Shadow bats and undead that can reanimate

A little on monsters from Peter S:

Back to the game: We fought undead and creepy bats. The three encounters broke down thus: four shadow bats, whose special power was partly nullified by our lantern and low-light vision. Then four zombies and two traps, and then two zombies headed by a creepy rotting zombie thing and a dead creature that could reanimate zombies after they fell. That was a pain. But a fun pain!

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Sounds like the shadow bats negate magical light sources and/or make light sources weaker.

a creepy rotting zombie thing and a dead creature that could reanimate zombies after they fell

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So now not only are they taking things right out of WoW but they rip off Diablo 2 now aswell...damn those guys they can't think of anything new!.......

I just wanted to say that before anyone else did. Because you all know someone was going to.

I honestly think those encounters sound cool, I like the idea of bats that make darkness they see through (blatant speculation) and the idea of a zombie leader reanimating the fallen under his command sounds cool to me.

Great ideas both of them.

Ohh, and I like the concept of the 4 zombies + 2 traps in one encounter. That is one area I wish we had some more insight into exactly what will consitute a trap and how they are going to play into encounters, sounds like traps will have a role during more combats then they do now. Thinking Trap=Encounter Zone out of IH maybe.

Actually, reanimating undead always reminds me of Super Mario.

Imp said:

Actually, reanimating undead always reminds me of Super Mario.

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Mario did not get undead foes untill Supermario Bros. 3 [japan 1988]. Now Castlevania has had reanimating red skeletons since the first game, though stealing a little form that franchise is more than fair considering the original US cover for part 2...

frankthedm said:

Sounds like the shadow bats negate magical light sources and/or make light sources weaker.

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The party's lantern and low-light vision partially negated the shadow bats' special power. How does that come to mean the shadow bats affected their light source?

Sounds to me like the shadow bats' special power is more effective in darkness.

Low-light vision is still going to be around. I hope it is executed a little different in 4e.

These monsters are very cool. Seem to be more variations on popular concepts - like zombies and bats - in 4e than in 3e.

TerraDave said:

Then four zombies and two traps, and then two zombies headed by a creepy rotting zombie thing and a dead creature that could reanimate zombies after they fell.

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That's so Diablo II

Thornir Alekeg said:

The party's lantern and low-light vision partially negated the shadow bats' special power. How does that come to mean the shadow bats affected their light source?

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I was reading it as the combo of the lantern and their low light vision was what it took. So reverse engeneering that situation brought up two questions;

What would to make having a lantern be advantageous? An effect that negated magical light

What would make having low light vision be an advantage? An effect that reduced light from normal to shadowy.

Thus my speculation above. An ability like that sound just right for a magical bat beast.

I would dance such a happy dance if 4e has reasons to carry mundane light sources.

frankthedm said:

I was reading it as the combo of the lantern and their low light vision was what it took. So reverse engeneering that situation brought up two questions;

What would to make having a lantern be advantageous? An effect that negated magical light

What would make having low light vision be an advantage? An effect that reduced light from normal to shadowy.

Thus my speculation above. An ability like that sound just right for a magical bat beast.

I would dance such a happy dance if 4e has reasons to carry mundane light sources.

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Yeah... I'm guessing one of three things personally:

Either:

1. The shadow bat casts shadows into an area. Lantern and low light vision countered this. (maybe specifically a combo.. one wouldn't be enough)

2. Shadow bat gets some sort of bonus when in the shadows. Take away the shadows, take away the bonus. (maybe it can hop from shadow to shadow)

3. A combo of the above? Maybe lanterns actually hinter it in some way.