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D&D Older Editions
I love 5E, but lately I miss 4E's monsters
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<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 7013991" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p>Monster design in 4e was one of the aspects that really didn't mesh with how I play D&D, so I don't really agree. I can see what you're saying, I think - tightly defined combat roles give you an idea of how to use a monster in a fight. That's true enough. But the differences between these things in 4e were pretty trivial in practice for me.</p><p></p><p>Like you say the blue was "highly mobile artillery," but it only moves <em>10 ft.</em> faster than the red (and it had the exact same movement modes). You say the Red was a "tough front-line fighter" but +3 AC and +100 hp looks a lot more different on paper than it feels in play. If that seems like a significant difference to you, we have very different thresholds of "significant." </p><p></p><p>I feel like most of what the 5e dragons got rid of was the <em>complexity</em> of 4e and 3e (and 2e!) dragons. That's great for me - one or two points of distinction can be <strong>made</strong> significant in the use of the monster. The fact that blues burrow and reds don't? <em>PERFECT!</em> Now we have the blue leaping out of the sand dunes in an explosion of grit and static. Lightning vs. Fire? Maybe that's old to you - to me it's <em>classic</em>, reds smelling of brimstone and radiating heat, blues making your hair stand on end and shuddering with energy. To me, those <strong>are</strong> the significant differences. </p><p></p><p>I don't have any real objections to some "role templates" or something, but I also don't think they're really necessary for a lot of folks, and I'm glad 5e didn't bake that stuff into the monster itself. The fewer fiddly bits I have to work with as a DM, the more fun I can have narrating and storytelling.</p><p></p><p>YMMV, of course, but I also think it's important to avoid complexity just for the sake of countering something that's only really "boring" on paper. A creature being a front-line soldier or a mobile artillery unit can be done with a few BIG abilities that are obvious in their use. That sounds OK. But I don't care about +3 AC, +10 ft. speed, +100 hp...different numbers don't make a big distinction in my gameplay.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 7013991, member: 2067"] Monster design in 4e was one of the aspects that really didn't mesh with how I play D&D, so I don't really agree. I can see what you're saying, I think - tightly defined combat roles give you an idea of how to use a monster in a fight. That's true enough. But the differences between these things in 4e were pretty trivial in practice for me. Like you say the blue was "highly mobile artillery," but it only moves [I]10 ft.[/I] faster than the red (and it had the exact same movement modes). You say the Red was a "tough front-line fighter" but +3 AC and +100 hp looks a lot more different on paper than it feels in play. If that seems like a significant difference to you, we have very different thresholds of "significant." I feel like most of what the 5e dragons got rid of was the [I]complexity[/I] of 4e and 3e (and 2e!) dragons. That's great for me - one or two points of distinction can be [B]made[/B] significant in the use of the monster. The fact that blues burrow and reds don't? [I]PERFECT![/I] Now we have the blue leaping out of the sand dunes in an explosion of grit and static. Lightning vs. Fire? Maybe that's old to you - to me it's [I]classic[/I], reds smelling of brimstone and radiating heat, blues making your hair stand on end and shuddering with energy. To me, those [B]are[/B] the significant differences. I don't have any real objections to some "role templates" or something, but I also don't think they're really necessary for a lot of folks, and I'm glad 5e didn't bake that stuff into the monster itself. The fewer fiddly bits I have to work with as a DM, the more fun I can have narrating and storytelling. YMMV, of course, but I also think it's important to avoid complexity just for the sake of countering something that's only really "boring" on paper. A creature being a front-line soldier or a mobile artillery unit can be done with a few BIG abilities that are obvious in their use. That sounds OK. But I don't care about +3 AC, +10 ft. speed, +100 hp...different numbers don't make a big distinction in my gameplay. [/QUOTE]
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