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<blockquote data-quote="Doctor Futurity" data-source="post: 6253401" data-attributes="member: 10738">This is a very selective interpretation of the wandering monster mechanic. I've been gaming since 1980 and even as a kid I was under no illusion as to what it was: a convenient randomizer for the DM to mix things up on occasion, and not a precise simulation of the environment (more like a whiff or hint). Wandering monster tables are just a tool, and all they need to explain are that as a tool the DM can make use of them as he sees fit, and to not misinterpret them as modeling some reality in the game outside of &quot;these creatures are indigenous to the region and might wander by.&quot; As a DM I've used WM tables to spur creativity....and rarely encountered a table that was designed in a manner illogical to the module, unless there was an intent to it. So why would sky priests be underground, as an example? Maybe they're looking for the relic of the sky god stolen by monsters....and need to recruit some PCs. Instant encounter + scenario idea from a single roll!One could just as easily argue the 4E's WM tables were precise mechanical constructs, and that healthy adventurers could count the number of monsters they encountered at odd locations, having divined that there was some cosmic formula which dictated they could only run into so many beasts in a given region before there were none left. Or that the static locations in modules are anathema, for no creatures just hang around, waiting to get ganked....but we don't argue these points because they are nonsensical; these are all just excellent scenario tools for the DM to use to make great games and provide the illusion of a world....and I happen to think 4E did great at that, as did all prior editions of D&amp;D, just in slightly different ways.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Doctor Futurity, post: 6253401, member: 10738"] This is a very selective interpretation of the wandering monster mechanic. I've been gaming since 1980 and even as a kid I was under no illusion as to what it was: a convenient randomizer for the DM to mix things up on occasion, and not a precise simulation of the environment (more like a whiff or hint). Wandering monster tables are just a tool, and all they need to explain are that as a tool the DM can make use of them as he sees fit, and to not misinterpret them as modeling some reality in the game outside of "these creatures are indigenous to the region and might wander by." As a DM I've used WM tables to spur creativity....and rarely encountered a table that was designed in a manner illogical to the module, unless there was an intent to it. So why would sky priests be underground, as an example? Maybe they're looking for the relic of the sky god stolen by monsters....and need to recruit some PCs. Instant encounter + scenario idea from a single roll! One could just as easily argue the 4E's WM tables were precise mechanical constructs, and that healthy adventurers could count the number of monsters they encountered at odd locations, having divined that there was some cosmic formula which dictated they could only run into so many beasts in a given region before there were none left. Or that the static locations in modules are anathema, for no creatures just hang around, waiting to get ganked....but we don't argue these points because they are nonsensical; these are all just excellent scenario tools for the DM to use to make great games and provide the illusion of a world....and I happen to think 4E did great at that, as did all prior editions of D&D, just in slightly different ways. [/QUOTE]

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