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<blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 5944428" data-attributes="member: 87792">I think a lot of it is because although the lore is there, the 4e MM1 is written with all the charm - and all the functionality - of an instruction manual.&nbsp; It does absolutely magnificently at the job that it is intended to do - produce a manual full of useful and detailed monsters that can be referenced and from which the useful information can be extracted in a matter of seconds at the gaming table.&nbsp; It's not designed to be a bedtime story - it's designed to aid good play at the gaming table.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is the feeling I get with a lot of pre-4e monsters.&nbsp; That everything that makes them interesting comes from the DM and that mechanically they are little robots with a painted on surface.&nbsp; Without this paint things fail utterly - but their bones are very close to that of minature ogres.&nbsp;4e kobolds (you're thinking of goblins - kobolds get to shift one square as a minor action and swarm you) come in multiple flavours.&nbsp; The small minions who hide and throw rocks.&nbsp; The vicious slingers who reflect the trapsetting by throwing pots full of noxious chemicals.&nbsp; The lethal little skirmishers who do more damage the further they shift in a turn and are quite capable of hamstringing a PC in two strikes.&nbsp; The rare, tough dragonshields who defend the colony.&nbsp;Even if we add no personality to them beyond that we've a thriving ants nest that doesn't fight fair under any circumstances and that won't let anyone lay their hands on them.&nbsp; They already have a group personality just from the combination of the statblocks and the inherent teamwork that this draws from them.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Neonchameleon, post: 5944428, member: 87792"] I think a lot of it is because although the lore is there, the 4e MM1 is written with all the charm - and all the functionality - of an instruction manual. It does absolutely magnificently at the job that it is intended to do - produce a manual full of useful and detailed monsters that can be referenced and from which the useful information can be extracted in a matter of seconds at the gaming table. It's not designed to be a bedtime story - it's designed to aid good play at the gaming table. This is the feeling I get with a lot of pre-4e monsters. That everything that makes them interesting comes from the DM and that mechanically they are little robots with a painted on surface. Without this paint things fail utterly - but their bones are very close to that of minature ogres. 4e kobolds (you're thinking of goblins - kobolds get to shift one square as a minor action and swarm you) come in multiple flavours. The small minions who hide and throw rocks. The vicious slingers who reflect the trapsetting by throwing pots full of noxious chemicals. The lethal little skirmishers who do more damage the further they shift in a turn and are quite capable of hamstringing a PC in two strikes. The rare, tough dragonshields who defend the colony. Even if we add no personality to them beyond that we've a thriving ants nest that doesn't fight fair under any circumstances and that won't let anyone lay their hands on them. They already have a group personality just from the combination of the statblocks and the inherent teamwork that this draws from them. [/QUOTE]

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