D&D (2024) D&D Monster Manual (2025)

[Warpiglet-7]

That orc, if I remember correctly, was a particularly bad uncommon unfortunately. I was disappointed to get it too. The duergar is much worse but the deep gnome is really good. So I think in that case it is the mini itself. Sometimes PC minis are bad and more likely if they aren't rares.

We have gotten some really good orcs lately too, mostly from critical role line I think.

I think they're mostly waiting for the new art in the MM before we will get new sculpts of orcs and such.

I suspect you are right. It might end up being a natural cut off for me in collecting (famous last words)!

It kind of gets at what I am saying about desired tone and all of that…if the minis they make are more travelling orc family in 2024 PHB and less servants of evil I probably and not their target market even if it’s a good mold and paint job per se.

No shade on anyone else! Just not the tone I am wanting. And that is ok. Others will feel differently.

 

[Hussar]

It showed the most in the spelljammer box set for me. Like no support to make your own spelljammer games. Just enough to play Light of Xyraxis, but like, everything to create your own Spelljammer Setting was ripped out. Like with the 5e spelljammer box set, it is clear it is not made to create your own spelljammer adventures (just in comparison to the 2e box set).
The same with a lot of settings.
Strixhaven is a sad product if you want to make your own Magical School adventures.

In the 2024 DMG so much good stuff was removed that was in the 2014 DMG, it is crazy.

The only (setting) books that really supported to make your own adventures were Ebberon and Van Richtens Guide to Ravenloft.
So the last good book for homebrewing DMs was from 2021.
The setting books after that were big let downs. Like Spelljammer and Strixhaven. Like, to make Strixhaven an adventure book and not a setting books thay gives you support on how to run 5e magical school adventures is basically a crime ...

Fair enough.

I ran a pretty successful Spelljammer homebrew campaign for a year and didn't really see any large gaping holes other than D&D's very weak exploration mechanics. But, then, my "Spelljammer" campaign would have probably been completely unrecognizable as "Spelljammer" since I used virtually none of the lore from the setting. So, to me, the Spelljammer books were perfectly fine. A handful of critters that I used, some inspiration from here and there and the players made pretty solidly Spelljammer characters.

It was actually rather funny. I had tried to run "canon" (ish) setting campaigns in the past and the players were having absolutely none of it. I ran Candlekeep and the players could not have cared less about Forgotten Realms canon. So, when I ran Spelljammer, I decided I wouldn't really track much actual SJ canon and the freaking players started going all in on it. Grrrr.

 

[abirdcall]

I suspect you are right. It might end up being a natural cut off for me in collecting (famous last words)!

It kind of gets at what I am saying about desired tone and all of that…if the minis they make are more travelling orc family in 2024 PHB and less servants of evil I probably and not their target market even if it’s a good mold and paint job per se.

No shade on anyone else! Just not the tone I am wanting. And that is ok. Others will feel differently.

The PHB species sections are mostly about how the commoners are like than the PCs. That is the theme of each group shot.

It's more, where did you come from than who you are. All of the species are depicted as more or less happy in those pictures.

We will just need to wait and see what we get. I would expect the art to vary and there will always be new art in adventures too.

 

[M_Natas]

Fair enough.

I ran a pretty successful Spelljammer homebrew campaign for a year and didn't really see any large gaping holes other than D&D's very weak exploration mechanics. But, then, my "Spelljammer" campaign would have probably been completely unrecognizable as "Spelljammer" since I used virtually none of the lore from the setting. So, to me, the Spelljammer books were perfectly fine. A handful of critters that I used, some inspiration from here and there and the players made pretty solidly Spelljammer characters.

It was actually rather funny. I had tried to run "canon" (ish) setting campaigns in the past and the players were having absolutely none of it. I ran Candlekeep and the players could not have cared less about Forgotten Realms canon. So, when I ran Spelljammer, I decided I wouldn't really track much actual SJ canon and the freaking players started going all in on it. Grrrr.

