DMG Excerpt: Customizing Monsters

[Thyrwyn]

So all of these rules might well be in the "Vampire" entry in the MM, along with a lot of Vampire NounVerbers.

That is my suspicion.

As for the "Magic Items and Monsters" debate, let me throw my take into the ring: Monsters are given certain bonuses at each level. We do not worry about where they come from because, ultimately, they aren't important. Whether it was a Racial Weapon Training ability, a Weapon Specialization class feature, some Hit Things Really Hard feat, or maybe some special Favored Enemy: Adventurer bracelet it picked up from Grendel's Ma just doesn't matter. When you are creating a creature for an encounter and you decide to equip said creature with a magical weapon, said weapon replaces some of the "unnamed" bonuses the monster would have had otherwise.

This is not retconning - the monster didn't even exist until you started thinking him - he just went from being "generic monster" to this specific monster who has this neat toy instead of something else that his more generic brethren would have instead.

 

[Vempyre]

Sigh, again with the simulationists arguments creeping in yet another thread that is analysing the information we have so far. DnD4 is not a simulationist game.

It is relentlessness to keep trying to define it or view it with that kind of glasses while it's been obvious for a while that it wasn't so.

No amount of complaining or arguing about it will change it, especially when the majority of ppl are in favor of DnD 4E's current announced style.

 

[Green Knight]

You have a point in that the suggestion in the articel that the lich template works best with arcane casters isn't supported by the template itself, but that's a pretty weak complaint.

That's an issue easily solved with the inclusion of one word.

POWERS
Spellmaster (minor; recharge 5, 6)
The lich regains the use of an expended arcane encounter power.

 

[Ipissimus]

QFT.

I never understood why natural armor stacked with regular armor. I remember thinking "huh??" when I first read that it did.

-sighs-

No, I don't let characters get bonuses from wearing 2 sets of armour, particularly plate and chain. This is because most armours, like plate mail, used various layers and combinations of armour types in order to gain maximum protection while maintaining mobility. Underneath all that, though, the human body is soft and squishie and I can say from personal experience that getting hit through heavy chain mail still hurts.

Now, take someone with tough, scaly, hide that has a better dispersive effect against blunt trauma and put plate mail on him and yeah, I CAN believe that stacks.

Maybe you don't remember, weren't around or never had the question asked in 2E by players, but yeah, I had many a player try to convice me that natural armour should stack back then. Long and, frankly, tedious arguments where the only thing I could do was say 'yeah, the rules say no, so no'. 3E stopped that so we were all happy. Now it's back. -sigh-

I understand the reasoning from a game standpoint and I even agree with it. But I just know people are going to try it on again.

 

[Merlin the Tuna]

What I'm asking for is more aking to "Can vampires cross running water?" or "Are they affected by religious symbols". (Also missing from the template description, come to think of it...).

These things change wildly depending on the particular vampire story you're telling. It's absolutely something I don't want to see in the rules, as there's no consensus on it, but everyone has their own ideas of what a vampire does.

 

[Protagonist]

It's a Pitch Fiend!

Cheers,
Cam

Damnit, now I have to form a geek big beat band

 

[lexoanvil]

That is easily the best lich artwork I've ever seen. Bravo.

i agree gave me some ideas for a very cool villian

 

[Spatula]

Fair enough. But the War Devil entry says nothing about the + of the Trident, so if the PCs take it from him, how do we know that its +5 or +3 or whatever?

It's nothing, just a normal (size large) trident. The war devil's attack & damage bonuses just are, they don't depend on magic items. It gets less benefit from a +5 weapon than a PC would simply because it's a monster and it's expected to have a certain range of attack & damage bonuses for its level, which would be thrown off if you added +5/+5 to it.

 

[Lizard]

I'm hoping for a Ritual called "Create Vampire Spawn" or something similar, which only Vampires and Vampire Lords can take. The requirements for such a ritual could involve Dominating the target and forcing them to drink the vampires blood, then using Blood Drain to reduce them to 0 Hit Points, and burying them. If they lay undisturbed for three days then they rise again as Vampire Spawn. Nice and simple.

Sounds cool.

Rituals really are being asked to do all the heavy lifting in 4e, aren't they?

 

[Derren]

Rituals really are being asked to do all the heavy lifting in 4e, aren't they?

Yes. Whenever a hole in 4E rules gets discovered people say "rituals will do it" even though we know next to nothing about them.