D&D (2024) What creatures from existing sources besides MM, do you want to see updated for MM24?

[Quickleaf]

The Vargouille!

 

[DavyGreenwind]

I think they should go ahead and include the Chwinga, instead of reprinting its stat block in every other adventure.

Also down for the Amphisbaena and Assassin Vine.

 

[Yaarel]

Okay, is your list of the Humaniods meant to be playable, like some 3.5e monsters in the MM? And by humaniods to mean the creature type or the basic body shape?

I see "Humanoid" as − by definition − able to be a player character. This creature type tends to exhibit a humanlike bipedal body shape, but not necessarily. More importantly, Humanoid means having consciousness, free will, the ability to learn, and form social groups and cultures. Regardless of body shape, it is humanlike in the sense that a reallife player can use the Humanoid player character as an avatar to play oneself.

At the same time as having player character stats, Humanoids also have entries in the Monster Manual, with monster statblocks, for combat encounters, often as members of an Evil aligned faction that is adversarial.

I think they should go ahead and include the Chwinga, instead of reprinting its stat block in every other adventure.

I love the Chwinga. Its concept is closest to certain kinds of animism.

In D&D, the Chwinga is an Elemental that is native to the Material Plane. However, rather than be an "Elemental" made out of some elemental state of matter, it is an Elemental "spirit". In other words, it is the outofbody projection from a some natural feature, such as from a Plant (understood as an Element), or from a shape of Earth or a puddle of Water. When the Chwinga dies its consciousness returns to the Elemental feature. The Chwinga projection adopts a specific Tiny form.

In other cases, the Elemental projection would take on other forms instead. For example, a Giant who is native to the Material Plane, is best understood as the Elemental spirit projecting outofbody from mountainous Earth, glacial Water, volcanic Fire, or stormy Air. Some of these outofbody projection manifest as Elemental matter, such as made out of Fire or Ice, but other projections manifest in forms of flesh and blood, such as Hill Giant and Goliath, and perhaps Orc.

All of these projections of the consciousness of natural features of nature, puts the finger on how many animistic traditions view the world, including Norse and Norsesque. The Norsesque Elf is the projection out of the Fire of natural sunlight, associating with Air of the upper atmosphere high above the clouds. The Celticesque Elf is the projection of the Earth of the liminal surface of the soil, and associating with the fertile areas of the Element of Plant.

The Chwinga has the method for how to do these kinds of concepts in the context of D&D mechanics and narratives.

The Chwinga deserves to be in the core rules of the Monster Manual.

 

[Yaarel]

One can encounter a Ghost in the Ethereal Plane. But one is more likely to encounter the Ghost in the Shadow Plane, the Shadowfell, or in a Shadow Crossing where the veil between the Shadow Plane and the Material Plane are thin. Even when in the Ethereal Plane, it most likely arrived there via a Shadow Crossing between the Shadow and the Ethereal. 5e uses the term Undead to refer to Shadow. That is probably fine, but can clearer and more consistent. For example, rather than refer to "shadow magic", one can correctly refer to "undead magic", or necromancy. Its counterpart is Fey magic, which actually is similar except life enhancing, vivid, and vibrant.

Fey and Undead/Shadow are Positive Ethereal and Negative Material, respectively. There is also such thing as Positive Material and Negative Material, but these are identical to Fey Crossings and Shadow/Undead Crossings, resepctively. The Ethereal is the realm of physical but immaterial Force. Gravity is an example of natural Ether. Telekinesis is an example of the magical manipulation of Ether. Ether is the fifth element, and the Ethereal Plane is the Fifth Elemental Plane. The Border Ethereal is the part of the Ether that is native to Material Plane, including gravity. Matter is made out of fundamental forces, and entangles ethereal forces.

 

[Yaarel]

Like 4e, I want the Monster Manual to distinguish between "Planar Origin" and "Creature Type". There are nine Planar Origins.

• Astral (including Neutral Planes of Mechanus, Outlands, and Limbo), Celestial (Positive Aster), Infernal (Negative Aster), and Aberration
• Ethereal, (physical but immaterial force), Fey (Positive Ether), Undead (Negative Ether), and Elemental (Anti-Ether Matter)
• Material (the intermingling of all planes)

Some situations are complex. The Elf relates to Fey, Celestial, Material, and arguably Elemental. Shadar-kai relate to Shadow. In this case, Fey seems the most salient designation, tho other planes can get mentioned in descriptions.

The Elf is a Fey Humanoid, conscious Fey force. Some of these fey spirits incarnate into the Material Plane, to gain a living body as an avatar made out of matter.

In the case of corporeal Undead, the immaterial force of a soul entangles and manipulates the corpse that is made out of matter.

 

[Yaarel]

I see Plant as a kind of Element. It is a commingling of all four material Elements, in a way that generates life: the Fire of sunlight, the Water of rain, the Earth of soil, and the Air of oxygen.

I am unsure which plane is the "Elemental Plane of Plant". Sometimes I think it is the Material Plane itself. The Fey Plane is immaterial but seems to love Plant. Sometimes I view the Air Plane as the Plant Plane, where the Air also includes aerophyte Plant, where midair floating islands are made entirely out of the root systems of thriving plantlife. In 5e, the Elemental Planes are more like regions within the Elemental Chaos, where a particular Element happens to stabilize and prevail, but all of these Elemental regions intermingle with each other. Really these regions are all in the same Elemental Plane. Perhaps the Elemental Plant regions, are where all four Elements stabilize and commingle together in a sustainable, nonchaotic, way.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Quasi and Paraelementals, the ethergaunts(Fiend Folio 3rd Ed), the cult of thoon(Monster Manual V), the cranial encyster(Dragon Magazine #330).

I love golems can be crafted by PCs.

 

[Mephista]

I see Plant as a kind of Element. It is a commingling of all four material Elements, in a way that generates life: the Fire of sunlight, the Water of rain, the Earth of soil, and the Air of oxygen.

I am unsure which plane is the "Elemental Plane of Plant".

I've been thinking Feywild and Shadowfell are going to rejoin the Elemental Planes as the positive/negative planes, effectively making them the elemental planes of life/wood and rot we had pre-4e.

Makes sense for druids-powered-by-inner-planes.

YMMV

 

[Azzy]

I say the monsters in the various APs that aren't already in the MM or Mordy's.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

And the ondoni, the peaceful cousins of the orcs, and the kercpas (little antropomorphic squirrels)