DDM Preview 6 Cyclops

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

In all fairness, D&D has never been a game where you can target specific body parts to stab out a monsters eye in the first place (except maybe for beholders). So the issue where blindsight would negate an eyestab is one that would never actually come up in the rules, and if your running house rules that allow eye stabbing, you could also house rule the cyclops.

I am not sure if Beholders every allowed that, but Hydras did (not for eyes, but for their heads)

Since, apparently, the 4th edition monster design is "Exception Based" (latest podcast), it might indicate that the Cylcops comes "build in" with such a mechanics. The Blooded idea I read above might be "all" that is to it, and it has some elegance to it.

 

[Baby Samurai]

In all fairness, D&D has never been a game where you can target specific body parts

If you check out the 2nd edition Complete Fighter's Handbook you might be surprised.

Called Shots and Numbed and Useless anyone?

 

[Klaus]

The Desert of desolation Preview 6 is up here . It shows a cyclops, which is interesting for a few reasons:
1) It's in the 4E MM, which is a first for the cyclops
2) It has a new look, so it is more than a hill giant with one eye (looks more like a Greek mythology Titan, an improvement in my book)
3) It is somehow tied to fey and formorians.

Er... Cyclops (even lesser, non-Ouranos-descended ones) have always been Large in D&D. The only Medium-sized Cyclops I can remember is the one in Krull, and I'm doing my darnedest to forget it.

With the connection between cyclops, fomorian and fey, I think this might have a nod to Balor, the one-eyed giant king of the fomorians: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balor

 

[Fifth Element]

Hmmm...."concepted"?

 

[jasin]

What if the Cyclops loses the eye when Bloodied, and starts running around stabbing things in a blindsighted rage?

Take that, Odysseus.

 

[D.Shaffer]

Blindsight?

In the Odyssey (first mention of a cyclops I'm aware of - other than, maybe, other Greek myths), Odysseus escapes from the cyclops by BLINDING it!!! Perhaps WotC needs to do a little more research in the future?

Complaining about how DnD doesnt follow the myths is a bit silly at this point, isnt it?

In any case, considering we dont know how blindsight is going to work in 4th, accusations that WotC isnt doing it right is a bit premature. If it's an ability that's lost if you stab it in the eye, there's nothing to complain about, is there? This just lets it see in the dark.

 

[Mad Mac]

Note the quote on the bottom of the Mini Card

Tordek "I heard that one eye sees more than all ours put together"

So they're definately going for a supernatural perception thing, along with tying it to Fey. However, if it's uncanny vision is tied to the eye itself, blinding it should present no difficulty.

 

[Wormwood]

Blindsight?

In the Odyssey (first mention of a cyclops I'm aware of - other than, maybe, other Greek myths), Odysseus escapes from the cyclops by BLINDING it!!! Perhaps WotC needs to do a little more research in the future?

I'm fairly certain that like most folks past the 6th grade, the WotC designers know about blinding the Cylcops.

However, I'm willing to bet that blindsight ability is lost once the Cyclop's eye is destroyed (loath as I am to introduce called shots and organ-targeting into a combat system as abstract as D&D).

 

[Baby Samurai]

(loath as I am to introduce called shots and organ-targeting into a combat system as abstract as D&D).

Exactly, we had those nightmares with the 2nd edition Complete Fighter's Handbook (Called Shots, and Numbed and Useless conditions).

 

[Wolfspider]

However, I'm willing to bet that blindsight ability is lost once the Cyclop's eye is destroyed (loath as I am to introduce called shots and organ-targeting into a combat system as abstract as D&D).

Blindsight is a nonvisual sense, mainly...destroying the eye in order to disable something that doesn't involve vision seems rather illogical to me.

Oddly enough, though, this ability doesn't really bother me.