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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 6336837" data-attributes="member: 3586">Obviously you have a twin you don't know about, Obryn! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Anyway, here's Mike Mearls on the issue from an interview with the <a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/tabletop/11554-Inside-the-Launch-of-the-New-Dungeons-Dragons-With-Designer-Mike-Mearls.3" target="_blank">Escapist</a>:Mike Mearls:: So in the [Monster Manual] there aren't too many hard and fast general rules. There's stuff like legendary monsters that are general concepts that creatures use, and we wouldn't want to add that to every stat block because it's either big or once you've learned it once you're just using it again and again. We tried whenever possible that within the stat block we give you everything you need to run the monster. So when you're referring to it you don't have to do much flipping back and forth. There are some spells for monsters, but we tried to make those fairly straightforward spells like fireball that you wouldn't necessarily have to check the Player's Handbook or basic D&D to use.Whenever possible though we tried to give creatures unique abilities. When you look back at 3rd Edition it tried to default to spells. I don't want to say we're doing the opposite, but when it's a unique ability it's faster for us to say "This creature can hurl an area attack that is a burst of fire" instead of saying "This creature can cast fireball." So for instance the Beholder has eye rays, and it says "Here's what happens when when it zots you with its eye rays now make a save" instead of referring to a spell. We tried to use spells only when it's clear that the monster is a spellcaster - like here's an NPC Wizard. There's an appendix on quick-building NPCs. Those creatures will typically use spells. There's a sample acolyte - a divine spellcaster - with a few quick spells.Bolding: That feels like more of an 80s Basic D&D approach, with each creature having its own special abilities.Mearls: Yeah. We also want to make sure that we're not using spells as something abstract. If something is casting fireball we want to be clear that it's actually casting the spell fireball.Bolding: But if it throws blasts of hellfire that's going to be something different?Mearls: Yeah.Cheers!</blockquote>

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