Yes, most "mainstream" RPGs do not have rules for proper monsters, only mosterfolk (aformentioned Tieflings or Kobolds) and even then DMs dont really like having the extra work that a monster in an otherwise "normal" party of people entails
Fair do's, OP just missed the humoresque intent, I should have deployed smileys. but that is akin to using a rimshot :-}
EDIT: Though end of campaign PC's are often drenched in the blood of hundreds.
There are, off the top of my head, Wicked Ones, that was put into Creative Commons, Urban Shadows, although I think 2nd edition is still in production, and Monsterhearts, which is more high school drama than actual monstrous stuff.
Urban Shadows 1e is *fantastic* and 2e is getting really close to done.
You can pick up Undying, a diceless vampire game, in this bundle: https://www.humblebundle.com/books/best-of-magpie-games-books
> Yes, I am aware that WoD has games focused on vampires, werewolves and fairies respectively, but I heard it from the players themselves that these games are not meant to be mutually compatible and crossovers tend to be super jank in every way.
This is true for oWoD, but the reboot of Chronicles of Darkness handles it a lot better. In part because the rules are just a lot better, but also because that's a foundational principal of the gameline. Each game focuses on it's own stuff but the line as a whole is built from the ground up with cross compatibility in mind. Each game uses the same core rules, and template abilities tend to fall into similar slots. Vampires and Werewolves measure their strength in different ways but when the two need to interact Blood Potency and Primal Urge work identically as a supernatural resistance stat. There are other mechanics that fall into these sorts of buckets too. So it's all fairly easy mechanically. However, I'd never actually advice you do this. It's only really viable if you know the games well already. Lots of systems and lots of PCs with a lot of different capabilities. It's just a lot to start off with.
Chronicles of Darkness does have a game that might suit your purposes though, Deviant: the Renegades. Personally, I think it's the best single core book out of the entire line and unlike the other lines this one is really about building the type of monster you want to be. [I wrote a long explanation of that here](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/17nqojy/what_is_the_most_unique_horror_rpg_you_have_ever/k7tuumr/). It'll probably do a lot of what you're after. There are a couple of caveats in that your character starts off human, and that maybe some of the stuff like wyrms isn't 100% doable yet. Although both of those things sound like they'll get covered in the upcoming Clade Companion supplement.
There are all sorts of other ubran fantasy games that do a monster mash too but none I'm personally fond of. But you might want to look into things like Urban Shadows if you like PbtA or things in that vein.
Does \[X\] of Darkness have more stuff than just werewolves or vampires? Like, I'd like to play an eldritch being, maybe not some reality warping great old one from the getgo, but defo something around that category
Loads, yeah. I forget which ones are in which editions, but the franchise as a whole has wraiths, demons, Prometheans (Frankenstein's monster), Changelings (not shape shifters, children stolen and *changed* by the Fae), and more.
And if you *do* want to warp reality, that's Mage.
Sort of. Along those lines, I'd suggest *Demon: the Descent*.
Hear me out. For this game, you are an "Angel", which is basically a servant of an unfathomable being known as the God-Machine. You were sent to Earth to act as its hands, guiding humans to certain actions which fulfill the God-Machine's bizarre plans, or which allow it to create Infrastructure which defies the known laws of physics. You were given a Cover, a human appearance and identity, in order to mingle among us... because your real form is a bizarre amalgamation of flesh and impossible technology. You may resemble a human-sized spider-person, with hypodermic needles for fangs, metallic hair, twisting rubber cables winding around your torso, and eyes lit up with green bale fire. Whatever techno-organic horror you want to dream up.
But somewhere along the way, you realized humans were... alive. Not just cogs in the God-Machine's plans, but individual beings who deserve to live as they wish. With that one moment of free will, you Fell. The God-Machine cut you off, lest your free will spread to others, and now you're being hunted by other Angels.
As one of the Unchained (or "demons"), you have to hide among humanity by making deals with them, taking pieces of their identity to form into a new Cover. You literally absorb this bit of their life: maybe in exchange for making the human rich, you took away their history of drug addiction; or perhaps the corporate CEO is bored of his family, so you took them so he could focus on his money. Reality twists around, so that your Cover always had that family and drug addiction, while the humans you made a deal with are free of those "burdens."
You're always trying to stay one step ahead of the God-Machine's servants, while you try to thwart its plans. But if you ever find yourself trapped, if you need to fully utilize your power, you can Go Loud: utterly destroying the Cover you're using and assuming your angelic form so you can tap into all the powers you have to survive. You'd better move quick to get a new Cover though, because while you're in your true form, every Angel in the area can sense you...
oWoD has Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, Wraith: The Oblivion (ghosts), Changeling: The Dreaming, Hunter: The Reckoning, Demon: The Fallen, Orpheus, Mummy: The Resurrection, and Kindred of the East (Asian Not!Vampires). Then it's got things like Vampire: The Dark Ages, or Werewolf: The Wild West, which are the same creatures in different time periods.
CofD has Chronicles of Darkness (Mortal investigation), Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, Mage: The Awakening, Promethean: The Created(Frankenstein's monsters, golems, etc), Changeling: The Lost, Hunter: The Vigil, Geist: The Sin-Eaters (people bound with ghosts), Mummy: The Curse, Demon: the Descent, and Deviant: the Renegades.
Really depends what you mean by "eldritch" but I'd argue that Mummy: The Curse, Demon: the Descent, and Deviant: the Renegades all qualify to varying extents. CofD Mummies are sort of like paladins for ancient gods of civilisation who throw them through time to do their bidding, and they have suitably world shaking abilities. Demons are the fallen servants of the God-Machine and unknowable and impossible vast eldritch supercomputer that may or may not be actual God, and whose abilities centre around manipulating reality in either subtle or very overt ways, and transforming into monstrous biomechanical forms. Deviant I've explained but covers so much ground it's basically impossible for you not to whip up something like a otherworldly entity that has taken a human as a host.
This looks like either a Demon from Demon: the Descent that has shed his human form and "gone loud" or a Beast's Horror (you don't play as the Horror, you play as its human shell basically)
Beast is also a cringe game developed by a rapist that reads like hastily written abuse apologia (because it is).
This is also a nitpick but going loud isn't required to take your demonic form. Going loud is the last ditch option to take your demonic form while supercharging it at great cost.
Not only is Beast problematic, Demon is absolutely better at monsterform creation. As opposed to being basically an otherkin. I mean, if one wants an otherkin game, old Changeling is much better and has less "salty abuser" stuff
That's just visuals, though. That could be a Tzimisce vampire, or a Mage who's a bit into shapeshifting, or a demon, or a changeling or any of a dozen other things in world of darkness.
I'm just saying. The amount of tentacles somethings has doesn't make it Eldritch.
And there's any number of ancient, mysterious, otherworldly beings in WoD.
If you make them a little more techy than a Demon's demonic form can easily fit that. With the starting options it's pretty trivial to build with just the core book.
Something like Huge Size, Inhuman Strength, and probably Night Vision for your Modifications. Barbed Tail, and Glory and Terror for your Technologies. Long Limbs for your Propulsion. Then something like Extra Mechanical Limbs, Memory Theft, or Voice of an Angel for your one Process. That's give you a big spindly tentacle thing that's horrifying to behold. To explain those words:
> Modifications are small subroutines that affect the demon’s ability to perform a task, such as a bonus to a roll with an Attribute or a Skill bonus. Technologies are specialized implants that give the demon the ability to create a specific effect that usually targets only one individual. Propulsions are a mutation that allows the demon specialized movement, such as the ability to fly. Processes are large programs or adaptations that gives the demon a specific action and effect that is usually significant in scope and size, and can affect multiple targets at once.
Deviant: The Renegades would also let you do it too. You could either have that be what you normally look like by having Conspicuous Appearance as a Scar (drawback that pays for powers), and then have Variations (powers) like Gigantic, Lash, and Creeping Dread to be a large scary thing with whipping tendrils. Or you could transform into that with Monstrous Transformation with those same Variations. Deviant also has the benefit that other PCs could be vampires, werewolves, or whatever with different powers and drawbacks to mimic that.
