TEXT: INTRODUCTION
  Having journeyed the world over and seen countless wondrous creatures, I decided to write 
  this tome to explain what to expect when venturing into the unexpected. In this volume, I’ll 
  tell you about what you might expect if you encounter a mythical beast, what to do in the 
  terrifying circumstance that you come into conflict with something far scarier than you, and 
  how to record information about any new species you might find.
  KIDS ON BROOMS
  KIDS ON BROOMS
  Presents An Excerpt from 
  By Doug Levandowski
  To put this another way, this document will discuss the kinds of stats that creatures will have, how 
  to create them for your players to face, and how to best manage encounters involving them.
  KIDS ON BROOMS - FREE CONTENT FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2020
  Professor Bharadwaj’s 
  of
  Book Beasts
  
  2  |  K I D S  O N  B R O O M S
  WHAT TO EXPECT IF YOU  
  ENCOUNTER A MYTHICAL BEAST
  It should come as no surprise that the creatures you could encounter in the world will be 
  much different than you or me. Humanoid creatures—such as humans, minotaurs, centaurs, 
  orcs, and the like—are all pretty similar. Sure, some have greener skin over their bones, more 
  bull horns on their heads, or more of a horse-like body below their torso. But in the end, 
  their general “stats” if you will are going to be the same. Everyone is very good at some 
  things and very bad at some things.
  This is not so with mythical beasts. Some, like pixies, are very weak, very bad at fighting, 
  quite uncharming, not tough, but are very fast and rather clever. If they’re approached, they’re 
  likely to just flit away. But they can certainly be caught by an especially fast humanoid. Other 
  creatures, like dragons, are the stuff of nightmares when compared to humans. Their strength 
  is far beyond ours, their intellect rivals the greatest scholars, their ability to withstand is 
  beyond ours . . . Simply put, their abilities outstrip ours.
  When encountering mythical creatures, do not expect that they will have the same range of 
  strengths and weaknesses as humanoids. Expect, to use the cliché, the unexpected.
   To put this in mechanical terms, creatures of a species that isn’t playable may have stats that a 
  playable species could not. While all playable species should be expected to have one stat associated 
  with each of the 6 sizes of dice, non-playable species should not.
  The stats for pixies, for example, would be as follows:
  PIXIE
  Brains
  Brawn
  Fight
  Flight
  Charm
  Grit
  d12
  1
  d4
  d20
  d6
  d2
  They will be far weaker than the typical character, and a playable character is very likely to survive 
  without any real injuries if a pixie were to attack them physically. Case in point, the pixie does not 
  roll any check for Brawn; it simply always gets a 1.
  
  B O O K  O f  B e a S t S  |  3
  DRAGON
  Brains
  Brawn
  Fight
  Flight
  Charm
  Grit
  d20
  d20+20
  3d10
  d10
  d10
  2d20
  Many of the stats for a dragon, on the other hand, would be far higher than any playable character’s 
  stats would be:
  By contrast, dragons would be likely to kill a playable character with a single chomp of their 
  terrible jaws. Facing a dragon in single combat is a nearly surefire way to die. In this case, the 
  dragon, being as large and strong as it is, cannot get lower than a 21 on a Brawn check—more than 
  a player could get without a Lucky Break.
  WHAT TO DO IN THE TERRIFYING CIRCUMSTANCE 
  THAT YOU COME INTO CONFLICT WITH 
  SOMETHING FAR SCARIER THAN YOU
  In my travels, I have more than once angered something much more powerful than I am. 
  After all, I am a scholar, not a pugilist or soldier! Usually, it is my wits that have saved my 
  skin from being flambéd, but I know others who have used other skills. Certainly, it depends 
  on the kind of mythical beast that confronts you. Dragons, for example, though powerful in 
  every way, are arrogant because of their pride. Once, when venturing deep into the Lascaux 
  caves to discover their secrets, I found a slumbering dragon whom I accidentally awakened. 
  Though she was none too happy to be roused, I was eventually able to placate her by appeal-
  ing to her pride. 
  Another time, when being pursued through the streets of Hyderabad by a disgruntled raksha-
  sa, I managed to be fleet-of-foot enough to hide from it in a crowded alleyway, waiting until 
  the sun came up to confront it directly. Then, with a bit of ingenuity, I managed to set a 
  trap, only agreeing to set it free if it left Hyderabad for good and returned to the wilderness 
  from which it slunk, never to terrorize my beloved city again.
  Remember, dear reader, there is always a way to elude death when confronting any beast. 
  Whether your wits supply you with that solution, though, is another matter! Keep your eyes 
  wide and your wits bright for clues as to what might help you!
  Thinking about the dragon described earlier, roleplaying, not rolling dice, was key to surviving 
  that encounter. If the creature can be placated, then figuring out what it wants and giving that to 
  it is key. In other cases, creatures have weaknesses that the GM can hint at for the players, making 
  it easier to defeat the monster. But with very powerful creatures, combat isn’t likely to be the 
  solution—at least not without finding a way to weaken it first!
  
  4  |  K I D S  O N  B R O O M S
  WHAT TO DO WITH THE TENDEREST  
  BEASTS OF THE WORLD
  It is also true that, when confronting beasts less formidable than you, destroying them should 
  not be your first response. For one, you never know what monstrosity may live in symbiosis 
  with those weaker creatures. Upsetting a balance in nature could have disastrous effects for 
  you down the road . . . or even immediately. Second, many mythical creatures are protected 
  by the Endangered Fantastical Creatures Registry Act. Having once defended myself in front 
  of the Counsel for the Ethical Use of Magic for a supposed EFCRA violation, I can assure 
  you that even if you are in the right, the mere experience is more than any caster should want 
  to endure. Even if you could swat a pixie from the sky as easily as a dragon could flatten you, 
  consider the longer-term consequences.
  While there won’t be as many mechanical ways to keep characters from harming creatures weaker 
  than humans, you can certainly throw in narrative reasons that they’ll have to handle them in other 
  ways. There is, of course, the rule that using magic to kill results in the character immediately 
  becoming an NPC. But even beyond that, obligate your players to be more creative than just 
  punching something! Or, flip it on its head; they aren’t in conflict with the little creatures, they 
  have to save them from something coming after them. Maybe it’s a predator. Maybe it’s a collector. 
  Whatever it is, you could give them a reason to work with, not against, a creature.
  Well, gentle reader, I’ll end there at the risk of waxing long. Besides, I remember the days of 
  reading textbooks, and I’d rather you read what I say then begin your exploration of the world 
  around you. Be careful, both for your own and the creatures’ sakes, and enjoy! There are such 
  wondrous beasts to find in the world around you, likely many that have never been catalogued! 
  So what are you waiting for? Your class to be over? Cut it! Your parents’ permission? As-
  sume it! Go! Discover!
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Kids on Bikes/Kids on Bikes Kids on Brooms FCF 2010.pdf