D&D 5E New Spellcasting Blocks for Monsters --- Why?!

[dave2008]

I generally don't use spellcasting monsters because I don't like paging through a PHB during a game to find out what my monsters do, and I don't like the prep work of writing down/typing up a list of what the spells do, either. I sure as heck can't remember what all the spells do anymore (I used to be able to, once). So... I like the new blocks.

I sympathize with those who don't, but I much prefer them. Heck, if it were entirely up to me, I'd simplify monster stat blocks a few steps further and use symbols and keywords and get rid of as much clutter as possible. I really don't like monsters whose block runs off a page (or takes up a whole page).

On the other hand, I think there's too many monsters that are basically a bag of HP with a damage output. I think there's a sweet-spot, which (if I had my way) would be for everyone to have a simple attack and between 1 and 5 extra cool things that it can do, depending on the monster.

I don't need to get my way, though.

Fitz, that is entirely to reasonable - you should be banned

Actually, that is pretty much exactly how I feel too.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I shared the new Vecna with a friend/former player this afternoon, and after he was done looking it over, I asked him what he thought. His first response: Where are all the spells? I see some, but where are the rest? (To be clear, I did NOT prompt him about it at all!)

Now, he has played 5E a bit, was part of my online game about a year ago, and works with me on the 5E Mod we're developing. So, our discussion made me realize this:

My final thoughts on the whole new stat block is this: they went too far, again.... (like other design philosophies such as BA).

Simplifying the stat block is fine, but for a creature like a lich, it was too far. It would have been possible to cut back about 50%, not 75-80%, the spell options.

I've got a big project coming up the next few days, but when I have time I'll make an attempt at what I am talking about with a different version of Vecna.

 

[jgsugden]

I think it will be interesting for WotC to look at D&DBeyond and see how many DMs that have access to both stat blocks tends to look at the legacy, rather thean revised, ones.

 

[dave2008]

And how about the new ones in the new books. Noticed anything? I sure did.

You and some others (I can think of @Micah Sweet ) keep saying that, but it seems to be a minor issue really. The '24 books will be updates of the '14 books so you already have all of those monsters and basically all of the monsters until now. The covers about 8 years of monsters. Now monsters going forward will follow some version of this new format. However, how many of those are actually spellcasting monsters. And I mean monsters that should be something like a wizard, cleric, or whatever? Not to many. You are talking about a handful of monsters that will not have older spellcasting variants, spread out over the next 10 years or so. I just can't get to worked up about that.

EDIT: I just want to clarify that this statement is based on the assumption that the release schedule continues on a similar pace to what has happened in the first 8 years.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I think it will be interesting for WotC to look at D&DBeyond and see how many DMs that have access to both stat blocks tends to look at the legacy, rather thean revised, ones.

Interesting? Maybe. Insightful? Probably not.

Anything "new" is typically interesting and exciting so people gravitate towards it, at least initially. They would have to track it for at least six months to two years to even have a chance of seeing a significant trend.

FWIW, a lot of players I know don't use D&DBeyond, either. I'd say it is about a 50/50 split IME, personally. So, even if they did eventually see anything, it would only be representative of one subset of players.

 

[Parmandur]

Just curious, because I guess i missed the origin of this conversation, what the heck are you talking about?

They are railing against the Standard Adventure Day. Particularly against the guideline just being a guideline.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Interesting? Maybe. Insightful? Probably not.

Anything "new" is typically interesting and exciting so people gravitate towards it, at least initially. They would have to track it for at least six months to two years to even have a chance of seeing a significant trend.

FWIW, a lot of players I know don't use D&DBeyond, either. I'd say it is about a 50/50 split IME, personally. So, even if they did eventually see anything, it would only be representative of one subset of players.

Two of my seven person gaming group use D&D Beyond. Only one other person other than me has an ENWorld account. There's not much you can tell (here or there) about what most of the market wants.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I don't have such worries. I concern myself with making the game fun, not meta concerns of statblocks or terrain or encounters or... I do realize everyone is different and as different issues.

I gave my Vecna (Vecna the Archlich) a full slate of spellcasting options as I like to design / create monsters that speak to the whole world. Such detail is really just a design exercise, it is not really useful for me. Actually, I don't usually use the monsters I make and prefer just using MM versions and improvising anything extra I need when we play.

In one adventure I was realy annoyed that rakshasas were innate spellcasters. So i just trained them as wizard 3 to get access to magic aura.

 

[Reynard]

Two of my seven person gaming group use D&D Beyond. Only one other person other than me has an ENWorld account. There's not much you can tell (here or there) about what most of the market wants.

I think whatever they can glean from what people do online is useful addenda to their "regular" market research and sales data. Also, my guess is that the cohort that has more recently discovered the game are far more likely to engage with it online, from reddit to tik-tok to whatever else the youngins are doing these days.

 

[dave2008]

They are railing against the Standard Adventure Day. Particularly against the guideline just being a guideline.

The shortcut is to just look at the expected XP per day and design your encounters around that. A lot easier than worrying about anything else.