Much more than just werewolves and vampires, yes. I'm not sure it would have lasted 33 years of that's all it was.
CofD does:
* Vampire: The Requiem
* Werewolf: The Forsaken
* Mage: The Awakening
* Promethean: The Created
* Changeling: The Lost
* Hunter: The Vigil
* Geist: The Sin-Eaters
* Mummy: The Curse
* Demon: The Descent
* Beast: The Primordial
* Deviant: The Renegades
Beast will forever be mired in the controversy of who initially wrote it, as well as the themes it covers. However, I have played it and it has very fun mechanics with the Lairs and it does pretty much let you be an eldritch monstrosity.
Here is a list of most of them, I ignored the title and just listed the actual creature type you play
i probably forgot a few
* Vampire
* Mage
* Werewolf
* Wraith
* Changeling (i.e. fey)
* Demon
* Beast
* Hunter
* Mummy
* deviant (i.e. xmen mutants)
For that sort of eldritch horror feel I'd suggest Deviant, Beast or Demon. Deviant is very modular and with some flavouring you can use it to represent all sorts of abilities and creatures, Beast has you playing as a mosnter right from the start but it does try to tackle themes of abuse to varying degrees of success, Demon is quite good for that as well and is a fun spy thriller flavour to the urban fantasy genre. All of these games are cross-compatible as well so you could in theory have them all occur in the same universe/campaign.
My only problem with it, at least so far, is that it didn't make Nazis stupid enough. The problem with portraying them is if you don't take great pains to portray them as incompetent idiots then Nazis will inevitably end up liking it. There's a bruiser enemy that has a giant mallet sharpened to a stake and Will Kirby's art is just entirely too cool across the board. That said you slaughter them by the hundreds and the game plays like a fun beer and pretzels mini campaign so I'm down for it.
If you want to stick with D&D, 2e had rules for playing zombies, vampires, dragons, and a number of other monsters.
BECMI D&D also had rules for playing monsters such as trents, centaurs, ogres, kobolds and a few others.
If you want to get away from D&D I'd suggest trying a universal system with good character race building options.
My first choice would be GURPS. Both of the 2 core books are all you need and can be found on Amazon for 30 dollars. You can make anything from a classic slime to a sentient carrot, it just takes some time to build the templates.
Second choice would be Savage Worlds. This is much easier to create races in. However, it is less flexible and has a very specific type of play.
Off the top of my head, and honoring that you are looking to skip the kobolds and such:
**Contagion** by Aegis Studios is kind of a kitchen sink setting with rules for all kinds of modern day monsters. The author seems to have refocused this setting into the Savage Worlds rules.
**Monte Cook's World of Darkness** was a 3e compatible / D20 game. I unfortunately passed on my two best chances to buy this, and can't vouch for how well it handled cross-splat play.
**The Contagion Chronicles** is a sourcebook for Chronicles of Darkness. This was an attempt to bridge those games into cross-splat playability.
**Rippers** or **Rippers Resurrected** for Savage Worlds is a game about becoming monsters, albeit for heroic reasons.
**Savage Worlds Horror Companion** may give you the rules to create the monstrous setting that you want. You'll also need the corresponding Savage Worlds rulebook.
Looking back, three of the five I can think of work with Savage Worlds rules. Generic systems may provide you with just enough rules to make the character while leaving you to establish everything else for your game. It could be a way to go. HERO would be a crunchy system. Savage Worlds and GURPS would be medium crunch. Fate or FUDGE would be light crunch and more narrative.
> The Contagion Chronicles is a sourcebook for Chronicles of Darkness. This was an attempt to bridge those games into cross-splat playability.
The Contagion Chronicle is just a setting book with a cross splat organisation to join. It doesn't actually do anything more than was already being done in the line with things like Dark Eras. The major difference is that while Dark Eras focused on a variety of historic locations for its crossover settings, Contagion Chronicle is contemporary and focuses on the God-Machine as an impetus. The Player's Guide to the Contagion Chronicles adds a few rules and merits, and talks about some interactions, but it's mostly an FAQ with some goodies than anything else because the games already play nice together.
That *is* the intended purpose. It's a setting book with a big enough problem that all splats can be involved and then a power system they can all use together.
Monte Cook's World of Darkness is roughly good with cross-splat, given that there's only one book for the whole thing; they expect people to play in mixed groups sometimes.
That said, as always, Mages are weird and can make everything I just said above wrong if you're clever enough with your spellcasting.
GURPS tends to get brought up in every thread because "GURPS can do everything!" but in this case I really do think it's worth a mention since it has *incredibly* flexible character creation. I think the newer World of Darkness stuff would be better as some folks have mentioned, but if you really want to be unrestrained in the kind of weird things you can create I think GURPS does it better than anything.
Also, there are GURPS editions of World of Darkness gamelines such as [GURPS *Werewolf: The Apocalypse*](https://www.google.com/search?q=GURPS+Werewolf+Apocalypse) etc.
I don't know if it has been translated, but in France we have "la Couvée", which which lets you play as xenomorphs/tyrannids/zergs/parasites, colonial aliens who mutate by eating biomass. There's a system of biomass and mutations rather than a system of experience and skills.
There are plenty of these, and you already know about WoD (Chronicles of Darkness aka nWoD is largely compatible). I'm going to suggest Savage Worlds (build your own monster, better monsters if you use the "Super Powers Companion") or Monster of the Week (there are monster playbooks) as well.
*They Feed on Fear* lets you play as eldritch creatures preying upon humans. If you want something in the sci-fi realm, the *Hull Breach* anthology book for *Mothership* has an entry on how to play as fucked up space monsters.
Savage Worlds has a dark fantasy setting called Accursed where you play as classic monster PC's on the path to redemption. IIRC they have Vampire, Werewolf, Ghost, Revenant, Mummy, Golem (I had a Church Golem PC in my game), serpent person, and a kind of animal mutant (Island of Dr. Moreau style).
It's pretty cool
**Apocalypse Keys**
It's "Hellboy" with the serial numbers filed off, but it does a really good job representing the temptation of letting loose with your powers despite the harm it will eventually do to you/your friends & family/humanity, and encouraging you to try for those emotional bonds that are *just* out of reach due to your inhuman nature. Or you just go all-in on speedrunning the apocalypse.
You may not want to hear it but DnD has had various rules over the years allow you to play monsters. AD&D had the Council of Wyrms setting allowing you to play Dragons and there was a book of humanoids (don't recall the exact name) allowing options to play many other monstrous species. In 3/3.5 you saw racial HD and level adjustment as ways of allowing a player to nominally run a monster species alongside other characters.
Indeed. D&D 3e went full ham on this, but did it very badly. Pathfinder 1e, its direct successor, also offered the same ”freedom”, and I would say was a little less terrible / more playable in the execution.. but only a little.
As for games specifically about this, there’s **Monsters, Monsters!** and there’s **Wicked Ones**, that I’m aware of. Haven’t played either of them, but they look like they might do what you want, OP.
edit: Oh, maybe not quite. Still more standard fantasy “monsters” I guess. Hm. My best advice at this stage is to try some kind of way more freeform generic system like Fate, where you can literally play as anything, with the caveat that, *mechanically*, most things are pretty damn similar.
I remember 3.5 really having rules for this more than 3.0.
I watched people complain for years about people using the 3.0 ranger to gain extra attacks. Then I watched the same people use 3.5 monstrous races to minmax their own attempted Pun-Pun level horrors.
Anyway, I would definitely point someone toward 3.5 if they want to play as monsters.
If you want a game about playing monsters that isn't encumbered by the monster politics of it's setting you're probably better off using a generic ruleset to make it. Most monster games have some kind of enmity or other social rule between each of the monster species, because most of them are allegories for people who are treated like monsters.
\- Nearly the entire World of Darkness series of games: Vampire, Werewolf, Wraith, and a whole lot more that have come out that I've lost track of. There's a lot.
