Monster Manual: How Much Cut?

[JoeGKushner]

One of the things I thought interesting was reading about how 4e will be the first edition to include all the different stages of the various dragons.

That's a great claim.

However, there's no way I can see them putting all those goodies in unless a LOT of other stuff gets cut. Especially as how the Monster Manual isn't as large as the PHB.

We've also heard a few things like the Frost Giant might not be in the first book.

So do you think they'll cut stuff like dinosaurs, continue to leave out humans, or ?

 

[ZombieRoboNinja]

According to W&M, dragons get 14 pages. How many did they get in the first PHB? (Less than that if I recall.)

 

[HeinorNY]

Maybe they'll cut dinosaurs, vermim, lycanthropes, animals and dire animals, or just simplificate them a lot.
I wouldn't care neither way.
Animals and vermim always felt to me as the boring necessary part of MM.

I want dragons, goblinoids, undeads, demons/devils, aberrations and other unique and colored creatures.

 

[A'koss]

Hard to say, they really haven't hinted much at what is getting pruned for future MMs. We know that dragons are getting 14 pages in the new MM and most of the usual humanoid suspects are in (kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobbys, bugbears, etc.). Yeah, I'm gonna miss the frost giant though (I have a Norse-ish homebrew), but at least he'll be simple enough to replicate.

Keep in mind though that not only do have to round out a full 30 levels full of monsters with this book, they have to adequetely fill all the monster roles through those levels (brute, soldier, artillery, controller, lurker, skirmisher) and levels of challenge (minions, standards, elites, solos). I'm not surprised even on that basis that some things are getting pruned and new additions put in to fill the ranks...

 

[HeinorNY]

According to W&M, dragons get 14 pages. How many did they get in the first PHB? (Less than that if I recall.)

None actually

 

[A'koss]

According to W&M, dragons get 14 pages. How many did they get in the first PHB? (Less than that if I recall.)

Actually, Dragons got almost 21 pages in 3.5e MM.

 

[Mistwell]

The monster stats are significantly reduced, so I suspect that accounts for it.

 

[jinnetics]

Kill the Vermin!

Maybe they'll cut dinosaurs, vermim, lycanthropes, animals and dire animals, or just simplificate them a lot.
I wouldn't care neither way.
Animals and vermim always felt to me as the boring necessary part of MM.

I want dragons, goblinoids, undeads, demons/devils, aberrations and other unique and colored creatures.

I can't agree more. It seems like omitting the mundane would be in the spirit of 4E anyway, what with the supposedly streamlined NPC generation we've heard so much about. Kill the vermin!

 

[Generico]

I don't think they'll completely omit any entire monster types from the MM. You'll probably just see less variety of monsters within each type.

I think the cuts are mostly going to come as a result of more monsters getting a lot of fluff and extra background material, similar to what's been happening in MM4 and 5.

 

[Voss]

I want to see the cheesy stuff go, particularly the aberrations. acid spitting thing, flying sonic thing, weird flesh pulling off the skull cat thing. Things of that nature.

They're just... silly.