D&D 4E My Stab at 4e Creature Types

[HeavenShallBurn]

Reposting from HR because it's probably more appropriate here and can't get the report thread button to work to ask for a move.

Based on what we've seen in the way of scoops via the DDM2 cards, Races & Classes, and Monsters & Worlds I'm taking a stab at a 4e style creature type system. Probably not an entire match for 4e but this is close as I could come off the top of my head while minimizing unnecessary types or subtypes.

Creature Type/Body Style (Subtype)

Creature Types
Aberration
Construct
Elemental
Exemplar Immortal
Fey
Mortal
Undead

Body Styles
Amorphous
Beast
Dragon
Humanoid
Serpent
Vermin

Subtypes
Alignment Subtypes: Chaos, Evil, Good, Law
Elemental/Energy Subtypes: Air, Cold, Earth, Fire, Water
Exemplar Immortal Subtypes: Angel, Celestial, Fiend*** Angel?, Devil, Demon?
CT/BS Modifying Subtypes: Aquatic, Augmented, Incorporeal, Shapechanger, Swarm

***This is based on changes to the cosmology in my homebrew. See spoiler below if interested

[sblock]I made one infinite outer plane upon which all the deities and exemplars have their realms. When gods or powerful exemplars such as demon lords stake out a claim to an area they create a realm like the godly realms of planescape with their own environment and planar traits mutable to the whim of the entity in question.

Angels are servants of deities, and created by deities, they may serve deities of any alignment. Abilities are swapped to match the alignment of the god they serve.

Most all the planar exemplars still exist they just don't have separate subtypes anymore. Archons, Gaurdinals, Eladrin, and the other celestials retain their differences and essential characters but are all the Celestial subtype. Eladrin have changes to differentiate them from the Fey. This is because Fey are the embodiment of Chaotic Neutral and Slaad are gone. Demons, Devils, Yugoloths, and all the other lower planar exemplars are siloed into the Fiend subtype but are otherwise the same. Inevitables are all constructs not outsiders, though they serve the same purpose with the same flavor.[/sblock]

Anything important I missed, suggestions? Does anyone else have an idea for more Body Styles because I think I covered most of them.

 

[Steely Dan]

This is my take on it so far:

Humans = Medium Natural Humanoid (Human)

Fire Archon = Medium Elemental Humanoid (Fire Archon)

Drow = Medium Fey Humanoid (Drow)

Illithid = Medium Aberration Humanoid (Illithid)

 

[Elphilm]

Illithid = Medium Aberration Humanoid (Illithid)

Medium Aberrant Humanoid (Illithid) sounds a bit less forced. Would Aberrant (or perhaps even Unnatural) work as a label for a creature type?

 

[Steely Dan]

Medium Aberrant Humanoid (Illithid) sounds a bit less forced.

Yeah, it's true; Medium Aberration Humanoid is a bit clunky…Medium Tentacle-Head Humanoid…?

 

[Dunamin]

Exemplar Subtypes: Angel, Celestial, Fiend***

I doubt there will be focus on differentiating Angel from Celestial. Previously, "celestial" was the general term for a good outsider and "angel" a specific race of these.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

I doubt there will be focus on differentiating Angel from Celestial. Previously, "celestial" was the general term for a good outsider and "angel" a specific race of these.

Yeah, that much was based on trying to keep it compatible to my homebrew cosmology. But I expect to see some exemplar subtypes just not arranged the same way as 3e.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Where did the term Exemplar come from?

We know the Spined Devil is an Immortal Humanoid (Devil), so that should be the starting point for these guesses.

Also, I don't think the OP's list of Body Types is correct. Either it is redundant right now, or incomplete. For example, why is there a special category for snakes that is separate from beasts, but no separate category for birds and other winged things?

I think we need more real information before this can get properly sorted out.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Where did the term Exemplar come from?

That was the 2e term for the various outsiders that represented alignments or divine servitors. Essentially synonymous with their use of Immortal.

We know the Spined Devil is an Immortal Humanoid (Devil), so that should be the starting point for these guesses.

Fixing that right now

Also, I don't think the OP's list of Body Types is correct. Either it is redundant right now, or incomplete. For example, why is there a special category for snakes that is separate from beasts, but no separate category for birds and other winged things?

Based the division based on limbs, Beasts have limbs and serpents do not. If you can work up better categories please share, I'm half-way stumped trying to figure out where the dividing lines need to go anyway.

I think we need more real information before this can get properly sorted out.

Notice I didn't tag it scoop. It's very much tentative but that doesn't mean we can try to figure it out anyway.

 

[ZombieRoboNinja]

It might go [Plane] [Type] ([Subtype]), with Subtype optional.

Planes:
Immortal (Astral Sea)
Natural (Prime Material)
Fey (Feywild)
Shade (Shadowfell)
Elemental (Elemental Chaos, including Abyss)
Outsider (Far Realms)

Types:
Humanoid
Aberrant
Beast
Animal (?)
Vermin
Plant
Construct
Undead

Subtypes:
Demon
Devil
Giant
Goblinoid
...

So an elf would be a Fey Humanoid, or maybe Fey Humanoid (Elf), a humanoid demon would be an Elemental Humanoid (Demon), a Mind Flayer would be Outsider Humanoid (Illithid), etc.

 

[Abstraction]

Just combining things from the two lists gives me ideas. Immortal Animal. Fey Construct. Aberrant Undead. Hmmm.

BTW, Aberrant should be in the planar list. It is from the Far Realms.