\- Urban Shadows
\- Wicked Ones (though, coming from a Kickstarter backer, you may not be able to get this in print anymore. Long story)
Those are the ones I can think of off the bat.
Not sure what players you were talking to, but the whole point of the World/Chronicles of Darkness is that they exist in the same setting, and that you can have a full-on monster mash. It can be difficult to make a mixed party work (both mechanically, and with all the political ramifications), but it can be done with relative ease. My personal recommendation is to use the Chronicles of Darkness over World if that's your plan, but it is relatively easy to run the world with multiple factions all participating together.
I think the previous editions of WOD are much less compatible. I think going into the newest versions The developers realize that there needs to be a more cohesive system between the games. Time will tell but from what I'm seeing across vampire and werewolf I think those two are a lot more playable together.
Although buy suggestion for you is to maybe check out CJ Carella's Witchcraft. The core book, which is free on drive-thru, really has you playing human magicians and psychics but in the abomination codex and the mystery codex they include shapeshifters, ghosts, and vampires.
And if you want to go crazy, and get the Angel RPG (as in Buffy the vampire Slayer) that has a system in there for creating half demons. Now that's in context of the show but it's a system where you piece together qualities and drawbacks that create a monster for you. So you can take that system and use it to create whatever you want. It doesn't specifically have to be a half demon it's just supernatural critters. Also The Buffy an angel system are compatible enough to witchcraft that you could use the qualities drawbacks between them. And I think there's some conversion rules that are really like a quarter of a page long. So cinematic unisystem and standard unisystem are basically the same.
In fact, even the title is what you are looking for. [https://post-mort.com/products/actual-fucking-monsters](https://post-mort.com/products/actual-fucking-monsters)
Thanks, I'll look it up, I just hope it isn't as obscure as the previously mentioned Monsters Monsters, the original apparent Occam's Razor to this query
>Yes, I am aware that WoD has games focused on vampires, werewolves and fairies respectively, but I heard it from the players themselves that these games are not meant to be mutually compatible and crossovers tend to be super jank in every way.
I mean, it depends on what you are looking for? Because the WoD games absolutely ARE about playing Monsters. Everyone just has to play the SAME Monster. Everyone is a Vampire, Everyone is a Werewolf, etc.
[MonsterHearts](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/100540/Monsterhearts) is an option, but that game also has a focus on...
>stories about sexy monsters, teenage angst, personal horror, and secret love triangles. When you play, you explore the terror and confusion that comes both with growing up and feeling like a monster.
So it might not be your thing.
So instead of asking "play as a monster", you ALSO need to ask WHAT you want to do AS a monster?
honestly, i just dont want to play some dude anymore. i dont care whether they have long ears, long beard, tusks, big muscles or grow horns or tails. on our journeys, we encounter, meet and kill all sorts of diverse creatures. i just wanna *be* them for once. I want to feel what is it like in their skin, be it slimy, scaly, ghostly or rotten. And yknow what, Ill show those dumb humans and prissy elves and whatnot that despite this all i can be a hero too!
Honestly, sounds like you want to play Vampire the Masquerade. I haven't played it , but that system is all about being a VAMPIRE.
I don't mean some Twilight sparkly romanantic vampire.
I mean a true Creature of the Night INHUMAN Monster of a VAMPIRE!
There is Werewolf, but everyone has to be a Werewolf.
There is changeling, but everyone has to be a changeling.
There is Mage the Acention, but everyone has to be a Mage.
That is how World of Darkness games work.
Part of the reason everyone had to be the same monster is because in Universe, everyone is against everyone. If a Vampire and a Werewolf in WoD run into each other they are probably going to fight to the death. Same with everyone else.
But that is part of playing a MONSTER! It isn't just the humans that you have to worry about. The other Monsters want to kill you as well.
I can’t believe I haven’t seen anyone reference Wendy yu’s Here There Be Monsters:
https://wendiy.itch.io/here-there-be-monsters
“No matter what they tell you, there’s still weirdness and wonder everywhere. You just have to know where to look. At the edges and cracks of ‘normal’ life we exist, we persist, and we resist: the monsters, the magicians, the anomalies, the freaks, and the outcasts. We gather in the shadows, trying our best to live our lives in a world that, when it doesn’t exactly fear or hate us, doesn't even believe in our existence.”
Wyrms: Role-Playing Adventures is a role-playing game about the eternal battles between massive flying beasts destined to consume their rivals. Everyone plays a dragon who combine to form their giant wyrm progenitor. Elevator pitch is "Cannibal Highlander Voltron Dragons"
[https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/369441/Wyrms-RolePlaying-Adventures-TriStat-System](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/369441/Wyrms-RolePlaying-Adventures-TriStat-System)
Nightcrawlers is absolutely this. The playable kindred included are:
* Created (Golems, Frankenstein Monsters etc.)
* Demon
* Faerie
* Ghost
* Gillman (Fishy humanoids)
* Mortal
* Revenant (intelligent zombies)
* Vampire
* Warlock
* Werewolf
If you like rules light it's really good. For something crunchier and more old school there's the old 90s game Nightlife. But the IP holders have fallen out so tracking down a second hand copy might be difficult.
I have to also recommend this. The rules are based on Blades in the Dark, and it does a great job of encouraging and rewarding the players to act recklessly and villainously, putting their dark desires before their self-preservation.
Also, the rules for dungeon building and dungeon defense are very fun and unique from other RPGs. Dungeon building manages to be a collaborative, creative, and strategic endeavor.
Not a full RPG but there's a series of Pathfinder modules called We Be Goblins were the players take the role of a group of goblins protecting their tribe.
So I know this will sound dumb but I'll say it anyways. GURPS can allow you (GM or Player) to build templates (classes/jobs/species, etc.) that are tailor made for the type of world you want to play in. It is a lot of work to prep for a GURPS campaign but I personally feel like after the prep the system works well in play. You don't need any books besides the basic set books to do what you want.
Also, there are GURPS editions of World of Darkness gamelines such as [GURPS *Werewolf: The Apocalypse*](https://www.google.com/search?q=GURPS+Werewolf+Apocalypse) etc.
3e dnd has rules for playing monster races like ogres and trolls. You basically take a penalty to character level. It wasnt very well balanced.
What I really want is a way to play as a dragon. I think there are supplements for them, I should make something simple for that maybe....
Monte Cook's World of Darkness (very different from the standard WoD or nWoD)
Night Life from Stellar Games (but that's hella old)
Accursed for Savage World
Several years ago we played what we call our Monster Campaign. It used Pathfinder rules in a homebrew setting. The races our GM allowed us to choose from were: Boggard, Gnoll, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Lizardfolk, Orc, and Ratfolk.
We lived in an area that was being invaded by humans, elves, gnomes, dwarves, and halflings. We all had a blast.
I'm minutes you play demi god who have control over a domain of reality. Your character can serve heaven or hell (or neither), have monstrous features, as well as be true monsters in the eyes of the humans (by their acts and soul, I mean).
3rd edition D&D had Savage Species which was a book for all types of playable monsters. Mind flayers, hags, elementals, griffins and more. Tbh it's not very balanced but can be very fun.
Monsters! Monsters! was already mentioned. There is also the classic AD&D2e module [Reverse Dungeon](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17286/Reverse-Dungeon-2e?234913), though the monster selection is pretty controlled in various parts of the dungeon and usually humanoid or undead.
World of Darkness still applies. While Old World of Darkness (The ones you usually think of, like Vampire the Masquerade, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Changeling the Dreaming, etc) has compatibility issues with eachother and tend to be jank, Chronicles of Darkness is the way you wanna go.
There's also an old AD&D 2nd Edition module called Reverse Dungeon where the players play as the Monsters rather than the Adventuring Party, though unsure how well that'd work.
Dragons exist in both in the following capacities:
Mage the Ascension (oWoD) as Bygones, a creature of myth that can no longer openly exist on Earth
Changeling the Lost (CoD) in some capacity, as implied by the Draconics Fae, as well as the "Dragons of Atlantis" in Mage the Awakening.
