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New "Lore On Giants" Preview from Volo's Guide to Monsters
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<blockquote data-quote="Dualazi" data-source="post: 7701694" data-attributes="member: 6855537"><p>Not at all true. Strip away the names and lore and no one would mistake a Mind Flayer for a dragon, nor a beholder for a giant. One of the most common complaints about the 5e MM is how bland the monsters are, and you could craft a finely made novel spanning the history of the species, their culture, and their origins, but if that monster has a basic multiattack and nothing else it’s still bland and uninteresting, in my opinion.</p><p></p><p>On the flipside, a mechanically interesting creature can be interesting without regards to how much or how little you know about it. Plus, I would hazard a guess that it’s easier for people to think up fluff for things than it is to create comprehensive or smooth rules, so I’m firmly in the camp that less fluff and more crunch is the way to go. I can’t get too mad at Volo’s for this since it’s being sort of marketed on fluff as well, but with the anemic release schedule of 5e I feel for people pain when they want more.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Unless we end up with 50 good ones, 50 stinkers, and fluff for both. I feel quite certain there will be content in this book that is lacking, as is the case for most products. The reduced page count doesn’t help with this, either.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Definitely disagree. In other threads on what people want in MM2, users have posted hundreds of ideas they’d like to see. It’s also a great way for wizards to expand into new territory, since as you said, MM1 is pretty much reserved for the icons of the game. I harped on this earlier as well, but in terms of better math there’s definitely a subset of people on this very board who would like more dynamic encounters/monsters and better high-level threats, which are also great for a 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] MM.</p><p></p><p>I would also charge that this book is actually less likely to improve the game than a hypothetical MM2. With Volo’s, you not only have fewer creatures, but now you have a bunch of fluff pages you’ll have to re-write if you don’t play FR. It’s simultaneously more niche and less content heavy.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dualazi, post: 7701694, member: 6855537"] Not at all true. Strip away the names and lore and no one would mistake a Mind Flayer for a dragon, nor a beholder for a giant. One of the most common complaints about the 5e MM is how bland the monsters are, and you could craft a finely made novel spanning the history of the species, their culture, and their origins, but if that monster has a basic multiattack and nothing else it’s still bland and uninteresting, in my opinion. On the flipside, a mechanically interesting creature can be interesting without regards to how much or how little you know about it. Plus, I would hazard a guess that it’s easier for people to think up fluff for things than it is to create comprehensive or smooth rules, so I’m firmly in the camp that less fluff and more crunch is the way to go. I can’t get too mad at Volo’s for this since it’s being sort of marketed on fluff as well, but with the anemic release schedule of 5e I feel for people pain when they want more. Unless we end up with 50 good ones, 50 stinkers, and fluff for both. I feel quite certain there will be content in this book that is lacking, as is the case for most products. The reduced page count doesn’t help with this, either. Definitely disagree. In other threads on what people want in MM2, users have posted hundreds of ideas they’d like to see. It’s also a great way for wizards to expand into new territory, since as you said, MM1 is pretty much reserved for the icons of the game. I harped on this earlier as well, but in terms of better math there’s definitely a subset of people on this very board who would like more dynamic encounters/monsters and better high-level threats, which are also great for a 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] MM. I would also charge that this book is actually less likely to improve the game than a hypothetical MM2. With Volo’s, you not only have fewer creatures, but now you have a bunch of fluff pages you’ll have to re-write if you don’t play FR. It’s simultaneously more niche and less content heavy. [/QUOTE]
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New "Lore On Giants" Preview from Volo's Guide to Monsters
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