Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Million Dollar TTRPG Crowdfunders
Most Anticipated Tabletop RPGs Of The Year
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Please tell me how I am reading this wrong.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 3800469" data-attributes="member: 5143"><p>I just don't think it'll be that scientific. They've said that monster creation in 3E was more science than art. One of the designers has said that in 4E, it will be more art than science.</p><p></p><p>Not to say there isn't science behind it. However, I believe the science will be closer to: We know that brute monsters should hit about x percent of the time and do approximately x damage at x level. We've had the mathematically inclined on our staff do probability models on this sort of thing and figured out formulas and write them down for us. We also know that probability is such that the to hit numbers can be adjusted by x before it becomes too high or too low. I don't know the math, so I don't know what X is. And it might be that stalker monsters have a different x than brutes, etc.</p><p></p><p>It's likely to be pretty complicated, number wise such that if they have 6 or 7 different monster types and the numbers vary depending on various factors, it might be a 30 or 40 page spreadsheet with their numbers.</p><p></p><p>That's when the art begins. If you know the numbers that work at each level and type, then you need to create monsters. Each monster has to stay within the numbers, but WHERE it is in each range is up to the designer. Should Goblin Stalkers have more pluses to hit or less than the average for their level? What about damage? Saves? Skills? Feats?</p><p></p><p>Then what special abilities can we give the creature so it "feels" like a goblin? What abilities can we give it that make it feel like a Stalker?</p><p></p><p>I know other people disagree with me, but the amount of information required to create creatures using a system like that would have to fill a book all by itself. I don't see them giving that information to us in the Monster Manual or DMG. Especially not with 300 monsters in 288 pages. Plus, the last step can't really be answered by a table or a talent tree. Each monster needs to be different, so it needs to have abilities and customization made just for it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Majoru Oakheart, post: 3800469, member: 5143"] I just don't think it'll be that scientific. They've said that monster creation in 3E was more science than art. One of the designers has said that in 4E, it will be more art than science. Not to say there isn't science behind it. However, I believe the science will be closer to: We know that brute monsters should hit about x percent of the time and do approximately x damage at x level. We've had the mathematically inclined on our staff do probability models on this sort of thing and figured out formulas and write them down for us. We also know that probability is such that the to hit numbers can be adjusted by x before it becomes too high or too low. I don't know the math, so I don't know what X is. And it might be that stalker monsters have a different x than brutes, etc. It's likely to be pretty complicated, number wise such that if they have 6 or 7 different monster types and the numbers vary depending on various factors, it might be a 30 or 40 page spreadsheet with their numbers. That's when the art begins. If you know the numbers that work at each level and type, then you need to create monsters. Each monster has to stay within the numbers, but WHERE it is in each range is up to the designer. Should Goblin Stalkers have more pluses to hit or less than the average for their level? What about damage? Saves? Skills? Feats? Then what special abilities can we give the creature so it "feels" like a goblin? What abilities can we give it that make it feel like a Stalker? I know other people disagree with me, but the amount of information required to create creatures using a system like that would have to fill a book all by itself. I don't see them giving that information to us in the Monster Manual or DMG. Especially not with 300 monsters in 288 pages. Plus, the last step can't really be answered by a table or a talent tree. Each monster needs to be different, so it needs to have abilities and customization made just for it. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Please tell me how I am reading this wrong.
Top