I Have A Copy of Monster Manual 5.

[Winterthorn]

Hmmm, I just assumed that that Throon Thrall (say that five times fast!) was a template and the Throon Thrall Commoner 1 was just the example creature.

Actually I am not assuming that the Thoon Thrall 1st-lvl Human Commoner is anything more than a sample templated Human either - indeed there's a Ghost 5th-lvl Human Fighter in the core MM v.3.5 on page 117 - but that relates to my point about D&D 3rd Ed... Humans appear in the various MM's under templates, but "our race" has never been fleshed out like other races in the various MM's. No description, no background, no basic stats "as a monster" like, say, Halflings, nothing about temperment nor ecology nor typical encounters. Zip! It's like a strange silence...

Maybe with the fleshing out of some of the humanoids in the latest MMs we Humans show up? I'm not complaining, but I am really wondering 'cause it really seems weird that we do not have fleshed-out material on our species in the game context other than in a PH.

:lightbulb: You know what, I'll consider posting something in a new thread; something people can copy and print and insert in their MM

 

[Mouseferatu]

Just got my own copy of this book, and all I can say is... Wow.

While I didn't dislike it, and didn't have many of the objections that other people did, I felt that MM4 was not as strong as prior MMs.

MM5 more than makes up for it. I think this may be one of the best, if not the best, of the series. A great many of the critters in here are both thematically and mechanically interesting, with some cool new abilities.

But I thought the best part of it was the themed critters. The skull lords and associated undead, the tirbana, the elemental magi, and the mockery bug (shades of the Thing) are all enough to inspire entire adventures; and the section on Thoon is enough to build an entire campaign off of.

MM5 is a perfect example of a design philosophy that I've been touting for years now: Specifically, that a D&D book needs not only to be mechanically solid, but inspirational and interesting to read. I don't just want tools, I want ideas and plot hooks to spur the imagination.

This is the first monster book I've seen in a while that did that for me, and my biggest complaint is that I didn't get to contribute to it.

 

[DMH]

So what is the release date on this puppy? I have heard the 1st of July and the 3rd week of July.

 

[MerricB]

Mouse', you've been writing everything else recently. How on earth did you *not* contribute to MMV?

Cheers!

 

[Mouseferatu]

Mouse', you've been writing everything else recently. How on earth did you *not* contribute to MMV?

Bad timing, mostly. I was in the middle of something else--don't remember exactly, but I'm thinking it was Forge of War--when MM5 was in process.

Oh, well. At least I got to design some cool monsters for FoW, and hey, there's always the inevitable MM6.

 

[Warbringer]

MM5 more than makes up for it. I think this may be one of the best, if not the best, of the series. A great many of the critters in here are both thematically and mechanically interesting, with some cool new abilities.

Given that I now buy anything with your name on sight unseen, this recommendation is a sale.

 

[joshhg]

I'm not helium, but:
vapires = vampires, i.e.
The Black Duke - Vampire Knight-7 / Ronin-10
The Red Widow - Vampire Ninja-5 / Fighter-2 / Ghost-faced killer-8

Thanks! That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure.

Hey, Mouse, can you answer any questions, or are you being restricted by WotC?

 

[dargoth3]

The template can only be applied to young adult or older true dragon. It basically trade away spellcasting abilities for other abilities. The flavor is that the dragon with this template is involved in something called Xorvintaal, or "The Great Game", which appears to be some sort of complicated contest between dragons for power and prestige. Dragons with this template can grant a related template to humanoid agents, which are called Exarchs.

Can you expand on the Exarchs? Theres a mini in the next DDM set called the Exarch of Tyranny....

 

[Mouseferatu]

Hey, Mouse, can you answer any questions, or are you being restricted by WotC?

Well, I'm not comfortable going into too many details. (I wasn't on the book, but I do appear to have gotten my copy before the official release date.) But I'm happy to answer general questions, along the same lines that Helium's been doing.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Given that I now buy anything with your name on sight unseen, this recommendation is a sale.

Wow. Thank you.

And I truly believe you won't be disappointed.