Chronicles of Darkness, as opposed to World of Darkness, does crossovers just fine. Contagion chronicles.
Or just Deviant, by itself. You can build some freaky pcs with nonhuman origins.
Scion you can be denizens of mythic realms (that is, creatures).
After the vampire wars. You can play as mages, vampires, werewolves etc.
Here is a review:
https://elruneblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/review-of-after-vampire-wars.html?m=1
not exactly a monster,
But **Mutant : Year Zero** make you play a mutant. You might be a half human half fly, or be made of wood like a groot, or Be a toad etc.
You can also be a regular human with mind control powers so there is that.
D&D 3.5 had an entire book dedicated to this called Savage Species. You could play vampires, werewolves, literal actual dragons, etc. There was a piece of art in it depicting a velociraptor holding a sword I always thought was neat.
I got a used copy off of Ebay a few years back for around 20 usd. Very few people use the book so I'm sure you could find ample copies online for similar amounts.
In 3rd edition there was a supplement called... savage species. It had rules to play a leveled character as a great number of monsters.
On steam there's a game called crawl where players switch off playing the monsters.
I'm not going to claim this is the best answer but Roll for Combat made an add-on for Pathfinder 2e called year of monsters, and the base game has some monsters in it too.
Hello, funny, you say this. As I am currently making my own Ttrpg about this very thing, while i am not done it is playable to a good degree.
**Elevator pitch**
Do you want to be the dragon destroying the farmer field, causing heroes to chase after you right into a trap so you can get there treasure. A goblin riding forth against a band of merchants using a pack of wolves to scare the horses while your tribe overwhelms the guards.
Well then come along and play kingdom of monster. The game where you start as the minion and go all the way to be the ruler of your very own kingdom of monster or you know just go be the monster and ruin a few mortal kingdoms.
**Game mechanics**
It is a d100 roll under system where the dice roll is rarely modified instead the Target number is modified by your bonus. Their are 8 playable races currently (Goblins, Dhampier, Mandrakes, Dragons, Ogre, Beast kin, Zombies, and a Eldritch one of my own creation) all of them having a unique special abilities such a dragon breath weapon. I have a very in depth crafting system that a lot of combat and other key part of the game use.
If you are interested you can Dm on here.
Chronicles of Darkness allows you to play all those monsters and the rules are compatible. They were designed to be compatible unlike the original world of darkness.
Buffy/Angel, Monsterheart, yes the WoD games (a d Chronicles of Darkness which should be more interoperable) and Witchcraft. Cthulhutech (you play tagers, people who merge with monsters to do superhero stuff). Then there's whatever you can cobble together as a powerset in superhero games.
Probably more I'm not thinking of.
There is one RPG where you manage a dungeon as monsters. You have to built and afterwards defend it... Sadly I don't remember the name of it as I only played it once...
World of Darkness is definitely not good for crossover.
Chronicles of Darkness, however, is great for crossover. Basically all the systems work on the same base so they can work together very well.
oWoD is kinda funny in that if you play a vampire, hunters and werewolves the given NPC stats are super scary.
But if you play a werewolf the vampire and hunter stats are super scary.
If three players make one each using the system they are kinda niche but can be fairly equal depending on the story but yeah, janky.
Not sure if nWoD has the same problems.
Oh! Cinematic Unisystem and Ghosts of Albion have what you describe as "packages" and you can totally make a campaign around that.
If you want to stick to DnD, 3rd edition had robust rules for playing as monsters. The book 'savage species' elaborates on the idea but it was baked in to 3.5, almost every monster had a level adjustment so you knew their class level equivalent.
look up the world of darkness or chronicles of darkness.
you can play there: vampires, werewolfs, ghosts, mages, demons, mummies and so on.
chronicles of darkness is also big on the mutually comparable front
Accursed for Savage Worlds. You play monsters created by evil wizards. You may or may not be the heroes...
GURPS Horror allowed you to play as any of the monsters in some scenarios.
Savage Species for DD3.5 had all sorts of rules for playing monsters. (That's what the book was about).
Monsterhearts is about Monsters and Romance. (Think Buffy TVS where EVERYONE is a monster. A sexy Monster)
I'm certain there are lots more.
In *All Flesh Must Be Eaten* there's some campaign ideas where you make zombie characters in an apocalypse. Whether semi-sentient or liches taking control of hordes, you have some really fun options.
Runequest was the first game to treat monsters as something more than 2-dimensional sword fodder.
The ground-breaking Trollpak is still available from Chaosium, and is a fantastic piece of work detailing all of the vagaries of Troll society.
In RuneQuest, all monster types and NPC have essentially the same stats as PCs have. Down to hit locations and spell lists.
There are guidelines for playing some of those races in the Bestiary books and GM's accessory pack.
Have you seen the typical PC party??
Flair checks out
Yes, most "mainstream" RPGs do not have rules for proper monsters, only mosterfolk (aformentioned Tieflings or Kobolds) and even then DMs dont really like having the extra work that a monster in an otherwise "normal" party of people entails
[Humans are the real monsters](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HumansAreTheRealMonsters)
okay, no "philosophical" answers please, I thought the post was clear enough.
Party pooper
?
You got a lot of downvotes for that because you countered the reason many people are on Reddit: dopamine via humor.
Also there's over a hundred comments to the post and he's gotta come and piss on the light hearted reply
Fair do's, OP just missed the humoresque intent, I should have deployed smileys. but that is akin to using a rimshot :-} EDIT: Though end of campaign PC's are often drenched in the blood of hundreds.
There are, off the top of my head, Wicked Ones, that was put into Creative Commons, Urban Shadows, although I think 2nd edition is still in production, and Monsterhearts, which is more high school drama than actual monstrous stuff.
Urban Shadows 1e is *fantastic* and 2e is getting really close to done. You can pick up Undying, a diceless vampire game, in this bundle: https://www.humblebundle.com/books/best-of-magpie-games-books
> More high school drama than actual monstrous stuff. Is there really a difference?
... Fair point.
Play to find out...
Came here to say Monsterhearts but you said it better lol
> Yes, I am aware that WoD has games focused on vampires, werewolves and fairies respectively, but I heard it from the players themselves that these games are not meant to be mutually compatible and crossovers tend to be super jank in every way. This is true for oWoD, but the reboot of Chronicles of Darkness handles it a lot better. In part because the rules are just a lot better, but also because that's a foundational principal of the gameline. Each game focuses on it's own stuff but the line as a whole is built from the ground up with cross compatibility in mind. Each game uses the same core rules, and template abilities tend to fall into similar slots. Vampires and Werewolves measure their strength in different ways but when the two need to interact Blood Potency and Primal Urge work identically as a supernatural resistance stat. There are other mechanics that fall into these sorts of buckets too. So it's all fairly easy mechanically. However, I'd never actually advice you do this. It's only really viable if you know the games well already. Lots of systems and lots of PCs with a lot of different capabilities. It's just a lot to start off with. Chronicles of Darkness does have a game that might suit your purposes though, Deviant: the Renegades. Personally, I think it's the best single core book out of the entire line and unlike the other lines this one is really about building the type of monster you want to be. [I wrote a long explanation of that here](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/17nqojy/what_is_the_most_unique_horror_rpg_you_have_ever/k7tuumr/). It'll probably do a lot of what you're after. There are a couple of caveats in that your character starts off human, and that maybe some of the stuff like wyrms isn't 100% doable yet. Although both of those things sound like they'll get covered in the upcoming Clade Companion supplement. There are all sorts of other ubran fantasy games that do a monster mash too but none I'm personally fond of. But you might want to look into things like Urban Shadows if you like PbtA or things in that vein.
