May 2005 WotC Previews and Beyond

[Gez]

Am I the only one who noticed this?

From the Encounter Table excerpt, this big ol' lump of niftyness:

Stampede (Mob of Light Horses) CR 8

N Gargantuan animal (mob of Large animals)
Init +0; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen +3, Spot+3
AC 10, touch 7, flat-footed 9
hp 195 (30 HD)
Fort +19, Ref +18, Will +9
Spd 50 ft. (10 squares)
Atk mob (5d6)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Base Atk +22; Grp +36
Atk Options expert grappler, trample 2d6+3
Abilities Str 14, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 6
SQ mob anatomy
Feats Endurance, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Run
Skills Listen +3, Spot +3​

Here they are, swarms of creatures larger than Tiny. They're called mobs, and they're gargantuan (well, maybe huge and colossal are possible too).

A good way to state orcs hordes and goblin mobs quickly, ain't it?

 

[Plane Sailing]

I was interested to read about that kind of thing in these threads last year, I've not seen the Dungeon 113 that Koewn refers to, I presume that is the original inspiration for the DMGII stuff too.

Anyway, these make interesting local reading

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=73060

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=109416

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=99753

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=99927

Cheers,

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

Nothing coming up struck me as 'must have' but the DMG II does look pretty sweet.

And the mounted paladin looks sweet, too.

 

[thalmin]

I like the stampede. Mobs, huh?

 

[ColonelHardisson]

The DMGII is on my buy list for sure. The NPC stats (which I assume will be along the lines of those found in d20 Modern and the Menace Manual) will be worth the price alone, to me. I love that stuff. The Orc Sample Army from Heroes of Battle makes it seem like that book will interest me, too.

 

[takasi]

Anyone else interested in the teamwork benefits from Heroes of Battle?

If you look at the DMG intro, it also includes teamwork benefits. Do you think they'll rehash the ones from HoB?

Am I missing something, or is this pure powercreep? You don't sacrifice anything to get these benefits. Who wouldn't want a free evasion feat or flanking for everyone?

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Am I missing something, or is this pure powercreep? You don't sacrifice anything to get these benefits. Who wouldn't want a free evasion feat or flanking for everyone?

It requires team members and leaders get ranks in certain skills or have certain abilities or feats. In many cases those skills will be cross-class.

Remember in OA they had Martial Arts fighting styles, which just required you had a bunch of feats and some skills, and that was before 3.5....

 

[jrients]

What's up with some of these product names? Champions of Ruin and Weapons of Legacy almost put me to sleep they're so boring.

 

[TerraDave]

Yes, DMGII looks good, mobs looks good, the mounted mini looks great, and heroes of battle makes me wonder why...

and these "team work benefits" in both heroes and DMGII also raise questions of "why" and "how unbalanced"

 

[Kanegrundar]

This is the first time in a long time that I'm fairly "meh" about future releases. However, there are a couple of items that are either must buys or likely buys:

Angelfire Minis. I always buy a case to a case and a half of each D&D mini set. Angelfire looks pretty interesting so far.

Champions of Ruin: I'll likely end up buying this one, but I'll pick up other books first. This does look interesting if for nothing else but new ideas to use for villains.

DMG II: This is a definant buy. Every time WotC puts out some new information I get a little more keyed up for this one.

D20 Apocalypse: I've thoroughly enjoyed the entire Modern line so far. While I love Darwin's World and I don't think anyone can do that style of PA game better, I want to see what WotC gives us in the way of non-nuclear apocalypses. The art they featured looked like a Dawn of the Dead-style apocalypse. That's nothing but good!

Weapons of Legacy: I'll likely flip through this one first, but I can always use some new and interesting magic items that I don't have to make myself.

The rest of the crop I really couldn't care less about.

Kane