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Message: <blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 5120194" data-attributes="member: 463">No no no - I have around 26 years of experience GMing Gygaxian fantasy worlds with the magic and monsters of 1e/OD&D Monster Manual, including dozens of PC vs NPC castle sieges and battles.  Monsters have *never* been a major factor, for a host of reasons, some similar to why there were never war tigers, flights of sea eagles, or even (sub Saharan) African war elephants, IRL.Just as IRL, most animals & monsters are not domesticable.  They won't breed in captivity.  They aren't trainable.  Powerful magic can overcome these problems, but there are usually much more efficient uses for powerful magic that don't require years of investment.Secondly, for the minority of animals that will breed in captivity and are trainable (mostly horse analogues like Pegasi and Hippogriffs) they take a huge investment in time, skill and money, following the RAW, to get something that is about as useful as a Fly spell, and can be easily shot down.  After ca 25 years of GMing high level D&D, it was only a couple years ago that I saw a player express interest in a flying mount as one of her Ranger cohort critters - a Griffon she acquired during a several-year time jump.  And she used it for scouting, not fighting - it was far too valuable to risk in combat.Spells, by contrast, are easily acquired, and far more powerful and flexible.  Invisibility, Fly, Fireball at lower levels; at higher levels Rock to Mud and other mighty magics.  These are the real threats to fortresses, not monsters.Now, you can create a fantasy world where monsters are routinely breedable and trainable.  There are certainly examples IMC - the Makyan Barbarian War Bison, the Marrakeen Zeereshi giant lizard cavalry, occasional flying mounts like the ranger with her griffon.  But it's entirely the GM's choice whether these change the nature of battle & fortification.  That is *not* the case with pre-4e magic; in the absence of extensive house ruling it *will* cause major changes.</blockquote>

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