D&D 5E FGG/Necromancer Games teases 5th Edition Foes

[Jake Johnson]

It's a great idea for a monster. I can imagine creating an adventure with one of these guys at the heart of it. Imagine a restaurant for monsters that eat human flesh. This guy is the owner and executive chef. Maybe he has a bunch of apprentice chefs and undead underlings. It could be like one of those cooking reality shows, only it's a menace to nearby communities. The adventurers have to shut it down.

I also like the art. There's a fun, comedic element.

I'm a little confused by the layout and some aspects of the design that others have mentioned. Why no challenge rating? Why don't spells match with the way 5E handles them? I'm not eager to perform conversions in order to use these books. If I wanted to do that, I could pick up source material for other RPGs, or even from prior versions of D&D.

Seems like kind of a mixed bag in terms of pro and con. Great idea, but not matched closely enough to 5E.

 

[MerricB]

Here's a wizard's spell-casting block per 5E:

Spellcasting. The mage is a 4th-level spelcaster that uses Intelligence as its spell-casting ability (spell save DC 13; +5 to hit with spell attacks). The mage knows the following spells from the wizard's spell list:

* Cantrips (at will): light, mage hand, shocking grasp
* 1st Level (4 slots) charm person, magic missile
* 2nd level (3 slots): hold person, misty step

Meanwhile, here is the one from the excerpt:

Spellcasting: Aaztar-gholas are natural spellcasters who can cast the spells listed below (+6 to hit, save DC 14).

* 1st Level (x2): inflict wounds (range 50 ft.)
* 2nd Level (x1): see invisibility
* 3rd Level (x1 each): dispel magic, fly
* 7th Level (x1): finger of death


Note that my problem isn't that it uses a different system. I'm fine with that. The problem is that it formats the spells almost exactly like in 5E, despite using a different system. This way confusion lies.

Cheers!

 

[variant]

Here's a wizard's spell-casting block per 5E:

Spellcasting. The mage is a 4th-level spelcaster that uses Intelligence as its spell-casting ability (spell save DC 13; +5 to hit with spell attacks). The mage knows the following spells from the wizard's spell list:

* Cantrips (at will): light, mage hand, shocking grasp
* 1st Level (4 slots) charm person, magic missile
* 2nd level (3 slots): hold person, misty step

Meanwhile, here is the one from the excerpt:

Spellcasting: Aaztar-gholas are natural spellcasters who can cast the spells listed below (+6 to hit, save DC 14).

* 1st Level (x2): inflict wounds (range 50 ft.)
* 2nd Level (x1): see invisibility
* 3rd Level (x1 each): dispel magic, fly
* 7th Level (x1): finger of death


Note that my problem isn't that it uses a different system. I'm fine with that. The problem is that it formats the spells almost exactly like in 5E, despite using a different system. This way confusion lies.

Cheers!

That could be a problem. Though I think anyone actually buying their book could understand it and even adapt it to the 5e spellcasting. Just count (x1 each) as two spellcasting slots.

 

[SoulsFury]

I see the difference, but I don't see the confusion. Its not a wizard, it can cast certain spells, a certain number times a day. I do hope they include challenge ratings. I have been waiting for some previews of the upcoming products and this is not bad. I don't know if I can justify the price just yet, especially with no challenge rating. Challenge ratings help me quickly find monsters to design encounters on the fly. I never know what my players are going to do and having that little guide has proved useful throughout the editions.

 

[variant]

I am not sure why they couldn't use spell slots if they wanted to. The concept of a spell slot isn't new to 5e.

 

[Mercurius]

I see the difference, but I don't see the confusion. Its not a wizard, it can cast certain spells, a certain number times a day.

Exactly. This solves the issue, which is a non-issue really because the creature isn't a wizard with levels.

As for the preview itself, what I'm confused about is how is NG doing this without a known OGL?

 

[Kinak]

As for the preview itself, what I'm confused about is how is NG doing this without a known OGL?

Short Version: They're lawyers and they think they're well inside the bounds, so it's just down to whether WotC wants to sue them.

They've also hired other lawyers to doublecheck their work, which I strongly recommend for anyone trying to do something like this.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[VengerSatanis]

I do not like the artwork.

VS

 

[Dahak]

I don't hate it, but claiming "first edition feel" and then posting what looks like a black and white version of a Monstrous Compendium page (both layout and artwork) doesn't seem to fit.

 

[FadedC]

Hmm I don't really like it, just from a monster design perspective. It's got one really powerful spell which prevents me from using it unless the players have levels in the double digits. However it's not otherwise scaled for players of that level and has low hit points and weak attacks. That combined with the fact that it ignores the way spell casting works in 5e reminds me of why I rarely used 3rd party source material in 3E.