March and Beyond

[kaomera]

I would have vastly prefered to see a MM4 hardcover book including these monsters, but if I have to swallow the toad of yet another unwieldy box full of tokens I'll never use and a frail mini paperback in order to get these monsters, I'll do so.

Personally I really like the paperbacks, I can actually get them to and from games without nearly as much hassle as trying to manhandle the big paperbacks. But I'm kind of with you on the counters - I bought MV1 in large part for the counters (I've generally avoided buying additional monster books, to my loss in 4e, because I don't feel like I really need umpteen million different creatures... It seems actually counterproductive, as there's no real incentive for the players to actually learn / discover what anything is, since they'll probably never see one again...), but have ended up just not using them.

 

[SparqMan]

So this mace of destruction is their idea of an rare? Really?

Rare for a 5th Level magic item, sure. That means it wouldn't be out of place in the hands of a 2nd level PC.

 

[the Jester]

It is a pretty badass peryton picture.

3e art, contrary to some trufans' hyperbole, wasn't all buckles and spikes (not that I mind buckles and spikes, myself!).

Oh, absolutely! And I like most of what they are recycling, even if not the recycling itself. But I've realized that, when I run a game at my pad, I'll use a 3e or 2e or 1e pic if it's more evocative of the monster than the 4e one, so I should actually kind of appreciate this.

I'm happy to see the various beasties there return, peryton and pennangelan are among my favorite classic monsters. I hope we see the leucrotta too!

 

[Klaus]

I was really enjoying the Black Hound until I actually opened the preview. So the whole PP is based around the idea of you having this companion and how terrifying it is... and it's a daily summon.

So you get the terrifying companion that defines 10 levels of your career for 5 minutes a day? I'm really hoping that the cut off pages redeem that somehow.

I can't comment on what the final Black Hound mechanics will turn out (I did the original design), but one thing that stands out for me: the previewed page is still in the "small softcover" format, not the "large hardcover" format.

 

[Mapache]

Did they change the preview? There's a link to a Spellthief Paragon Path, but I don't see anything about any hounds anywhere…

 

[Klaus]

Yeah, seems like the preview was changed. This page *is* in the 8.5x11 inch format.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Did they change the preview? There's a link to a Spellthief Paragon Path, but I don't see anything about any hounds anywhere…

Yes!

 

[frogged]

I would have vastly prefered to see a MM4 hardcover book including these monsters, but if I have to swallow the toad of yet another unwieldy box full of tokens I'll never use and a frail mini paperback in order to get these monsters, I'll do so.

I hate to disappoint you, but the second monster vault is actually a hardcover, not a boxed set. Apparently they are just shrink-wrapping the token sheets and poster maps with the book.

 

[redshirt2005]

Alas, the Black Hound was a paragon path chosen earlier in the book's development (since, as mentioned in the original article, I was drawn to any paragon path thematically tied to dogs!). However, it did not make the final book, and was swapped out with the Shadow Thief. Apologies for the confusion.

 

[twilsemail]

Alas, the Black Hound was a paragon path chosen earlier in the book's development (since, as mentioned in the original article, I was drawn to any paragon path thematically tied to dogs!). However, it did not make the final book, and was swapped out with the Shadow Thief. Apologies for the confusion.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Drat!

I was really liking the theme there.