Monster Mannual II - THREE NEW CREATURES!

[DPGDarrin]

LOL! Some how Darrin I thought you might say that. Btw, I liked the picture they used for Death Knight. in the Desktop section. What did you think of it?

Assuming that picture is in fact the death knight (which I think it is), I think it rocks. Of course I'm also pretty impressed with the pictures that wound up in the 2 Dragon articles. Since death knights crop up occasionally in my campaigns, I plan to scan in those images at some point and use them.

 

[Nightfall]

Sounds good to me!

 

[Knight Otu]

Hi, all!

Nice to see a few sneak peeks at MMII! Does the screen saver use the same pictures as the desktops?

About the size of the Mountain Giant: It should propably be Gargantuan, but keep in mind that a few creatures that happen to be "bulky" are sometimes put into the next higher size category. I'm 99% sure that this was done with the Minotaur. (And for those who read my PR conversion thread, I'm considering to move the Halutans from Large to Huge).

 

[Plane Sailing]

When you determine CR you have to identify what a monster can do, rather than what it can't do.

Hi Krusty,

It is interesting that the apparently low CR of the Remorhaz is defended on the grounds of its vulnerability to missile attack and certain spells though... I think that CR *should* reflect vulnerabilities. Solars, Balors, big Dragons all rate a high CR because they have great mobility, excellent ranged and close up attacks, spell capability and excellent all-round resistances. A high level party will fight against a creatures weaknesses rather than its strengths (if they have any sense) and CR ought to reflect that IMO.

Cheers

 

[Psion]

Re: 2E vs. 3E Mountain Giant

Did anyone else notice that this new version of the Mountain Giant is amazingly different from the 2E version?

Yes! One region in my game featured mountain giants as foes back in 2e. Subbing these guys in would be a jarring change to say the least.

 

[Psion]

It is interesting that the apparently low CR of the Remorhaz is defended on the grounds of its vulnerability to missile attack and certain spells though... I think that CR *should* reflect vulnerabilities.

Check out the CRs of monstrous scorpions. I do think that sort of compensation is going on.

 

[Squire James]

I had the same thought as Monte when I read the Mountain Giant entry. CR 16 seems about right, and since the books schtick seems to be CR 11-20 creatures I think it was a simple typo. The size probably should be Gargantuan as well. The given height figure is more size G and size C, and it would make for a "smoother" Giant progression above Storm Giant if that were the case. On the other hand, Str 43 is not out of line for a Colossal creature in general... Great Wyrm Red Dragons and Terrasques are Str 45.

 

[Psion]

So is the death knight here the same one that appeared in the Greyhawk section then? If so, I can create an important NPC without waiting (or rather, update, as the party slew the character already).

 

[Eridanis]

Hmmm.... if the web enhancement is out, will we see the product at GenCon? They missed the boat with the FRCS last year, but hopefully they'll be able to make the Con this year...

 

[Junkheap]

Hi Krusty,

It is interesting that the apparently low CR of the Remorhaz is defended on the grounds of its vulnerability to missile attack and certain spells though... I think that CR *should* reflect vulnerabilities. Solars, Balors, big Dragons all rate a high CR because they have great mobility, excellent ranged and close up attacks, spell capability and excellent all-round resistances. A high level party will fight against a creatures weaknesses rather than its strengths (if they have any sense) and CR ought to reflect that IMO.

Cheers

Put perfectly my friend. Weaknesses should be taken into consideration. But then you slap on a fiendish template and whoa, massive SR. Had fun with those in montes demon gods fane. Fiendish fire giants are NOT FUN. Well i was the dm and it was fun, but the players were not to happy to be dropping like flies.