D&D 4E More 4e monsters to drool at

[LordArchaon]

Desert of Desolation miniature stat cards are out.

There are a couple of things that we'll probably see in the true D&D version of these creatures too...

A list of the things I thought were "remarkable"..:

• The Yuan-ti Malison has a fear power that literally keeps foes at bay, allowing it to use its poison arrows for more rounds.
• Werewolves seem to be characterized by becoming nastier after bloodied, much like demons are supposed to do.
• Confused seems to be a standard state.
• A cultist has this nasty ability to make the nearest ally attack in his place for free.
• Fire elementals will be able to damage all the creatures they pass by while moving (expending a per-encounter power), which I think is very cinematic...
• Ettercaps and Driders have AT WILL web-shooting... Nasty. There seem to be a "Spider" type... Strange choice.
• Drows seem to be all very good at concealing themselves and have nasty team-work/ally-buffing abilities related to poison damage.
• The Bar-lgura is really nasty: when bloodied his attacks push the target one square and they can literally abduct creatures. I wonder how this abduction will work in the MM version.
• The Naga will surely be divination-themed, since it has two "oracle" abilities which give "victory points" to the miniature's player using them. I bet you'll never surprise a Naga.
• Swarms exist and they function pretty much the same way as before. They seem to be difficult to damage with physical attacks.
• Cyclops are cool: They have blindsight, a per-encounter "Evil Eye" who makes them retaliate when an attack misses them, and an "Unstoppable Charge" that boosts AC by 2 and damage by 10. They are Fey.
• Combat Advantage grants ADDITIONAL attacks to the Blade Spider...
• Shadar-Kai are the coolest ones as we all thought. Gain concealment when moving, gain invisibility when they have cover... And they have reach and sneak attack.
• Nightmares may be standard mounts for undeads it seems. Their smoke aura grants cover to both them and the riders.
• Manticores seem to be standard mounts for Goblins...
• The Guardian Mummy is my favorite so far. All enemies within 2 squares that suffer Necrotic damage are also immobilized by fear. Good "faer of the dark" theme. Oh, and their main attack may deal Necrotic damage of course.
• Metallics still have two types of breath. Copper has acid and slow.
• Gelatinous Cube relies on a "Spasm" attack to render the foes helpless before being able to engulf them. It has this poetic "Wandering Monster" descriptor... Which might tell us that there are special rules for these "wandering monsters".
• Melf now invented a Unicorn Arrow for his acid-hating elven fellows...
• The famous Blackwoods Dryad appears to be both Fey and Plant in nature, and has entangling attacks and a whole aura like effects that impedes movement near it
• Warhorses seem to be mounts for humans and elves only, this is racism! :\ However they grant +10 damage when charging...
• A farmer's +6 attack deals 10 damage... And they got 10 HP.
• Bruenor Battlehammer has a 3e style Keen axe...
• Boars became dwarfs' domain... I'm accustomed to boar-riding orcs, not dwarfs! Fortunately, this is merely fluff.
• The Tail Sweep attack of the Ankylosaur now named Macetail Behemoth (well, it's a more appropriate name in D&D), stuns and damages enemies and recharges when the craeture destroys a stunned enemy...
• Warhammers and mauls in particular, I guess they'll have correlated feats that will transform them in stunning attacks. Or maybe they will just be Fighter's powers.
• The Angel of Vengeance is a pain: if it marks you, it can reach you by teleport wherever you are.

That's all, give a look to the cards yourself, you will probably discover details you'll like

 

[Dunamin]

All around interesting tidbits.

[*]The Bar-lgura is really nasty: when bloodied his attacks push the target one square and they can literally abduct creatures. I wonder how this abduction will work in the MM version.

Probably somewhat like the current edition. The bar'lgura makes a grab and/or an attack vs Will, and if succesful the victim is teleported along with the demon (adjacent to it and within its teleport move speed). I'm guessing it will just be keyed off a successful grab, going with the trend of fewer rolls and simpler mechanics.

[*]Manticores seem to be standard mounts for Goblins...

I doubt it. Worgs are the classic goblin mounts, I’m guessing manticores perhaps are a rare case.

[*]Warhorses seem to be mounts for humans and elves only, this is racism! :\ However they grant +10 damage when charging...

It would make no sense for that one to make its way into real D&D. Why should a warhorse be able to carry a human but not a tiefling?

 

[hong]

It would make no sense for that one to make its way into real D&D. Why should a warhorse be able to carry a human but not a tiefling?

That tail, mang, that tail.

Yet another reason I will be banning tiefling tails in any campaign of mine.

 

[Derren]

It would make no sense for that one to make its way into real D&D. Why should a warhorse be able to carry a human but not a tiefling?

Why do rings only work at level 10?

But I agree, thats too silly even for 4E.

 

[hong]

Why do rings only work at level 10?

Why not?

 

[Sammael]

Why not?

Because level is a metagame concept?

 

[hong]

Because level is a metagame concept?

It's all about mojo, d00d.

 

[Dunamin]

I guess the activation limit of magical rings could be reasoned by "needing enough inner strength to unlock its true power" or some such. Anyway, that's off-topic.

The critters seem pretty interesting to me but I don't know much about the Minis game - whats that "victory area" they talk about with the bar-lgura?

 

[Steely Dan]

Because level is a metagame concept?

Okay, then why should a wizard have to wait till a certain level to get certain levels of spell in the current edition, since level is a meta-game concept?

 

[Derren]

I guess the activation limit of magical rings could be reasoned by "needing enough inner strength to unlock its true power" or some such. Anyway, that's off-topic.

You can also come up with reasons like "normal horses shy avay from teh demonic nature of tieflings and can't be controlled by them so tieflings need to ride demon horses".