I'm also running a spelljammer campaign right now, but I had to create 60 additional pages of rules just to make it work. For space combat, tables for planetoid and system generation, more diverse spelljamming helms, magic items, ship upgrades, wildspace hazards and so on ...
(At least I could turn it into a DMs Guild product, so far it is the only german spelljammer product ever - sadly they haven't translated the spelljammer box set to german, because it probably sold so badly).

Like, before the box set I got myself the 2e spelljammer box set (PDF from the DMs Guild) and the 2e astromundi cluster book (pod from DMs Guild) and like, the quality and amount of content to help you run your own games is like night and day between 2e and 5e.

 

[Bae'zel]

The PHB species sections are mostly about how the commoners are like than the PCs. That is the theme of each group shot.

It's more, where did you come from than who you are. All of the species are depicted as more or less happy in those pictures.

We will just need to wait and see what we get. I would expect the art to vary and there will always be new art in adventures too.

While I thought that the art styles there were uneven, I quite liked the concept. Portraying the different species as people in a setting, not just as adventurers.

My favourites were the Dragonborn and Tieflings, showing a wide variety of types and characters, good and bad. First time I kind of wanted to make a Dragonborn, actually.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

4e, with nifty dice icons to boot!

View attachment 392766

Actually I found the dice icons of putting... as they were never used to their full potential:

You could have only one roll and recharge*

*6: recharge something
*5: recharge something else

Wasted opportunity.

 

[dave2008]

Actually I found the dice icons of putting... as they were never used to their full potential:

You could have only one roll and recharge*

*6: recharge something
*5: recharge something else

Wasted opportunity.

I have done that with some of my 5e monsters designs and I got the complaint that it was to complex to use at the table. Particularly if you have more than one monster in an encounter with such an ability.

So I see you, but I am not convinced that your solution is better. It is more preference.

 

[TheSword]

Creativity can be constrained by those who hold the purse strings, and all of your examples potentially have that issue, because the artist isn't in full control of what they create.

Financial backing encourages creativity. When people have to work on their creative effort in their spare time and still work a 40 hour week to pay the bills they can’t be as creative as they otherwise could. Financial backing allows investment. You can buy the equipment you want, recruit the artist you want or the design team. You can source the materials you want. You can spend longer in real time working on what you want. It’s really crap trying to do these things without any money. What you’re not going to get is free money and not expect some kind of payback. When you’re responsible for a hell of a lot of people’s livelihoods you’re going to have to take some decisions that not everyone is gonna like.

There’s nothing wrong with a company finding its niche. If you want a product that’s niche then go buy it. If it doesn’t exist then go write it, or pay someone else to. Otherwise get over it. Complaints about something being too popular just smack of acting territorial to me. Get your hands off my game you whippersnappers.

My strong gut feeling is that if D&D2024 was released by an independent 3pp at the quality and production value we have seen these three books it would be lauded across the land as the product everyone was waiting for.

 

[dave2008]

Which is why this is a potential issue, and not a definite one.

But being self-employed is potentially an issue as well. Creativity lies with the individual(s) and how they handle their environment, whether that is self-financed or backed by significant resources. Some are more creative in the former and some the later, you can't (IMO) really say one is better for creativity than the other.

I work in a creative field (I'm an architect) and I am very familiar with how a powerful client can either enhance or detract from creativity. It goes both ways.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I have done that with some of my 5e monsters designs and I got the complaint that it was to complex to use at the table. Particularly if you have more than one monster in an encounter with such an ability.

I take your word for it.

So I see you, but I am not convinced that your solution is better. It is more preference.

Never said it was better. I prefer the numbers of 5e recharge over the pictograms though.

But to be clear: in my version every monster only rolls once.


And following would also be possible:

5,6: recharge A
4,6: recharge B
4,5: recharge C

This would be nicer with pictorgrams.