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Things wrong with 4e: Dragons
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<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 5894056" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p>So we're mostly down to organization. OK, let me explain why I think this is a better way to organize an MM:</p><p></p><p>Part of this philosophy is to avoid the notion that every monster needs its own entry -- things that lead to 4e's BEAR LORE entry, or 3e's "animals and vermin" appendixes. Some monsters don't have much interesting to contribute on their own outside of being support for some other monster. How much interesting, relevant game material can come from beetles and rats? Not enough, IMO, and there's no reason to force it. Mimics, like above, kind of fall into this camp too. They're fairly simple beasts who generally work better helping out more complex critters than by themselves as the focus of an adventure.</p><p></p><p>That said, creative DMs who want to focus an adventure on dire rats (or something) might want to just print off the relevant stats from the Monster Tool, confident in their own adventure.</p><p></p><p>Traps and hazards are kind of the same way (and traps get focused on since kobolds in my mock-up are mostly about traps): better as support than as the focus. A list of traps without context is going to make a newbie's eyes glaze over, and even old hats like me won't always bother with the cross-reference. But if they're <em>right there</em> in the monster entry, they are begging to be used, along with the monster. And, again, creative DMs who feel inspired by one of 'em can remove them from the monster without any problem. </p><p></p><p>So, in my view, the MM would have several "anchor monsters" that serve as major entries, with the support monsters, traps, and hazards put into the entry of the monster they support.</p><p></p><p>So you might find skeletons and zombies alongside a vampire necromancer who controls them. And you might find blizzards with the white dragon, and dehydration with the blue dragon -- where they're instantly relevant. And if you wanted to put them in other places by making your own adventure for the session, you're already making your own custom adventure, so looking them up online and printing them out (or sticking post-its in the books on the relevant pages) is rolled into your other prep for the game.</p><p></p><p>During prep, you assemble your own unique reference list of what you're using.</p><p></p><p>During play, the book gives you ever-expanding things you can use RIGHT NOW to make whatever monster you're currently on usable in their own right.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 5894056, member: 2067"] So we're mostly down to organization. OK, let me explain why I think this is a better way to organize an MM: Part of this philosophy is to avoid the notion that every monster needs its own entry -- things that lead to 4e's BEAR LORE entry, or 3e's "animals and vermin" appendixes. Some monsters don't have much interesting to contribute on their own outside of being support for some other monster. How much interesting, relevant game material can come from beetles and rats? Not enough, IMO, and there's no reason to force it. Mimics, like above, kind of fall into this camp too. They're fairly simple beasts who generally work better helping out more complex critters than by themselves as the focus of an adventure. That said, creative DMs who want to focus an adventure on dire rats (or something) might want to just print off the relevant stats from the Monster Tool, confident in their own adventure. Traps and hazards are kind of the same way (and traps get focused on since kobolds in my mock-up are mostly about traps): better as support than as the focus. A list of traps without context is going to make a newbie's eyes glaze over, and even old hats like me won't always bother with the cross-reference. But if they're [I]right there[/I] in the monster entry, they are begging to be used, along with the monster. And, again, creative DMs who feel inspired by one of 'em can remove them from the monster without any problem. So, in my view, the MM would have several "anchor monsters" that serve as major entries, with the support monsters, traps, and hazards put into the entry of the monster they support. So you might find skeletons and zombies alongside a vampire necromancer who controls them. And you might find blizzards with the white dragon, and dehydration with the blue dragon -- where they're instantly relevant. And if you wanted to put them in other places by making your own adventure for the session, you're already making your own custom adventure, so looking them up online and printing them out (or sticking post-its in the books on the relevant pages) is rolled into your other prep for the game. During prep, you assemble your own unique reference list of what you're using. During play, the book gives you ever-expanding things you can use RIGHT NOW to make whatever monster you're currently on usable in their own right. [/QUOTE]
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