Fifth Element said:
1. We were told what the main reason was, not the only reason.
I should probably be sure to mention that I don't think this is some vast minis-centric conspiracy or something like that. It's pretty much out there in the open, and I don't think it will result in a lot of design constraints. Tiamat is, one could say, a corner case. Generally, it won't matter. Here, it does, and that's why it's being called out.
Jack IV said:
My god, are we still stuck on the idea that Wizards is now designing their tabletop roleplaying game to cater to their minis because they made a very minor adjustment to one creature on one page of one sourcebook in order to please those who might have an Aspect of Tiamat mini? I feel like every time the question comes up, people forget that the conversation at Wizards probably went a little something like this:
"Hmmm, what size should she be... well, there's a mini out for Aspect of Tiamat, so if we make her huge, all of the people who have the miniture will be able to use it to represent her. No biggie! I think they'll appreciate that accomidation!"
Instead, it seems like everyone thinks this is going on:
"Hmmm, what size should she be... oh, I know, she should be whatever size the miniture is! If we keep making everything the size of minitures, people will buy more and more and more of our products. Those stupid saps... and they think we care about Dungeons & Dragons..."
You're being disingenuous, here. I never suspected or insinuated that this is some vast evil plot to rob me. Rather, I think it's dumb to let the minis constrain what the game can do. I understand why that decision is made, basically (and let's not pretend it's not partially a financial decision), but it's a limiting logic process. The baddest things in the game should be the BIGGEST things in the game, and the reason they're not in this case is Plastic Logic. That is, from my perspective, hilariously bad. So I call them out for it.
I don't really begrudge minis play. I don't blame WotC for going into the Minis business. What deserves to be called out, though, is when WotC lets pastic logic dictate what exists in D&D (and how it exists). They get it backwards, then. Minis are an aid to the D&D game. The Draconomicon does not exist, fundamentally, to sell Tiamat minis. It exists to enhance my D&D game. When they forget that (as they did here, by giving me a Tiamat that doesn't enhance my game as much as it could), they have earned my public derision.
Jack IV said:
Yeah, like the release of the next edition is going to be some judgement day where everyone is going to be happy and there will be no edition wars.
I think that this is something that can be compromised on (and even something we'll probably see in the rest of 4e). I would wager that we will not see a new gargantuan creature...I dunno...ever. Or at least until they can figure out how to make a profitable Gargantuan mini.
If we're lucky (because I know they've heard this line from me before, and they have been listening, so it's gotta be in their heads
somewhere) we'll get some sort of "setpiece battle" system that combines every feature of a successful adventure into a great synchronous mechanism of ultimate high-level kick-butt-itude.
I would hope that a 5e Monster Manual might be less of an encyclopedia of stats, and more of a series of lairs, challenges, threats, traps, and, yes, giant setpiece battles, different rules for different sorts of encounters, dungeon ecology, and all that a DM needs to challenge his PC's. Perhaps even the 4e Monster Manual 2 will be like that.
You like minis? Cool beans, have fun. But the moment a plastic toy starts to negatively affect my game even a little, I'm going to call that out, because it means that my game is worse.
And if WotC cares about your game more than my game because you also buy minis, I think their priorities are FUBAR'd, and perhaps need to stop supporting them. I don't think that's their belief, but the more times Plastic Logic thrusts its vacuum-sealed petroleum nose into my game, the more times I need to tell it that sooner or later, I'm going to cut it the heck off.
