How Many?

How many monsters does a fantasy game need? How many spells does the Wizard need to choose from? How many magic items do there need to be? How many powers should there be for the Fighter to choose from?

And, indeed, how many is too many?

My answers are as follows: 100 of each to start with, with an upper limit of 1,000 of each.

That is, the Bestiary component of Nutshell Fantasy should aim to identify and supply an "iconic set" of 100 monsters before the game is considered 'done'. Later expansion is, of course, possible, but shouldn't ever aim to provide more than about 1,000 distinct (and non-unique) monsters.

The Grimoire section should likewise aim to provide details for some 100 distinct spells, with later expansions possibly going as far as 1,000 spells. Actually, these should not necessarily all be Wizard spells, nor indeed do they all need to be spells as such at all - the lists will include all spells available to all characters, and also rituals of all the various sorts.

Similarly, the Armoury with magic items. I'm inclined here to not simply do the 3e thing of saying "any spell of level 0-3 can become a potion if...", but rather list a number of specific potions and elixirs, each with fixed and specific effects. Some of these may closely duplicate existing spell effects, but I don't think it is necessary, or even necessarily desirable, that all do so.

And the Character Book should aim to include some 100 powers, again split between the various classes, power sources, or both.

Why those numbers?

Well, firstly, they're nice round numbers, making them ideal for use as rules of thumb. However, there is a secondary reason for those figures. Firstly, the "100 of each" figure would seem to give a nice, iconic set for each of the four areas, as well as providing a target that is both challenging and achievable.

The upper limit of 1,000 options in each area is perhaps slightly more controversial, in that there's no good reason ever to stop, provided there remains the interest in continuing. However, there definitely comes a point of diminishing returns - how many minor variations can you have on 'dragon' and 'giant' before it gets old? This is especially true in Nutshell, where the mechanical expression of these creatures is inherently fairly limited.

Plus, with 1,000 spells, 1,000 magic items, 1,000 powers, and 1,000 monsters, there should be enough there to power several years (nay, decades) of gaming without exhausing the possibilities!