No, they don't have to, but some people like them to be at least comparable, for a variety of reasons. That's just as valid a preference.
D&D 5E Let’s Read Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.
- Thread starter Leatherhead
- Start date
Micah Sweet
Hero
No, but if they don't that explanation is meaningless.
Micah Sweet
Hero
Again, they changed the rules mid-edition.
MonsterEnvy
Hero
How so?
This is correct, but D&D is going by the not using the same rules, which is easier to run and more versatile as Monsters can do anything the DM wants.
Micah Sweet
Hero
This sounds like a "gotcha" question to me, but yes, i have. I use material from many sources, and adapt them to my game and my table.
And others find it easier to build and reverse-engineer monsters and NPCs when they can be more easily compared to PC standards. Again, these approaches cater to different preferences.
MonsterEnvy
Hero
Not a gotcha question. I just would have felt your game sounded boring to me if you did not allow extra material. I am glad you do.
I am the type that looks forward to changes and new products, as I enjoy seeing how it affects everything. A game that stayed the same for 10 years would have sounded like stagnation.
Uni-the-Unicorn!
Hero
Spells are magic, but not all magic is spells. Being able to counter spell something is dependent, in my fiction, on understanding what I am counterspelling. I understand spells, because I am a spellcaster, but I don’t have a grasp of all magic
MonsterEnvy
Hero
Faolyn
(she/her)
OK. But how likely is it to actually affect your game? It your players are the type to say "hey, how come we used to be able to counter this thing the bad guy did?" then just change them back into spells, or assign an appropriate DC based on what you think the spell's level would be. Or just handwave it away and say "starting from now, this is how it's always been."
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
I can't say that I didn't expect people to debate the changes a bit, but the Counterspell change really should have it's own thread to establish a proper discussion about the pros and cons of it. Anyway, it's time for something that might be equally controversial: Anime in D&D.
The Hobgoblin Iron Shadow is a Fey Ninja. And that’s all I really need to say about them for most people to have made up their mind as to if they love them or hate them.
The Iron Shadow, as their name implies, possesses a bit of shadow magic. Namely the spells Disguise Self, Silent Image, Minor Image, and the ability to teleport between shadows. This toolkit makes them very good at infiltration, but a keen DM would also note they don’t possess the social skills to back up their disguise kit. Which is probably for the best, as it allows PCs with even mediocre skills to uncover the spy and a conflict to happen. They also possess the spell Charm Person, should you need an excuse for them to trick someone.
In combat, the Iron Shadow has a four attack multiattack using their fists or darts for short range coverage. The Multiattack also allows them to use their Shadow Jaunt power. This combined with a 40’ movement speed means they are almost always able to slip behind the front line and pressure the squishies. Alternatively, it also means they have a really easy time running away after stealing some sensitive documents. Unfortunately they cannot combine their spellcasting with their Multiattack, which would primarily be used to set up a few decoys while teleporting to draw out an attack and eat up actions.
In the changeover, the Iron Shadow was changed into a Fey(Goblinoid). It lost the spells True Strike (hah) and Expeditious Retreat, along with their Wizard spell slots mechanic, in favor of more generic innate spellcasting.
Hobgoblin Iron Shadow (VGtM)
The Hobgoblin Iron Shadow is a Fey Ninja. And that’s all I really need to say about them for most people to have made up their mind as to if they love them or hate them.
The Iron Shadow, as their name implies, possesses a bit of shadow magic. Namely the spells Disguise Self, Silent Image, Minor Image, and the ability to teleport between shadows. This toolkit makes them very good at infiltration, but a keen DM would also note they don’t possess the social skills to back up their disguise kit. Which is probably for the best, as it allows PCs with even mediocre skills to uncover the spy and a conflict to happen. They also possess the spell Charm Person, should you need an excuse for them to trick someone.
In combat, the Iron Shadow has a four attack multiattack using their fists or darts for short range coverage. The Multiattack also allows them to use their Shadow Jaunt power. This combined with a 40’ movement speed means they are almost always able to slip behind the front line and pressure the squishies. Alternatively, it also means they have a really easy time running away after stealing some sensitive documents. Unfortunately they cannot combine their spellcasting with their Multiattack, which would primarily be used to set up a few decoys while teleporting to draw out an attack and eat up actions.
In the changeover, the Iron Shadow was changed into a Fey(Goblinoid). It lost the spells True Strike (hah) and Expeditious Retreat, along with their Wizard spell slots mechanic, in favor of more generic innate spellcasting.
Remathilis
Legend
Is that evident in the fiction, such as the PCs being from a different species from NPCs, or is it purely a rule mechanic that is not acknowledged in world?
For example, let's say the PCs fight an NPC warrior in full plate and using a greatsword. When the knight hits, he does 4d6 damage and he has a 23 AC. The PCs vanquish the knight, and when the fighter puts on the plate and grabs the sword is confused to find the armor is mundane plate (AC 18) and a mundane greatsword (2d6 damage). I think it's fair he asks why the knight was hitting harder and harder to hit and the answer be more then "well, a creature at CR x must have suchinsuch AC and do Y amount of damage per round..."
Even then, you can obscure a fair amount of combat math just due to the nonspecific nature of AC and HP. Its harder to justify when every Abjurer Wizard you encounter can use a magical attack called Arcane Bolt and the only Abjurers that can't are you and your PC friends.
No they didn't. As someone pointed out to me in another thread, these non-spell spell attacks have been around sound launch. The Lich is an example.
GMforPowergamers
Legend
I mean that is just built into this edition (Brute you deal double the dice of damage on a melee hit) and I would say "That knight was trained to use the armor and sword better than you are... maybe next time make friends with and learn from the knight instead of killing it and taking it's stuff"
i started another thread about letting PCs learn these... but I guess it is something that only comes up if you have ALOT of abjurer wizards show up... even 2 knowing that could just be something special and you can say the other 150 abjurers in the world (including the PCs) didn't have that.
It's like a sorcerer taking fireball at level 5 and haste at the next level they get a spell known, and complaining "Why did the last 3 NPC sorcerers have counterspell and I don't" the answer should be the same "Its just a trick you haven't learned"
MonsterEnvy
Hero
This argument was asked to be continued in it's own thread.
Micah Sweet
Hero
They changed the rules for a subset of monsters mid-stream. Did you really not know what I meant? They removed a significant number of spells from a given monster and replaced some of them with very similar effects which are now, for reasons that matter only to gameplay, no longer spells.
I get that a lot of people don't care or think its great, I'm happy you're getting what you want. I don't like it.
Micah Sweet
Hero
That should be the answer, yes. But the real answer from WotC is, "That's just the way it is."
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