MM2 sneak peak / new warforged art

[ferratus]

I mean, if he's provoking, then so is everyone who posts "I love how the new dragon is unaligned, so I can actually have PC's fight it!"

Except Derren hasn't said anything (in this forum at least) that was in the slightest way positive for months. So I think to be that single minded you have to be here simply for trolling.

That's why he's on my ignore list.

 

[OchreJelly]

More stats up. Firbolg Master of the Wild Hunt and Shadar-Kai Gloom Lord.

Firbolg is neat and notably I believe the first creature (at least that I can recall) that's vulnerable to necrotic.

Update: Their respective pics are here and here

 

[Nahat Anoj]

Yeah, most lurkers have a power that lets them bugger off (incorporeal) or become really hard to hit (gargoyles) or similar (bugbear strangler's human shield ability). The Iron Dragon gets an incentive to hide until Iron Wing Defense recharges, and then move in, hit and move out and wait for recharging again.

Yeah, the Lurker-ness of the iron dragon escapes me, too. It's not quite as obvious as the black dragon, for example. Having said that, Wing Block could be one thing that makes it Lurker-y. Much like how gargoyles turn to stone, gain some damage resistance, then turn back and make a nasty attack, the iron dragon can block an attack, then make a counterattack.

It's breath weapon has a pull effect. That's interesting - I wonder what the fluff for it will be. Maybe magnetism?

 

[yesnomu]

I don't really understand why having monsters that say "Good" at the bottom is important to people. (Incidentally, I count 16 good monsters in the Compendium, most of which are potential allies like Sir Keegan.) I mean, there is literally no difference mechanically between a Good dragon and an Unaligned one. What's to stop you from calling the whole MM Good? (Granted, players probably won't accept Good devils, but hey.)

 

[chaotix42]

Yeah, the Lurker-ness of the iron dragon escapes me, too. It's not quite as obvious as the black dragon, for example.

Or the brown dragon! Now that is a nice lurker - too good IMO.

It's breath weapon has a pull effect. That's interesting - I wonder what the fluff for it will be. Maybe magnetism?

Agreed!

---

The new shadar-kai is alright, but nothing particularly special. Looks effective enough, and there is a certain charm in something simple & effective.

The firbolg is cool though! If the DM has the firbolg & its allies work together well enough I can see him being quite a threat. With a fly speed & ranged attack option the firbolg can try to keep out of melee until someone is bloodied, then hit 'em with Moonfire, move in for a Double Attack and pop an AP for Mortal Strike. Hopefully he can drop his target in one fell swoop and get another AP! Sounds like fun.

Sadly I just noticed a small error: Moonfire's attack icon is for a close burst/blast but it says "Ranged 10" for its range! Should be close burst 10 to avoid OAs.

 

[fanboy2000]

I'm not sure the MM is the place for "good" critters, but 4e's complete lack of good creatures is evident and obnoxious.

Would it have killed WotC to throw in a pixie? I'm not asking for much, just Mischievous Good critters.

 

[Derren]

It really doesn't seem like provoking to me. It seems relevant -- the chromatic dragon is unaligned, and this is a change from the way things had been done, and so it is a change, and a change in the game is certainly a valid topic for discussion. That this change represents a design philosophy in 4e doesn't make the dissent less valid.

If chromatic dragons were also unaligned (or mixed) there wouldn't be a problem.
But instead chromatics are evil and the known metallics are unaligned which is imo bad for fluff. Metallic dragons have always been good and I like them the way.
Sure, I can house rule, but then why even have alignment? Also evil parties also need some iconic creatures to kill.

And why all this? Because of a design philosophy I don't agree with which makes the game look more like a world ripped from diablo 2 where everything which moves outside the city wall is meant to be killed instead of a living fantasy world.
Also, why no support for evil or just unaligned characters? And even the PCs might need some allies.

While I know that ability scores are hardly relevant for monsters in 4E, I just can't grok a huge dragon having a strength of 19. However, on that path lies arguments about gamist vs simulationist and that, in turn, leads to the dark side....

I dodn't noticed that.
This is so wrong.....

 

[frankthedm]

For once the iron golem looks like it has a reason to have a poison attack. And bonus points since it still has it's sword.

the clay golem's illo, i'm not keen on, but there are a lot of ways to interpret a "clay" golem. I don't mind a wet clay golem, but it could stand to look gloppier if that is what it is supposed to be.


http://www.critical-hits.com-shadarkai_illo.jpg much better than the old illo

 

[ppaladin123]

If chromatic dragons were also unaligned (or mixed) there wouldn't be a problem.
But instead chromatics are evil and the known metallics are unaligned which is imo bad for fluff. Metallic dragons have always been good and I like them the way.
Sure, I can house rule, but then why even have alignment? Also evil parties also need some iconic creatures to kill.

And why all this? Because of a design philosophy I don't agree with which makes the game look more like a world ripped from diablo 2 where everything which moves outside the city wall is meant to be killed instead of a living fantasy world.
Also, why no support for evil or just unaligned characters? And even the PCs might need some allies.



I dodn't noticed that.
This is so wrong.....

Divine Power has channel divinity feats for 30+ domains. According to the previews they also included the domains of the evil gods. Ari recently produced an article that provided players who worship Bane with a channel divinity and paragon path option. Another recent Dragon article provided fluff and crunch (spells, feats, and a paragon path) for a warlock pact with the Prince of Frost (evil). There is an entire book about Metallic Dragons (Draconomicon II) on its way which will apparently include combat stats for gold, silver and bronze dragons. We've also had a few nice articles about morally gray/evil options for characters (the art of the kill for assassin related abilities, and two articles detailing necromantic spells and prayers). Both sorcerers and warlocks get "evil" paragon paths in PHBII and Arcane Power. Open Grave includes rituals to raise undead servants and includes a bunch of evil intelligent items your players can use.

I agree that 4e has a definite bias toward "good guys," but you can't say that there is no material available for unaligned/evil characters. As time goes on WotC is expanding these options. I think they feel more comfortable doing so now that the "good guy," base has been served.

Anyway I doubt this affects most games. DMs can certainly make players face good-aligned people, good aligned angels, devas, and pretty much any sentient race that is able to freely choose between good and evil. They can use NPC creation rules to produce radiant clerics and paladins to fight as well. What exactly do you want? A fairy that shoots rainbows and kills you with the overwhelming power of her love and kindness?


EDIT: besides metallic dragons, what other iconic good creatures are there? Flumphs? 4e actually has them (made them unaligned).

 

[Baumi]

I think the Wing Block makes the Iron Dragon a great one-on-one Enemy (-10 damage and a free attack once per round) and therefore he is best if he waits till he can pick a single enemy out and then flys away again (Lurker tactic)...