D&D 5E A monster stat block should always fit on one side of one page maximum (a poll)

[Haplo781]

It should fit on a 3x5 card.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Multi-page stats for high level monsters were actually one of the things that made me stop DMing 3E.

Yeah, the Age of Worms is great. Flipping through three pages to read the stats of late-game monsters is not.

 

[Stalker0]

I have no problem adding in flavor spells and other "planning" type spells for like a lich to use to setup traps on a seperate page.

But in terms of "the party has to just burst in the door, here's the monster, a fight is on".... yeah that should be one page. Any more than that is just more complicated than it needs to be.

 

[Quickleaf]

Personal experience on two products....not that I have many reviews. Admittedly, anecdotal....

That's rough. I hope that we see more willingness to experiment when it comes to 5e gamers in light of the new flavors of 5e that are coming – Black Flag, C7d20, the new Level Up, Shadowdark, etc.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Why no option for "A monster stat block should never fit on just one page"? I mean, if we're going to arbitrarily force stat blocks to fit on a single page, what if I want to arbitrarily force them all, even monsters like kobolds, to be more than one page?

 

[el-remmen]

Why no option for "A monster stat block should never fit on just one page"? I mean, if we're going to arbitrarily force stat blocks to fit on a single page, what if I want to arbitrarily force them all, even monsters like kobolds, to be more than one page?

What part of making them easier to reference and run smoother is "arbitrary?"

 

[Lanefan]

I would disagree. I am a big fan of 2e's often two-pages of stats plus lore. I like having a lot of lore to work from. 1e and Basic sometimes giving no lore and sometimes no physical description was frustrating. 3e and 4e skimping on lore and description, particularly in earlier MMs was disappointing.

There's a difference between the MM write-up, which can be as long as it needs to be to include all the fluff and lore, and the in-module combat write-up which not only should fit on a single page but should ideally not take up more than two or three lines on that page!

The poll is, I think, referring to the combat write-ups.

 

[Lanefan]

There's still a lot you can do, this just covers the rules for being swallowed. For example, a purple worm's stat block for bite goes from this:

[...]

To this:
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d8 + 9) piercing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or be engulfed. An engulfed creature takes 21 (6d6) acid damage at the start of each of the worm's turns. If the worm dies, the target can escape the corpse by using 20 feet of movement, exiting prone.

And even that can be shortened down:

Bite: Melee weapon attack +14; reach 10 ft', 1 target; hit dmg 3d8 + 9 piercing plus a large or smaller target saves Dex DC 19, swallowed on fail. If swallowed: 6d6 acid damage per round on worm's turn. If worm dies, swallowed targets can escape corpse by using 20' movement, exiting prone.

Even some of that is extraneous in my view but I assume 5e wants it there.

 

[Greg K]

I voted the stat block should be as long as it needs to be. For most things, the stat block should fit on one page (lore can go over). However, as some others have written, certain unique creatures (e.g. Vecna, the demon prince, arch-devils) can go over if needed.

 

[Demetrios1453]

What part of making them easier to reference and run smoother is "arbitrary?"

You're limiting the author by forcing them to fit a certain format. Why should we forcibly and arbitrarily limit creativity?

One easy example: there have been lots of posts here that 5e dragons are too bland and could use further interesting powers. But their stat blocks are already huge as it is - trying to make 5e dragons less cookie-cutter would be impossible under this restriction.

As a hypothetical, it's interesting to do a thought experiment where a single stat block for a monster fills an entire typical hardcover book. I wonder if a collaborative effort were made, one could be created?