mrloucifer wrote:I agree that its a fair review, but there's one part that's puzzling me... the lack of love for the Brawling Joe.
Based on Feedback over the years with using him, the Brawling Joe gets the most praise and appreciation of all the creatures I've made over the years.
I get how the Hafoot is not for everyone, but I encourage you to try them out before you pass final judgement on them. I've found them to be worthy BTS creatures over the years at my game table.
Last thought: I'm glad you enjoyed the Squatter. I think its some of my best work.
The Brawling Joe is just not my cup of tea. I do not think it is a bad "monster". Just something I would never use in my games. I tend to run BTS2/BTS1 more along the lines of cosmic horror, with a touch of both 1950's SciFi and ancient/gothic terrors mixed in. Combats are a part of my games, but only after the players have done a lot of research and can figure out how to defeat the evil. I give all my creatures/adversaries an Achilles heel or two. While some can be destroyed by bullets or fire, many are immune to mundane weapons the PCs would use. Buy figuring out the Achilles heel the players gain a powerful weapon to use against the evil. The Brawling Joe seems more like an Al Capone hit man to me.
As for the Hafoot, I use faeries in their place in my games. They can be just as comical and mean spirited as the HaFoot but are more rooted to my style of game. After all faeries were an integral part of the late 1800's gothic style of horror. The HaFoot do have that “faery” feel, I grant you that. Faeries in my world are very intelligent and have a “pranking” side to them, like your HaFoot, but when you cross one it becomes a very deadly and cunning foe. Foes that make my players shiver in fear.
Having said everything above, I will take your advice and see if I can find a place for the Brawling Joe in a future game. Possibly with a few minor tweaks. I don’t want you to think I hate either creature, I don’t, and I can see other groups really enjoying both. They are just not my thing.
You should be proud of “Creature Feature”. I know I will use a lot of material from it in my games.