D&D 4E 4e Monster Manual excerpt

[Chris_Nightwing]

If they are in the habit of treating the people with blue circles around their feet as though they were red circles, it's time to find a better group.

Or some bluer-tinted glasses.

 

[med stud]

Who cares what the combat stats are for a street urchin? It's a kid. When a PC catches a 12 year old pick-pocket in your game, do you honesly roll initiative and break out the battlemat?

A street urchin would be a minion without an attack. Maybe trained in Running Away In City Environments (a NPC skill I just made up) for a chase scene, otherwise, if a PC wants to whack a street urchin it shouldn't take more than one attack.

 

[Voss]

The power additionally reads:

"If the target is still under the effect of this power at the end of the encounter, the succubus can sustain the effect indefinitely by kissing the target once per day"

What effect is being sustained on a day to day basis? The power as written provides no mechanism for the succubus and the target to be anywhere near each other. The target, as you say, has no "condition". There is no effect outside of battle. The "no more, no less" interpretation may be valid, but the second paragraph in the power description suggests other interpretations are also possible.

The tactics section mentions "slavish loyalty" and the Charming Kiss power "keeping him or her nearby". These tactics are not supported by the power description as written.

You see no ambiguity here?

Nope. She's making the charming kiss last. So the only things being sustained are 'can't attack' and 'take the hit if adjacent', because thats what the power does.

Keeping them nearby over the course of days is where the diplomacy and bluff checks come in.


Also keep in mind that she doesn't need to use her natural form at any point for any of this. A 'helpless maiden/boy' can go a long way toward keeping the victim... close.

 

[Steely Dan]

3 things I don't like about 4th Ed Hell:


1.) I still miss Geryon as the lord of Stygia; Levistus doesn’t cut it for me. I know it was that way since 2nd Ed, but I didn't like it then either.

2.) I would also like Moloch back as the ruler of Malbolge, not Glasya, but it's better than the above.

3.) Changing the name of the 8th layer, Caina, to Cania.

 

[ThirdWizard]

I meant combat NPCs, obviously. For example, a 7th level enemy cleric, like in Henry's 2e example. Non-combat NPC "statblocks" are trivial in every edition.

Check my sig.

 

[Xorn]

But the players are cunning bast**** who always try to catch you off-guard. Can't always rely on statictics with them (you can guess or estimate how they will behave in a certain encounter and still they often manage to surprise you! )

"I stab the inn-keeper because my character is a sh_th__d."
Okay, he's dead, it's very gory. The occupants of the tavern run screaming out of the place, screaming for guards.

Now I pull out the battlemat, and the Human Guard statblock.

 

[Danzauker]

3 things I don't like about 4th Ed Hell:


1.) I still miss Geryon as the lord of Stygia; Levistus doesn’t cut it for me. I know it was that way since 2nd Ed, but I didn't like it then either.

Quote this entirely.

2.) I would also like Moloch back as the ruler of Malbolge, not Glasya, but it's better than the above.

Well, I like Glasya much more than the Hag, anyway. Plus another hellish realm under a she-devil, makes for more variety.

What I'd really like is to get back Baelzebub from it's lame slug form.

3.) Changing the name of the 8th layer, Caina, to Cania.

I believed that was changed long before 3ed.

Anyway Caina is much better.

Malebolge instead of Malbolge, would ALSO be much better.

 

[hamishspence]

dominate followed by charm

Will this be usual? dominate used on tank of party at a distance, he immediately moves in close, is kisses, and we have a shield really quickly, so she can keep firing Dominates?

At would the line for the Defiler in Hellfire Diablo expansion be appropiate for dominate used in this way?

"Come closer, morsel!"

I personally thought it captured the female + totally alien feel rather well.

 

[Gargazon]

3 things I don't like about 4th Ed Hell:


1.) I still miss Geryon as the lord of Stygia; Levistus doesn’t cut it for me. I know it was that way since 2nd Ed, but I didn't like it then either.

2.) I would also like Moloch back as the ruler of Malbolge, not Glasya, but it's better than the above.

3.) Changing the name of the 8th layer, Caina, to Cania.

Aren't those all things that were also associated with 3rd Ed Hell? It seems rather unfair to blame 4th Ed for changes that were made long beforehand.

 

[Derren]

Will this be usual? dominate used on tank of party at a distance, he immediately moves in close, is kisses, and we have a shield really quickly, so she can keep firing Dominates?

The problem is that the tank is under no complusion to stay near the Succubus so the ext round he wanders off to fight the other monsters while the strikers can kill her.
It makes more sense to use Charming Kiss on an ally (either a mortal the Succubus befriended, this only works when she changes her form, or a other devil which acts as HP buffer for the Succubus).