D&D General Do people like re-skinning?

[SkidAce]

The DM is the eyes and ears of the players. They're supposed to be able to trust you. This sort of behavior is a betrayal of that trust.

How?

I mean say if they found out?

The DM used method "A" (reskin) to create a new monster, instead of method "B" (create new).

IMO, since the DM had an idea of what he wanted as a foe, a "create new" monster would likely have been very close to the reskin one anyway.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

For what it's worth, when making up a monster, I ALWAYS start out with an existing monster and adjust it (I usually use D&DBeyond's homebrew monster, and I can pick from all the monsters that exist for the game as my template. I just guess who'll be closest, and go from there. Heck, I often open two or three other monsters and steal appropriate abilities from them. This is because it's just plain easier than building them from the ground-up.

Besides, most monsters in 5e are just a bag of HP with a CR-appropriate level of damage it can deal, and some appropriate skills and/or resistances. There aren't very many with more than one particularly evocative special abilities. (I don't mean that as a dig at the edition. I like it fine.)

 

[The Crimson Binome]

How?

I mean say if they found out?

If I was playing in a game, and the DM told me that the giant spider we fought was just a re-skinned dragon, then I'd feel kind of cheated and disappointed that they didn't care enough about the game to actually put in the work.

I mean, if there was nothing wrong with it, there would be no reason to even hide it from the players. You would be able to tell them right off the bat, and they wouldn't think anything of it.

 

[SkidAce]

My players would go..."Oh that was a clever reskin..".

Experiences vary, I understand your points.

 

[Maxperson]

If I was playing in a game, and the DM told me that the giant spider we fought was just a re-skinned dragon, then I'd feel kind of cheated and disappointed that they didn't care enough about the game to actually put in the work.

Well, yeah. An absurd re-fluff like that would be disappointing. The odds are phenomenal that would never happen, though. The DM will very, very likely be picking something close to you know, a giant spider for stats. Not a dragon.

 

[FlyingChihuahua]

If I was playing in a game, and the DM told me that the giant spider we fought was just a re-skinned dragon, then I'd feel kind of cheated and disappointed that they didn't care enough about the game to actually put in the work.

I mean, if there was nothing wrong with it, there would be no reason to even hide it from the players. You would be able to tell them right off the bat, and they wouldn't think anything of it.

I'll be honest, now that you mention something like that it just makes me want to try and pull that off.

I'd probably use a Green Dragon because spiders already do Poison damage. The Breath I could write off as it spitting poisonous webs at the party, but the flight would be the big one. I think some spiders fly using their webs (at least, if Charlotte's Web didn't lie to me again) so maybe something like that?

 

[Maxperson]

I'll be honest, now that you mention something like that it just makes me want to try and pull that off.

I'd probably use a Green Dragon because spiders already do Poison damage. The Breath I could write off as it spitting poisonous webs at the party, but the flight would be the big one. I think some spiders fly using their webs (at least, if Charlotte's Web didn't lie to me again) so maybe something like that?

That's still a bit much for me, but if you guys would have fun with it...

 

[MGibster]

Until you can prove the objectively "right stats" for a war ogre, you have no good basis for that statement.

Heck, I can prove to you they are the right stats! I looked at the stats and thought to myself, "This would do fine for a war ogre!" BAM! Instant right stats!

 

[MGibster]

Yes, for whatever reason, people have it in their heads that the stat blocks in the book are of higher quality than whatever they can come up with for themselves, which is completely missing the entire point of this edition.

I bought the Monster Manual specifically so I had a bunch of ready-made opponents to rip my player characters' limb from bloody limb. As a DM, I have much better things to do than come up with brand new stat blocks for anything other than the big bad evil guy at the end of the adventure or campaign. If some people really enjoy coming up with their own unique stats for creatures then I say more power to you. There's really no wrong way to play the game so long as everyone's having a good time.

 

[Flamestrike]

This is exactly what I'm talking about, when I say it's bad practice. You're too lazy to figure out the right stats for this monster, so you just do whatever is easy for you, with the justification that the players won't find out.

Its not laziness, if the right stats for the monster are a different monster re-skinned.

And who cares if the players find out? 'The War Ogre has the same stats as a Fire Giant (sans fire resistance) so I'm using that stat block.'

The DM is the eyes and ears of the players. They're supposed to be able to trust you. This sort of behavior is a betrayal of that trust.

Huh? How?