HD Gone?

[Nifft]

if Cormyr was an indication monsters will be uniform and bland.

I am interested in your opinion about Cormyr. What was wrong with it? (It's not a product I have.)

Thanks, -- N

 

[The Little Raven]

I am interested in your opinion about Cormyr. What was wrong with it? (It's not a product I have.)

Thanks, -- N

It lays some of the groundwork for 4e Forgotten Realms, which means that Gwalthas is automatically negative towards it since it has anything to do with 4e (as demonstrated by his post history on the subject).

He seems to be headed towards becoming the next Razz.

 

[Shroomy]

I don't get the Corymyr reference either, at least in terms of the monsters used in that adventure. I actually thought that the adventure contained a good mix of interesting monsters for the PCs to fight. Sure there was repetition, but that's something I see in pretty much every published adventure.

 

[M.L. Martin]

4e is just a starwars clone and not worth spending a cent on.

The second half of this sentence contradicts the first.

 

[BryonD]

Well, I understand your feeling, but I wouldn't mind that much. I think it is a lot more important - in fact, the most important thing - that the critters have unique abilities that distinguish them from each other.
A monster doesn't get interesting just because he has a 6 points higher Fortitude Defense but a 3 points lower Reflex and Will defense than the other monster of its level.

It's getting interesting because the one is large with wings, can snatch you and fling you against a wall or just drop you from great heights, while the other monster of its level is small, fires lightning bolts at you and likes to hang around in large groups.

Sure, but interesting can be undermined by illogical. If a 4 ton gargantuan beast is making REF saves simply because it is a L20 creature, then gamist parts will overshadow the interesting engaging parts.

 

[BryonD]

The second half of this sentence contradicts the first.

Not when you are talking about D&D it doesn't. Not by a very very long way.

(Not that I'm am *yet* convinced that 4E will suffer this problem. )

 

[Malhost Zormaeril]

Sure, but interesting can be undermined by illogical. If a 4 ton gargantuan beast is making REF saves simply because it is a L20 creature, then gamist parts will overshadow the interesting engaging parts.

I fail to see why a 4-ton Gargantuan creature should be a slow, lumbering beast. It probably has biceps larger than the PCs, so it should be able to move about pretty quickly. I think it's a deleterious preconception that big = slow (and frequently dumb)...

Anyway, about HP variability, my players are usually able to memorise the top of the HD range -- for the most important monsters, i.e., the ones they fight most often, they often know the HD and, by association, the total number of HP rollable with it. Then they just mark the damage done and assume the hit dice are all full when making tactical choices... Sometimes that bites them in the ass, usually because a monster has a couple more HD from a few class levels, but they can hedge their bets 80% of the time.

 

[Nifft]

It lays some of the groundwork for 4e Forgotten Realms, which means that Gwalthas is automatically negative towards it

:\

I was hoping to change the tone. He may have legitimate reason to dislike it, and that may have spilled over into hate for 4e. But I doubt we'll hear about it now.

:\, -- N

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Sure, but interesting can be undermined by illogical. If a 4 ton gargantuan beast is making REF saves simply because it is a L20 creature, then gamist parts will overshadow the interesting engaging parts.

You mean, like the Dragon problem currently? (All Saves good, Dexterity is a constant value over all size categories.)

Oh, it is certainly some stretch, but I think it doesn't really matter that much. From the players perspective it is more important if they can count on big monsters being a bit less adapt at evading their reflex-targeting attacks and the smaller monsters being worse at resisting fortitude-targeting attacks.
That this is only true on a relative scale, not an absolute one, is barely noticeable in-game.

 

[Lanefan]

All the monsters and pc's become just roles and your excited? The monster type no longer matters and it's no longer fantasy! What difference will there be between starwars and 4e? Take away the names and they are all the same just brutes or leaders or whatever. You could just buy starwars and skip 4e and still have the same game. 4e is just a starwars clone and not worth spending a cent on.

I don't understand how this relates to my post you quoted, nor really what you are getting at at all...please elaborate.

Lanefan