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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 3114973" data-attributes="member: 3586">Additional OptionsOne nice thing about MMIV is that it calls out in the contents page the elements that can be used by PCs: monsters that can be summoned, created, or used as familiars or mounts. Although this may be used by players and their characters, they're equally - if not more so - useful to the DM. Having the list easily accessible is an excellent addition to the format.There are also five "sample lairs" in the body of the book. These are maps with keyed descriptions of the locations, though not of monsters or treasure to be found there. I find these to be less successful; I would prefer not to see them in future Monster Manuals. The Lesser Monsters and Other FlawsAlthough I like most of the monsters in the book, there are times when I wonder what the designers were thinking. Did we really need the Zern, a bunch of aberrations that sculpt other creatures into horrid forms? (Eberron already has such creatures). Did we need the Sailsnake, a flying snake that sprays venom? Well, it can be taken as as animal companion, so I guess it has a point. It's just that at 2 pages for a CR 2 creature, one begins to feel this is overkill. I enjoy the longer format for monsters that have the depth of play (and recurring play) to warrant it. For a monster that is basically a one-shot encounter - look, it's an animal - it's too much.The Spawn of Tiamat, with their goals and organisation warrant the space they take. The Sailsnake doesn't, and it feels like padding.This feeling of padding is there for the better monsters as well. I feel that starting each monster on a new page does have a drawback - a monster that should take 1-1/4 pages is instead drawn out to two.The most egregious mistake comes in the Lore sections. Whilst the text of the Knowledge skills in the PHB and the text in the MMIV indicates that the DC of these checks is determined by the Hit Dice of the monsters, instead, they all use the CR of the monsters! Oops. In fact, I prefer the checks to be determined by CR, but it's not what the rule is.</blockquote>

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