Monster Manual IV - an ongoing review

[Felon]

On a totally unrelated note, I have to disagree with you that the game doesn't need a zern because it has the daelkyr. For one thing, not everyone uses Eberron. For another, daelkyr are the highest of high level threats. The zern maintain some of that master-mutant-manipulator flavor for mid-level PCs, which I like, and are more interesting, mechanics wise, an explanation for where aberrations come from than simply "an evil wizard did it".

The zerns are great. Lots of transformational powers to confound the players, and get them to think "what the hell are we dealing with"? With their thralls, mutations, and implants, they serve much the role that illithids do, without the hassles--no one-trick pony mind blasting, no paper-tiger hit points, and no folks bent out of shape that WotC (wisely) decided not to incorporate psionic rules into their monster manuals. They're also one of the relatively few monsters out there that actually have good defenses against SR-proof spells like web and entangle.

The only trick is finding a suitable mini. Think I'll use the half-illithid lizardfolk.

 

[Thomas Percy]

For tens of thousand non-native English speaker D&D players (such as I) it isn't possible to distuinguish what sounds more creepy: "Vitreous" or "Sight". The difference is I must llok for "Vitreous" in the vocabulary, but it inn't a problem.
I have to used such new weird monsters at my game with translated names, eg.
Defacer -> Twarzokradca, Sailsnake -> Wąż Żeglarek.

 

[Hussar]

I understand totally the objections to daemon; to an extent I share them. However, even with its flaws, it resonates much better than yugoloth to me. Yugoloth means nothing. I wasn't paying attention to 2e when they came in. Planescape seemed to be actively working to disaffect me. So, I have no meaningful connection to Yugoloth at all.

To me, Yugoloth always sounds like an Eastern European car. An intensely UGLY Eastern European car, so, Daemon is just better to me. Never mind that Yugoloth also resonates with Lolth far too much as well. Took me years to realize that Yugoloths weren't servants of Lolth.

Then again, I avoided Planescape. As a point though, do we really care about cannon from previous editions?

 

[Thomas Percy]

Off topic: This car is called Yugo. It was used at car chase in Die Hard 2 or 3 with funny result.

 

[Presto2112]

I think it's better to encourage people to learn new words than to assume most people have a smaller vocabulary and "write down" to them.

I actually think that having the more common sounding name AND the fancier one would be a valid option.

The evil mastermind who created the beast (or whatever) would use the fancier name, "Run if you wish, fools, but my Vitreous Drinker will hunt you all down! MUAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"

However, your average serf or level 1 commoner will most likely run through the town in a panic, yelling "Run for your lives! The Sight Drinker is coming! YEARGH!!!"

 

[Shade]

Then again, I avoided Planescape. As a point though, do we really care about cannon from previous editions?

Quite a few of us do, most definitely. Note the wild popularity of the Demonomicon and Core Beliefs articles in Dragon, the Campaign Classics issues, the Age of Worms adventure path, and the revisitations to various old adventures.

 

[BryonD]

Quite a few of us do, most definitely. Note the wild popularity of the Demonomicon and Core Beliefs articles in Dragon, the Campaign Classics issues, the Age of Worms adventure path, and the revisitations to various old adventures.

I like all those things.
Yet I have never cared at all about Planescape nor do I have any real interest in old canon.

 

[Shade]

I like all those things.
Yet I have never cared at all about Planescape nor do I have any real interest in old canon.

Yet all those things exist solely because of old canon. <shrug>

 

[Odhanan]

What controversy?

I thought most people hated it, whilst a minority (myself included) thought it was ok. Do some people actually love it?

I like it. A lot.

 

[BryonD]

Yet all those things exist solely because of old canon. <shrug>

Fine.
However, that has nothing to do with the point of caring about canon now.