D&D General 2024 Monster Creation

[Bitbrain]

Got the new DMG today and I looked at the Making a Creature section.

Let's just say that if the rules for monster creation aren't in the MM instead of this extremely deficient garbage, I am probably giving up on the 2024 rule set. I haven't been real happy about the direction of the game in this revision, but this? Had this section of the DMG been called Reflavoring a Creature, hey, okay, it would be a decent section. But "Making a Creature" it is absolutely NOT.

If anyone sees any designer comments indicating that there is going to be a robust system for actually making a creature in the Monster Manual, please post here to assuage my disappointment.

If not, this is simply awful.

Welp, guess it’s official then. I really am sticking with 5e 2014.

The monster creation and combat encounter balance sections of the 2024 DMG were the only parts of the new book that I was interested in.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I don't think you people are giving yourselves enough credit. I'm pretty sure if any of you wanted to make a new monster, you'd be able to create one just by looking at what other monster statblocks have in them and then porting the ideas over. You don't actually need "rules" on how to do it.

Same way that you probably will end up making and balancing your own encounters using your own knowledge and intuition, rather than relying on a set of rules WotC would have given you that you would have soon discovered didn't actually work effectively for how you run your game anyway.

Trust in your abilities as a Dungeon Master. You are better at it than you think.

 

[Remathilis]

I hope they moved it to the MM so they could give the math additional time to cook.

 

[mamba]

I think the issue is that due to the math being off, a quick monster guide would only produce boring blobby HP sponges.

And a comprehensive guide to create different styles of monsters would take up half a chapter to explain clearly.

not seeing the problem here, they spent plenty of pages on bastions. Personally I would have preferred they spend them on monster creation. Assuming that has moved to the MM that is ok too, not having anything is not

 

[mamba]

I don't think you people are giving yourselves enough credit. I'm pretty sure if any of you wanted to make a new monster, you'd be able to create one just by looking at what other monster statblocks have in them and then porting the ideas over. You don't actually need "rules" on how to do it.

it’s not about what some people can do without guidance thanks to their experience, it is about not having that guidance in the new book for everyone

Experience wise I’d wager most people here do not need a new DMG at all

 

[Oofta]

I would assume it's going to be in the MM. In the meantime I use The Blog of Holding's Monster CR on a Card. It works well enough. Sadly we have to wait until next year.

 

[Minigiant]

not seeing the problem here, they spent plenty of pages on bastions. Personally I would have preferred they spend them on monster creation. Assuming that has moved to the MM that is ok too, not having anything is not

Bastions are new shiny.

Detailed monster creation rules is old risky.

 

[mamba]

Bastions are new shiny.

debatable, did not like the UA version at all

Detailed monster creation rules is old risky.

not sure what is risky about it, I can see some people not liking the rules, but the same is true for bastions

 

[Minigiant]

debatable, did not like the UA version at all


not sure what is risky about it, I can see some people not liking the rules, but the same is true for bastions

Bastions are literally new. So it will get hype with the benefits of the doubt along with no in play criticism.

Whereas new monster creation rules have 2014's bad baggage

Think like the seller not the customer.

 

[mamba]

Bastions are literally new.

I was not arguing about new but about shiny

Think like the seller not the customer.

if the seller wants me to buy something, they better think like the customer and offer me what I am looking for instead of thinking about what new stuff they made without thinking of its value to me that they would like me to buy anyway