demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
So on the WoTC site today was posted the next stage in the Design and Development "Craft a Creature" polling thing, which we all know ENWorld did first. But that's not the interesting thing about the article.
It includes a detailed preview of Monster Manual IV
And I have to say my impressions are mixed. On one hand, it uses (as has been alluded to) the condensed statblock introduced for NPCs in the DMG 2, which, when used for monsters and not NPCs, is a concept I despise without sanity or shame. And it appears that by abandoning it, they're also getting rid of randomly generated treasure, at least in the example we're given.
On the other hand, in order to fill a two page spread, the creature's entry is expanded not with an advanced statblock, but detailed information on ecology and society. Cool. And there's even a Knowledge sidebar for DMs who don't feel comfortable winging it or don't want to give too much away by accident.
And the creature itself, a redspawn of Tiamat, is pretty cool - although I think the CR might be a bit off.
Thoughts?
Demiurge out.
It includes a detailed preview of Monster Manual IV
And I have to say my impressions are mixed. On one hand, it uses (as has been alluded to) the condensed statblock introduced for NPCs in the DMG 2, which, when used for monsters and not NPCs, is a concept I despise without sanity or shame. And it appears that by abandoning it, they're also getting rid of randomly generated treasure, at least in the example we're given.
On the other hand, in order to fill a two page spread, the creature's entry is expanded not with an advanced statblock, but detailed information on ecology and society. Cool. And there's even a Knowledge sidebar for DMs who don't feel comfortable winging it or don't want to give too much away by accident.
And the creature itself, a redspawn of Tiamat, is pretty cool - although I think the CR might be a bit off.
Thoughts?
Demiurge out.