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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 5981303" data-attributes="member: 87792">I'd scream if I had to do it your way <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  I have a group of players who are very good at both making friends with the monsters I expect them to fight and fighting the ones I expect them to make friends with.  And seeing the outlines of what I had planned and heading off at rightangles.  When I don't decide after we'd sat down at the table that what was planned for the night really doesn't match the mood they are in, to mentally tear up my plans and start from scratch.  And the time I really need the monster manual is when the PCs are twenty five miles from where I thought they'd be, having followed a lead that I thought they'd ignore, are in an area of the world (or just city) I've only vaguely statted out, and have just got in over their heads and a fight's about to start. Or worse yet (on several occasions) the other DM's called in sick so we're running my campaign not his this week.  I know the setting well enough to be able to run a session that advances matters - even if my notes are currently spread all over my living room table rather than with me to take to the game that evening.  I may know the setting, but I certainly don't know random monster stats.   At that point, the 4e monster manuals have my back - when just about nothing else for any edition does. And if I'm designing monsters in detail (which for large named bad guys I do) I see utterly no benefit in making a dragon follow PC class rules.  Let dragons be dragons!  And the late 4e ones will tear you up with tooth and claw or bake you with their breath.  Not "Cast as a 7th level sorceror" to provide most of their functionality - and thereby make them much blander. But whatever works for you <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />    From my perspective, the 4e monster manuals are brilliant, the 3.X ones not fit for purpose, the 2e Monstrous Manual not too bad, and the 1e MM concise at the very least.  At least we can agree that 5e is uninspiring.</blockquote>

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