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<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5669019" data-attributes="member: 82106">I wonder if the problem is less stat blocks and more expectations. If you go back to AD&amp;D modules standard monsters that appeared in the MM/FF/MM2 (in 1e) didn't get ANY stats, just their hit points, and MAYBE hit dice/ac/#AT/dmg in some modules. It was simply assumed you would look them up if you needed more information. If a monster was new or maybe if it appeared in a more obscure publication then the full MM style stat block showed up in an appendix at the end of the module. Even in cases where a monster was a minor variation of an existing monster often the difference would just be noted without a whole statblock.Obviously AD&amp;D monsters COULD be pretty simple and for a 1e orc you hardly needed more than a couple of numbers to run it in 99% of all cases, but really for most standard/minion 4e monsters it is often a pretty similar situation.Normally if I write up an adventure I will attach copies of the stat blocks to it for use at the table, but nowadays without hit points varying you can pretty much just write up a room as &quot;3 orc warriors&quot; (for the monster part anyway). Maybe crunched up stat blocks are handy, but I'm undecided. Obviously smaller is better if it doesn't require any sacrifice, but otherwise it is hard to say. Anyway, it is an interesting experiment and I encourage you to continue playing with it. I do like the concept of using icons and little boxes to organize things. I think that picks each thing out better. I'd actually just get rid of labels like &quot;HP&quot; at this point and just put the number inside the shield. Likewise with F/R/W I would just use the single letter abbreviations or even just have 3 boxes with a number in each and some styling to indicate it is defenses, we can remember the order they come in.As for stats, you COULD do the same thing, just have 6 boxes, maybe with a little letter in the corner for each stat's name to make it a bit easier to read, takes up one line, conveys a lot of less vital but often useful info.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 5669019, member: 82106"] I wonder if the problem is less stat blocks and more expectations. If you go back to AD&D modules standard monsters that appeared in the MM/FF/MM2 (in 1e) didn't get ANY stats, just their hit points, and MAYBE hit dice/ac/#AT/dmg in some modules. It was simply assumed you would look them up if you needed more information. If a monster was new or maybe if it appeared in a more obscure publication then the full MM style stat block showed up in an appendix at the end of the module. Even in cases where a monster was a minor variation of an existing monster often the difference would just be noted without a whole statblock. Obviously AD&D monsters COULD be pretty simple and for a 1e orc you hardly needed more than a couple of numbers to run it in 99% of all cases, but really for most standard/minion 4e monsters it is often a pretty similar situation. Normally if I write up an adventure I will attach copies of the stat blocks to it for use at the table, but nowadays without hit points varying you can pretty much just write up a room as "3 orc warriors" (for the monster part anyway). Maybe crunched up stat blocks are handy, but I'm undecided. Obviously smaller is better if it doesn't require any sacrifice, but otherwise it is hard to say. Anyway, it is an interesting experiment and I encourage you to continue playing with it. I do like the concept of using icons and little boxes to organize things. I think that picks each thing out better. I'd actually just get rid of labels like "HP" at this point and just put the number inside the shield. Likewise with F/R/W I would just use the single letter abbreviations or even just have 3 boxes with a number in each and some styling to indicate it is defenses, we can remember the order they come in. As for stats, you COULD do the same thing, just have 6 boxes, maybe with a little letter in the corner for each stat's name to make it a bit easier to read, takes up one line, conveys a lot of less vital but often useful info. [/QUOTE]

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