New Podcast Posted!

[JVisgaitis]

Downloading it in iTunes now. Haven't heard it yet, but the title is "Monsters, Monsters, Monsters!". Right up my alley.

 

[Rechan]

(Had to get a friend to convert it from m4a to mp3 so I could hear it. Bleh. )

I'm listening to it as I type this.

In: Roc.
Out: Frost Giant.

Monsters shot in the head: Elementals only differentiated between Size and Element, Guardinals.

James Wyatt sounds really uncomfortable when talking.

just last week I was complaining how Orcs vs. Gnolls, Goblins vs. Kobolds, operated the same, and how they should vary them up. Looks like they're doing that - gnolls fight in packs, goblins dodge just around your reach.

 

[DaveMage]

In: Roc.
Out: Frost Giant.

No frost giant? You're kidding, right?

 

[Rechan]

No frost giant? You're kidding, right?

Nope. Wyatt explained that what they're doing is that they want to drive home the point that the MM1 isn't "The Core MM"; if the MM1 doesn't have Frost Giants, that doesn't mean "You don't have frost giants in your game". All MMs are Core.

MY COMMENTS:

So I suspect that various critters are going to be spread out., making each book legitimate, rather than MM1 = Core, MM2-5 = not important to your game, but a nice suggestion. Which probably also means "If you want X in your game, you'll have to Wait for it and then buy MM12 so you can have medusa" (I pulled that out of my butt).

 

[MerricB]

I think we're likely to have more "themed" monster manuals, which would fit a particular setting-view.

Mind you, if they use Thor in the PHB, they really, really need Frost Giants in the MM!

Cheers!

 

[DandD]

Although, the Frost Giants of Mythology aren't like the big ice barbarian, but more akin to deities with another name (and of course really really big).

 

[DaveMage]

Nope. Wyatt explained that what they're doing is that they want to drive home the point that the MM1 isn't "The Core MM"; if the MM1 doesn't have Frost Giants, that doesn't mean "You don't have frost giants in your game". All MMs are Core.

So I suspect that various critters are going to be spread out., making each book legitimate, rather than MM1 = Core, MM2-5 = not important to your game, but a nice suggestion. Which probably also means "If you want X in your game, you'll have to Wait for it and then buy MM12 so you can have medusa" (I pulled that out of my butt).

Wow.

I'm...speechless.

 

[Rechan]

I stopped listening because SUPERNATURAL is on.

Speculation: The Mindflayer won't come out until the Psionic rules are out.

 

[Vigilance]

Wow.

I'm...speechless.

How many giants do you really need in the first MM?

 

[Greenfaun]

Just finished it. Sounds pretty cool, I love the idea of synergistic groups of monsters and hordes of low-level monsters being just as easy to use as big-boss type monsters.

The monster roles seem a little muddled, still. For instance, there are, by my count:

Brutes
Soldiers
Artillery
Controllers
Ringleaders? (is that what he called the hobgoblin caster?)
Skirmishers

and also weak monsters for use in hordes, and also solo "boss" monsters with lots of power and options (dragons), and ALSO "Elite" versions of the top 5, that "cost" double XP (right? that's the impression that I got) but are still used in groups...

It's not unreasonable, but it doesn't quite seem elegant yet either.

Still, overall, I'm REALLY glad these are the sort of design priorities that they have. Even if they don't execute it as well as they want to, trying to build monsters from this sort of underlying principle seems like the path to coolness to me.