D&D (2024) More D&D 2024 Tidbits: Aasimar, Goliaths, Town-Eating Gelatinous Cubes

Here are a few more tidbits from Game Informer's magazine coverage of the new edition's rulebooks.

• Iconic characters like Bobby the Barbarian, or Raistlin and Caramon Majere feature in the art.
• Each class and each subclass has its own piece of art.
• Species now include Aasimar, Goliath, and Orc.
• Bastions are in--player built bases.
• Greyhawk is the sample setting in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
• Each book is 384 pages.

Monster Manual

• 75 new monsters in the Monster Manual; over 500 in total.
• Challenge rating remains the same.
• There are some new lower challenge vampires, and a higher challenge one called the Nightbringer.
• Blob of Annihilation is a gelatinous cube that can eat towns.
• Elemental Juggernaut, Archhag.

 

[Parmandur]

It matters to me, as I prefer to leave the PHB rules as untouched by my homebrew as possible. Whereas, anything in the DMG I consider fair game to hack and house rule to my heart’s content. A system for player bases seems like the kind of thing I’m unlikely to be satisfied with as-written (especially if the Bastions UA was any indication of what the system will look like), so I would much prefer it not be in the PHB.

The Game Informer article clearly states that Bastions are in the DMG, and states it is an optional tool to use or not.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Bastion in the PHB?

It's presented as player-side mechanics, so that makes sense.

 

[Burnside]

wasn’t that encounter building rather than CR

All I remember is that he said the CR system “doesn’t work” and is not what they “use internally”.

 

[Charlaquin]

An interesting perspective. Personally, I consider the whole of the rules fair game for hacking, but I can see the player-facing material being considered differently.

I mean, I’m not unwilling to hack player-facing material, but I’m much more reluctant to, especially with PHB material.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I really like the idea of so many classic characters making an appearance. For people who have played for any length of time, I imagine there will be some smiles.

 

[kenmarable]

All I remember is that he said the CR system “doesn’t work” and is not what they “use internally”.

CR was (at least) mentioned in some promotional meetings WotC had with various news outlets almost exactly a year ago. Articles from Polygon, IGN, etc. from May 23, 2023 pretty much all have references and quotes from Crawford along these lines. Might be other sources, but that's what I found off hand. All monsters have same CR but are being adjusted to better match that CR.

Haven't found offhand, but likely with the increased focus of the DMG on giving advice and guiding new DMs, I'm sure there will be something far better for encounter building in there as well.

IGN:

No current monsters will have their challenge ratings changed (a score that helps GMs navigate encounter difficulty), but since not all monsters are meeting the level of challenge promised by their CR, some monsters will have their stats and abilities adjusted to meet their rating.

Polygon (interestingly, already mentioning the city-sized ooze):

“Imagine an ooze that can wipe out an entire town just by rolling over it,” Crawford said. “And it’s also important for us to point out that none of the existing monsters will have their challenge ratings changed. Because we are maintaining stability of the current edition, and because many existing adventures assume that monsters have a particular CR, we are ensuring that the monsters carrying forward from the 2014 Monster Manual have the same CR that they had when they were written.”

 

[Stormonu]

How much is Wizkids going to charge for the Cube?

I'm curious to see what the "final" Bastion rules end up as. I had a lot of comments on it, and I'm curious what, if any feedback they incorporated. I am also glad that the old "9th level stronghold" fare from past editions is returning and getting a tune-up.

 

[mamba]

All I remember is that he said the CR system “doesn’t work” and is not what they “use internally”.

they use a more complex one internally than the DMG contains from what I recall, do not remember anything about it not working

 

[EthanSental]

Surprised I don’t see a new thread (that I can find) dealing with Matt Covilles flee mortals monster book on available on dnd beyond….if there’s point me to it please.

 

[mamba]

Surprised I don’t see a new thread (that I can find) dealing with Matt Covilles flee mortals monster book on available on dnd beyond….if there’s point me to it please.

D&D 5E - MCDMs Flee Mortals now on DnDBeyond

Where Evil Lives: The MCDM Book of Boss Battles on Now D&D Beyond #dnd #dndbeyond #ttrpg #mcdm #wotc

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