Li Shenron
Legend
Can someone post a sample creature in both old and new format, so that I can hate it too? 
DMG II Statblock - How Is It
- Thread starter GoodKingJayIII
- Start date
GoodKingJayIII
First Post
Li, from WotC's Design and Development page: Three Generations of Stat Blocks
Cthulhudrew
First Post
GoodKingJayIII- thanks for pointing that article out. I'd forgotten it was on the WotC site!
Interesting how they have the sidebar about including feat information next to relevant statblock info- it helps me figure out how to design those new blocks a bit better. Kind of curious why they only include some information, though. For instance, I'd have thought they should include Save Boost Feats (Iron Will, etc.) next to the saves, when/if relevant, like they do some of the other feats, but no.
Interesting how they have the sidebar about including feat information next to relevant statblock info- it helps me figure out how to design those new blocks a bit better. Kind of curious why they only include some information, though. For instance, I'd have thought they should include Save Boost Feats (Iron Will, etc.) next to the saves, when/if relevant, like they do some of the other feats, but no.
Bagpuss
Legend
Psion said:
So the main dislike is from people that have to create these stat blocks, rather than from people that have to use them?
As a user the information is a lot clearer and easier to find in play than the traditional blocks. I can see why it might be more of a pain for a designer however.
I like it a lot.
Years ago I designed a database where I plug in the bad guys and I get little half-page blocks printed up. Everything is in the same place on the page, but it takes some getting used to, and doesn't work for every situation.
For my current adventure, though, I have typed up the monsters in the new statblock style, just to try it out. And by Jove, it works! In the middle of a fight, brain muddied by fatigue and beer, I can pluck out the info I need without hunting for it! It also has important stats spaced apart (e.g. hit points up high, ability scores much lower), so that you can keep a running tally of how things change, without running out of room and getting lost. I'm enjoying it, and it has a much easier learning curve than I had anticipated.
I would love to adapt my database to automatically generate these new blocks, but I haven't figured out how to do it on the report yet (make fields appear or disappear according to whether the entry is null).
I'm sold on the new statblock. You guys just have to try it for a while.
Years ago I designed a database where I plug in the bad guys and I get little half-page blocks printed up. Everything is in the same place on the page, but it takes some getting used to, and doesn't work for every situation.
For my current adventure, though, I have typed up the monsters in the new statblock style, just to try it out. And by Jove, it works! In the middle of a fight, brain muddied by fatigue and beer, I can pluck out the info I need without hunting for it! It also has important stats spaced apart (e.g. hit points up high, ability scores much lower), so that you can keep a running tally of how things change, without running out of room and getting lost. I'm enjoying it, and it has a much easier learning curve than I had anticipated.
I would love to adapt my database to automatically generate these new blocks, but I haven't figured out how to do it on the report yet (make fields appear or disappear according to whether the entry is null).
I'm sold on the new statblock. You guys just have to try it for a while.
Mark CMG
Creative Mountain Games
Bad Paper said:
I think people can get used to almost any configuration the information is put into once they've used it awhile. My two main problems with the new stat block are the lack of all needed information (some breakdowns like HD & AC) and the amount of space it takes up. They seem to be addressing the former but cannot address the latter without a significant format change, and that defeats their purpose and reverts to the older stat block format. The space consideration is a tradeoff that some are willing to make but I am not yet convinced it is worthwhile (I've been using the new format in RHoD).
Raloc
First Post
I like it, mostly, because of the clearer presentation of information (with the same caveats as others, that is, I'd like to have breakdowns of AC and such). I dislike it for the same reasons as others have said, since I too do a lot of creature modification (vanilla creatures or NPCs are usually, but not always, fodder or filler in my games).
hamishspence
Adventurer
Ok-ish. Bugs in statlines and Power Attack built in? NOT OK!
In FC I I went through most of the demon lords and, as a rule, things tended to go wrong with Power attack.
Baphomet, Grazzt, Yeenoghu, Zugetemoy, all have buggy stats.
As far as I can tell, Power attack should apply to all attacks an equal amount. Baphomet only has his glaive doing it. When trying to match damage to attack bonus, they don't add up.
In FC I I went through most of the demon lords and, as a rule, things tended to go wrong with Power attack.
Baphomet, Grazzt, Yeenoghu, Zugetemoy, all have buggy stats.
As far as I can tell, Power attack should apply to all attacks an equal amount. Baphomet only has his glaive doing it. When trying to match damage to attack bonus, they don't add up.
