MM4's Bluespawn Godslayer

[MerricB]

Huh. Well, I guess you learn something new every day. Posts amended.

::starts creating a race of spiked-chain wielding lizardfolk::

Please don't.

One reason I like dragonspawn (apart from I like Tiamat as an ultimate enemy) is because they are rather simple, yet noticably different from each other. Thus, it's easy to have a group of different dragonspawn and run them... unlike, perhaps, a group of demons or devils, where the special abilities (e.g. Vrock spores) begin to interfere.

Cheers!

 

[Kunimatyu]

One reason I like dragonspawn (apart from I like Tiamat as an ultimate enemy) is because they are rather simple, yet noticably different from each other. Thus, it's easy to have a group of different dragonspawn and run them... unlike, perhaps, a group of demons or devils, where the special abilities (e.g. Vrock spores) begin to interfere.

That's a perfectly reasonable position, particularly with regards to the demons and devils(they desperately need some streamlining in 4E). However, I still maintain that the bluespawn lacks interesting traits even compared to the other dragonspawn. The arcaniss's fire healing is at least something, while this creature just has a glorified bane weapon that will rarely see meaningful use.

 

[blargney the second]

Rule zero it: just change the bane type. This thing's kind of like a ranger: it gets dropped off in the wilderness when it's a kid, then learns some funky combat abilities. No biggie. *shrug*

 

[Klaus]

Spawn of Tiamat = Dragonlance's draconians adapted to generic D&D.

Waaay back in 2e, my homebrew game yoinked a lot from DL, including draconians. After the war was won, I began a new quest where Faluzure had done to chromatic eggs what Tiamat had done to metallic eggs, giving rise to chromatic draconians (mainly black assassins, blue sorcerers and Large red barbarians).

 

[Cam Banks]

Spawn of Tiamat = Dragonlance's draconians adapted to generic D&D.

Waaay back in 2e, my homebrew game yoinked a lot from DL, including draconians. After the war was won, I began a new quest where Faluzure had done to chromatic eggs what Tiamat had done to metallic eggs, giving rise to chromatic draconians (mainly black assassins, blue sorcerers and Large red barbarians).

This is similar to the backstory to Dragonlance's so-called noble draconians, which are draconians created from chromatic eggs. The corruption worked in reverse, however, and all of the noble draconians (flame, frost, venom, vapor, and lightning) are good-aligned.

I've got a venom draconian pirate named Skullface as a minor NPC in the high-level Dragonlance adventure Price of Courage, for example.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Gez]

Yes, I have no idea what they were thinking. I think Godslayer sounds cool, but I also think it should be on a more appropriate monster.

It doesn't sound cool. It sounds "k3wl!!!1!1!!" Little boys in their early teen wll want to play one as a character. A dark and brooding Godslayer with a cool ninja babe as a cohort, and a very very big vorpal sword.

I, for one, find such a name very stupid, but then, Arcaniss is very stupid as well. Which is fortunate, I have more monsters than I need, and I don't want to buy a new monster manual with gnolls and ogres and drows and lizardfolk and other monsters from the MM1. That book is a big "what the Baator were they thinking?" as far as I'm concerned.

Which is all good, the saved money might let me get something more interesting, such as FC1.

 

[Agent Oracle]

I, for one, find such a name very stupid, but then, Arcaniss is very stupid as well. Which is fortunate, I have more monsters than I need, and I don't want to buy a new monster manual with gnolls and ogres and drows and lizardfolk and other monsters from the MM1. That book is a big "what the Baator were they thinking?" as far as I'm concerned.

I'm still wanting to run a Game wherein a Baator tells the players his master ordered him to kill them, and then, after the big brawl, the players pick him up and ask "Who's your Master, Baator?"

 

[Henry]

EDIT: Oh, and the creature uses a bastard sword, but doesn't have Exotic Weapon Prof for it. Weapon Focus yes, but no exotic.

I didn't see anyone mention this, but apologies if they have: Monstrous Humanoids, and most all monster types, are described as being "proficient with any weapon mentioned in its entry."

So, basically, we have a Huge creature with an electricity sword that hurts outsiders and dragons a lot. Great.

Speaking for my current D&D game, the half-dragon is going to dislike this creature a LOT. Thank you for clueing me in to it.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Like "arcaniss"?

How about "witchknife" from the MMIII? That struck me as one of the least appropriate names for the monster it was hung on that I'd seen in a long while.

 

[Einan]

What's in a name? You're Tiamat. You call the big blue guy a Godslayer. Why? because you want people to be afraid of it. You want people to quake in fear at its approach. You want mothers to tell their children to behave or the Godslayer will get them.

I guess you could have called them Big Blue Shock Trooper, but that name just doesn't have the same ring.

And seriously folks, if you don't like the name, CALL IT SOMETHING ELSE. It's your game, not Wizard's. They could put out a monster called the Horned Booty Snooker and as long as the stats look cool and you like it, you can call it the DeathEating Goblin Snake and no one will ever make you stop. In my campaign Dire Boars are called Giant Razorbacks. Kobolds are "those little lizard things." I'm guessing most commoners don't know what an Arcaniss is, but it knows enough to be afraid of it. That's what matters with monsters: the fear.

Einan