D&D 5E Let’s Read Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.

[Parmandur]

Yup. I don't get why anyone would think WotC would be making these changes without researching them and determining their popularity. I do think WotC maybe trusts their own surveys a little less than they used to, because I suspect the demographics of the people who fill out the surveys do not match well with the demographics WotC is seeing with more serious/aggressive market research (probably older, male-er and pale-er). Of course the surveys still offer value because they give some pretty in-depth comments on things. I mean I agree with Micah that they may go overboard, but so far that has yet to really bite them in the butt except with the incredibly misguided early marketing of and decision-making about 4E, but that looked like they just took their eye off the ball more than anything else.

Yeah, I'm sure they are doing broad market research to find out how the general populace reacts to things now.

 

[Reynard]

And yet - that's the rule in 5e.

So it is.

 

[Mercurius]

Probably because no one cares about food, camping supplies, dungeon exploration tools, etc...

How dare you.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

The idea that 120 lbs is a trivial amount of weight (ie no penalties) for someone with a below average strength to carry is absolutely laughable.

in the real world i am disabled (not a major way but enough to get the license plate for the closer spot), and I have been told not to carry more then 25-30lbs of weight any amount of distance and not to even try to lift 50lbs. So I have given A LOT of thought to the weight thing in d&D and while I was never in perfect weight lifter or military shape, even in what I considered good shape I wasn't carrying around 100lbs for any length of time if it wasn't life or death.

I have budies and family that are cops and military. None of them want to carry much more then 100lbs around for a day (and I have been told in Afghanistan they were pretty close to that 120lbs in gear) because after an hour or so even if you CAN push on you are tired achy and not in real fighting shape.

 

[Reynard]

in the real world i am disabled (not a major way but enough to get the license plate for the closer spot), and I have been told not to carry more then 25-30lbs of weight any amount of distance and not to even try to lift 50lbs. So I have given A LOT of thought to the weight thing in d&D and while I was never in perfect weight lifter or military shape, even in what I considered good shape I wasn't carrying around 100lbs for any length of time if it wasn't life or death.

I have budies and family that are cops and military. None of them want to carry much more then 100lbs around for a day (and I have been told in Afghanistan they were pretty close to that 120lbs in gear) because after an hour or so even if you CAN push on you are tired achy and not in real fighting shape.

It was a long time ago, but I was once a US Army infantryman and 60 pounds of gear is PLENTY.

 

[Jer]

So I have given A LOT of thought to the weight thing in d&D and while I was never in perfect weight lifter or military shape, even in what I considered good shape I wasn't carrying around 100lbs for any length of time if it wasn't life or death.

And to be fair the weights in the Player's Handbook for various pieces of equipment are all nonsense too. A tinderbox weighs a pound. A map case weighs a pound. 50 blowgun needles weigh a pound. A yew wand weighs ... a pound.

It's almost as if the 5e encumbrance rules were put into the game because they figured people expected to have them there and not because the developers cared about them or thought they were at all important to the game.

 

[Micah Sweet]

And to be fair the weights in the Player's Handbook for various pieces of equipment are all nonsense too. A tinderbox weighs a pound. A map case weighs a pound. 50 blowgun needles weigh a pound. A yew wand weighs ... a pound.

It's almost as if the 5e encumbrance rules were put into the game because they figured people expected to have them there and not because the developers cared about them or thought they were at all important to the game.

Yeah, the DM has to do a lot of heavy lifting to make encumbrance work. ☺

 

[Remathilis]

And to be fair the weights in the Player's Handbook for various pieces of equipment are all nonsense too. A tinderbox weighs a pound. A map case weighs a pound. 50 blowgun needles weigh a pound. A yew wand weighs ... a pound.

It's almost as if the 5e encumbrance rules were put into the game because they figured people expected to have them there and not because the developers cared about them or thought they were at all important to the game.

This is the point where I remind people the weight of gear was supposed to take into account bulk, which is why things that were bulky or hard to pack weighed more than their actual rw counterparts.

At least, that was the rationale in AD&D. I'm sure the only reason things remain that way is that weights were copied from edition to edition.

 

[Jer]

At least, that was the rationale in AD&D. I'm sure the only reason things remain that way is that weights were copied from edition to edition.

Weren't weights in AD&D in coins rather than pounds?

Wait my memory is coming back to me - that was one of the changes between 1e and 2e AD&D. 1e was in coins, 2e used lbs.

 

[Leatherhead]

Juiblex (MToF)​

Oozes are a fun time D&D monster. While at first glance they fall into the trap of being slow-ground-bound melee monsters, that isn’t quite the case. Most of them have either an advanced movement option (normally spider climb), or simply take up all the encounter space available (like the famous Gelatinous Cube). Whichever way they are encountered, all oozes have a gimmick related to their unique physiology, which more solid creatures can’t pull off without the help of magic. The Demonic Lord of Oozes, Juiblex is no exception to these guidelines, despite being a demon himself. In fact, I wonder why he didn’t also get the ooze tag appended to his creature type.

When talking about a Demon Lord, I like to start off with their cultists, which are represented as a sort of template in this book. And I do love creature templates. While it may be hard to imagine who exactly would worship an uncaring pile of slime, I am sure that the internet can find people who are into that kind of thing. Alternatively, now that Spelljammer is confirmed, the Plasmoids seem popular enough. In any case, Cultists of Juiblex have the most impressive powers in this book so far. With rank and file cultists being able to squeeze through 1’ gaps as if they were a liquid, and the particularly devoted gaining an innate resistance to non-magical weapon attacks.

Like all good slimes, Juiblex is at his best when inside of his lair, the Slime Pits of the Abyss. Which he shares with fellow Demon Lord Zuggtmoy, the Queen of Fungi. It would be quite the epic brawl if you had the PCs fighting both of them at the same time, so consider it if you ever plan on using one or the other. Zuggtomoy in particular could really use the help. His lair actions are all spreading some kind of slime around, either the Green Slime hazard from the DMG, a Sticky Slime that restrains, and a Slippery Slime that can be used to slide people around into other traps. These slime patches work wonderfully together, and are possibly the best example of lair actions in this book so far. While the slimes can be burned off, anyone coated in the slime is going to take a significant amount of damage for the trouble, which most parties won’t think to guard themselves against, given that Juiblex himself deals primarily acid damage.

Juiblex himself is a bit of a brute controller. His primary multiattack allows for three ranged or melee attacks, and he has a special action that can be used to dissolve armor. He has a small passive AoE that poisons creatures near him. His most devastating attack is his Corrupting Touch legendary action, which automatically poisons the target should it land, and also automatically poisons anyone within 10’ of that target, no saving throw required. Speaking of saving throws, while Juiblex isn’t a particularly strong spellcaster, Contagion is a really strong spell. It can be used to nullify acid and poison damage resistance, blind someone, or Inflict someone with Slimy Doom. Which I imagine is his go-to use of the spell.

In the changeover, Jubilex lost his madness table, his (totally redundant) Magical Weapons ability, as well as the spells Acid Splash and Blight. In return, he was given a climb speed, acid damage immunity, and his Acid Lash attack was given ranged coverage.