Exotic zombies at WotC

[Stalker0]

I like that gravehound's deathclasp ability, the one where they bite and don't let go until you break them off. That's a neat ability

Probably another reason for fewer templates is that 4e's monsters aren't as mechanical as 3e ones. Remember, that formulas have been thrown out the window. That said, I would love for them to keep in some templates, but I agree that there were too many in 3e at the end.

 

[Scribble]

I like that gravehound's deathclasp ability, the one where they bite and don't let go until you break them off. That's a neat ability

Probably another reason for fewer templates is that 4e's monsters aren't as mechanical as 3e ones. Remember, that formulas have been thrown out the window. That said, I would love for them to keep in some templates, but I agree that there were too many in 3e at the end.

I think thats what I like about what I've heard so far... It's almost like combining the best of what earlier edition monsters were, with the best of 3e monsters...

Earlier editions, there wasn't too much rhyme or reason to things. Monsters were monsters and did monster stuff...

This was good because it allowed the designer freedom to just create an interesting challenge. But it made it harder to fit that monster into place, unless you had a good amount of experience.

In 3e, basing a monsters abilities on it's type, kept things organized and rational, but ended up making it harder to design unique monsters...

I think 4e has it right. Build them similar to characters in that their base class determines a lot of the mechanics, and their "race" just adds unique abilities and such. It allows th designer much more freedom then 3e, but dosn';t make things quite as chaotic as 1-2e.

 

[Wolfspider]

We're prepping a v.3.0 right now and there will be an update version for those who already have 2.0.

Yay! Yay! Yippee! Whoo hoo!

Thank you so much!

Hmm. I'd better go buy more contact paper and ink in preparation....

 

[Scribble]

We're prepping a v.3.0 right now and there will be an update version for those who already have 2.0.

I have 2.0 on CD-Rom will the update work for me as well?

(Put me down as someone who also loves the counter collection digital... Easy to use, easy to resize monsters when needed, as many as I need... My only real problem with it is I want more. And you're solving that. PURE AWESOME in digital format.)

 

[Mercule]

I think 4e has it right. Build them similar to characters in that their base class determines a lot of the mechanics, and their "race" just adds unique abilities and such. It allows th designer much more freedom then 3e, but dosn';t make things quite as chaotic as 1-2e.

This is the conclusion to which I am coming, which is pretty cool because simplified monsters was one of my biggest concerns about the 4E info.

 

[Mortellan]

These zombies are okay.

 

[lukelightning]

The problem I found with the 3.5 templates is that adding them willy-nilly to monsters can create unreasonable challenges. A half (red)-dragon troll is far more of a challenge than a half (blue)-dragon troll, because of the fire immunity. But if you slavishly follow the CR calculation it makes no difference.

 

[DaveMage]

The problem I found with the 3.5 templates is that adding them willy-nilly to monsters can create unreasonable challenges. A half (red)-dragon troll is far more of a challenge than a half (blue)-dragon troll, because of the fire immunity. But if you slavishly follow the CR calculation it makes no difference.

3.x seems much more like the "toolbox" approach than it seems 4e will be. 4e seems to be more direct. But, yeah, there are definitely areas where one has to look at the whole picture in 3.x (and make a judgement call) to truly determine what effect a template will have. Your example is an excellent one.

 

[Wolfspider]

The problem I found with the 3.5 templates is that adding them willy-nilly to monsters can create unreasonable challenges. A half (red)-dragon troll is far more of a challenge than a half (blue)-dragon troll, because of the fire immunity. But if you slavishly follow the CR calculation it makes no difference.

In your example, the use of templates isn't the problem. The problem is using them "willy-nilly" without considering the implications of the resulting combination.

 

[The Little Raven]

3.x seems much more like the "toolbox" approach than it seems 4e will be. 4e seems to be more direct. But, yeah, there are definitely areas where one has to look at the whole picture in 3.x (and make a judgement call) to truly determine what effect a template will have. Your example is an excellent one.

I think 4e is a toolbox, but 3e was more of a mechanic's garage. It went way more into tinkering with things, but if you didn't understand the art as well as the science, things could go horribly wrong.