Podcast: Drow Warrior 1 Usefullness

[Patlin]

Which of the two above would you be more likely to use as written straight out of the monster manual?

The podcast suggested that the Drow Warrior 1 was a pretty pathetic representation of the Drow. I tend to agree. Somewhere on my home PC, I have a writeup of about 6 different drow all with different class levels. For that matter, I have similar pages for Orcs and Githyanki, and probably others.

While I've used the default Orc many times, I can't really see *ever* using the default Drow or Githyanki.

p.s. If there isn't a poll yet, wait 30 seconds and refresh!

 

[pgmason]

Definitely option 2. I like encounters which feel coherent. If the party encounter a drow patrol, it's likely to include a couple of soldiers, an priestess or wizard, and some sort of sneakt scout type - pretty much like an adventuring party. While you can do that in 3.5, it's quite a lot of effort. The 4e approach seems ot make that kind of encounter much easier to prepare.

 

[mmu1]

You need a "neither" option in there.

Though I'm probably marginally more likely to go with option 2 if I had to pick - but it doesn't mean that I would actually want a whole MM done along those lines.

Yeah, it takes some time and effort to design classed humanoid NPCs, but that doesn't make using generic pre-written ones out of a book much of a solution. If I'm going to the trouble of creating an almost-PC, then it's because I actually have a use for all that extra info. If I don't, it takes me a couple of minutes to throw together something that just needs to last a few combat rounds.

 

[Imban]

The Drow Warrior 1 is 100% useless, because you're not going to use it out of the book, and it has class data there that you have to change to build your own Drow NPCs. So... between the two, option two, duh.

However, guidelines for creating your own classed / advanced / templated / what-have-you monsters were one of my favorite DMing things about 3e. "Here are the four types, or you could write up something entirely from scratch. Go with whatever seems Drowish I guess" would be, comparitively, a step back in my mind.

So honestly, it's an overly loaded question.

 

[Patlin]

You've got to take any poll result with a grain of salt... essentially all polls are loaded one way or the other. I thought the example they gave in the podcast was a very good one, though, hence this poll.

It's also been made clear that if you want to add class levels, templates, etc. to build your unique monsters, they *are* giving you all of those tools. So perhaps it's not as loaded a question as you originally thought?

 

[JoelF]

I can't accurately vote in the poll, since I would use both options equally. Drow certainly have foot soldiers, as well as priestesses, assassins, warlocks, and wizards. I'd also use Drow weapon masters, Drow warlords, etc. in addition to the stock warrior 1.

 

[jaelis]

They should have (1) rules for building drow NPCs of any level and (2) a set of sample NPC you can drop right into the game.

A drow warrior 1 plus general NPC rules is one way to provide requirement (1). It's not very useful for requirement (2). So if they have a different way of meeting requirement (1) now, then there's no reason to stat up a warrior 1 anymore.

 

[Vayden]

I would never use a Drow Warrior level 1. The Drow, like both kinds of Gith, are higher level opponents in my mind. CR (or 4E equivalent) in the 7-15 range.

 

[Mirtek]

I would use a drow warrior 1. They're just humanoids that bleed and die like anyone else. They surely have also high level characters among them, but not their rank and file soldiers

 

[kennew142]

I will use neither. There are no drow IMC. Interestingly enough, I've never used them in FR either.