I think I know why some of the Dragonspawn didn't make the MMIV gallery...

[Kunimatyu]

Namely, they're painfully retarded, at least in terms of artwork. I flipped through an MMIV to get the missing gallery pics today, and I'm convinced that most of the ones left out were left out because of how bad they looked.

The "Blackspawn Stalker" is, I kid you not, the fusion of a black dragon and a spider, and looks precisely as retarded as you would think.

The "Whitespawn Iceskidder", well, to properly describe it, I'd have to make Eric's grandma upset, but wow. Wow. It's a grotesque caricature of a white dragon combined with inexplicable tusks that somewhat allow it to navigate slippery ice. Really really bad.

The Whitespawn Hordelings and Hunters are okay, just white dragon humanoids, basically. Nothing to write home about, nothing terribly bad. It's completely clear that the dragonspawn in Red Hand of Doom, plus the ones that have seen miniature incarnation, are by far the best of the lot.

(On the plus side, the Balhannoth is an amazing monster, though four new spiders were not necessary)

 

[Pants]

Wow 3+ threads bitching about the MMIV.

Way to go Enworld!

 

[Kunimatyu]

Hey man, I wanted to like the MMIV a lot. I loved MM3, thought it was a revolution in terms of creative, gameplay-attentive monster design. This one, it leaves me cold, and it saddens me, because I really wanted to give WotC my money. But, most of the monsters that didn't recieve gallery pictures, like some of the Zern experiments, the windscythe(or whatever) critters, and the something bad+spider set, well, they're bad. They just are.

If the Blackspawn hunter was a panther-looking creature with black dragon horns, that would have been awesome. The Iceskidder could have been cool too, but, well, that just didn't work out.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Hey man, I wanted to like the MMIV a lot.

Still doesn't explain not using one of the existing threads, though, which is what he was talking about.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Hey, if one was on the first page, I would have. ::shrugs::

 

[demiurge1138]

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Both the blackspawn stalker and the whitespawn iceskidder look completely goofy. But awsomely so. The stalker's got this Blue Meanie grin going on, and the thought of player's jaws dropping when they see the whitespawn ice capades makes it worth it.

I've noticed a lot of missing pictures were Arnie Swekel's work. Maybe there was some sort of rights dispute? I dunno, but it's an odd trend.

Demiurge out.

 

[Kunimatyu]

...whitespawn ice capades...

Only if you call it the Whitespawn Salchow instead.

And have it flanked by bugbears wearing sequins.

 

[Greylock]

The "Whitespawn Iceskidder", well, to properly describe it, I'd have to make Eric's grandma upset, but wow. Wow. It's like someone took a white dragon and fused it with retard. Really really bad.

That alone is probably enough to get Grandma's interests involved.

 

[Kunimatyu]

That alone is probably enough to get Grandma's interests involved.

Oh, okay. I'll see if I can't rephrase it in an eloquent but potentially less inflammatory manner.

 

[JustKim]

I loved MM3, thought it was a revolution in terms of creative, gameplay-attentive monster design.

I agree, and yet MM3 was met with just as much frothing, spitting and flippant use of the word "retard" here on EN World when it was new. I remember the art gallery was bashed in a thread and the avalancher was a piece some people apparently decided not to buy the book over. Many did not like the reprinted creatures from Eberron and others called the variant gnoll, ogre and lizardfolk wastes of space. This was all before the John Cooper review, which for a while had many calling MM3 the worst book ever.

Deja vu, huh?