Basic monsters
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This article is related to the Pterodactyl Hunt. |
Basic Monsters are the meat and potatoes of the Pterodactyl Hunt, the standard Evil Minions who swarm over the playing field killing the Champions of Good with clumsy abandon. They are the canonical Hunt Monster; a modern hunt requires approximately one of them to every three or four hunters. So far as we know, basic monsters have been part of the Hunt since the earliest working implementations, so at least since 1986 or so.
Basic Monsters are armed with standard-length green foam swords, and armored with standard black trashbags. Their target area is their trashbag, which covers all of their torso. They can be killed, and after being killed, must travel to a respawn point to come back to life. When killed, they hand out gold, in variable amounts depending on the quality of the kill. Note that all of these traits serve as the default for any monster in the Pterodactyl Hunt.
Basic Monsters have come in a variety of flavors, but are generally intended to have no material advantages over the hunters:
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Grunts
In 2003, the race of "grunts" was used, in addition to the Orcish and Hobgoblinesque races. They were the most basic of basic monsters, serving to flesh out the numbers of monsters in the field, without even the flavortext of Racial Rivalry, or any sort of Race Kings.
Grunts were needed in 2003 because we had decided to test out improvements to the Orcs and Hobgoblins, giving each advantages over the hunters: Orcs were given longswords, and Hobgoblins reduced target area. A kind of monster was thus needed to be on the hunters' level. No hardcore SWILlies were harmed in the playing of this monster -- most of the positions were assigned to freshmen and groups like Sixteen Feet.
If grunts existed in other years, they were just more boring form of Orcs and Hobgoblins.
Orcs
Orcs are "large" and nasty. This makes them almost indistinguishable from Hobgoblins, who are "small" and nasty.
They are ruled by their leader, the Orc-King (or Queen), who wields a single great sword and is similar.
Evolution and history
Monster list, 1993:
ORCS AND HOBGOBLINS-- These monsters carry swords and wear armor just like players, except that their armor is a different color. Orcs carry short swords and wear smaller armor (making them more difficult to kill). Hobgoblins have longer swords and larger armor.
Joel's list, circa 1996:
ORCS AND HOBGOBLINS-- These monsters carry swords and wear armor just like players, except that their armor is a different color.
Chaos' description, written for the Panic Book in fall 1999:
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.
Monster list, 2003:
Orcs are common grunts. They are issued a longer sword than the standard hunter sword. They are led by the Orc King, who has an even longer sword.
Arthur Chu, 2003:
We call upon the mighty ORCs, large and lumbering, Wielders of longswords large, long, lustrously limber, With massive manly chests presented for the easy piercing, Who bear the mark of Sauron the All-Seeing and Saruman the Wise, Singers of the songs of Sullivan and Gilbert as sailors shall in Such spirit, showtunes of such supreme sublimity, Your KING OR QUEEN AS THE CASE MAY BE (all hail the King or Queen as the case may be) Leads ye with monstrous Freudian flamberge! Come, take up your ancient hatreds, teem in unseemly swarms as you tumble from your slimy seedpod shells, to slay, to slay!
Like the 2002 Golden Fist that marked the hobgoblins' armor, Sauron's Eye was unique to the orcs in the 2002 hunt. Armor decoration varies by year. Also, "slimy seedpod shells"?
- Alliterative verse is difficult. And actually 2002 was the White Hand. I think some other year was Sauron's Eye.
In 2003, for some reason, we let the men's rugby team be Orcs. Be careful with this. (Although, to be fair, only two particular members of the rugby team caused any trouble.)
Hobgoblins
Hobgoblins are "small" and nasty. This makes them almost indistinguishable from Orcs, who are "large" and nasty.
They are ruled by their leader, the Hobgoblin-King (or Queen), who wields two swords and is similar.
Sometimes they sing songs of taunting (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~resapiro/writings/hunt.html):
The Hobgoblins laugh and spit on Orcs Hoorah! Hoorah! The Hunters we take and roast on forks Hoorah! Hoorah! So come with your shields And come with your swords The Hobgoblins roam in lusty hordes And we like to munch on crunchy human bones!
(Tune: When Johnny comes marching home Author: BC Phillips)
Evolution and history
In some years (2002-3?) the Hobgoblins had a reduced target area (accomplished by their wearing only a strip of black trashbag around their torso, rather than a full one over their heads), while the Orcs had longer swords.
Monster list, 2003:
Fierce rivals of the Orcs, Hobgoblins have a standard-length sword but have a smaller target area. The Hobgoblin leader wields two swords.
Arthur Chu, 2003:
Come forth, you little-minded HOBGOBLINs, sexy and sleek, With supple small statures slipping past the skillful sword, Your cunning cutlasses cut carefully though they lack length, Proving that size matters less than skill and passion indeed. Mount your goblin gliders and soar to the field of battle, Cackling like Willem Dafoe, for indeed you strike fear In the hearts of angsty arachnid antagonists when you do so. Truly the massive bulk of your battle-battered CHIEFTAIN, Marked with tattoo of red and black and spinning supple Sith-like staff Shall give you guidance under the Golden Fist.
The Golden Fist was only the hobgoblins' logo in one year (2002?), and it changes depending on whether (and how) their costumes are decorated.
Anecdotes and Lore
- "Ok, this is what happened last year: BDan, who was orc king, chose the red eye logo specifically as a LotR reference. I was told about this (this was several weeks before the hunt), and it was suggested that I use a white hand as a counter reference, but I really didn't _want_ a LotR reference, especially if there already was one being brought in, so I made something up. If it happens to correspond with D&D in some way, that's purely coincidence. The point is, it's the prerogative of the two monarchs each year to choose the decorations of their respective hordes. My sophomore year the hobgoblin decorations were lots of white and green face paint, fake blood, and a different math symbol painted on each hobgoblin's forehead. Last year it was a golden fist for hobgoblins and a red eye for orcs, in both cases spray painted on the garbage bag."
- ~ Rachel Sapiro '04, hunt list, June 17, 2003
- "While Orcs are common grunts, Hobgoblins are common shouts and rumbles."
- ~ JC Ravage '04, monster list emailed to hunt, 9/15/03
Characters in the Pterodactyl Hunt
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|---|---|---|
| Admins | Hunt Wizards | Squires | |
| Current | Pterodactyl | Jabberwock | Vampire and Shadow | Black Knight | Oracle | Race Kings | Orcs and Hobgoblins | Werewolf | Dactyl Guards | Cat | Fishmonger | Hydra | Kobolds | Turtles | Sphinx | Spondees | Phoenix | Imp | Troll (treasure) | |
| Planned | Grue | Kraken | Assassin | Dragon | Harpies | |
| Retired | Cardboard Tube Samurai | Achilles | Wraith | Siren | Medusa | Bug-Blatter | Unicorn | Grunts | Troll (riddle) | Necromant | Thief |
