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<blockquote data-quote="JEB" data-source="post: 9285868" data-attributes="member: 10148"><p>And since the 3.5 overview was pretty short, we'll go right into reviewing the new additions!</p><p></p><p>Core in every edition since 3.5: Githyanki, hyena. (Does someone at Wizards have a fondness for hyenas? They even made it into the 4e MM.)</p><p></p><p>Core only in 3.5 and 5e:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Githzerai: They remained paired with githyanki in the 4e MM, but didn't make the cut for the Monster Vault.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Swarms of bats, centipedes, rats, spiders: Swarms had existed as a rules concept in earlier editions of D&D, but 3.5 was the first version to pay so much attention to them, with fixed rules and many varieties. Swarms did continue into 4e, but their status varied. Rats made it into the 4e MM but not the MV; spiders were in the MV but not the 4e MM; centipedes were only in MM2; and bats only in Dungeon Magazine.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Mummy lord: One of many upgrades of common monsters in the 3.5 MM, this basically displaced the greater mummy of 2e and 3.0. It did make it into the 4e MM, but was pushed aside from MV in favor of other mummies.</li> </ul><p></p><p>Non-core in 5e:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Volo's Guide to Monsters brought back the gauth (beholder) and babau (demon). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes brought back the marut. Note that the gauth and babau had been core in the MV, while the marut had been core in the 4e MM (as the marut "concordant").</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">5e Planescape revived the marut's fellow inevitable, the kolyarut.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tales from the Yawning Portal revived another monster upgrade introduced in the 3.5 MM, the elder black pudding.</li> </ul><p></p><p>Not in 5e:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Various monster upgrades: As noted, the 3.5 MM made a point of including many upgraded versions of common monsters. This was likely a way to demonstrate mechanics such as advancement, templates, and adding classes. Most of these were left behind in later editions, but a few apparently caught the fancy of 4e designers and made appearances there. These include the displacer beast pack lord, which remained core in both the 4e MM and MV; the celestial charger and dread wraith, which also appeared in the 4e MM; and the werewolf lord, which returned in MM2.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bralani eladrin: Like the ghaele, this got a nod among the elf-eladrin variants in the 4e MM (the eladrin "bralani of autumn winds") but wasn't referenced in the 5e update.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Leonal (guardinal): Considered worthy of inclusion in the 3.5 MM among other guardinals, but not in 4e or 5e.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Locust swarm: One of the ancestors of the 3.5 swarms (appearing under "insect swarm" in the 2e Monstrous Manual), but also not considered worthy of future upgrades. (Even though swarms of locusts are kind of an iconic real-life swarm.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Manta ray: Only calling out this normal animal because 3.5 was its last appearance in D&D, after a long history in the game. Manta rays went all the way back to 0e's Blackmoor, and appeared in both Basic D&D and AD&D as core creatures. (I suppose we still have the ixitxachitl.)</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JEB, post: 9285868, member: 10148"] And since the 3.5 overview was pretty short, we'll go right into reviewing the new additions! Core in every edition since 3.5: Githyanki, hyena. (Does someone at Wizards have a fondness for hyenas? They even made it into the 4e MM.) Core only in 3.5 and 5e: [LIST] [*]Githzerai: They remained paired with githyanki in the 4e MM, but didn't make the cut for the Monster Vault. [*]Swarms of bats, centipedes, rats, spiders: Swarms had existed as a rules concept in earlier editions of D&D, but 3.5 was the first version to pay so much attention to them, with fixed rules and many varieties. Swarms did continue into 4e, but their status varied. Rats made it into the 4e MM but not the MV; spiders were in the MV but not the 4e MM; centipedes were only in MM2; and bats only in Dungeon Magazine. [*]Mummy lord: One of many upgrades of common monsters in the 3.5 MM, this basically displaced the greater mummy of 2e and 3.0. It did make it into the 4e MM, but was pushed aside from MV in favor of other mummies. [/LIST] Non-core in 5e: [LIST] [*]Volo's Guide to Monsters brought back the gauth (beholder) and babau (demon). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes brought back the marut. Note that the gauth and babau had been core in the MV, while the marut had been core in the 4e MM (as the marut "concordant"). [*]5e Planescape revived the marut's fellow inevitable, the kolyarut. [*]Tales from the Yawning Portal revived another monster upgrade introduced in the 3.5 MM, the elder black pudding. [/LIST] Not in 5e: [LIST] [*]Various monster upgrades: As noted, the 3.5 MM made a point of including many upgraded versions of common monsters. This was likely a way to demonstrate mechanics such as advancement, templates, and adding classes. Most of these were left behind in later editions, but a few apparently caught the fancy of 4e designers and made appearances there. These include the displacer beast pack lord, which remained core in both the 4e MM and MV; the celestial charger and dread wraith, which also appeared in the 4e MM; and the werewolf lord, which returned in MM2. [*]Bralani eladrin: Like the ghaele, this got a nod among the elf-eladrin variants in the 4e MM (the eladrin "bralani of autumn winds") but wasn't referenced in the 5e update. [*]Leonal (guardinal): Considered worthy of inclusion in the 3.5 MM among other guardinals, but not in 4e or 5e. [*]Locust swarm: One of the ancestors of the 3.5 swarms (appearing under "insect swarm" in the 2e Monstrous Manual), but also not considered worthy of future upgrades. (Even though swarms of locusts are kind of an iconic real-life swarm.) [*]Manta ray: Only calling out this normal animal because 3.5 was its last appearance in D&D, after a long history in the game. Manta rays went all the way back to 0e's Blackmoor, and appeared in both Basic D&D and AD&D as core creatures. (I suppose we still have the ixitxachitl.) [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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