An Open Letter: 'Missing the Mark: Mike Mearls’s ‘Revised’ Ogre Mage'

[sjmiller]

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Can we please take the personal attacks and edition wars somewhere else? It was not my desire nor my intent to have either of those here.

Thank you.

 

[Nyaricus]

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Can we please take the personal attacks and edition wars somewhere else? It was not my desire nor my intent to have either of those here.

Thank you.

Thank you for saying that. Hopefully we won't have to call the calvalry (hope I spelt that right )

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Hopefully we won't have to call the calvalry (hope I spelt that right )

Nope.

 

[Infernal Teddy]

I think I see the whole thing a bit differently.

I'm a homebrew DM, and my worlds can sometimes go off in strange ways, so quite a few monsters from the MM have their flavour dropped, and refitted to suit my needs. Mostly, the mechanics are left in place AS ARE. For me, the core books are a tool-kit, nothing more.

However, I find the redesign series interesting, and will continue reading as long as it goes. And remember, if th you think the flavour-text sucks, try rewriting it to suit your game....

 

[Hussar]

Sorry SJMiller, I just got tired of reading the same old nag being whacked yet again with a stick. My bad. With that in mind, if you don't object, I'd like to go point by point through your letter.

Mr. Mearls,

While I respect the work you have done in the past, I honestly think that the ‘revised’ ogre mage is based on some wrong assumptions. At the beginning of your article, you tell us to look at the ogre mage entry in the Monster Manual. I did just that, and noticed a few things that should be brought up.

Under Combat the SRD says, “Ogre mages rely on their spell-like abilities, resorting to physical combat only when necessary.” To me, at least, this says that the ogre mage will most likely not be a “big, beefy monster” as you seem to feel they should be. An ogre mage is described as being about ten feet tall and weighs up to 700 pounds. A creature that tall and with that weight would not necessarily be big and beefy. At that height they would have to be thinner and well muscled without looking too bulky. Look at, for example, a Siberian Tiger. Their average weight is 500-700 pounds, with a body length of 8-10 feet. I doubt anyone would describe the Siberian Tiger as “hulking” and its body size is similar to that of an ogre mage.

Well, big and beefy is a bit difficult to pin down. As I mentioned earlier, a brown bear gets up to about 10 feet and 800ish pounds. That, to me, suggests that an O-M is pretty beefy. Tiger's aren't exactly featherweights either too. Sure, he's not some gross mass, but, he's certainly not svelte either.

You comment on the artwork used in the Monster Manual, saying it is a “hulking monster with a massive sword and nasty looking fangs.” But, as we all know, the artwork is not always the best source of information regarding a creature in D&D (look at the displacer beast). If you are going to look at the artwork, look at all the previous versions of an ogre mage as well. None of them have, until 3.0, depicted the ogre mage as carrying a massive weapon like the greatsword. Using a greatsword seems to be an addition to the latest version of the ogre mage, without any good reason to do so. The same can also be said for the muscle-bound look of the current artwork. In the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, for example, I think you could safely describe the picture as portly, and nowhere near the “steroid abusing” picture from the v3.5 Monster Manual.

Agreed. Although, if you look at the 2e MM pic, it's just a stock ogre with armor which could lend very well to the idea that an O-M is just another ogre, only a bit brighter. But, I do agree 100% that using artists interpretations is a bad idea. That's a separate issue though. We should start telling artists to actually draw the creature.

You also state that, “while its attack does good damage, it fails to stack up to other big, beefy monsters at CR 8.” Well, since the ogre mage is supposed to resort to physical combat only when necessary, one would think that its biggest “punch” would be in its spell-like abilities and not in physical combat. The assumption that it has to have a physical attack equal to other CR8 monsters seems to be taking the ogre mage in a direction that contradicts the description.

However, if you assume that it's an ogre, not a completely different beast, which is not an unfair assumption considering they're listed as the same type of creature, then they should be a bit more capable of standing toe to toe.

That being said, the spell-like abilities of the ogre mage should reflect this description. Instead of charm person (which has been drastically weakened since 1st edition), perhaps charm monster, or suggestion, or the mass versions of either one would work better. Instead of sleep use deep slumber. If the ogre mage is supposed to be CR8 and it is supposed to rely on its spell-like abilities, why not use some that are more appropriate?

Saying that “the ogre mage’s regeneration and flight make it hard to pin down, though its Large size can be a problem,” fails to take into account the Change Shape ability. This supernatural ability, which replaced the once per day spell-like ability of polymorph, allows the ogre mage to assume the form of any Small, Medium, or Large humanoid or giant. The Monster Manual v3.5 Errata seems to imply that this Change Shape ability is no longer restricted to one use per day, making it a handy element in the ogre mage’s arsenal of tricks. Even if that is not the case (and the errata itself is changed) this is still a potent use of the Change Self ability, and would render moot the size problem.

This I agree with.

“The ogre mage does have a ranged attack t can use when flying above the party, but its +2 attack bonus with its longbow makes it nearly useless.” If that’s the case, then change it. Once again, if an ogre mage is not supposed to be a big and brutish front line fighter, then it should be equipped/skilled to handle this. Perhaps a feat to increase the attack bonus, or a magical enhancement, or heck, just increase their Dexterity! Any of those would work.

However, whacking up the dex has all sorts of other effects. Upped AC, better Ref saves, higher initiative. You'd have to give him a massive dex bonus to make any difference. At CR8, the party is running around with 25 AC's. While he might rely on magical attacks, his attack bonuses should be high enough that he at least has the option.

