Do we really need monster books?

[Abstraction]

The only monster book I own is the MMI. I haven't really looked at any of the others, didn't think there was a need. Let me give you a couple examples. In a 3.0E game, I needed some basic plant monsters. Nothing in the MM fit at all. So I simply used the small skeleton with its type changed to Plant from Undead and the large zombie, again simply changing its type. Two minute change, brand new monsters, no wasted money.

More recently, I needed to generate some Locathah that had been corrupted by the essense of an earth dragon. This took a little more work. Base creature Locathah, added most of the half-dragon template, but with no elemental immunity and only +4 Str, gave them earth glide like an elemental and finally gave them the breath weapon of an earth mephit (which is only d8 damage, but at will) instead of an elemental one from the template. Would I have done any better if I had more monster books?

As a further point, I want to ask you fine people this: do you decide on the monsters first, then generate a story for them? Or do you generate a story and then try find monsters that fit it?

 

[JoeGKushner]

I love monster books.

Visuals are key.

I've used stuff from other game systems, like Talislanta and GURPS due to a good picture.

Another important thing is shaking up the know it all players who feel that they've seen everything that there is to see and know everything that there is to know. Templates went a long way in fixing that problem. The Deluxe Book of Templates and the Advanced Bestiary are great tools for people who like to create their own monsters.

For me, usually I go looking for something with an appropriate CR and then see if I can add that to the game in a way that makes sense.

For the most part though, since I'm running a prewritten game now, I'm not too worried about it.

 

[HellHound]

No, we don't NEED monster books.

Heck, I've run D&D games using no monster books at all, not even MM1. Just stick to the REAL bad guys... those elven paladins.

 

[Desdichado]

I have tons of monster books, and I use all of them. There the most useful books in my collection, for the most part.

And yeah, I do a little of all of the above. Sometimes I go search for a monster that fits a particular need (for example, on Friday I needed a ghostly type creature, of a CR 3-4 or so, but the actual ghost template wasn't quite right. I ended up using the Haunt from Tome of Horrors there.) Other times I see a monster, and I find a way to work them in (mechanithralls from the Monsternomicon got that treatment, for example.) Other times, I can wing or steal a statblock, but I still need some cool art for something that looks different; I used some freaky Sam Wood picture from Legacy of the Dragons in a game with dire badger stats a few months ago.)

So, yeah, I get all kinds of use out of my monster books. I'd fundamentally and strongly disagree with the subject line, at least. Other than that, what you say is correct enough for what it's worth, but that's not my strength as a DM. I like having concepts presented to me that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise, and that's the best thing monster books do.

 

[Turanil]

As a further point, I want to ask you fine people this: do you decide on the monsters first, then generate a story for them? Or do you generate a story and then try find monsters that fit it?

It depends. I have ideas of a world with certain creatures; and then I take some of these creatures and build a story around them. Having two or three monster books is a good thing, but it's true that you don't really need more than the MM (espcailly when you can find plenty of free stuff on the net).

 

[francisca]

As a further point, I want to ask you fine people this: do you decide on the monsters first, then generate a story for them? Or do you generate a story and then try find monsters that fit it?

First off, what is this this "we" stuff? Do *I* need monster books? Probably not. Do I use them? Sure. Do you need them? You decide. Sounds like you don't. But lots of people at least want them, and many, especially 1st time DMs I imagine, probably need them. I think "Do we need monster books?" is a really oceananically broad question.

As for your further point: I've done/do both.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Well, in a big picture sense: no.

Check out WotCs site. There's more than enough free material to run a campaign to level 15. All you really need is a Player's Handbook, the SRD, and a set of dice. Of course. the adventures probably won't match up nicely, but that's not the point. You can get to level 15 with US$40 and a lot of free printing. There are also adventures for 16-20, so you can slide your way past those without a terrible ammount of effort.

If you use the EN World Online Gaming Toolbox you don't even need to buy dice and you can use Jamis Buck's dungeon generator to hop through levels 1-20 with even less effort.

So we're down to just buying a PHB because in theory none of us know how to generate or level up a character without it. No other books or accessories are required to play the game.

Except .... that would kind of suck.

Monster books are a creative aid. Different people have different views on what makes a good monster. Some people go heavy on undead, others go heavy on demons, myself, I'm a humanoid kind of guy (Full Disclosure: the author of this post is a humanoid himself and has many humanoid friends, so some bias is present). I personally get a little spooked when I learn that my DM has picked up a new monster book. I have a pretty good idea how he thinks and I know what to expect of him in a given encounter. If he has a new monster book, I'm more apt to be surprised ... assuming the book is any good of course.

In answer to your second question:

Monster first, story second. If I'm creating a new monster it is done with the deliberate intent to surprise the players. As far as story goes, I can generate the stories I want with just the SRD/MM.

 

[Pinotage]

A straight answer would be that you don't really need them. You can create your own monsters as variations of the MMI monsters and that's perfectly fine.

Me, I like monster books. I like looking at the pictures of the creatures, I like seeing novel ideas for monsters and novel special abilities that I wouldn't ever have dreamed of. Something really cool like the Living Spell from MMIII is a great monster and something I wouldn't have thought of on my own. Plus, I don't have to think about changing stats, or balancing the new abilities the creature has. I can look at a picture or read a description and choose what I want.

To answer your second questions, depends. Sometimes I come up with an idea in advance and need to choose a monster for it, but othertimes I see a really cool monster I want to use and find the scenario to fit it in. I guess you could say a little both.

Pinotage

 

[MonsterMash]

The only monster book I own is the MMI. I haven't really looked at any of the others, didn't think there was a need.

True in some ways, but really it depends on the DM and how much work they want to do using templates or class levels on the creatures they have. Personally I don't own heaps of monster books, just MM3.5 and Tome of Horrors II, and I have additional creatures in some of the other books I own like Frost and Fur or Seas of Blood. Apart from the Tome of Horrors or the planned ToHIII I'm not sure there are any other monster books I want (currently waiting to see what happens on a 3.5 version of ToH before buying)

As a further point, I want to ask you fine people this: do you decide on the monsters first, then generate a story for them? Or do you generate a story and then try find monsters that fit it?

It can be a mixture of things, sometimes a creature suggests story ideas, other times I'll have to look through for a creature to fit a story I've planned.

 

[Kanegrundar]

Do I need any more monster books? Nope. Do I want more monster books? Sure, if they're well done. I love getting a book filled with new monsters or even rehashed monster with a new spin that I hadn't thought of. Seeing as how well monster books sell in general, I'd say that a lot of gamers feel the need for new monsters rather than just cobbling something together themselves.

Kane