"Bait Monsters" and the "Trained Mindset"

[Baby Samurai]

I agree with what another poster said about having one base giant that you can tweak – Large (fire), Gargantuan (water) etc.

I would also like the same for dragons, instead of a separate entry for the Perineum Dragon or what have you.

 

[OakwoodDM]

I have to say, I wouldn't be terribly upset, no matter what's left out of MM1.
Sure, I'd be surprised if I opened it and found no entry for Goblin, Troll or Tarrasque, but the only thing that'd discomfort me would be if there weren't sufficient interesting monsters available for low-middle level campaigns.

Even then, the discomfort'd be frustration and giving up on running, rather than actual upset.

 

[Evilhalfling]

really the tarasque? thats a staple? aside from the city built on a tarasque's body (enworld thread) I have never remotely felt like using it. It can definatly go into a supplamental book.
Its challanging to stop, but its size and lack of flying/ranged weapons means it cant really threaten adventurers in combat.

In my own campaign I use hill, fire and frost giants. Yes you can file the numbers off the stats but then you loose society, lair types, and lots of other goodies that have always inspired me to use these critters.

Jester47 has a pretty good list but this:

Elf ;
Half-Elf
Aquatic Elf
Drow
Gray Elf
Wild Elf
Wood Elf

I could live without - plus much of the other subrace nonsense. With racial classes you really have to simplify Elves can have different cultures w/o this level of differenciation.

Few of these will have their homes invaded and battled room to room like real monsters will,
I am much more likely to handwave a culture, its guards and leadership when I don't have adventures trying to bypass/kill its guards, hunt down the leaders and cart of its culture in sacks. For this I need details.

 

[jasonbostwick]

Interestingly, Dave Noonan's last playtest article features Hill Giants and Fomorians in a cold, alpine setting, in lieu of Frost Giants, so I suppose the designers aren't really having any trouble with the change (unlike needing to sub in Wizards for Psions, or Greg Bilsand finding it necessary to add in "gifts" from 3e books).

Surprisingly enough, it seemed to work out pretty well in my mind. If they've already got "frost wyverns" and a few other cold-damage dealing creatures mentioned in other playtests, it seems that there really isn't a niche for Frost Giants, and the space would be better spent filling in other Level/Environment gaps.

 

[Ander00]

I love Frost Giants. I was a bit peeved when I first heard the news and I don't like the idea of them being used as bait (while we're apparently getting Kruthiks in the MM1, meh). However, I expect them to have a bit more going for them mechanically speaking when their time comes (exception based approach, and all that). The only thing I'm afraid of is them getting a cosmetic makeover. Those didn't turn out so well for most monsters so far.


cheers

 

[3d6]

I don't really think D&D needs the frost giant in as a separate monster. It seems like you could have one monster called a "hill giant", and then a note in the description telling you about fire and frost giants, which use hill giant statistics but have the fire and cold subtypes, respectively.

 

[jester47]

I don't really think D&D needs the frost giant in as a separate monster. It seems like you could have one monster called a "hill giant", and then a note in the description telling you about fire and frost giants, which use hill giant statistics but have the fire and cold subtypes, respectively.

That would work. But leaving blue Dragons out vs. giving me a generic dragon stat and telling me how to make one blue- is a very different monster.

 

[Slife]

Because MUSHROOM PEOPLE. Seriously! Mushroom people!

You're tooling through the underdark. You kill some drow, a few duergar, a svirfneblin or three, and after you finish butchering an aboleth you round the corner and MUSHROOM PEOPLE! And they make psychedelic spores and you start to turn into mushrooms and they're weirdly cute and also weirdly dangerous and they're Mushroom People.

What's not to love?

Fortunately, they made the cut for MMII.

And, of course, they love to rock out!