Templates: anyone want to take a guess?

[NaturalZero]

The Dire-X is an interesting candidate for Template. Just make it a size larger, increase damage die by one step, +100% HP, etc., whatever. I guess Emperor Dragooz' Storm Troopers are just Dire Humans.

Arent there otherwise mundane animals with special powers in the Desert of Desolation set (i only own a few pieces)? I wouldnt be surprised if the devs thought regular old dire animals were too boring and instead replaced them with mundane animals that had unique fantasy abilities tacked on.

 

[WyzardWhately]

Don't care what they are.

Very interested in how they are implemented. I'm hoping for ...

+50 hps
+5 AC bonus
+10 damage per attack (melee/ranged)
x/day can do X
y/encounter can also do Y
at/will can do Y
Vulnerabilties

DONE

If the game operates by a per-encounter model (that seems to be the underlying theory) I wouldn't expect to see bad guys with both per-encounter and per-day abilities. They'd pretty much amount to the same thing. I suspect per-encounter only, since in most circumstances it wouldn't make any difference.

Did the Pit Fiend have any per/day abilities?

 

[Mentat55]

I think lycanthropes could easily be modeled by varying the level and role of a universal lycanthrope statblock. E.g., a wererat is a Level 8 Lurker with the Infected Bite special ability, the weretiger is a Level 12 Skirmisher with Pounce, and the werebear is a Level 16 Brute with a Crushing Hug attack.

Something like the lich would make sense for a 4E template. Take a normal Mastermind/Controller/Leader-type monster with magical abilities (or a creature with cleric, wizard, or warlock powers), and bump it up into the elite range with the lich template.

 

[Remathilis]

Im willing to bet the farm that, based on the zombie article, we will not see templates like vampire, ghost, lycanthrope, mummy, ect. Instead, there will be different stock versions (vampire lord = elite vamp, mummy pharoh = solo mummy, Werewolf Ripper = werewolf striker) of such monsters that the DM can describe however he wants.

EDIT: Forget i even mentioned vampires.

See, lich makes just as much sense as death knight (they are analogous, one warrior, one caster) and ghost would be a catch-all for non-specific incorporeal monsters (opposed to stat-blocked wraiths, shadows, etc). I don't forsee seeing umbral, mummified, gravetouched, and a number of other "monster becomes template" undead, but those three seem pretty iconic for making a variety of elites with.

 

[EATherrian]

Reread the preview. The Vampire Vizier miniature is a creature that has had the Vampire Lord template applied to it.

My question is does he advise vampires or is he a vampire advisor? See, 4e is too confusing!

 

[WyzardWhately]

My question is does he advise vampires or is he a vampire advisor? See, 4e is too confusing!

I can't decide if it's another Noun+Noun or if Vampire works as an adjective also. Interpreting it as an adjective seems pernicious, because we already have the word Vampiric. However, vampire-as-adjective v. vampiric (already an adjective) could have some non-trivial difference in connotation.

 

[Novem5er]

Let's not forget that Zombies became single-bloc monsters because WotC said "there's no difference between a human or an orc zombie and special skills in life don't transfer over when you're shambling around and hunting for brains" (paraphrased of course).

Basically, whatever a zombie was BEFORE it was turned doesn't matter. Keep in mind that there are also different types of zombies, that are each single-bloc monsters.

With those two guidelines, we can take a guess at other templates.

Take the Ghost for instance. I can see the designers saying that a ghost's previous life has no bearing on a ghost's current powers. There might be different types of ghosts (poltergeist, malefactor, etc), but the "base creature" would have no affect on said ghosts powers or stats. Thus, I could see ghosts NOT being a template.

Lycanthropes are debatable. I could see two arguments:

1. A creature retains its pre-lyc skills, feats, powers, personality after it's been turned, thus each lycanthrope will be unique. Template.

2. An infected creature is so overcome with the disease that they LOSE all their pre-lyc skills, feats, powers, etc. All werewolves are generally the same, as their animal instinct takes over. There will be different single-bloc lycanthropes (wereboar, werewolf, werewolf lord, etc), but NO template.

I can see templates applied to creatures that retain their intelligence or pre-template powers.
Thus, vampires make sense.
Liches make sense.
Deathknights.
Mummies would be a possibility.
I think Lycanthropes are still a good candidate, but I'm not sure if it'd be one template or if each animal type would eat up one of those coveted template slots.

I think that each of the planes would also get a template, so we can easily populate the planes with their own flora and fauna. Shadow, Fey, and even Elemental ("Crap! It's an Earthen Thundertusk Boar!").

I also think there will be an "advanced" template, which can be applied to almost any monster to make it bigger/stronger. There has been mention of a Large UmberHulk and a Huge UmberHulk on the same page. I suspect that a template was used and will be included in the DMG, but that common examples of that template might be in the MM to fill space.

 

[Mirtek]

My question is does he advise vampires or is he a vampire advisor? See, 4e is too confusing!

If he is an advisor who advises vampires he's a vampire advisor.
If he is an advisor who became a vampire he's an advisor vampire.
If he is an advisor who became a vampire and advises vampires he's an vampire advisor vampire