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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alphastream" data-source="post: 6116838" data-attributes="member: 11365">I was never a big fan of class levels for monsters/NPCs. I would spend a lot of time on them, and yet the benefit to players was very low. This was true in 1E and 2E, but especially in 3E. I basically gave up on creating monsters for 3E. When I contributed to organized play I would go through a very common process where a 'story guy' (like me) was teamed up with a 'stats guy' (someone who could create monsters). While you could find men and women that liked both, in general an author was vehemently in one camp or the other. And yet, a person well-versed in monster creation (using feats, non-associated levels, etc.) was critical to challenging PCs. This seemed to turn a lot of people away from DMing 3E. I took about a year to just play 3E before I finally began DMing, and the greatest reason was that I wasn't confident running foes with spellcaster levels.4E was far more approachable. Monsters (especially after MMIII) came with everything they needed and could be scaled up in level easily. Powers captured all types of abilities, making everything scalable and preventing at-the-table look-ups. In running tons of organized play tables/conventions, the difference was really pronounced. Far less page-turning, no need to have books at the table, far fewer arguments, volunteer DMs could run well, etc. In other RPGs, I've enjoyed systems like Spycraft 2.0 (and even Shadowrun 4), where foes could be created rather quickly. Of course, all systems/editions have drawbacks and benefits, and style preferences often dictate what any one GM or player prefers. I've so far liked what D&D Next has provided. It takes the feel of 2E (at times 3E) and brings in some of the simplicity of 4E. In many cases spells are turned into an abbreviated form, so we don't have to look up details. That's my preference. Every time a Next monster does force me to look up a spell, I gain very little from the process. I would rather see monsters be self-contained. I'm also fine with abstracting magic somewhat - I don't need an NPC wizard's lightning bolt to be the exact specifications as a PC wizard's, nor does a foe's tactical move need to be an actual feat. And I certainly don't want to read through all of the text on Magic Jar, the way I did when running 3E adventures. That really slows me down. Most importantly, I don't want to review a level 16 foe and have to spend hours reviewing a spell list. I <a href="http://community.wizards.com/alphastream1/blog/2012/06/12/addendum:_dnd_next_monster_design_and_organized_play" target="_blank">wrote a little about monster design here</a>, noting how difficult it can be to read older stat block formats.</blockquote>

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