Are Monster templates necessary?

[OchreJelly]

I should also add that templates have always given me good ideas for villains (and this was true for 3E as well). I've been inspired several times just thinking "oooh, what if I add X template to Y montster". That alone makes them worthy of the page space IMO.

 

[Nail]

You also have to remember, not every DM has been running games since 1975.

1974, right? I admit, I came in with the newer edition of Basic D&D.

 

[Paul Strack]

I use templates all the time as a short cut for elite monster design. I usually add the template, eye-ball the result, then make a few more tweaks to get the balance right.

So, I find them useful as a source for ideas, but don't treat them as a rigid rule-set.

 

[brehobit]

I likes them. Nice way to create fairly balanced elites that are interesting in a very short time.

I like them a lot actually.

Mark

 

[Leatherhead]

If I had my way, all monsters would be race templates to be stretched over a handful of core roles, with a level template and a "theme" template attached.

Take the mind flayer template, apply it to the lurker role, plug in a level template so that it matches your players, and for giggles apply the "Deciple of Fire" Theme for an elemental power that connects it to the other denizens of the lava fields.

Of course, I do understand that ready-made monsters are more useful to beginner DM's, but it would be nice if I didn't have to reverse engineer all the monsters I want to change.

 

[jedrious]

If I had my way, all monsters would be race templates to be stretched over a handful of core roles, with a level template and a "theme" template attached.

Take the mind flayer template, apply it to the lurker role, plug in a level template so that it matches your players, and for giggles apply the "Deciple of Fire" Theme for an elemental power that connects it to the other denizens of the lava fields.

Of course, I do understand that ready-made monsters are more useful to beginner DM's, but it would be nice if I didn't have to reverse engineer all the monsters I want to change.

sounds like DMG2 material to me

 

[OchreJelly]

I see what you're getting at but there's almost just enough transparency to the rules that you could do exactly that. Almost all monsters of a given race have one iconic racial power. It's just that the MM doesn't just jump out and say "all kobolds have shifty", but you can pretty much see that it's true. The "kobold template", for example, would be "add shifty to all creatures of this type". The type being any creature you create from scratch using the monster creation rules in the DMG. I'm sure there would be more fiddly parts to make it more "koboldy" (skills, size etc).

I agree that I like modular approaches too. It would be neat if DMG2 had a larger build-from-parts section on monster creation.

*Edit. I got ninja'ed on the DMG2 comment!

 

[arscott]

Actually, the DM does jump out and say all kobolds have shifty--it's in the back. Only does that for about 12 races, though

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

I likes them. Nice way to create fairly balanced elites that are interesting in a very short time.

I like them a lot actually.

That's pretty much the same as my attitude to them - they're a useful toolkit but I wouldn't be afraid to change them around if I thought it needed it.

 

[DracoSuave]

Templates, like anything related to monster creation in 4e, are not strictly necessary, but they can be handy to have from time to time, if you so desire to use them.