MM II Identity Parade

[I'm A Banana]

Yeah, but this three-act story structure is ingrained in most of us from the beginning of formal education, to the point that when we're at the age we might pick up D&D for a spin, it's intuitive. Along with stuff like Sphynx's doing riddles and what-not. I don't need my MM or my DMG to go into crazy detail about all that, because I already know it. Why spend bunches of pages on it?

Same reason we spend a dragon magazine article on transparancy: not everyone has the same level of skill in this, and giving rules for it, where needed, will help people play the game.

I don't know, maybe things have changed? I remember learning about the sphynx really early as a kid.

Now, the difference in damage between a Gray Render's claws and the stomach of a Purple Worm? That wasn't part of my elementary education. Sadly.

Heh. Kids today are probably more able to name the three ranks of ninja in Naruto, or the elemental match-ups in Pokemon, or the story of WoW characters. Not that the curious and the clever don't ALSO know the riddle of the sphinx. It is archetypal. So archetypal that when D&D doesn't give us rules for running it along with the sphinx, I am surprised and disappointed.

Also, fun thought: Let's get Wu-Tang to play a D&D campaign and then write an album about it. Have ODB be one of the gods.

Genius. I'd rather my D&D be Wu-Tang than Heavy Metal at this point, anyway.

 

[doctorhook]

Since AFAIK no one has responded to my question yet, I'm reposting it:

Sorry if I missed this, but is there a list of which creatures have NPC stats? I gathered that there's Duergar, Kenkus, and Bullywugs, but is there any others?

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Since AFAIK no one has responded to my question yet, I'm reposting it:

So far I haven't seen anything else. So unless SpringsBoundlessThorns hasn't mentioned it yet, I am guessing that is all there is.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

The monster manuals in 4e present the game itself in a contradictory light.

4e bills itself - and rightfully so - as being easy to pick up and play, especially for new players. But that collapses when you hit the MM book(s).

The DMG was filled with advice aimed almost entirely at new DMs. I don't see why the MM, on the other hand, is so frustratingly difficult for a new DM to use. Even ignoring the desire for non-combat encounters, the MM is supposed to show these monsters in a "pick me!" light, so that Dms can flip through and find something awesome to put in their game. When all you have is a stat dump, nobody is inspired by it. New DMs aren't going to want to or be able to come up with brand new fluff right on the fly any more then they will brand new mechanics, and it strieks me as really contradictory to think it's ok to help with one, but not ok to help with the other.

I just don't see why we want to help new players and new DMs statistically, but if they ask about plot or monster fluff we just sneer and turn our backs. That stuff's just as important, yo.

 

[Invisible Stalker]

No Catoblepas? EPIC FAIL!!!

MM2 does fill out a great deal of my shopping list though.

 

[Squizzle]

The monster manuals in 4e present the game itself in a contradictory light.<br />
<br />
4e bills itself - and rightfully so - as being easy to pick up and play, especially for new players. But that collapses when you hit the MM book(s).<br />
<br />
The DMG was filled with advice aimed almost entirely at new DMs. I don't see why the MM, on the other hand, is so frustratingly difficult for a new DM to use. Even ignoring the desire for non-combat encounters, the MM is supposed to show these monsters in a "pick me!" light, so that Dms can flip through and find something awesome to put in their game. When all you have is a stat dump, nobody is inspired by it. New DMs aren't going to want to or be able to come up with brand new fluff right on the fly any more then they will brand new mechanics, and it strieks me as really contradictory to think it's ok to help with one, but not ok to help with the other.<br />
<br />
I just don't see why we want to help new players and new DMs statistically, but if they ask about plot or monster fluff we just sneer and turn our backs. That stuff's just as important, yo.

<br />
<br />

You're wrong.

I know because I'm a new DM--indeed, I'm entirely new to D&D. Prior to this edition, it never really interested me, at all. I am a new DM now, running a game for four players, two of whom are entirely new to tabletop roleplaying at all. I love the Monster Manual as it stands, because it does inspire me. Looking at the stats and powers tells me a lot more about these things than any prose flavor does: I can see not just how it's described, but how it actually behaves. Is it a recklessly charging around? Is it skulking through darkness? When I know how something actually acts, I can slot it into an ecological niche that supports that behavior. I have no problem altering the powers to fit the niche I have in mind, either, so it's not like I'm boxed-in by the text--merely, as it goes, inspired.

(And I prefer they not steal space from statblocks or the wonderfully legible layouts with prose that I'm going to ignore anyway.)

 

[Derulbaskul]

Just from them specificially using the term Insane, and Far Realm having a large impact in 4e. I am imagining a Noble who has made dealings with the Far Realm/been corrupted by them.

Sounds like the campaign I'm about to start in Cormyr in the Forgotten Realms....

 

[Hereticus]

See, when I pop open the Monster Manual I want more than just stat blocks with no explanation, no soul, no reason to exist beyond "they are there for PCs to kill".

I want deep fluff. Variations, ideas, inspiration.

I want to fight monsters that think, not mindless berserkers. Monsters and villains that pose a strategic threat.

I also like to be in a party that thinks, without mindless berserkers.

Unfortunately I see a higher percentage of younger players who don't want to think, and by coincidence they are also usually WoW players.

 

[Truename]

"Consider maybe making up something" isn't good enough, I'm afraid, though I do enjoy the benefits listed there, and think that's further evidence that 4e certainly could go with this, if it had the cojones and the skill.

Guidelines for making up riddles & puzzles have already been published in the DMG, so I wouldn't expect it to be in MM2.

Perhaps you could provide an example of what would make you happy.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Since AFAIK no one has responded to my question yet, I'm reposting it:

Sorry if I missed this, but is there a list of which creatures have NPC stats? I gathered that there's Duergar, Kenkus, and Bullywugs, but is there any others?

Those are the only three listed in the back of the MMII book.

Yes, living in Japan, I just got my copy of the book.