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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Statblocks vs adventures: Where's the balance?
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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 5632478" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>One of the great things about 4e in this regard is the handy division of monsters into minions, standards, elites, and solos. IMO a missed opportunity was presenting these mechanical categories differently graphically. </p><p></p><p>A minion could read like 3 lines of text, like the bracketed stuff from OD&D; it would have one defense, one attack and/or schtik, and not much else. Using the 4e monster stat block to depict a minion is like using a pneumatic tamper to hammer in a nail.</p><p></p><p>A standard monster would be like a 4e monster but would lack ability scores, any relevant skill would be folded into it's abilities, there would be one high defense noted and the others would be average.</p><p></p><p>Elites (mini-bosses and named NPCs) would be presented the way they are in 4e... but with fewer wordy powers like the Roper's "tentacle grab" and "stony form" which could be edited down to a line or two each.</p><p></p><p>Solos would be designed a little differently with a strong tie to the environment and abilities that break the rules. I would look to AngryDM's boss monster ideas for how to present a solo, especially how it's stat block might change during the encounter. IOW solos merit a better tool to depict them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 5632478, member: 20323"] One of the great things about 4e in this regard is the handy division of monsters into minions, standards, elites, and solos. IMO a missed opportunity was presenting these mechanical categories differently graphically. A minion could read like 3 lines of text, like the bracketed stuff from OD&D; it would have one defense, one attack and/or schtik, and not much else. Using the 4e monster stat block to depict a minion is like using a pneumatic tamper to hammer in a nail. A standard monster would be like a 4e monster but would lack ability scores, any relevant skill would be folded into it's abilities, there would be one high defense noted and the others would be average. Elites (mini-bosses and named NPCs) would be presented the way they are in 4e... but with fewer wordy powers like the Roper's "tentacle grab" and "stony form" which could be edited down to a line or two each. Solos would be designed a little differently with a strong tie to the environment and abilities that break the rules. I would look to AngryDM's boss monster ideas for how to present a solo, especially how it's stat block might change during the encounter. IOW solos merit a better tool to depict them. [/QUOTE]
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Statblocks vs adventures: Where's the balance?
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