Monster Manual V

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What would you want to see in the inevitable Monster Manual V?

More pre-statted NPCs? More maps? More monster prestige classes? More related spells?

More templates?

More of a certain type? Less of a certain type?

 

[GrayLinnorm]

I would like to see a mix of new creatures and creatures from previous editions. I don't want to see monsters that are already in the Monster Manual.

 

[Kaodi]

Monster Manual V Should Have...

All new monsters, and cool, tractable ones at that. Half the reason I never bought III (which is half the reason I won't consider IV) is that there wasn't really enough stuff that jumped out at me. Artwork, stats and description are all key to making a great monster. And if they decided that 15% of the book was going to be classed monsters, as long as every last one of them was a *new* monster, classed, it would all be good. And they should have some truly new dragons... I mean, come on, what good is a Monster Manual without at least two (excellent) new types of true dragon?

 

[BronzeGolem]

Pretend, for the most part, that Monster Manual IV never happened and work from there:

1) At a bare minimum, revise the new format so that it includes useful pieces of information like the HD breakdown, makes it more readable (and relatedly-easier to modify monsters with) instead of a visual fishing expedition, and doesn't take three times as much space.

2) A lot fewer classed monsters, and the classed monsters should be from the same Monster Manual, not previous Monster Manuals. 5% sounds about right.

3) Fewer variations on the same monster repeated throughout the book.

4) Take out the padding like the maps, enlarged treasure blocks, so on.

5) Add a section for DM's on how to figure out what a lore block ought to look like for a monster. Lore and ecology were two of the only good ideas MMIV had, and I'd like to see them retained.

6) On a more...intangible level, perhaps a greater or a bit upwards CR spread, with monsters that have more originality in their SA/SQ as well as their names (too many of them are fourword variedcombinations). Outstanding in their lack of being outstanding were the dragonspawn and the wizened elder.

7) Conversions of previous edition monsters, or inclusions of some of the monsters that've been converted from the Dragon magazines from previous editions.

8) Take out special qualities that actually make the monsters weaker...and do nothing else.

9) Make the monsters more 'friendly'/consistent with settings other than Faerun and Eberron. This is something that I think started in MMIII with a lot of the monsters being oriented along those lines, and continued in MMIV with some exceptions (such as the vitreous drinker and Vecna). I think that, to some extent, this has caused some major inconsistencies such as the massive loss of CR/power that happened to yugoloths in MMIII, or the relatively flavorless yugoloths in MMIV, or the demons that don't really 'fit' in the abyss.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Whoa!

Demons that don't "fit" in the Abyss, of all places?

Yeah, okay, whatever.

 

[demiurge1138]

Let's see...

A combination of new monsters and old conversions. The Fiend Folio probably had the nicest balance for me (although I didn't realize it at the time, not being well versed in Planescape obscurities). Check.

If they are to do all new monsters, which I can't really blame them for, make them exciting! Give them cool new mechanics! Make them visually interesting! To take the MMIV as an example, bloodhulks, wizened elders, justice archons... all blah. They're phantom fungus monsters. "We need a CR 7 celestial based on a mini! Stat!" Whereas, say... the balhannoth, zern and vitreous drinker all had memorable appearances and neat abilities.

Less outsiders? Please. Or, if we must get them, less outright demons. More devils! More yugoloths! More monsters from relatively underpopulated areas! (That's the reason the windrazors appealed to me, I think - they're from the critically empty Pandemonium). WoTC has always put out demons at a great rate, and I hope Fiendish Codex II goes a long way to reversing this trend.

A reasonable level of Tiamat spawn. I can accept that they're going to be a common thread from now on - their presence in the Dragons of Faerun ToC confirms this. But Dragons of Faerun does it well. There's two of them. I can accept two of them in a MMV. Another 12? No thank you!

Creativity in presentation of classed humanoids. Really, I'd rather not have pages upon pages of classed examples at all. But if they are included, please make them flavorful and interesting as opposed to bare-bones and obvious. In other words, less drow arcane guards and Lolth's Stings and more orc plaguespeakers and lizardfolk wasp cavalry.

No maps! No maps no maps no maps! Even if they're good ones! I don't really have a logical reason for this, just pure unbridled prejudice against maps in my monster books. More maps = less monsters!

Tweaking the statblock. Again. Or, rather, putting it back a step or two. I admit to distrusting the new format as opposed to the "classic" 3.5 statblock. The statblock used by Dungeon for about a year or so has three little things that make it miles better than the MMIV's. Lines in the block for Treasure, Environment and Alignment. We don't need a paragraph explaining why the horrible soul-drinking thing from Hades is neutral evil! And we certainly don't need a paragraph on how it keeps 600 gp when a simple, concise "standard" will do. I just did some writing in the MMIV style, and let me tell you - it sucks when you have a word limit. It eats up the wordcount like it was popcorn.

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Demiurge out.

 

[Nightfall]

I want to see it BURNINATED! IV was bad enough. Let's let it lie.

 

[No Name]

I want to see it BURNINATED! IV was bad enough. Let's let it lie.

I'll second that. WOTC Inc.'s stuff is in decline.

Still wishing I would have taken a look at MMIV before purchasing. Fool me once...

 

[Nightfall]

No Name,

See this is why I'm glad I read that excerpt for the Table of Contents. That convinced me I made the right choice. Too bad I couldn't say that about Mysteries of the Moonsea.

Not all of the WotC stuff is on decline, just some of the general stuff. Eberron and FR has some redeemable valuble.

 

[Hussar]

Me, I'm on the other side of the fence.

I want monsters that come with small encounters. I want lots of background. I would like them to show me how this monster could be used. Heck, in a perfect world, I could simply pull the entire encounter wholesale from the book, plunk it into the middle of my adventure and go from there.

I'm very, very tired of endless monster books with yet another "new" creature. Yawn. Most people use a bare fraction of the monster books that are already out there. Why? Because the majority of the creatures are bloody useless or only useful if you stand on one leg while singing the national anthem of Micronesia.

I want a book that I can use 90% of. That means far less monsters, and far more information about each one.

There's what, four or five thousand monsters already in the books in print for 3.5? Why do I need another three hundred that I'll never use?