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<blockquote data-quote="GlassJaw" data-source="post: 5334128" data-attributes="member: 22103">In theory, I couldn't agree with you more.&nbsp; But fireball is very clean example; you can get all the info you need with just as single entry.&nbsp; But where you do draw the line?&nbsp; What if a creature has more complex spells that don't fit into the format you just listed?&nbsp; Do you not provide info on those?&nbsp; Do you use different formats for different types of spells?&nbsp; From a tech writing perspective, it gets very complicated very fast.That said, I have completely rewritten every special attack/ability to follow a similar format that you listed above (with inspiration from 4E as well).&nbsp; The need to look-up special abilities (like Improved Grab, Trample, etc) has been greatly reduced. Spells and spell-like abilities were more of a challenge, however.&nbsp; There isn't any nice and neat way to completely eliminate lookup.&nbsp; Remember that creatures in 4E don't really have spells and spell-like abilities like 3ed.&nbsp; To completely eliminate lookup, you'd have to go that route for 3.5: drastically reduce spells and spell-like abilities from all creatures and turn the remaining into special abilities.&nbsp; While I'm not opposed to something like that, it is beyond the scope of the monster book.&nbsp; So if a creature has fireball as a spell-like ability, you'll probably have to look it up.That said, the stat block will no longer contain a huge lists of spells if the creature has ability to cast spells.&nbsp; Knowing how many times a Solar can cast cure light wounds is useless.&nbsp; The spellcasting entry has been simplified to allow the DM to essentially pick and choose which spells he wants the creature to have.Overall, I think you'll find the new stat block a huge improvement and time-saver during play.&nbsp; The stat block has been greatly cleaned up and expanded.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="GlassJaw, post: 5334128, member: 22103"] In theory, I couldn't agree with you more. But fireball is very clean example; you can get all the info you need with just as single entry. But where you do draw the line? What if a creature has more complex spells that don't fit into the format you just listed? Do you not provide info on those? Do you use different formats for different types of spells? From a tech writing perspective, it gets very complicated very fast. That said, I have completely rewritten every special attack/ability to follow a similar format that you listed above (with inspiration from 4E as well). The need to look-up special abilities (like Improved Grab, Trample, etc) has been greatly reduced. Spells and spell-like abilities were more of a challenge, however. There isn't any nice and neat way to completely eliminate lookup. Remember that creatures in 4E don't really have spells and spell-like abilities like 3ed. To completely eliminate lookup, you'd have to go that route for 3.5: drastically reduce spells and spell-like abilities from all creatures and turn the remaining into special abilities. While I'm not opposed to something like that, it is beyond the scope of the monster book. So if a creature has fireball as a spell-like ability, you'll probably have to look it up. That said, the stat block will no longer contain a huge lists of spells if the creature has ability to cast spells. Knowing how many times a Solar can cast cure light wounds is useless. The spellcasting entry has been simplified to allow the DM to essentially pick and choose which spells he wants the creature to have. Overall, I think you'll find the new stat block a huge improvement and time-saver during play. The stat block has been greatly cleaned up and expanded. [/QUOTE]

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