Anyone else HATE the 3E stat block?

[el-remmen]

I hate it. I hate it. I hope who ever came up with it gets hit by a truck!

Ok, maybe not that extreme. . . But after a year and a half of 3E, I still cannot wrap my mind around it. It does not seem to be in an order condussive to quickly picking out what you need during a combat situation - and let's face it, it is only during combat that stat blocks usually matter.

Part of the problem for me is also the very "blockiness" of it - I think they should sacrifice a line or three of space and include hard returns after certain lines so things are the only thing on a line for easy reference..

If I were to design a stat block, it would look like this.

Otyugh - Large Aberration (CR 4) - Align: Neutral

AC: 17 (-1 size, +8 natural), Speed 20 ft.
Initiative: +0; HD: 6d8+6; hps: 33
Attacks: 2 tentacle rakes +3 melee, bite -2 melee
Damage: Tentacle 1d6; bite 1d4
Face/Reach: 5' by 5'/10' (15' w/ tentacle)
Abilities: Str: 11, Dex 10, Con 13 (+1), Int 5 (-3), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 6 (-2)
Saves: Fort: +3, Ref: +2, Will +6
SA: Improved Grab, Constrict 1d6, Disease
SQ: Scent
Skills: Hide +5 (+13 in lair), Listen +6, Spot +9
Feats: Alertness


Why this order?

Because the things one needs to refer to most and most immediately in a combat situation are first (AC, Speed, Initiative)

Then you have things like Attacks and Damage.

Abilties are too important to be buried in the block, especially when they modify everything, since they affect saves and skills they should come BEFORE saves and skills. In addition, the modifiers should be listed parenthetically with an ability score for quick and easy reference.

And lastly, all the categories names should be in bold to make finding them easier.

Does anyone else have their own customized stat-block they like to use?

Anyone else love or hate the official one for a particular reason?

 

[Left-handed Hummingbird]

I never really read that particular thread, but wasn't there an ENWorld quest for the Perfect Stat Block going on for some time?

 

[el-remmen]

I remember it, and I may have looked it over - but I don't remember what became of the quest.

 

[Morrus]

I agree, Nem. I've never understood some peoples' fascination with the things. They're ugly, messy and hard to use. I'm definitely in favour of using more space and making the things clearer.

 

[SableWyvern]

When I first saw them, I thought similarly.

But, in my second session I had to run with quite a few critters that I was not prepared to use - thus needing to work straight out of the book. Actually, I was using a printout of the SRD (only just picked up my real MM).

I was suprised to find the job quite easy.

Suffice to say, I no longer have a major problem with the stat blocks. I do, however, think that they shouldn't run on to the next page, as they do frequently.

 

[Turlogh]

I also don't like the new stat blocks not easy to read/find stuff in quickly. This is one area that 1e & 2e had it head and shoulders above 3e.
By the way yours looks good Nemmerle.

 

[Galfridus]

Yeah, I hate it too. The problem is that it's optimized to use the least amount of column space possible, not to be as readable as possible. I replaced it with a Word-generated table which uses layout, tables, etc. to make stats much more readable. The problem is that it takes up much more space: from one-third of a page for simple monsters to an entire page for complex monsters or NPCs (though I now use PCGen for most NPCs).

 

[KarinsDad]

I think I would change it to something like:

Otyugh - Large Aberration (CR 4) - Align: Neutral

AC: 17 (-1 size, +8 natural), Speed 20 ft.
HD: 6d8+6; hps: 33
Saves: Fort: +3, Ref: +2, Will +6

Attacks: 2 tentacle rakes +3 melee, bite -2 melee
Damage: Tentacle 1d6; bite 1d4
SA: Improved Grab, Constrict 1d6, Disease
SQ: Scent

Abilities: Str: 11, Dex 10, Con 13 (+1), Int 5 (-3), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 6 (-2)
Skills: Hide +5 (+13 in lair), Listen +6, Spot +9
Feats: Alertness
Face/Reach: 5' by 5'/10' (15' w/ tentacle)
Initiative: +0

I would make 3 blocks as per above, normal combat info, specific attack/defense info, and other stuff. Most of the time, you would stay in the top two blocks. In fact, most of the time, you would stay in the top block unless attacking where you would delve into the middle block.

I would put initiative at the bottom since I only look at it once, so I never need it again. Ditto for face/reach and abilities that I tend to need to know about either once in combat, or mostly outside of combat.

One thing that I forget a LOT is the special abilities. I end up screwing up an entire encounter because I forget that a creature has some special ability. I want it right under it's attack and damage modes so that I see it when it is its turn to attack (which I look at once per round). There is nothing worse than having a tough creature fall quickly because you forgot its damage reduction. Well, maybe having your ice cream fall off your cone and onto the ground is worse. But, except for that ...

 

[Cloudgatherer]

The Quest for the One True Stat block became this website. Check it out if you're really interested. CRGreathouse put the info together with help from some of us here on the boards.

As far as I know, there are two "official" stat blocks: one for PC/NPC characters (in the DMG), and one for monsters (Monster's Manual). Looks like the monster manual version is appearing in this thread.

 

[Horacio]

Here I agree with Nemmerle. I hat the stat block because it's (IMHO) clumsy and difficult to use. Even if I know the order (and that's already a difficult task) I must search for the relevant information. It's not very friendly...

YMMV, of course