D&D 4E 4ed creature types and subtypes

[Echohawk]

I thought it might be interesting to take a look at what we know so far about the creature types, origins and subtypes in 4ed.

This is based on an analysis of the RPG stats from the Dungeons of Dread minis set, the monsters previewed on the WotC web site, and the scanned pages from the Monster Manual that were available at D&D Experience.

There seem to be six 'origin' types:

• Aberrant
• Elemental
• Fey
• Immortal
• Natural
• Shadow

And four general types:

• Animate
• Beast
• Humanoid
• Magical Beast

We also have the following known 'subtypes':

• Angel
• Aquatic
• Cold
• Construct
• Demon
• Devil
• Dragon
• Earth
• Fire
• Eladrin
• Shapechanger
• Spider
• Spirit
• Undead

So, is there any correlation between the origin and general types, and the various subtypes?

• Animates are (so far) of either Natural or Shadow origin. All known Animates also have either the Construct or Undead subtypes.
• Beasts are (so far) of either Aberrant, Natural or Shadow origin. Only one Beast has a subtype (Spider).
• Humanoids dominate the stat blocks we've seen so far (50 of the 79 reviewed). There are known humanoids with all six origin types. Subtypes for the Humanoids include Angel, Cold, Construct, Demon, Devil, Earth, Fire, Eladrin, Shapechanger, Spirit and Undead. (That is all known subtypes except Aquatic, Dragon and Spider.)
• Magical Beasts come (so far) from every origin except Shadow. Known subtypes for Magical Beasts include Aquatic, Demon, Dragon and Undead.

From this, it seems likely that origin and type are entirely independent for Humanoids and Magical Beasts. For Animates and Beasts, there may be some limitations -- for example, it might be that there are no Immortal Animates or Beasts. We don't really have enough information to tell for sure yet.

Looking at the subtypes, we can see some potential correlations:

• Constructs are always Natural and are either Animates or Humanoids.
• Demons are always Elemental and are either Humanoids or Magical Beasts.
• Devils are all Immortal Humanoids.
• Dragons are all Natural Magical Beasts.
• Undead can be of Elemental, Fey, Natural or Shadow origin, and can be Animates, Humanoids or Magical Beasts. So far, we have no Undead of Aberrant or Immortal origin and no Undead Beasts.

Clearly there appears to be a strong correlation between the Demon and Devil subtypes and origin, which is to be expected give the 4ed cosmology. Dragons may always be Natural Magical Beasts, but it is too soon to conclude that for sure. And although we don't have any Immortal Undead that combination seems like a natural fit for the 3ed "Deathless" type, so it also seems premature to draw any firm conclusions about the Undead subtype just yet.

Finally, taking a quick look at the correlation between type and level:

• For creatures of levels 1-10, 72% are of Natural origin and 63% Humanoid. Not surprisingly then, many encounters in the Heroic tier will be with Natural Humanoids.
• For creatures of levels 11-20, only 36% are of Natural origin, with 17% Aberrant, 17% Elemental, 14% Shadow, 11% Fey and 4% Immortal. As expected, some more variation for the Paragon tier.
• For creatures of level 21+, the majority (75%) are Immortal. We only have four creatures of this level to analyse though, so that's far from conclusive. But a strong focus on the immortal agents of the gods and primordials seems a natural fit for Epic tier.

 

[DreamChaser]

I would bet that inevitables will be immortal animates (construct).
A bogun would be a fey animate (construct)

DC

 

[hamishspence]

types

Now thats an interesting way of doing it, especially the heavy elemental theme of demons. What creatures in the MMs and other supplement would be particularly unusual for this scheme, maybe need a bit of tweaking?

 

[Dragonbait]

Since we have not seen one yet via the minis or promoed monsters (that I'm aware of), I'm thinking that there will be one more of what you called "general types": Ooze

Or something along that line. Gibbering mouthers, slimes, etc..

 

[Kirnon_Bhale]

Isn't that Immolith/loth an immortal animate(undead)?

 

[OgreBane99]

Great analysis, Echohawk! I have to admit that this has been one of the most interesting aspects of the 4e change to me (being an avid, monster-loving DM).

As far as the "general types" section is concerned, are these more the "appearance" or "shape" of the monster? That's what I've been seeing so far. I find it hard to classify demons and devils as "humanoids." But that's just my 3-tardness sticking in. It appears these new types/subtypes will take some getting used to.

Love the "immortal" type too. Could do a lot with that.

Since we have not seen one yet via the minis or promoed monsters (that I'm aware of), I'm thinking that there will be one more of what you called "general types": Ooze

Or something along that line. Gibbering mouthers, slimes, etc..

Hmmm. I'm seeing oozes more as aberrant creatures.

 

[Deadstop]

Hmmm. I'm seeing oozes more as aberrant creatures.

Aberrant is an origin, though. Ooze is being suggested as a "shape," like humanoid or beast.

You could have natural oozes (gray ooze and the like), elemental oozes (the classic "moving lump of stuff" elementals), and even immortal oozes (Juiblex?) in addition to aberrant oozes.


Deadstop

 

[Deadstop]

It seems likely that the "origin" types correspond to parts of the 4e cosmology:

Aberrant = hailing from the Far Realm
Elemental = hailing from the Elemental Chaos (including the Abyss)
Fey = hailing from the Feywild
Immortal = hailing from a Dominion of the Astral Sea
Natural = hailing from the natural world
Shadow = hailing from the Shadowfell

Are both eladrin and elves Fey in origin, or have elves reverted to Natural after so much time away from the Feywild? If the former, we could also say that one has the origin-type of one's ancestors, even if one was personally born elsewhere in the cosmos.

Overall, I like this more focused system of types. It will take a bit of getting used to from longtime 3e fans, that's for sure, but the division between origin and shape/form/type allows for a much more varied classification of beings, and turning some old types into subtypes (e.g., Dragon and Giant) allows them to be classified with similar beings while still retaining their special classification.


Deadstop

 

[Echohawk]

Isn't that Immolith/loth an immortal animate(undead)?

Nope, it's an Elemental Magical Beast (Demon, Undead) according to the RPG stats on the mini card.

Are both eladrin and elves Fey in origin, or have elves reverted to Natural after so much time away from the Feywild?

Yes, it seems so. The Elf Archer mini is a Fey Humanoid, while the Bralani is a Fey Humanoid (Eladrin). So Eladrin is also -- a little strangely -- a subtype.

 

[bganon]

The Elf Archer is listed as Fey. [ninjaed!]

I suspect in the full stats Elf (and all the major races) will be subtypes, so powers or items can key off of them.