MM4 Table of Contents up

[Garnfellow]

Agreed -- Yes, when I have time I certainly like to stat up my own drow and other bad guys, but this looks like a useful move to have more ready-made stats at the DM's fingertips. Heck, I wouldn't mind a whole book like that just based on the first four/five MMs.

I've been shocked that no 3rd party publisher ever really jumped on this bandwagon. Sure, statted out NPCs aren't as sexy as, say, a bunch of new monsters. But they're a heck of lot more useful to harried DMs.

I even think Ryan Dancey suggested this as a viable product back in the early days of 3e.

 

[Ripzerai]

I even think Ryan Dancey suggested this as a viable product back in the early days of 3e.

It was a product in the early days of 3e. Did everyone forget about Enemies & Allies?

 

[DMH]

I've been shocked that no 3rd party publisher ever really jumped on this bandwagon. Sure, statted out NPCs aren't as sexy as, say, a bunch of new monsters. But they're a heck of lot more useful to harried DMs.

A Flock of Foes from Genjitsu has creatures from the MM that are either advanced or with templates from that book. It also has 4 templates to replace the basic golems (why should they always be humanoid?).

 

[ColonelHardisson]

It was a product in the early days of 3e. Did everyone forget about Enemies & Allies?

Oh, I remember it quite well, and I like it a lot, but it didn't really fill the niche we're talking about here, not really. There were some decent "generic" character types (city guards, various good and evil priests, etc.) but too much background material was presented, and too few stat blocks.

 

[Garnfellow]

It was a product in the early days of 3e. Did everyone forget about Enemies & Allies?

The only thing I seem to remember about that book is that it got terrible reviews and I never really took a look at it. In retrospect, was it any good?

 

[ColonelHardisson]

The only thing I seem to remember about that book is that it got terrible reviews and I never really took a look at it. In retrospect, was it any good?

Yeah, I think it's a decent product. The only real criticism I have of it is that it's too short.

 

[Beckett]

That's actually the stuff I'm most interested in. I like having a variety of "types" to choose from of the "workhorse" types of monsters, the ones that get the most use in a campaign. I like mixing 'n' matching 'em to come up with interesting raiding parties, garrisons, villages, etc.

I'm with you on this. Just the thing for when the players wander off the trail and you need an orc village now.

 

[Ripzerai]

Enemies & Allies has a lot of what you're talking about here. An advanced flesh golem, illithid assassin, djinni sorcerer, kobold adept/sorcerer, goblin adept/rogue, half-fiendish druid, and so on, as well as PC-race characters of various classes and levels. It's not just a book of stat blocks, though, if that's what you want. It's a book of NPCs.

 

[Knight Otu]

In addition, I'd guess only a small minority of people playing D&D use character generation software.

Maybe, but the tools are available to create the staples easily. From almost completely random generators like Jamis Buck's generator, over intelligent generators like Vascant's NPC Designer with varying levels of control over the end result, to fully-blown character creators like eTools (or whatever the name was). A DM with computer access does him/herself a great favor looking into such programs.

Sure, statted out NPCs aren't as sexy as, say, a bunch of new monsters.

I'd say that's exactly the problem. A book like the old Enemies & Allies likely doesn't sell well, since it's "just a bunch of 'I could do that myself' stuff." Also, it is "the same old and boring stuff." Monster Manuals are supposed to be "new and exciting stuff that I couldn't create myself." Or "Updates to old products that aren't readily available anymore, or that would require a lot of conversion-work."

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Enemies & Allies has a lot of what you're talking about here. An advanced flesh golem, illithid assassin, djinni sorcerer, kobold adept/sorcerer, goblin adept/rogue, half-fiendish druid, and so on, as well as PC-race characters of various classes and levels. It's not just a book of stat blocks, though, if that's what you want. It's a book of NPCs.

I wouldn't say it has a lot of what we're looking for, but it has some. Again, though, I think there has been a steady, though not overwhelming, call for a book of advanced creatures (especially humanoids) over the years, but every attempt along those lines gets bogged down in really oddball characters, a lot of background/fluff text, or both.