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Let's Read: Volo's Monsters
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<blockquote data-quote="Charles Rampant" data-source="post: 6986378" data-attributes="member: 32659"><p></p><p>In general, it seems that people were pretty happy with the contents of <em>Volo’s Guide to Monsters</em>. One exception, however, is the humble (and obscure) <strong>Grungs</strong>, who earned some ire. It is noteworthy that they made it in over somewhat better known critters like the Phaerimm. The designers apparently all had some ‘personal choices’ for the contents, and the Grungs were picked as an one, so we cannot blame their inclusion on anything more than one man’s madness; but now that we have them, let’s see what we can do with them.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://geekandsundry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Grung1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The Grungs get another fairly static image - three standing side by side, pointing and posing in different directions - but I quite like it. There is a sticky quality to their skin, and the markings are pretty interesting. They do remind me of 90s computer games, though; stuff like Lemmings, Settlers, and that weird one with the aliens living in the space ship that you had to guide through life.</p><p></p><p>The Grung entry puts a lot of effort into keeping these guys distinct from Bullywugs and Kua-Toa, their nearest rivals for squishy amphibian evil humanoids. With the arrival of the Grungs and Fire Newts, that is a surprisingly competitive niche. Anyway, the Grungs are a caste-based society, with them being born into one of several roles in the tribe, and they usually stick there; interestingly, however, they can advance up the ranks if they are sufficiently impressive, through ‘herbal tonics and ritual magic’, which I am choosing to interpret as a mixture between homeopathic medicine and the Plasmids from Bioshock. This is one of those details that might be tough to make use of - your players won’t likely care about the colours of their enemies that much, nor social mobility issues - but if your storyline allows for dialogue between the group and the Grungs, it might come out as a very compelling element. I’ve found that players can take a real shine to talkative and amusing members of even the most repellent races, and cheerfully sponsor them, so you might find that your group latch onto the idea of their favourite Grung NPC becoming a higher caste through their intermediation.</p><p></p><p>The Grung are based on frogs - as opposed to the toads that Bullywugs take after - and this means that they don’t have a tongue theme but instead a poison one. I guess that sounds right? I’ll be honest with you guys - I’m a city boy, this animal stuff is all pretty esoteric to me. I do have vague memories of David Attenborough talking about rainforest poisonous frogs, so I’m willing to believe Wizards on this issue. Amazingly, the Monster Manual actually has separate statblocks for ‘Giant Frog’ and ‘Giant Toad’, so the Grungs do have an appropriate pet, albeit one that is pretty weak at CR 1/4. On the subject of pets, we also learn that Grungs are dutiful in their adherence to the Lawful Evil Race Guidelines and keep slaves, using their toxins to keep them lethargic. That titbit - and the fact that it takes powerful magic to restore a slave’s mind if this has gone on too long - seems like a solid plot hook.</p><p></p><p>The Grungs live in rainforests and tropical jungles, not a terrain that has been explored in the adventures thus far [1], so the arrival of the Grungs (as well as the Girallon and Yuan-Ti variants) would seem to suggest that they are giving DMs and their writers the tools to do so. I don’t know if I want to say we’ll definitely get a jungle adventure just because these guys are here, but a chapter in an AP would definitely not surprise me.</p><p></p><p>There are three statblocks given for the Grungs - Grung, Grung Elite Warrior, and Grung Wildling. That matches up with the castes, but not very nicely - we are told to use Grung for green, blue and purple castes, Grung Elite Warrior for the top castes of orange and gold, and Grung Wildling for the priestly red caste. I feel that there is definitely some room to expand these out a bit, but likely we’ll only get one more (a named NPC gold caste member) if a tribe turns up in an adventure. All three statblocks include poison damage in their attacks and can inflict poisoned condition through grappling. In other words, Dwarven characters will love these guys. They can also breathe underwater and jump really far, neither of which are what I’d call powerful abilities. The Grung is CR 1/4, and about as unexciting as you’d think. They’re only equipped with daggers in the statblock, which I think are distinctly un-jungly weapons - a blowpipe would have been my choice. The Elite Warrior is CR 2, a pretty hefty upgrade, but their statblock doesn’t really justify it at first glance. Their hit points and AC seem average; they make only the one weapon attack, and that for the same damage as the basic Grung. The saving grace is their <em>Mesmerizing Chirr</em> ability, a name which pleases me greatly, and which can inflict the stunned condition. Likely they lost the second attack due to how potent this could be - there is no immunity if you pass, so they can absolutely spam this until the party is crippled. You should definitely use this to shut down the front line of the party, and allow the weaker Grungs to make their mark. Finally, the Wildling is a CR 1 spellcaster - specified as a 9th level Ranger, oddly - and it can toss out some aiding spells like <em>Cure Wounds</em>, <em>Spike Growth</em> and <em>Plant Growth</em>. In combination with their skills - Survival, Stealth, Perception - these guys should be used less like High Priests and more like Patrol Leaders. Disappointingly, that leaves us with no ‘Boss Profile’ for the Grungs, and they don’t strike me as guys that will remain very interesting for a wide range of levels.</p><p></p><p>Finally, we get a Poisons table, which expands the Poisoned condition to have additional effects, depending on the caste of the Grung. It’s really fun, with stuff like ‘you are frightened of your allies’ and ‘you must immerse yourself in mud or water, and will take your action to do so’. I’d absolutely use this, as it gives a lot more combat character to the Grungs in my opinion.</p><p></p><p>What do I think of them? They are fun, but I think that we just don’t get enough - information, images, allies and leaders, whatever - to satisfy me. Perhaps I've just been spoiled by the extensive description given in Volo's and the APs to other groups, but these guys feel like they are <em>half</em> of an idea. </p><p></p><p>[1] Though, to be fair, ‘Mountains’, ‘Islands’ and ‘Arctic’ are the same. Mainly green fields in the adventures so far!