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<blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 8538972" data-attributes="member: 7635">So a friend of mine bought the box set (He didn't have Xanathar or Tasha prior, so this was a good deal for him). He allowed me some extended time with MPMM, so I compared it to Volo and TOF, particularly in the NPC section. A few observations.1.) WotC REALLY hates offensive cantrips. Like, any caster class who had them lost them. Anyone who previously was a wizard got Arcane Burst as an attack (basically, its Fire bolt, but the damage type varies per wizard). Worse yet, NONE of the warlocks have Eldritch blast. Each instead has a melee weapon with rider. Guess they're all blade pact...2.) High level magic is gone. The Archdruid, previously an 18th level spellcaster, doesn't have abilities above 6th level magic. I guess it's more in line with his CR, but I don't hold much hope the Archmage is going to have 9th level spells anymore.3.) That said, if you think caster NPCs won't need the PHB, think again. Most have a few offensive spells (lightning bolt appears several times) and even healing spells (Mass Cure Wounds) along with their toys. 4.) The keywording is inconsistent. All eight specialist wizards don't have &quot;wizard&quot; in the typeline. Neither do the three warlocks, or the bard. The clerics (the drow clerics and the warpriest) do, as does the archdruid. No none-caster has one, even if they're clearly emulating another class (champion, master thief, martial artists).I haven't reversed engineered them to see if there is a method to their madness (IE: does CR X have Y number of spells and does that correlate at all to their old caster levels) but upon seeing this here (and comparing it to CM and SCC) I can say I'm still unimpressed, but it's not the grand disaster SCC made me think it was going to be. And Arcane Burst would make an awesome cantrip.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Remathilis, post: 8538972, member: 7635"] So a friend of mine bought the box set (He didn't have Xanathar or Tasha prior, so this was a good deal for him). He allowed me some extended time with MPMM, so I compared it to Volo and TOF, particularly in the NPC section. A few observations. 1.) WotC REALLY hates offensive cantrips. Like, any caster class who had them lost them. Anyone who previously was a wizard got Arcane Burst as an attack (basically, its Fire bolt, but the damage type varies per wizard). Worse yet, NONE of the warlocks have Eldritch blast. Each instead has a melee weapon with rider. Guess they're all blade pact... 2.) High level magic is gone. The Archdruid, previously an 18th level spellcaster, doesn't have abilities above 6th level magic. I guess it's more in line with his CR, but I don't hold much hope the Archmage is going to have 9th level spells anymore. 3.) That said, if you think caster NPCs won't need the PHB, think again. Most have a few offensive spells (lightning bolt appears several times) and even healing spells (Mass Cure Wounds) along with their toys. 4.) The keywording is inconsistent. All eight specialist wizards don't have "wizard" in the typeline. Neither do the three warlocks, or the bard. The clerics (the drow clerics and the warpriest) do, as does the archdruid. No none-caster has one, even if they're clearly emulating another class (champion, master thief, martial artists). I haven't reversed engineered them to see if there is a method to their madness (IE: does CR X have Y number of spells and does that correlate at all to their old caster levels) but upon seeing this here (and comparing it to CM and SCC) I can say I'm still unimpressed, but it's not the grand disaster SCC made me think it was going to be. And Arcane Burst would make an awesome cantrip. [/QUOTE]

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