Further into your article, when you are “revising” the ogre mage, you come out and say what I feel is the flawed premise of this revision. First you say that you like the idea of an ogre mage as a tricky mastermind, then you go and say, “The ogre mage rules by intimidation, not by magic.” These, to me at least, are contradictory statements. The first statement is closer to what the ogre mage has been in the past, while the second one takes the ogre mage in a different direction entirely. I personally think that direction is off on a tangent to what the ogre mage is supposed to be.

You say that the ogre mage lacks focus, that it has an identity crisis. Instead of trying to create a new ogre from thin air, skim a few ideas from Japanese mythology regarding the Oni. They are at least part of the inspiration used in creating the ogre mage “back in the day.” They are often depicted as living in the wilds, often in or near mountains, and they are thieves or highway men. They are sometimes shown as guardians of hell. One folk belief today is that oni cause thunder and lightning so that they can steal children's belly buttons. This is a common story told to get children to wear warm clothing in the rain. Those are some great hooks for giving the ogre mage the identity you say it lacks. I personally would switch out the cone of cold for something like call lightning, to bring in that bit of oni mythology, and to give it a bit more impact than the one shot cone.

It's debatable whether Lightning is an Oni or a kami. It is usually not treated as an oni, but, I admit that the question is up in the air. I queried my students about this, and got several answers. There is certainly a children's story of lightning stealing your belly button, but, the creature in question isn't really an oni in Japanese myth.

Looking at previous incarnations of the ogre mage in D&D, we find all sorts of clues and information that are helpful in giving the creature the identity you feel it is lacking. Let’s start with the weapons. Weapon choices in previous versions would lead one to drop the greatsword and use some more thematic weapons. Sticking with weapons in the SRD (mainly because I am doing this at work during breaks) some sort of polearm is in order. A glaive, halberd, or even ranseur would work. If you have Oriental Adventures, (which I do not), a naganata is the preferred weapon. For smaller weapons, the 2nd edition ogre mage comes equipped with a scimitar and whip. A masterwork bastard sword would also work, or perhaps any of these as a magic weapon.

Glaive would certainly look like a naginata and would serve quite well. However, with it's piss poor strength score, it doesn't really matter what weapon you give it. It can't hit with it anyway.

For armor, let’s again look at prior editions. Banded mail, studded leather, or a chain shirt all work. If alternative materials are allowed, try wicker or a something with a more exotic style to it. I would go with either the banded or studded leather myself.

Agreed.

I could go on, but you can see that referencing previous editions gives a good idea where to take the ogre mage. Why ignore the past and reinvent the wheel?

There is a turnaround question to this as well. Why remain fixed in canon of the past which has no bearing on the game in the present. Many 3e players will be entirely unaware of the previous incarnations of the ogre mage, thus will have no particular loyalty towards retaining flavour. Mearl's attempt at reinvisioning the O-M is taken, I think anyway, from the point of view that the O-M never existed and how would he create one now.

When the ogre mage was updated from 2nd edition AD&D to 3rd Edition D&D I believe the ball was dropped. The effects of many of the spells and spell-like abilities changed, often for the worse. This was the time to boost them, but that wasn’t done. Redesigning the ogre mage now shouldn’t involve reinventing it, or changing the focus. The creature had a focus before 3rd edition. Just because the focus was lost in the conversion doesn’t mean you have to take the creature in a new direction.

Now this is something I really disagree with. We should not be making exceptions for abilities for monsters. This runs counter to 3e mechanics. Breaking rules so that a particular creature can retain its former glory is not a good design idea IMO. The spells that were changed were done so because they were very overpowered in earlier editions. Charm person was an extremely powerful spell and far more powerful than a 1st level spell should have been. OTOH, this again is something ofa separate issue. If you think that older versions of the spells were not unbalanced, then you are not going to think that a creature affected by those changes is a good thing.

I sincerely hope that these articles do not reflect the direction that D&D is heading for in a 4th edition. If it is, I feel it will change the game in ways I disagree with and will quite likely not support. To me, it feels like the soul, the enjoyable essence of the game, is being removed and replaced with a glorified combat game.

This I again disagree with 100%. The "soul" that you speak of is simply a matter of taste. I don't personally believe that unbalanced rules makes for a better game, nor is it part of an enjoyable essence. DnD has always been a glorified combat game. When more than three quarters of the rules - the classes, spells, pretty much everything - is geared directly into resolving combat, any arguement that DnD isn't a glorified combat game is disingenious.

 

[Fishbone]

Isn't Dungeons and Dragons a glorified combat game? Relax, this is a very solid fix and I'd much rather use this than the mockery that is the current ogre mage. Who says this can't be roleplayed? Fantastic mental stats and NACL make this a great mastermind. Its lower CR allows for tons of further customization. See, this is the type of fix Dungeons and Dragons needs.

 

[Soel]

Besides, 3E inherited all that stuff without modification, and saw fit to put such flavour "gems" like the digester, choker, krenshar, tojanida, phantom fungus, spider eater, destrachan, howler, girallon, ravid, rast, ethereal filcher & marauder, grey render, athach, delver, yrthak and devourer in the core monster book. Wouldn't touch most of those with a 10 foot pole.

The ravid, rast and devourer all go back as far as 2e's Planescape. I do agree that they should have been in the Fiend Folio rather than the core MM. The grey render also might go back to 2e as well. (FR I think?)

 

[Geron Raveneye]

Wow...I leave the board over night, and suddenly the two threads I check most recently turn into crossfire zones. Who let the Morlocks out?

 

[Henrix]

HUm... this could be mighty interesting... I wonder if a transcript'll be available...

A transcript, or even just an mp3, would indeed be very nice! (For those of us who are a bit too far away to travel easily....) ;-)

 

[Henry]

Wow...I leave the board over night, and suddenly the two threads I check most recently turn into crossfire zones. Who let the Morlocks out?

I dunno, but I hope they heed sjmiller's request.

OK, ladies and gents?