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Charles Rampant, post: 6986378, member: 32659"] In general, it seems that people were pretty happy with the contents of [I]Volo’s Guide to Monsters[/I]. One exception, however, is the humble (and obscure) [B]Grungs[/B], who earned some ire. It is noteworthy that they made it in over somewhat better known critters like the Phaerimm. The designers apparently all had some ‘personal choices’ for the contents, and the Grungs were picked as an one, so we cannot blame their inclusion on anything more than one man’s madness; but now that we have them, let’s see what we can do with them. [IMG]http://geekandsundry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Grung1.jpg[/IMG] The Grungs get another fairly static image - three standing side by side, pointing and posing in different directions - but I quite like it. There is a sticky quality to their skin, and the markings are pretty interesting. They do remind me of 90s computer games, though; stuff like Lemmings, Settlers, and that weird one with the aliens living in the space ship that you had to guide through life. The Grung entry puts a lot of effort into keeping these guys distinct from Bullywugs and Kua-Toa, their nearest rivals for squishy amphibian evil humanoids. With the arrival of the Grungs and Fire Newts, that is a surprisingly competitive niche. Anyway, the Grungs are a caste-based society, with them being born into one of several roles in the tribe, and they usually stick there; interestingly, however, they can advance up the ranks if they are sufficiently impressive, through ‘herbal tonics and ritual magic’, which I am choosing to interpret as a mixture between homeopathic medicine and the Plasmids from Bioshock. This is one of those details that might be tough to make use of - your players won’t likely care about the colours of their enemies that much, nor social mobility issues - but if your storyline allows for dialogue between the group and the Grungs, it might come out as a very compelling element. I’ve found that players can take a real shine to talkative and amusing members of even the most repellent races, and cheerfully sponsor them, so you might find that your group latch onto the idea of their favourite Grung NPC becoming a higher caste through their intermediation. The Grung are based on frogs - as opposed to the toads that Bullywugs take after - and this means that they don’t have a tongue theme but instead a poison one. I guess that sounds right? I’ll be honest with you guys - I’m a city boy, this animal stuff is all pretty esoteric to me. I do have vague memories of David Attenborough talking about rainforest poisonous frogs, so I’m willing to believe Wizards on this issue. Amazingly, the Monster Manual actually has separate statblocks for ‘Giant Frog’ and ‘Giant Toad’, so the Grungs do have an appropriate pet, albeit one that is pretty weak at CR 1/4. On the subject of pets, we also learn that Grungs are dutiful in their adherence to the Lawful Evil Race Guidelines and keep slaves, using their toxins to keep them lethargic. That titbit - and the fact that it takes powerful magic to restore a slave’s mind if this has gone on too long - seems like a solid plot hook. The Grungs live in rainforests and tropical jungles, not a terrain that has been explored in the adventures thus far [1], so the arrival of the Grungs (as well as the Girallon and Yuan-Ti variants) would seem to suggest that they are giving DMs and their writers the tools to do so. I don’t know if I want to say we’ll definitely get a jungle adventure just because these guys are here, but a chapter in an AP would definitely not surprise me. There are three statblocks given for the Grungs - Grung, Grung Elite Warrior, and Grung Wildling. That matches up with the castes, but not very nicely - we are told to use Grung for green, blue and purple castes, Grung Elite Warrior for the top castes of orange and gold, and Grung Wildling for the priestly red caste. I feel that there is definitely some room to expand these out a bit, but likely we’ll only get one more (a named NPC gold caste member) if a tribe turns up in an adventure. All three statblocks include poison damage in their attacks and can inflict poisoned condition through grappling. In other words, Dwarven characters will love these guys. They can also breathe underwater and jump really far, neither of which are what I’d call powerful abilities. The Grung is CR 1/4, and about as unexciting as you’d think. They’re only equipped with daggers in the statblock, which I think are distinctly un-jungly weapons - a blowpipe would have been my choice. The Elite Warrior is CR 2, a pretty hefty upgrade, but their statblock doesn’t really justify it at first glance. Their hit points and AC seem average; they make only the one weapon attack, and that for the same damage as the basic Grung. The saving grace is their [I]Mesmerizing Chirr[/I] ability, a name which pleases me greatly, and which can inflict the stunned condition. Likely they lost the second attack due to how potent this could be - there is no immunity if you pass, so they can absolutely spam this until the party is crippled. You should definitely use this to shut down the front line of the party, and allow the weaker Grungs to make their mark. Finally, the Wildling is a CR 1 spellcaster - specified as a 9th level Ranger, oddly - and it can toss out some aiding spells like [I]Cure Wounds[/I], [I]Spike Growth[/I] and [I]Plant Growth[/I]. In combination with their skills - Survival, Stealth, Perception - these guys should be used less like High Priests and more like Patrol Leaders. Disappointingly, that leaves us with no ‘Boss Profile’ for the Grungs, and they don’t strike me as guys that will remain very interesting for a wide range of levels. Finally, we get a Poisons table, which expands the Poisoned condition to have additional effects, depending on the caste of the Grung. It’s really fun, with stuff like ‘you are frightened of your allies’ and ‘you must immerse yourself in mud or water, and will take your action to do so’. I’d absolutely use this, as it gives a lot more combat character to the Grungs in my opinion. What do I think of them? They are fun, but I think that we just don’t get enough - information, images, allies and leaders, whatever - to satisfy me. Perhaps I've just been spoiled by the extensive description given in Volo's and the APs to other groups, but these guys feel like they are [I]half[/I] of an idea. [1] Though, to be fair, ‘Mountains’, ‘Islands’ and ‘Arctic’ are the same. Mainly green fields in the adventures so far! [/QUOTE]
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