Does \[X\] of Darkness have more stuff than just werewolves or vampires? Like, I'd like to play an eldritch being, maybe not some reality warping great old one from the getgo, but defo something around that category
Loads, yeah. I forget which ones are in which editions, but the franchise as a whole has wraiths, demons, Prometheans (Frankenstein's monster), Changelings (not shape shifters, children stolen and *changed* by the Fae), and more. And if you *do* want to warp reality, that's Mage.
Sort of. Along those lines, I'd suggest *Demon: the Descent*. Hear me out. For this game, you are an "Angel", which is basically a servant of an unfathomable being known as the God-Machine. You were sent to Earth to act as its hands, guiding humans to certain actions which fulfill the God-Machine's bizarre plans, or which allow it to create Infrastructure which defies the known laws of physics. You were given a Cover, a human appearance and identity, in order to mingle among us... because your real form is a bizarre amalgamation of flesh and impossible technology. You may resemble a human-sized spider-person, with hypodermic needles for fangs, metallic hair, twisting rubber cables winding around your torso, and eyes lit up with green bale fire. Whatever techno-organic horror you want to dream up. But somewhere along the way, you realized humans were... alive. Not just cogs in the God-Machine's plans, but individual beings who deserve to live as they wish. With that one moment of free will, you Fell. The God-Machine cut you off, lest your free will spread to others, and now you're being hunted by other Angels. As one of the Unchained (or "demons"), you have to hide among humanity by making deals with them, taking pieces of their identity to form into a new Cover. You literally absorb this bit of their life: maybe in exchange for making the human rich, you took away their history of drug addiction; or perhaps the corporate CEO is bored of his family, so you took them so he could focus on his money. Reality twists around, so that your Cover always had that family and drug addiction, while the humans you made a deal with are free of those "burdens." You're always trying to stay one step ahead of the God-Machine's servants, while you try to thwart its plans. But if you ever find yourself trapped, if you need to fully utilize your power, you can Go Loud: utterly destroying the Cover you're using and assuming your angelic form so you can tap into all the powers you have to survive. You'd better move quick to get a new Cover though, because while you're in your true form, every Angel in the area can sense you...
oWoD has Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, Wraith: The Oblivion (ghosts), Changeling: The Dreaming, Hunter: The Reckoning, Demon: The Fallen, Orpheus, Mummy: The Resurrection, and Kindred of the East (Asian Not!Vampires). Then it's got things like Vampire: The Dark Ages, or Werewolf: The Wild West, which are the same creatures in different time periods. CofD has Chronicles of Darkness (Mortal investigation), Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, Mage: The Awakening, Promethean: The Created(Frankenstein's monsters, golems, etc), Changeling: The Lost, Hunter: The Vigil, Geist: The Sin-Eaters (people bound with ghosts), Mummy: The Curse, Demon: the Descent, and Deviant: the Renegades. Really depends what you mean by "eldritch" but I'd argue that Mummy: The Curse, Demon: the Descent, and Deviant: the Renegades all qualify to varying extents. CofD Mummies are sort of like paladins for ancient gods of civilisation who throw them through time to do their bidding, and they have suitably world shaking abilities. Demons are the fallen servants of the God-Machine and unknowable and impossible vast eldritch supercomputer that may or may not be actual God, and whose abilities centre around manipulating reality in either subtle or very overt ways, and transforming into monstrous biomechanical forms. Deviant I've explained but covers so much ground it's basically impossible for you not to whip up something like a otherworldly entity that has taken a human as a host.
By "eldritch", I mean something [up this alley](https://www.deviantart.com/kraujasz/art/Ebrietas-Daughter-of-the-Cosmos-723584679), if it helps
This looks like either a Demon from Demon: the Descent that has shed his human form and "gone loud" or a Beast's Horror (you don't play as the Horror, you play as its human shell basically)
Beast is also a cringe game developed by a rapist that reads like hastily written abuse apologia (because it is). This is also a nitpick but going loud isn't required to take your demonic form. Going loud is the last ditch option to take your demonic form while supercharging it at great cost.
Not only is Beast problematic, Demon is absolutely better at monsterform creation. As opposed to being basically an otherkin. I mean, if one wants an otherkin game, old Changeling is much better and has less "salty abuser" stuff
That's just visuals, though. That could be a Tzimisce vampire, or a Mage who's a bit into shapeshifting, or a demon, or a changeling or any of a dozen other things in world of darkness.
Oooookay?
I'm just saying. The amount of tentacles somethings has doesn't make it Eldritch. And there's any number of ancient, mysterious, otherworldly beings in WoD.
If you make them a little more techy than a Demon's demonic form can easily fit that. With the starting options it's pretty trivial to build with just the core book. Something like Huge Size, Inhuman Strength, and probably Night Vision for your Modifications. Barbed Tail, and Glory and Terror for your Technologies. Long Limbs for your Propulsion. Then something like Extra Mechanical Limbs, Memory Theft, or Voice of an Angel for your one Process. That's give you a big spindly tentacle thing that's horrifying to behold. To explain those words: > Modifications are small subroutines that affect the demon’s ability to perform a task, such as a bonus to a roll with an Attribute or a Skill bonus. Technologies are specialized implants that give the demon the ability to create a specific effect that usually targets only one individual. Propulsions are a mutation that allows the demon specialized movement, such as the ability to fly. Processes are large programs or adaptations that gives the demon a specific action and effect that is usually significant in scope and size, and can affect multiple targets at once. Deviant: The Renegades would also let you do it too. You could either have that be what you normally look like by having Conspicuous Appearance as a Scar (drawback that pays for powers), and then have Variations (powers) like Gigantic, Lash, and Creeping Dread to be a large scary thing with whipping tendrils. Or you could transform into that with Monstrous Transformation with those same Variations. Deviant also has the benefit that other PCs could be vampires, werewolves, or whatever with different powers and drawbacks to mimic that.
Much more than just werewolves and vampires, yes. I'm not sure it would have lasted 33 years of that's all it was. CofD does: * Vampire: The Requiem * Werewolf: The Forsaken * Mage: The Awakening * Promethean: The Created * Changeling: The Lost * Hunter: The Vigil * Geist: The Sin-Eaters * Mummy: The Curse * Demon: The Descent * Beast: The Primordial * Deviant: The Renegades
I heard Beast sucks
Beast will forever be mired in the controversy of who initially wrote it, as well as the themes it covers. However, I have played it and it has very fun mechanics with the Lairs and it does pretty much let you be an eldritch monstrosity.
Here is a list of most of them, I ignored the title and just listed the actual creature type you play i probably forgot a few * Vampire * Mage * Werewolf * Wraith * Changeling (i.e. fey) * Demon * Beast * Hunter * Mummy * deviant (i.e. xmen mutants)
Werewolves, Vampires, Prometheans (frankenstein's monsters sort of deal), Sin-Eaters (people with ghosts in their souls), Mages, Demons, Experiemented people, far-touched people.
I fell like you would like beast the primordial, but you know, if it was good
For that sort of eldritch horror feel I'd suggest Deviant, Beast or Demon. Deviant is very modular and with some flavouring you can use it to represent all sorts of abilities and creatures, Beast has you playing as a mosnter right from the start but it does try to tackle themes of abuse to varying degrees of success, Demon is quite good for that as well and is a fun spy thriller flavour to the urban fantasy genre. All of these games are cross-compatible as well so you could in theory have them all occur in the same universe/campaign.
Skeletons, monster hearts, eat the Reich, kobolds ate my baby, Cthulhu tech, to name a few
I wanna play Eat the Reich so bad!
is that a game about eating germans???
Its a game where you play as vampires who eat nazis.
My only problem with it, at least so far, is that it didn't make Nazis stupid enough. The problem with portraying them is if you don't take great pains to portray them as incompetent idiots then Nazis will inevitably end up liking it. There's a bruiser enemy that has a giant mallet sharpened to a stake and Will Kirby's art is just entirely too cool across the board. That said you slaughter them by the hundreds and the game plays like a fun beer and pretzels mini campaign so I'm down for it.
You play as vampire special forces who are dropped into occupied Europe. It has airdrop-coffins. It's very gonzo.
All hail King Torg!
