20 Interesting Things from Monster Manual 2

[Stoat]

I went to college with a girl who grew up halfway between Valhalla, N.C. and the Great Dismal Swamp.

When I told her that sounded like a cool place to grow up, she looked at me like I was an idiot and said something along the lines of, "No. It's ass."

 

[Asmor]

ROTFL

Sorry, but that article includes the quote, "The most famous swamps in the United States are the Everglades, Okeefenokee Swamp, and the GREAT DISMAL SWAMP (emphasis added)."

So I'm not the only person to connect "dismal" with "swamp."

Nothing a quick edit can't fix...

Ah, there we go, now the most famous swamps in the US include The Everglades, Okeefenokee Swamp, and The Great Sunshine Swamp.

Score one for truthiness.

 

[avin]

18) Star Spawn seem like a clear nod to Cthulu-type gaming. They are creepy in a way that pseudonatural creatures never seemed to be.

I hear you. But when I saw that Cartoon Network art for Maw of Acamar I decided there is no way I'm using it.

 

[CapnZapp]

I am aware that to some folks, swamps are beautiful parts of nature, but I am not one of those folks. I'm much happier with Internet cafes and bookstores.

Apart from that, there is a certain literary tendency in fantasy and horror to see swamps as dark and dismal. The monster is more likely to live in a swamp than on rolling farmland.

Aww... "Apart from that, there is a certain literary tendency in fantasy and horror to see swamps as dark and dismal. The monster is more likely to live in a swamp than in Internet cafes and bookstores" would be so much better.

(I'd do a corrected that for you, but I wouldn't like to get reprimanded by a mod that didn't see my good-natured intent)

Yes, and in fact, they are very valuable commodities when you want to get rid of an outdated magic item. "Quick, Bob! Feed ol' Rusty that +2 Greatsword you never use anymore! We need to Raise poor Larry, here, but won't get nearly enough residuum from just Disenchanting it!"

To WotC's defense, they actually discuss this in a sidebar, essentially saying "don't allow it".

However, what's with the anxious baby-sitting? Why do WotC assume players can't take the fact that their precious Firebrand +3 loses a little (essentially turning into a Firebrand +2) by going through the digestive system of a rustie?

Isn't that the whole point of adding in a Rust Monster? To see the players (not characters) panicking, fleeing or going out of their way to defeat the critter without having to enter melee?

 

[Obryn]

However, what's with the anxious baby-sitting? Why do WotC assume players can't take the fact that their precious Firebrand +3 loses a little (essentially turning into a Firebrand +2) by going through the digestive system of a rustie?

Isn't that the whole point of adding in a Rust Monster? To see the players (not characters) panicking, fleeing or going out of their way to defeat the critter without having to enter melee?

If I'm running 1e? Yes, absolutely. I have an undying love for rust monsters in an oldschool game, where magic items are often plentiful in published modules, and wealth-by-level guidelines are laughable. Balance, schmalance!

If I'm running 3e or 4e? I dunno. It makes more work for me in the same way that energy drain does. In games that rely on magic item balance, rust monsters are just plain wacky.

Then again, I've never thought that something that's awesome in one edition of D&D is necessarily awesome in all editions of D&D. Fortunately, I'm running both 1e and 4e so I can get the best of both worlds, IMHO.

-O

 

[Klaus]

Couatl are Unaligned. Gold Dragons are Unaligned. Nothic Eyes of Vecna are Unaligned. All because Good creatures are useless, right?

One of the Deva is Good.

Also, this bit made me chuckle:

"Eyes of Vecna have a strong connection to Vecna..."

Really? I'd never guess!

 

[gribble]

19) Steel predators have a new back story tying them to Bane. I'm ambivalent about this.

Has anyone else noticed the disconnect between the Steel Predators lore section and the actual monster stats? It mentions consuming magic items and leaving behind residuum when destroyed, even though the stat block doesn't? It's almost as if the author got steel predator and rust monster confused...
:S

 

[I'm A Banana]

"Eyes of Vecna have a strong connection to Vecna..."

Really? I'd never guess!

(zoidberg)Your writing skills are bad, and you should feel bad!(/zoidberg)

 

[chronoplasm]

"Eyes of Vecna have a strong connection to Vecna..."

"Cave Bears live in caves."

 

[Desdichado]

What's with the white-knighting of swamps?