A Monster Stalks the Town
A monster stalks the town is a often used quest or encounter in fantasy and science fiction worlds in which monsters, creatures, mutants, or aliens terrorize nearby towns, settlements, or off-world colonies. Characters in both game-oriented worlds or narratives may be tasked with hunting down the beast and putting an end to its’ reign of terror.
Synonyms: a beast lurks nearby |
Quests |
Designing A Monster Stalks the Town Quests
A Town in Peril
These quests often begin with a town in peril. Townsfolk may have begun disappearing, often in the night. Town leaders may be at the wits end trying to quell the rising panic and put an end to the beast that lurks amongst them. Intrepid citizens may have laid traps or organized hunting parties. Or, if this threat has persisted long enough, the town may have settled into quiet subjugation. Windows and doors may lock at dusk and whispers may echo in the taverns and saloons of a monster that none may kill.
It is at this point where the heroes join the story, offering their services to free the town from this nightmare either for glory or for monetary gain.
The Hunting Grounds
There is often a preferred hunting ground used by the beast that terrorizes the town. It may hunt in the old forest on the outskirts of town, or stalk the dark alleyways of the slums themselves. If hunting within the town, the monster may be using sewer systems, pipes, or underground tunnels to move about unseen.
The hunting grounds provides an opportunity for heroes to track the beast and attempt to ascertain its’ location. They may find clues here that point to direction of the beasts’ lair.
The Lair
When designing these encounters, typically the monster will have a den somewhere nearby, consider cave systems, old mines, ruins, and abandoned houses. There may be clues and tracks leading to these locations, and they may contain the bones and bodies of victims or dozens of new monster eggs ready to hatch.
The Beast
While worldbuilders designing for a table-top role-playing game may be constrained in what their beast can be, others have an opportunity here to insert a fictional creature. Often the beast in these encounters is nothing more than a savage animal, however, the reason why a monster is now terrorizing this location may occasionally be important. Worldbuilders may wish to complicate their narrative by including a history between the monster and the town. The town may have killed its’ mate or kidnapped its’ young. It may be a spirit guardian protecting a sacred forest the town is cutting down, or the ghost of a witch the town put to death. Perhaps it’s not a monster at all, but a normal human seeking to avenge some wrong and obscuring their actions and true motive within a monster story.