field with a book of riddles and bad jokes. at will, the troll can shout ``stop!'' at a hunter.¹⁴ the hunter must stop and listen to one of the troll's riddles. if the hunter cannot answer the riddle correctly, he must stay and listen to one of the troll's jokes. troll jokes do not actually kill the listener, but they should be pretty bad. the purple joke is appropriate, and if the troll wants to supplement his catalogue with passages from advanced class reading, that's okay too. the troll may coordinate with monsters by keeping hunters captive until the monsters are ready to attack. costume is at the troll's discretion -- bright colour is one approach.

• thief (1): cannot kill or be killed. the thief catches hunters by touching them and steals gold pieces or other valuables.¹⁵ the thief cannot approach a hunter who has an amulet. the thief should be played by someone who runs fast or has some talent in sneaking up on people, since no one seeks the thief out intentionally, so it can be a frustrating part.

• wraith (1): cannot kill or be killed. like the thief, the wraith catches hunters by touching them, but he steals experience points instead of gold or items. the wraith is also warded off by the amulet.

• orc king and hobgoblin king (1 each): armed with two newspaper swords, killed by a hit on the armour. nominally, these two monsters are the leaders of the orcs and hobgoblins, so they should provide leadership and encouragement for their troops. the observant reader will note that there is no difference whatsoever between orcs and hobgoblins in terms of game play. since they both exist, it can be fun for the kings to create some distinction. as the hobgoblin king, i brought orange construction ribbon as headbands for the hobgoblins, which everyone seemed to like.

• orcs and hobgoblins (many): armed with one newspaper sword, killed by a hit on the armour. these are the foot soldiers of the pterodactyl hunt kingdom, so it's important to get a reasonable number of them (six is a minimum, more is better, if possible). as mentioned in the section on kings, it can be fun to distinguish between them by costume; this can be arranged by the kings, or by an enterprising orc or hobgoblin.

• squires (2-4): cannot kill and be killed. squires are not battle monsters at all, but are there to help the wizards, usually by manning hunt central so the wizards can keep an eye on the playing field, or to help collect swords from monsters, if traffic at hunt central is low. wizards and squires often try to wear cloaks, so they can be easily identified by hunters and monsters.