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Thing I thought 4e did better: Monsters
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7007472" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Tell me - what do <em>you</em> think that ritual is for? What design purpose do you think it serves?</p><p></p><p>Do you think that it is intended for players to get a power-up that makes the whole calibrated system of items, paragon paths, etc irrelevant?</p><p></p><p>Do you think that the GM is only allowed to place a lich in the game if s/he first goes through the motions of deducting the requisite amount of money from the NPC's character sheet? And what rule is the GM meant to use to write that money down in the first place?</p><p></p><p>The lich template in the DMG is preceded by this (pp 174-5, 179):</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">You can use several methods to adjust an existing monster: change its level, give it equipment, alter its appearance and behavior, and apply a template. . . .</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">A template is like a recipe for changing a monster. Each template provides instructions for modifying hit points and defenses, and adds a number of powers and abilities. Simply pick a monster and a template, follow the directions, and you’re ready to go. . . .</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Some liches know a ritual that sustains them beyond destruction by tying their essence to a phylactery. . . .</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">"Lich" is a template you can add to any intelligent creature of 11th level or higher. It best complements an arcane NPC, such as a wizard or warlock, or a monster with arcane powers, such as a beholder or oni. Other highly intelligent creatures might also become liches; for example, mind flayers, who draw on psionic power.</p><p></p><p>How do you think the ritual in the MM (which is 14th level, and which says that the caster must be humanoid) fits into the above?</p><p></p><p>I think there's an obvious reason why the idea of templates was dropped over the life of 4e in favour of monster themes - the templates generally don't work well enough to give the adjusted NPC/monster the action economy of an elite creature. And I think there's an equally obvious reason why we don't see these transformation rituals in later products - they serve no point, as they are not suitable for players (for a PC, "lich" is an epic destiny with the phylactery as the particular mode of "once per day, when you die . . ." for that destiny - a quick search of the online Compendium has just shown me that this particular epic destiny was actually created, and is in Arcane Power) and they are redundant for NPCs.</p><p></p><p>And if the question is asked, "But what about a scenario in which the PCs are trying to track down a prospective lich by noting that a notoriously necromantically inclined NPC just withdrew 350,000 gp from the bank?" The answer is that 4e isn't really written to support that sort of Cthulhu-esque investigatory game. You could try and do it via the skill challenge mechanics, and done well I'm sure it wouldn't suck, but it's not remoteluy playing to the edition's strengths.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7007472, member: 42582"] Tell me - what do [I]you[/I] think that ritual is for? What design purpose do you think it serves? Do you think that it is intended for players to get a power-up that makes the whole calibrated system of items, paragon paths, etc irrelevant? Do you think that the GM is only allowed to place a lich in the game if s/he first goes through the motions of deducting the requisite amount of money from the NPC's character sheet? And what rule is the GM meant to use to write that money down in the first place? The lich template in the DMG is preceded by this (pp 174-5, 179): [indent]You can use several methods to adjust an existing monster: change its level, give it equipment, alter its appearance and behavior, and apply a template. . . . A template is like a recipe for changing a monster. Each template provides instructions for modifying hit points and defenses, and adds a number of powers and abilities. Simply pick a monster and a template, follow the directions, and you’re ready to go. . . . Some liches know a ritual that sustains them beyond destruction by tying their essence to a phylactery. . . . "Lich" is a template you can add to any intelligent creature of 11th level or higher. It best complements an arcane NPC, such as a wizard or warlock, or a monster with arcane powers, such as a beholder or oni. Other highly intelligent creatures might also become liches; for example, mind flayers, who draw on psionic power.[/indent] How do you think the ritual in the MM (which is 14th level, and which says that the caster must be humanoid) fits into the above? I think there's an obvious reason why the idea of templates was dropped over the life of 4e in favour of monster themes - the templates generally don't work well enough to give the adjusted NPC/monster the action economy of an elite creature. And I think there's an equally obvious reason why we don't see these transformation rituals in later products - they serve no point, as they are not suitable for players (for a PC, "lich" is an epic destiny with the phylactery as the particular mode of "once per day, when you die . . ." for that destiny - a quick search of the online Compendium has just shown me that this particular epic destiny was actually created, and is in Arcane Power) and they are redundant for NPCs. And if the question is asked, "But what about a scenario in which the PCs are trying to track down a prospective lich by noting that a notoriously necromantically inclined NPC just withdrew 350,000 gp from the bank?" The answer is that 4e isn't really written to support that sort of Cthulhu-esque investigatory game. You could try and do it via the skill challenge mechanics, and done well I'm sure it wouldn't suck, but it's not remoteluy playing to the edition's strengths. [/QUOTE]
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