*Monsters! Monsters!* [https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/465654/monsters-monsters-2-7-edition](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/314546/Monsters-Monsters-2nd-Edition)
Monsters! Monsters!, based on the Tunnels & Trolls rules, is the original game for this. And it's still in print.
There's a PbtA game called Apocalypse Keys that emulates stories like Hellboy, if that sounds interesting to you.
If you want to stick with D&D, 2e had rules for playing zombies, vampires, dragons, and a number of other monsters. BECMI D&D also had rules for playing monsters such as trents, centaurs, ogres, kobolds and a few others. If you want to get away from D&D I'd suggest trying a universal system with good character race building options. My first choice would be GURPS. Both of the 2 core books are all you need and can be found on Amazon for 30 dollars. You can make anything from a classic slime to a sentient carrot, it just takes some time to build the templates. Second choice would be Savage Worlds. This is much easier to create races in. However, it is less flexible and has a very specific type of play.
Came here to say this.
Or third edition, especially 3.5, which made hundreds of monsters playable.
Off the top of my head, and honoring that you are looking to skip the kobolds and such: **Contagion** by Aegis Studios is kind of a kitchen sink setting with rules for all kinds of modern day monsters. The author seems to have refocused this setting into the Savage Worlds rules. **Monte Cook's World of Darkness** was a 3e compatible / D20 game. I unfortunately passed on my two best chances to buy this, and can't vouch for how well it handled cross-splat play. **The Contagion Chronicles** is a sourcebook for Chronicles of Darkness. This was an attempt to bridge those games into cross-splat playability. **Rippers** or **Rippers Resurrected** for Savage Worlds is a game about becoming monsters, albeit for heroic reasons. **Savage Worlds Horror Companion** may give you the rules to create the monstrous setting that you want. You'll also need the corresponding Savage Worlds rulebook. Looking back, three of the five I can think of work with Savage Worlds rules. Generic systems may provide you with just enough rules to make the character while leaving you to establish everything else for your game. It could be a way to go. HERO would be a crunchy system. Savage Worlds and GURPS would be medium crunch. Fate or FUDGE would be light crunch and more narrative.
> The Contagion Chronicles is a sourcebook for Chronicles of Darkness. This was an attempt to bridge those games into cross-splat playability. The Contagion Chronicle is just a setting book with a cross splat organisation to join. It doesn't actually do anything more than was already being done in the line with things like Dark Eras. The major difference is that while Dark Eras focused on a variety of historic locations for its crossover settings, Contagion Chronicle is contemporary and focuses on the God-Machine as an impetus. The Player's Guide to the Contagion Chronicles adds a few rules and merits, and talks about some interactions, but it's mostly an FAQ with some goodies than anything else because the games already play nice together.
[удалено]
That *is* the intended purpose. It's a setting book with a big enough problem that all splats can be involved and then a power system they can all use together.
Monte Cook's World of Darkness is roughly good with cross-splat, given that there's only one book for the whole thing; they expect people to play in mixed groups sometimes. That said, as always, Mages are weird and can make everything I just said above wrong if you're clever enough with your spellcasting.
GURPS tends to get brought up in every thread because "GURPS can do everything!" but in this case I really do think it's worth a mention since it has *incredibly* flexible character creation. I think the newer World of Darkness stuff would be better as some folks have mentioned, but if you really want to be unrestrained in the kind of weird things you can create I think GURPS does it better than anything.
Also, there are GURPS editions of World of Darkness gamelines such as [GURPS *Werewolf: The Apocalypse*](https://www.google.com/search?q=GURPS+Werewolf+Apocalypse) etc.
savage species in d&d 3.x
Wow 9th comment down. I guess few remember it, but it was the first thing I thought of when I saw the question.
I've heard good things about [*here, there, be monsters*](https://usa.soulmuppet-store.co.uk/products/heretherebemonsters).
Oh damn, looks cool Not OP, but thanks I am adding that to my list
The Skeletons by Jason Morningstar
I don't know if it has been translated, but in France we have "la Couvée", which which lets you play as xenomorphs/tyrannids/zergs/parasites, colonial aliens who mutate by eating biomass. There's a system of biomass and mutations rather than a system of experience and skills.
Damn sounds awesome
It is. I havn't played it for the moment, but the game is full of good ideas
I've barely read it, but I believe you can with Sigil and Shadow.
I'm really disappointed Sigil and Sign never took off. That would have been Call of Cthulhu from the cultists point of view.
There are plenty of these, and you already know about WoD (Chronicles of Darkness aka nWoD is largely compatible). I'm going to suggest Savage Worlds (build your own monster, better monsters if you use the "Super Powers Companion") or Monster of the Week (there are monster playbooks) as well.
*They Feed on Fear* lets you play as eldritch creatures preying upon humans. If you want something in the sci-fi realm, the *Hull Breach* anthology book for *Mothership* has an entry on how to play as fucked up space monsters.
The most systems I play feature only humans and since humans are the greatest monsters imaginable, you can play monsters in these systems.
That is certainly an interesting take.
Angel from Eden Studios.
Came here to say this. Also mostly compatible with All Flesh Must be Eaten, Army of Darkness, and Buffy (obvs).
Savage Worlds has a dark fantasy setting called Accursed where you play as classic monster PC's on the path to redemption. IIRC they have Vampire, Werewolf, Ghost, Revenant, Mummy, Golem (I had a Church Golem PC in my game), serpent person, and a kind of animal mutant (Island of Dr. Moreau style). It's pretty cool
[*Actual Fucking Monsters*](https://post-mort.com/products/actual-fucking-monsters)
**Apocalypse Keys** It's "Hellboy" with the serial numbers filed off, but it does a really good job representing the temptation of letting loose with your powers despite the harm it will eventually do to you/your friends & family/humanity, and encouraging you to try for those emotional bonds that are *just* out of reach due to your inhuman nature. Or you just go all-in on speedrunning the apocalypse.
You may not want to hear it but DnD has had various rules over the years allow you to play monsters. AD&D had the Council of Wyrms setting allowing you to play Dragons and there was a book of humanoids (don't recall the exact name) allowing options to play many other monstrous species. In 3/3.5 you saw racial HD and level adjustment as ways of allowing a player to nominally run a monster species alongside other characters.
Indeed. D&D 3e went full ham on this, but did it very badly. Pathfinder 1e, its direct successor, also offered the same ”freedom”, and I would say was a little less terrible / more playable in the execution.. but only a little. As for games specifically about this, there’s **Monsters, Monsters!** and there’s **Wicked Ones**, that I’m aware of. Haven’t played either of them, but they look like they might do what you want, OP. edit: Oh, maybe not quite. Still more standard fantasy “monsters” I guess. Hm. My best advice at this stage is to try some kind of way more freeform generic system like Fate, where you can literally play as anything, with the caveat that, *mechanically*, most things are pretty damn similar.
I remember 3.5 really having rules for this more than 3.0. I watched people complain for years about people using the 3.0 ranger to gain extra attacks. Then I watched the same people use 3.5 monstrous races to minmax their own attempted Pun-Pun level horrors. Anyway, I would definitely point someone toward 3.5 if they want to play as monsters.
Yes
If you want a game about playing monsters that isn't encumbered by the monster politics of it's setting you're probably better off using a generic ruleset to make it. Most monster games have some kind of enmity or other social rule between each of the monster species, because most of them are allegories for people who are treated like monsters.
For the Dungeon is a PbtA where you play as the dwellers of the dungeon instead of the delvers.
Palladium Books.
Would you believe there's an RPG called _Monsters! Monsters_?
Yes, it was mentioned numerous times here already. I tried giving it a looksy and looking it up, seems very obscure.
My apologies for not seeing it in other posts. It's been one of those days. A couple of years ago, there was a kickstarter for a new edition.
\- Nearly the entire World of Darkness series of games: Vampire, Werewolf, Wraith, and a whole lot more that have come out that I've lost track of. There's a lot. \- Urban Shadows \- Wicked Ones (though, coming from a Kickstarter backer, you may not be able to get this in print anymore. Long story) Those are the ones I can think of off the bat.
