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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 5184728" data-attributes="member: 58197">The way I see it is, a statblock should be trimmed down to showcase only significant, interesting abilities which the creature possesses.Let's look at a 3E balor's statblock. It has a list of SLAs as long as your arm. Some of those SLAs are interesting; for example, it can drive people permanently insane, take control of their actions, and teleport at will. On the other hand, blasphemy, implosion, power word stun, and fire storm are just different flavors of "beat you over the head."4E's designers noticed the latter and decided that statblocks ought to be leaner and more economical. With that, I agree. And for a typical mook, a 4E statblock is perfectly sufficient. I really don't give a damn if Goblin #45 is an exceptionally good wolf-rider. If he ain't on a wolf when the PCs are slated to fight him, it doesn't matter. He's just a sack of hit points. (Or, since he's probably a minion in 4E, a sack of hit point.) There is only so much space on the page, and there is only so much space in the DM's head. Neither should be wasted on trivialities.But for the big-name monsters and NPCs... a little more detail is warranted. Balors aren't mooks. No, they don't need a million subtle variations on "beat you over the head." But driving people permanently insane? The narrative power of that effect is tremendous. It changes the balor from a mere combat-monster to a demon, a fiend capable of shattering mortal minds with the merest glance of its burning eyes.It's inspiration fodder. I read something like that and it suggests all kinds of possibilities... a trail of raving lunatics and broken minds, building tension and hinting at the big reveal to come. 4E monsters, by and large, don't offer that kind of inspiration. (At least they didn't in MM1. I haven't got around to picking up the more recent MMs; I've heard rumors things have improved.)</blockquote>

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