D&D 5E Starter Set: Except 7

[Morrus]

I already miss the elegance of the 4e stat block. And, the lack of description for the Nothic is criminal. How could a new DM run one?

It's a stat block in an adventure in a $12 starter box which seeks to be as concise as possible. I'm sure the description will be in the room description or what-have-you. They can't keep repeating luff text without making the boxed set cost more.

The Monster Manual will have a description, ecology, picture, favourite colour, and what he did last summer.

 

[Blackbrrd]

I see there is some misconceptions here regarding what the Challenge [rating] of a monster actually means.

From what I can remember Challenge is just a sanity check to see if you should use the monster against PC's of a certain level or not.
If it has Challenge 2, you should only use it vs PC's of level 2 or above. The xp value is what you actually use to build the encounter. The reason for this divide is that you can have monsters with different xp values, but the same challenge value. It's probably pretty clearly explained in the DMG. It's kind of hard to make a good example without the table with xp values and some monsters, so I am going to skip that.

 

[Zaukrie]

Hey, if there is s description in the adventure, great. As for the stat block, it is about using ability scores, and not 4 defenses, which I knew was coming. ......

 

[SigmaOne]

I already miss the elegance of the 4e stat block. And, the lack of description for the Nothic is criminal. How could a new DM run one?

It was mentioned that these are probably from the Bestiary, hence extra monsters. Monsters appearing in the adventure will probably have descriptions in the adventure. This leaves more room for more monsters.

Also, it only takes a Google search to see pictures.

Also, imagination. That was all we had back in the day. It's still the best tool we have today.

 

[Blackbrrd]

There is one thing I hope they fix, and that's the formatting of the ability stat block. They should remove emphasis of the stat, since it won't be used most of the time.

Instead of writing
Str
18 (+4)

They should have written:
Str
+4 (18)

 

[SigmaOne]

... what he did last summer.

I'm guessing he pushed the limits of his wizardry too far and became a nothic. That or went to astronomy camp. I'm guessing nothics make good astronomers.

 

[SigmaOne]

There is one thing I hope they fix, and that's the formatting of the ability stat block. They should remove emphasis of the stat, since it won't be used most of the time.

Instead of writing
Str
18 (+4)

They should have written:
Str
+4 (18)

I'm sure most people agree with you. My fiancée, who is brand new to D&D with the 5e playtest, was commenting how nice it was that the bonuses are predominant in the pregen character sheets, since that's what's relevant. I get that. But something AD&D in me wants to put the focus on the sore itself. After only a little playtime, the bonuses are second nature anyway. I'll get over it though.

 

[Wolfskin]

I'd really like to see more flavor text, but I guess it's the first thing that gets cut for space by the editor.

 

[Blackbrrd]

I'm sure most people agree with you. My fiancée, who is brand new to D&D with the 5e playtest, was commenting how nice it was that the bonuses are predominant in the pregen character sheets, since that's what's relevant. I get that. But something AD&D in me wants to put the focus on the sore itself. After only a little playtime, the bonuses are second nature anyway. I'll get over it though.

Yeah, I thought of it because of the character sheet where this is "fixed". It's just a minor detail though.

 

[Halivar]

Question: how long did it take the ogre to close those tiny buckles on his wrists?