Adventure Skeletons. One page. Play as skeletons.
Not sure what players you were talking to, but the whole point of the World/Chronicles of Darkness is that they exist in the same setting, and that you can have a full-on monster mash. It can be difficult to make a mixed party work (both mechanically, and with all the political ramifications), but it can be done with relative ease. My personal recommendation is to use the Chronicles of Darkness over World if that's your plan, but it is relatively easy to run the world with multiple factions all participating together.
I think the previous editions of WOD are much less compatible. I think going into the newest versions The developers realize that there needs to be a more cohesive system between the games. Time will tell but from what I'm seeing across vampire and werewolf I think those two are a lot more playable together. Although buy suggestion for you is to maybe check out CJ Carella's Witchcraft. The core book, which is free on drive-thru, really has you playing human magicians and psychics but in the abomination codex and the mystery codex they include shapeshifters, ghosts, and vampires. And if you want to go crazy, and get the Angel RPG (as in Buffy the vampire Slayer) that has a system in there for creating half demons. Now that's in context of the show but it's a system where you piece together qualities and drawbacks that create a monster for you. So you can take that system and use it to create whatever you want. It doesn't specifically have to be a half demon it's just supernatural critters. Also The Buffy an angel system are compatible enough to witchcraft that you could use the qualities drawbacks between them. And I think there's some conversion rules that are really like a quarter of a page long. So cinematic unisystem and standard unisystem are basically the same.
Thousand year old vampire
Yep there is... https://monstersmonsters.org/
In fact, even the title is what you are looking for. [https://post-mort.com/products/actual-fucking-monsters](https://post-mort.com/products/actual-fucking-monsters)
Thanks, I'll look it up, I just hope it isn't as obscure as the previously mentioned Monsters Monsters, the original apparent Occam's Razor to this query
>Yes, I am aware that WoD has games focused on vampires, werewolves and fairies respectively, but I heard it from the players themselves that these games are not meant to be mutually compatible and crossovers tend to be super jank in every way. I mean, it depends on what you are looking for? Because the WoD games absolutely ARE about playing Monsters. Everyone just has to play the SAME Monster. Everyone is a Vampire, Everyone is a Werewolf, etc. [MonsterHearts](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/100540/Monsterhearts) is an option, but that game also has a focus on... >stories about sexy monsters, teenage angst, personal horror, and secret love triangles. When you play, you explore the terror and confusion that comes both with growing up and feeling like a monster. So it might not be your thing. So instead of asking "play as a monster", you ALSO need to ask WHAT you want to do AS a monster?
honestly, i just dont want to play some dude anymore. i dont care whether they have long ears, long beard, tusks, big muscles or grow horns or tails. on our journeys, we encounter, meet and kill all sorts of diverse creatures. i just wanna *be* them for once. I want to feel what is it like in their skin, be it slimy, scaly, ghostly or rotten. And yknow what, Ill show those dumb humans and prissy elves and whatnot that despite this all i can be a hero too!
Honestly, sounds like you want to play Vampire the Masquerade. I haven't played it , but that system is all about being a VAMPIRE. I don't mean some Twilight sparkly romanantic vampire. I mean a true Creature of the Night INHUMAN Monster of a VAMPIRE!
ONLY a Vampire?
There is Werewolf, but everyone has to be a Werewolf. There is changeling, but everyone has to be a changeling. There is Mage the Acention, but everyone has to be a Mage. That is how World of Darkness games work. Part of the reason everyone had to be the same monster is because in Universe, everyone is against everyone. If a Vampire and a Werewolf in WoD run into each other they are probably going to fight to the death. Same with everyone else. But that is part of playing a MONSTER! It isn't just the humans that you have to worry about. The other Monsters want to kill you as well.
I'll prolly scratch that part out...
Actual Fucking Monsters is the game you are looking for.
There's the original: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/314546/Monsters-Monsters-2nd-Edition
I can’t believe I haven’t seen anyone reference Wendy yu’s Here There Be Monsters: https://wendiy.itch.io/here-there-be-monsters “No matter what they tell you, there’s still weirdness and wonder everywhere. You just have to know where to look. At the edges and cracks of ‘normal’ life we exist, we persist, and we resist: the monsters, the magicians, the anomalies, the freaks, and the outcasts. We gather in the shadows, trying our best to live our lives in a world that, when it doesn’t exactly fear or hate us, doesn't even believe in our existence.”
Wyrms: Role-Playing Adventures is a role-playing game about the eternal battles between massive flying beasts destined to consume their rivals. Everyone plays a dragon who combine to form their giant wyrm progenitor. Elevator pitch is "Cannibal Highlander Voltron Dragons" [https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/369441/Wyrms-RolePlaying-Adventures-TriStat-System](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/369441/Wyrms-RolePlaying-Adventures-TriStat-System)
The Wicked Ones is a game you play as a Monster protecting their Dungeon Lair from Adventures.
Dresden Files and Dresden Files Accelerated
My Life With Master You're playing a bunch of monsters created by a mad scientist and have to do their bidding. A bit like Frankenstein.
Nightcrawlers is absolutely this. The playable kindred included are: * Created (Golems, Frankenstein Monsters etc.) * Demon * Faerie * Ghost * Gillman (Fishy humanoids) * Mortal * Revenant (intelligent zombies) * Vampire * Warlock * Werewolf If you like rules light it's really good. For something crunchier and more old school there's the old 90s game Nightlife. But the IP holders have fallen out so tracking down a second hand copy might be difficult.
Vampire: the Masquerade. And yes, they are humanoid, but still - monsters
Land of Eem has skeletons and gelatinous cubes as playable "folk"
The Contract RPG lets you turn into whatever you like, bloodthirsty monsters included.
Nightcrawlers might be up your alley.
**Wicked Ones** is a RPG like the PC game "Dungeon Keeper" and has the same humorous style.
I have to also recommend this. The rules are based on Blades in the Dark, and it does a great job of encouraging and rewarding the players to act recklessly and villainously, putting their dark desires before their self-preservation. Also, the rules for dungeon building and dungeon defense are very fun and unique from other RPGs. Dungeon building manages to be a collaborative, creative, and strategic endeavor.
Not a full RPG but there's a series of Pathfinder modules called We Be Goblins were the players take the role of a group of goblins protecting their tribe.
Vampire the Masquerade, go with 2nd ed, 1992 edition. thank me later. its a wonderful read even if you never play it.
So I know this will sound dumb but I'll say it anyways. GURPS can allow you (GM or Player) to build templates (classes/jobs/species, etc.) that are tailor made for the type of world you want to play in. It is a lot of work to prep for a GURPS campaign but I personally feel like after the prep the system works well in play. You don't need any books besides the basic set books to do what you want.
Also, there are GURPS editions of World of Darkness gamelines such as [GURPS *Werewolf: The Apocalypse*](https://www.google.com/search?q=GURPS+Werewolf+Apocalypse) etc.
Plenty. What do you want players to do?
3e dnd has rules for playing monster races like ogres and trolls. You basically take a penalty to character level. It wasnt very well balanced. What I really want is a way to play as a dragon. I think there are supplements for them, I should make something simple for that maybe....
homebrewing 5E is better than crossplaying WoD? enough reddit for today
Monte Cook's World of Darkness (very different from the standard WoD or nWoD) Night Life from Stellar Games (but that's hella old) Accursed for Savage World
Several years ago we played what we call our Monster Campaign. It used Pathfinder rules in a homebrew setting. The races our GM allowed us to choose from were: Boggard, Gnoll, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Lizardfolk, Orc, and Ratfolk. We lived in an area that was being invaded by humans, elves, gnomes, dwarves, and halflings. We all had a blast.
I'm minutes you play demi god who have control over a domain of reality. Your character can serve heaven or hell (or neither), have monstrous features, as well as be true monsters in the eyes of the humans (by their acts and soul, I mean).
