Rust Monster Lovin'

[el-remmen]

And for those who so like the Rust Monster, how about a creature that can permenantly suck spells out of the mind/spellbook of a Wizard/Sorceror as a ranged attack? Or can eat skill points? Sound like fun?

I'd love it. I am all for things that cause PCs to improvise and think outside of the box to handle the adversity of adventuring.

 

[jgbrowning]

I think in a way we may be speaking to the same point by way of butting heads.

There's another way to agree? Mind-boggling.

joe b.

 

[Mycanid]

Well John ... my first thought was that a sundered item could be "blowtorched" back together to work fairly well. A metal item reduced to a pile of rust could not. So the effects may be rather different. I think the Rusting Grasp spell mechanics may be a more reliable way to go....

 

[frankthedm]

Wimpy player coddling from wotc, what else is new?


I LOVE the advanced rust monster in dragon magazine that is accompanied by samurai wraiths that commited seppuku after loosing thier Katanas to the beasty.

 

[Knight Otu]

Wimpy player coddling from wotc, what else is new?

Of course, with the added climb speed, the skill point and feat shuffle, and the increased bite damage, one could make a point that the rust monster is now much more dangerous to those "wimpy players." With all this whining that the rust monster is no longer instantly item-wrecking, that shouldn't be forgotten.

 

[Ourph]

And for those who so like the Rust Monster, how about a creature that can permenantly suck spells out of the mind/spellbook of a Wizard/Sorceror as a ranged attack? Or can eat skill points?

Obliviax? Disenchanter? Anyone remember these?

Sound like fun?

Heck yes it does!

BTW - Nerfed Rust Monster? Blech!

The rust monster provides an encounter where the non-melee guys (thieves, magic-users) get to whack the stuffing out of something in melee while the usual melee guys hide in the back ranks. Upping the damage capacity and reducing the rusting ability totally misses the point of the creature and reduces it to "just another monster" instead of the unusual and mold-breaking encounter that it's supposed to be. Possibly the Worst Gaming Article Evertm.

 

[Mycanid]

To give one instance. In one of my adventures way back when when the party encountered a rust monster deep in a series of caverns the magic user walked right up to it and held it at bay with his staff while the fighters and such filled it full of arrows and crossbow bolts. What are missile weapons for anyway, eh? And the wizard took great delight in being the front line against the fearsome beastie, desperately trying to beat the stuffing out of it with his staff!

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I concur. Worst Article EVAR! Everythign must fit the same mold these days and be explained or codified in comparison with everything else or the whole thing falls apart.

This has just inspiried me to put a rust monster in my next session, they are only 1st and 2nd level so it will be fun.

 

[The_Gneech]

Of course, with the added climb speed, the skill point and feat shuffle, and the increased bite damage, one could make a point that the rust monster is now much more dangerous to those "wimpy players." With all this whining that the rust monster is no longer instantly item-wrecking, that shouldn't be forgotten.

Unfortunately, that also turns it into just another damage-dealing melee machine. Kinda destroys the whole point of the critter.

-The Gneech

 

[ValhallaGH]

I've never seen a Rust Monster in play before. Why? Because everyone I've ever played with has found the Rust ability to be absolutely no fun. As a player I've had a first level barbarian have to solo a displacer beast (she barely pulled it off, too) and I've had fourth level characters that had to fight a purple worm (we barely one) but I have never had to fight a Rust Monster and will never fight the Monster Manual 3.5 Rust Monster because no one in any of my groups finds it to be fun.

The proprosed Rust Monster in the article is a challenge that I'd actually like to face as a player and that I'd like to use as a DM. It would allow for a creature that is fearsome and dangerous without ruining the fun of both myself and the rest of the table as we try to work around the complete lack of some very unique gear.

Obviously some groups are composed of very different people and find the existing Rust Monster to be interesting, fun and exciting. More power to them. It doesn't work for my games and I'm glad to see a version that I'd actually enjoy playing.