I'll grant that trying to "balance" encounters exactly is a pipe dream. However ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atgxtg
Yuk. I hate it when TSR tried to give fantastic monsters an ecological niche. For BRP I think such a tactic would be disasterous.
For starters, in BRP, unlike D&D, not all worlds are the same (i.e a fantasy world with a climate like feudal Europe), not are the populated with the same species (elves, dwarves, orcs), and critters. So an ecology book would either be useful for one setting, or force all BRP setting to be alike. Once you work out what fantasy critter eats another fantasy critter, you need the second critter for the ecology to hold up.
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The point of this hypothetical book is not to hand the GM a pre-made ecology, but to present ecological niches and let the GM fill them as he sees fit. So, for example, if the GM creates a carnivorous species, he doesn't forget to create enough prey of whatever species to sustain the carnivorous population.
If the GM wants to create one-off monsters, or magically summoned species, or a species with a bizarre or unbalanced ecology, he's also free to do so. In that case, a discussion about monsters in literature might provide some useful guidance to make sure the creature thematically fits with the GM's intent.
Finally, notes on playing creatures would also help. Natural animals (and sapients!) would run away from a superior aggressor, not attack mindlessly. Semi-intelligent or intelligent creatures would use strategy and their innate abilities instead of a full-on assault. I'm sure someone who did the research could find behavior patterns in nature to supplement common sense, for the GM who wanted realistic animal behavior.