So they just gave the title and showed the cover mock-ups; no specific info till Monday?
Coming in May: Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes! [UPDATED!]
So they just gave the title and showed the cover mock-ups; no specific info till Monday?
does anyone have a transcript of the videos? Reading is far easier/quicker for the non-native crowd...
anyway, I've never been a fan of inherited (racial) feuds, majorly-evil non-planar races or the Blood War, so I'm not sure whether a majority of the book's content is something for me.
anyway, I've never been a fan of inherited (racial) feuds, majorly-evil non-planar races or the Blood War, so I'm not sure whether a majority of the book's content is something for me.
MonsterEnvy
Legend
Jester David
Hero
Looking at the updated information, this book doesn't sound like Volo's Guide to Planar Monsters. Instead it has:
Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ on a Bicycle…. And I thought Xanathar's Guide to Everything lacked a strong focus.
It's the planar book! But also it's full of dark elves and deep dwarves! And higher CR monsters!
I know they really don't want to give us books we've seen before, but this feels like a bunch of stuff that could have filled out entire books (and has done previously) all smooshed together. And, as such, is unlikely to really give topics the space they really deserve.
(Hopefully the high CR monsters will at least slant towards extraplanar beasts.)
They could have easily done the aforementioned guide to planar foes, which would have worked just fine. They could have focused on the two Gith, demons, devils, yugoloths, slaadi, and modrons and easily filled out a book. Heck, angels and archons could have been added as well.
Instead, it feels like they didn't want to repeat the formula and went with the "conflict" theme and then had to stretch and branch out into the elves and dwarves, which just feel out of place in a book otherwise about the planes.
And then they top it off with an incredibly generic name. I imagine Mordenkainen’s Book of Random Crap wouldn't get past the censors…
I can't wait until 2020, when they decide to do a book detailing the undead, in VanRichten's Codex of Nasty People, which naturally also includes assorted new magic items, and epic level play...
- A guide to the planes
- Descriptions of planar conflicts (Blood War, Githzeri vs Githyanki)
- Descriptions of surface vs Underdark conflicts (elves vs drow, dwarves vs duergar)
- Descriptions of Underdark vs planar conflicts (Gith vs Mind Flayers)
- Planar subraces
- High level monsters
- Advice on running challenging monsters
Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ on a Bicycle…. And I thought Xanathar's Guide to Everything lacked a strong focus.
It's the planar book! But also it's full of dark elves and deep dwarves! And higher CR monsters!
I know they really don't want to give us books we've seen before, but this feels like a bunch of stuff that could have filled out entire books (and has done previously) all smooshed together. And, as such, is unlikely to really give topics the space they really deserve.
(Hopefully the high CR monsters will at least slant towards extraplanar beasts.)
They could have easily done the aforementioned guide to planar foes, which would have worked just fine. They could have focused on the two Gith, demons, devils, yugoloths, slaadi, and modrons and easily filled out a book. Heck, angels and archons could have been added as well.
Instead, it feels like they didn't want to repeat the formula and went with the "conflict" theme and then had to stretch and branch out into the elves and dwarves, which just feel out of place in a book otherwise about the planes.
And then they top it off with an incredibly generic name. I imagine Mordenkainen’s Book of Random Crap wouldn't get past the censors…
I can't wait until 2020, when they decide to do a book detailing the undead, in VanRichten's Codex of Nasty People, which naturally also includes assorted new magic items, and epic level play...
Parmandur
Book-Friend
Don't forget the Gnomes and Halflings, too, per the Mearls interview.
Basically, Volo's, but with higher CR monsters and lore info on the basic core PC races. "Focused" isn't a design goal in 5E, they want each book to have multiple angles.
Enevhar Aldarion
Hero
Better all this in one book than in the four or five we would have gotten in the glut of 3.X and 4E.
Charlaquin
Goblin Queen (She/Her/Hers)
I don't think it is the planar book at all. It's the racial conflicts book, which happens to include some conflicts between planar races, as well as some conflicts between material plane races.
They could have done but that wouldn't have been in line with their publishing model for 5th edition. They're moving away from the "one book with everything you want to know about X" model, presumably because that involves a lot of work dedicated to X, and produces a product that no one who isn't interested in X will buy. Instead, they're trying a "One book with a little bit of X, a little bit of Y, and a little bit of Z." model, in hopes that most people who are interested in Z will buy the book, even if X and Y aren't really their thing. You want more elf subraces? How about playable Gith? Or are dwarves more your thing? Monsters for your high level campaign? Ok, wait, I got this. Lore! You're interested in lore, right? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this book has something for you!
I have mixed feelings about this approach, but like it or not it's the direction WotC is going. So if you have any expecations about a "planar book," or a "Campaign setting book," or a "complete Arcane book," or whatever, 5e releases are probably going to continue to disappoint you.
You joke, but something like that really wouldn't surprise me.
Hear hear!
Two reasons I support this method of release:
1. DMsGuild includes about 30 bajillion older-edition books whose sole focus is elves. 90% of the mechanics is unusable, and some of that was even true when the book was released for whatever edition was out at the time.
2. I don't need a treatise on what types of buckles are used on each halfling subrace's shoes, and a separate one for each gnome subrace's hats. But as it turns out, I did need official stats for a dozen or so monsters, a bunch of playable subraces, and a really in-depth, game designer's view of combat tactics for high-level encounters.
So if the focus of a book is "Here's some cool stuff that most people will use at the table" as opposed to "here's a hyper-focused thing that 90% of people will ignore 75% of the content within," I'm down with the former.
MonsterEnvy
Legend
The interview is going on about the new book on twitch. Mentioned that Eladrin and Shadar Kai are in the book.
MonsterEnvy
Legend
We are getting the Archdevils here.
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