Best and worst of 4th Ed. Monsters

[wcpfish]

best, worst, and deadliest

First the ones they got right - The Bulette is flat-out fun. If you haven't thrown a bulette at your party and watched the earth-churning, knocking- prone, leaping-bite hilarity that ensues, do yourself a favor and run such an encounter post haste. The bulette is menacing and they got the ability mix perfect.

I agree with previous posters that the humanoids are terrific with the exception of the ogre (meh to the extreme).

Another great translation to fourth ed. was the Quickling. I love the lil buggers even more than I used to and their ability to carve PCs up on the run (and bonus to AC vs. Opp. attacks that make it possible) is simply stellar and very in flavor.

The worst? I have to say the simple inclusion of monsters that have zero traction in my mind in the FIRST monster manual. The Eidolon? seriously?

The deadliest? It's been mentioned on here before- two creatures that in our play experience are lethal at their level...Needlefang swarms and Deathlock Wights. Be careful with these two.

 

[Wik]

I agree with a lot of these comments, but I'll add a few good monsters that haven't been mentioned yet:

1) The Berbalang (fun-looking solo!)
2) Vine Horrors + Vine Horror Spellfiends (See my "monster synergy" post for an example)
3) Burning Skeletons

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I would have liked some explanation why wraiths haven't wiped out civilization.

 

[Pbartender]

I would have liked some explanation why wraiths haven't wiped out civilization.

One word...

Adventurers.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Having just gone and looked at the stats for Rorn - that is one bad mofo! And I love the way his powers work, with the change in status when he hits blooded. Not sure I'll ever get to use him, but it would be great if I could...

 

[Gort]

Of the monsters I've run, the Rotwing Zombie and Darkling have been the worst.

The Rotwing is a skirmisher that can't skirmish. It's a flying zombie, great, and it deals extra damage on a charge when flying. OK. However, it has a measly 4 fly speed, so it'll rarely be in charge range, and worse than that, it's a CLUMSY flier! It takes -4 on attacks and defenses while flying! The monster just doesn't work.

The Darkling is a pretty lacklustre skirmisher. He basically can get combat advantage on anyone he wants every turn. But even with that he only does D6+D4+4 damage in a hit. It just doesn't seem enough.

Monsters I love playing are the controllers. They tend to have about three or four different abilities, and they tend to be quite exciting. The Hobgoblin Warcaster[/i] for instance, can blast you with really nasty lightning bolts, pull you into a mob of his friends while damaging you (slide 3 is great), or push you back and knock you prone. All of these are recharges, so you find yourself looking forward to using Shock Staff again, for example.

I love the good 4e monsters - it's nice looking through the MM and saying, "Hey, look at what this guy can do! Can't wait to use THAT on my players!"

 

[Starsunder]

Having just gone and looked at the stats for Rorn - that is one bad mofo! And I love the way his powers work, with the change in status when he hits blooded. Not sure I'll ever get to use him, but it would be great if I could...

Yeah, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Rorn is awesome. He just is. Personally, he's one of the best things to come out of the FRCG, which suprised the hell out of me.

I'll go so far as to say that he is my fav solo thus far (even eclipsing Tiamat, although she is well done too, and I havent seen Vecna yet to comment on him).

Funny little story: my brother in law (who I play with) read his stat block, and at first wasnt too impressed. You see, he didnt catch the first time that his tail smash is a minor at will, or that his Earth Chains has a range of sight, or that his Volcanic Retort is affected by any attack (I was like geez, are you sure you read the stat block, or just read his name...). Once he realized all of that, his opinion of him changed considerably.

Only thing that is slightly confusing is what they label him as...a Solo Primordial (as opposed to a soldier, controller, etc.). Only time I've seen that.

 

[TwinBahamut]

The deadliest? It's been mentioned on here before- two creatures that in our play experience are lethal at their level...Needlefang swarms and Deathlock Wights. Be careful with these two.

Really? Deathlock Wights? I must be missing something, since when I used one in battle it really wasn't that impressive. I used it against a lower-level party, in a battle designed to be three levels above the party level, while it fought alongside a Hobgoblin Commander, Zombies, and a large number of Decrepit Skeletons. It was probably the least damaging monster of the entire encounter, though it was nice seeing the reaction I got when it revealed itself to be more than a flunky...

 

[Trolls]

I agree with a lot of these comments, but I'll add a few good monsters that haven't been mentioned yet:

1) The Berbalang (fun-looking solo!)

Here's another vote for the berlang, I had great fun running one a few months ago.

Gnolls also get a mention. Their pack attack ability makes them fun to play and has you considering tactics and position much more than, say, with orcs or goblins.

 

[DonAdam]

Only thing that is slightly confusing is what they label him as...a Solo Primordial (as opposed to a soldier, controller, etc.). Only time I've seen that.

He's been errata'd to Brute.