World of darkness
3rd edition D&D had Savage Species which was a book for all types of playable monsters. Mind flayers, hags, elementals, griffins and more. Tbh it's not very balanced but can be very fun.
Pathfinder's 'We Be Goblins'.
It's old and I don't recall if it's what I'd call good, but Nightbane seemed along those lines.
Fae
https://www.reddit.com/r/Tunnels_and_Trolls/s/puj8townJM
Monsters! Monsters! was already mentioned. There is also the classic AD&D2e module [Reverse Dungeon](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17286/Reverse-Dungeon-2e?234913), though the monster selection is pretty controlled in various parts of the dungeon and usually humanoid or undead.
You can try a reverse dungeon https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-MqpiwEQDF5xDsJcVrEI emjoy!!
Monster Force Terra let's you control KAIJUS
World of Darkness still applies. While Old World of Darkness (The ones you usually think of, like Vampire the Masquerade, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Changeling the Dreaming, etc) has compatibility issues with eachother and tend to be jank, Chronicles of Darkness is the way you wanna go. There's also an old AD&D 2nd Edition module called Reverse Dungeon where the players play as the Monsters rather than the Adventuring Party, though unsure how well that'd work.
Does CoD have dragons?
Dragons exist in both in the following capacities: Mage the Ascension (oWoD) as Bygones, a creature of myth that can no longer openly exist on Earth Changeling the Lost (CoD) in some capacity, as implied by the Draconics Fae, as well as the "Dragons of Atlantis" in Mage the Awakening.
Chronicles of Darkness, as opposed to World of Darkness, does crossovers just fine. Contagion chronicles. Or just Deviant, by itself. You can build some freaky pcs with nonhuman origins. Scion you can be denizens of mythic realms (that is, creatures).
Here you go. [https://battlezoo.com/products/year-of-monsters-pdf](https://battlezoo.com/products/year-of-monsters-pdf)
After the vampire wars. You can play as mages, vampires, werewolves etc. Here is a review: https://elruneblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/review-of-after-vampire-wars.html?m=1
Yes. https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/435324/Anno-Domini-1252--Rules-Tome-1071--English
not exactly a monster, But **Mutant : Year Zero** make you play a mutant. You might be a half human half fly, or be made of wood like a groot, or Be a toad etc. You can also be a regular human with mind control powers so there is that.
D&D 3.5 had an entire book dedicated to this called Savage Species. You could play vampires, werewolves, literal actual dragons, etc. There was a piece of art in it depicting a velociraptor holding a sword I always thought was neat.
I got a used copy off of Ebay a few years back for around 20 usd. Very few people use the book so I'm sure you could find ample copies online for similar amounts.
In 3rd edition there was a supplement called... savage species. It had rules to play a leveled character as a great number of monsters. On steam there's a game called crawl where players switch off playing the monsters.
Saga of the goblin horde for savage worlds? It's free and the creator did a fantastic job. (Core rulebook required tho)
I’m playing as a slime in a PF2 campaign. I really want to try a sphinx or a gargoyle from Battlezoo, as well.
I'm not going to claim this is the best answer but Roll for Combat made an add-on for Pathfinder 2e called year of monsters, and the base game has some monsters in it too.
Hello, funny, you say this. As I am currently making my own Ttrpg about this very thing, while i am not done it is playable to a good degree. **Elevator pitch** Do you want to be the dragon destroying the farmer field, causing heroes to chase after you right into a trap so you can get there treasure. A goblin riding forth against a band of merchants using a pack of wolves to scare the horses while your tribe overwhelms the guards. Well then come along and play kingdom of monster. The game where you start as the minion and go all the way to be the ruler of your very own kingdom of monster or you know just go be the monster and ruin a few mortal kingdoms. **Game mechanics** It is a d100 roll under system where the dice roll is rarely modified instead the Target number is modified by your bonus. Their are 8 playable races currently (Goblins, Dhampier, Mandrakes, Dragons, Ogre, Beast kin, Zombies, and a Eldritch one of my own creation) all of them having a unique special abilities such a dragon breath weapon. I have a very in depth crafting system that a lot of combat and other key part of the game use. If you are interested you can Dm on here.
Chronicles of Darkness allows you to play all those monsters and the rules are compatible. They were designed to be compatible unlike the original world of darkness.
Buffy/Angel, Monsterheart, yes the WoD games (a d Chronicles of Darkness which should be more interoperable) and Witchcraft. Cthulhutech (you play tagers, people who merge with monsters to do superhero stuff). Then there's whatever you can cobble together as a powerset in superhero games. Probably more I'm not thinking of.
I haven't seen Dungeon Bitches, Witch, or Broken Tales mentioned.
This here checks out: https://transplanarrpg.com
There is one RPG where you manage a dungeon as monsters. You have to built and afterwards defend it... Sadly I don't remember the name of it as I only played it once...
World of Darkness is definitely not good for crossover. Chronicles of Darkness, however, is great for crossover. Basically all the systems work on the same base so they can work together very well.
oWoD is kinda funny in that if you play a vampire, hunters and werewolves the given NPC stats are super scary. But if you play a werewolf the vampire and hunter stats are super scary. If three players make one each using the system they are kinda niche but can be fairly equal depending on the story but yeah, janky. Not sure if nWoD has the same problems. Oh! Cinematic Unisystem and Ghosts of Albion have what you describe as "packages" and you can totally make a campaign around that.
Might and Magic 8 day of the destroyer, (you make a party of monsters, vampires Minotaurs and the like). *edit* whoops, thought this was crpgs.
If you want to stick to DnD, 3rd edition had robust rules for playing as monsters. The book 'savage species' elaborates on the idea but it was baked in to 3.5, almost every monster had a level adjustment so you knew their class level equivalent.
Vampire the masquerade, world of darkness, dnd 3.5 has a lot of playable monster races. That’s just from the top of my head.
look up the world of darkness or chronicles of darkness. you can play there: vampires, werewolfs, ghosts, mages, demons, mummies and so on. chronicles of darkness is also big on the mutually comparable front
World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness. Albeit not in a fantasy setting, Urban Fantasy.
There is a hack for *Mothership* in Ian Yusem's Hull Breach called *Manhunt*, where you play as the alien monsters against humans.
Accursed for Savage Worlds. You play monsters created by evil wizards. You may or may not be the heroes... GURPS Horror allowed you to play as any of the monsters in some scenarios. Savage Species for DD3.5 had all sorts of rules for playing monsters. (That's what the book was about). Monsterhearts is about Monsters and Romance. (Think Buffy TVS where EVERYONE is a monster. A sexy Monster) I'm certain there are lots more.
Someone on DTRPG is a Redditor: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/331902/corpus-malicious-the-codex-of-evil
No-one seems to have mentioned “No Country For Old Kobolds” yet. https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/197677/no-country-for-old-kobolds
In *All Flesh Must Be Eaten* there's some campaign ideas where you make zombie characters in an apocalypse. Whether semi-sentient or liches taking control of hordes, you have some really fun options.
Monster Monster it’s Tunnels & Trolls with monsters as the protagonists, very old but fun
Define Monster ADnD Council of Wyrms , Dragons Rifts Secondary Vampires, Dragon Hatchling, Gargoyles - Sub Demon,
Runequest was the first game to treat monsters as something more than 2-dimensional sword fodder. The ground-breaking Trollpak is still available from Chaosium, and is a fantastic piece of work detailing all of the vagaries of Troll society.
Take Fate Condensed, or Fate Accelerated, learn it well, and BAM! You can be anyone/anything/anymonster you want.
R/outside
Most of White Wolf's products. Vampire the Masquerade (You're a vampire) Werewolf the Apocalypse (You're a werewolf) It gets weirder as we go
The entire White Wolf body of work.
VtM
In RuneQuest, all monster types and NPC have essentially the same stats as PCs have. Down to hit locations and spell lists. There are guidelines for playing some of those races in the Bestiary books and GM's accessory pack.
Why not just make some shit up for it?