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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
Things wrong with 4e: Dragons
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<blockquote data-quote="Stormonu" data-source="post: 5891530" data-attributes="member: 52734"><p>Last I think I'll push back on the subject, because normally I agree with Kamikaze.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, I think my favorite moster format was in 2E, with the full-page monster entries (Though, these you could probably fit more info into them if the powers/abilities wording were cleaned up to modern specs). I enjoyed reading the old Ecology of... articles, but they weren't something I could sit down with just before a game to read through, and I never actually incorporated any of the special "rules" those articles brought up.</p><p></p><p>HOWEVER, back in the days I was playing 1E, I didn't own a monster manual - not for about 5 years down the road. Instead, I just used the monster stat blocks in the 1E DMG. Anything beyond those stat blocks, I just made it up or did without. Even when I did get the MM, those monster blocks are even shorter than the 4E ones, and they were good enough to get me through until 2E rolled along.</p><p></p><p>What I'm trying to get at is that "just a statblock" can be good enough. More detail (er, to a point) is nice, but it's not necessary. I don't need or want a 4 page write-up on a black dragon, its den and surroundings and the lizardmen raiders its cowing into stealing treasure for its lair. I just want the dragon and lizardmen stat blocks, I can do the stuff in the middle and get the adventure idea or detail from some other source. I don't want to stare at those four pages, wondering what three creatures may have gotten the axe for an encounter I probably won't use because my players have already read it during their perusal of the book (looking for familiars or animal companions, they say).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Stormonu, post: 5891530, member: 52734"] Last I think I'll push back on the subject, because normally I agree with Kamikaze. Anyway, I think my favorite moster format was in 2E, with the full-page monster entries (Though, these you could probably fit more info into them if the powers/abilities wording were cleaned up to modern specs). I enjoyed reading the old Ecology of... articles, but they weren't something I could sit down with just before a game to read through, and I never actually incorporated any of the special "rules" those articles brought up. HOWEVER, back in the days I was playing 1E, I didn't own a monster manual - not for about 5 years down the road. Instead, I just used the monster stat blocks in the 1E DMG. Anything beyond those stat blocks, I just made it up or did without. Even when I did get the MM, those monster blocks are even shorter than the 4E ones, and they were good enough to get me through until 2E rolled along. What I'm trying to get at is that "just a statblock" can be good enough. More detail (er, to a point) is nice, but it's not necessary. I don't need or want a 4 page write-up on a black dragon, its den and surroundings and the lizardmen raiders its cowing into stealing treasure for its lair. I just want the dragon and lizardmen stat blocks, I can do the stuff in the middle and get the adventure idea or detail from some other source. I don't want to stare at those four pages, wondering what three creatures may have gotten the axe for an encounter I probably won't use because my players have already read it during their perusal of the book (looking for familiars or animal companions, they say). [/QUOTE]
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