[EDITION WARZ] Selling Out D&D's Soul?

[Raven Crowking]

I don't think I've ever heard a complaint about the rust monster before now.

OTOH, I've never seen one used, either.

Really? That's actually kinda interesting. I've used lots of rust monsters in my time, and I've encountered them in others' games. The idea of using rust monsters to find veins of ore in another thread is a real-game situation.

You've never even seen one used in a module?


RC

 

[Lanefan]

Really? That's actually kinda interesting. I've used lots of rust monsters in my time, and I've encountered them in others' games. The idea of using rust monsters to find veins of ore in another thread is a real-game situation.

You've never even seen one used in a module?

Closest I've ever come to running one intentionally as DM was in a module that had one written in, in a room the party never went to. The only other one my game has seen was the result of a wild-magic surge summoning a random creature....

Lanefan

 

[Silver Moon]

I don't think I've ever heard a complaint about the rust monster before now.
OTOH, I've never seen one used, either. Cheers!

Have the playing characters work on a "Rust Monster Farm" for a while! Anybody can herd cows, goats or chickens, try to get wild rust monsters in line without using anything metal!

 

[Thurbane]

Have the playing characters work on a "Rust Monster Farm" for a while! Anybody can herd cows, goats or chickens, try to get wild rust monsters in line without using anything metal!

Rawhide whips and wooden cattleprods!

 

[MerricB]

Really? That's actually kinda interesting. I've used lots of rust monsters in my time, and I've encountered them in others' games. The idea of using rust monsters to find veins of ore in another thread is a real-game situation.

You've never even seen one used in a module?

No. Don't think so. I have a pretty good collection of adventures (Dungeon, 1e, 3e) and I really can't recall them being used. Hmm.

Cheers!

 

[Hussar]

Heh, I thought it was ironic that shortly after this thread, I got a recent Dungeon and the second Savage Tide AP installment has a rust monster. And, ironically enough, the wizard is beating it to death when the party finds it.

As I said before, while I'm sure there are all sorts of interesting ways to introduce a rust monster, my point is still the same. The actual encounter of the party and the rust monster will almost always be the same - the wizard going out and beating it to death with a club. Whoopee. It's a trap. Or rather a hazard, since hazards can move. Like the Ogre Mage, a complete waste of space in the Monster Manual.

Take a look at the Ecology of the Ogre Mage from Dragon 150. A CR 15 Ogre Mage (with levels of fighter and Samurai (IIRC)) with a 130 hit points. A 15th level party is doing a 150 points of damage in a round. Heck, the fighter by himself is likely doing that much damage at that level. This isn't a challenge, it's a joke. It steps up and is immedietely blatted by the party. I would much rather see the lower CR'd Ogre Mage brought into play and then used. At least then it would actually survive more than a single round.

 

[Raven Crowking]

As I said before, while I'm sure there are all sorts of interesting ways to introduce a rust monster, my point is still the same. The actual encounter of the party and the rust monster will almost always be the same - the wizard going out and beating it to death with a club. Whoopee. It's a trap. Or rather a hazard, since hazards can move. Like the Ogre Mage, a complete waste of space in the Monster Manual.

(Shrug)

To each his own pudding, I suppose. I've had rust monsters used in lots of ways, although as far as actual combat goes, it would usually be the rogue or druid, not the wizard. In 3e, where rust monsters can and do inflict real damage, simply sending in the wizard is not always viable.


RC

 

[RFisher]

The actual encounter of the party and the rust monster will almost always be the same - the wizard going out and beating it to death with a club. Whoopee. It's a trap. Or rather a hazard, since hazards can move.

For me the rust monster was always inspiration. Can't you imagine how that first encounter with a rust monster might have gone? Call it a trap or a hazard or whatever...but it was a memorable encounter.

The point of having the rust monster in the MM (IMHO) is less to actually use it as-is but to show DMs another avenue for creating memorable encounters. (&, perhaps, to give the players notice that such unique encounters are meant to be a part of the game.)

 

[Hussar]

Do you honestly remember your first encounter with a rust monster? To me, a memorable encounter isn't one that is just "poof" oh ha ha, naked fighter.

Orcs, despite appearing in dozens, if not hundreds of published adventures, can still be entirely unique and interesting. Yet, an orc is a pretty boring creature on its own. No special abilities to speak of, just a strong human with a bad haircut. Same with goblins really. Yet, "Bree Yark" is still remembered by long time gamers today.

That's what a monster should be. Granted, it's unrealistic to think that every monster in the MM will acheive this, but, the goal of the MM should be to show creatures that can be used in the widest possible ways. If the Rust Monster appeared in a supplement, I wouldn't worry about it at all. Wouldn't bother me in the least. But, to have it in core means that other creatures, ones that are a heck of a lot more versatile, aren't.

 

[wildstarsreach]

Overall the soul is secure. The mechanics have changed but not that much as to make the game unrecognizable from its beginnings.