Tidbits from PHB Viewing

[Kitirat]

Yeah, I was just kidding with the broken comment. Honestly, humans may be a better *specialist* in certain scenarios now...possibly a better specialist then a jack of all trades, actually, as the extra at will makes them even more impressive in that role.

Best, can you throw out the complete half-elf stats?

+1 to allies diplo,
1 at will becomes encounter,
The standard stat and skill bumps,
is that it? Seems way under the other races. For example the human can get the same bonus, plus an extra at-will, extra skill, and extra +1 to all defenses by taking a multi-class feat as his extra.

See ya,
Ken

 

[Victim]

Best, can you throw out the complete half-elf stats?

+1 to allies diplo,
1 at will becomes encounter,
The standard stat and skill bumps,
is that it? Seems way under the other races. For example the human can get the same bonus, plus an extra at-will, extra skill, and extra +1 to all defenses by taking a multi-class feat as his extra.

See ya,
Ken

Half Elves get two stat bonuses, humans get one.

 

[Dire Bare]

Yes, that's what I had been thinking too considering that WotC started out saying that "all but one" of the Dungeons of Dread minis would be in the first MM but then changed that statement after the new year to say that "all of them" would be. Looks like someone screwed up somewhere. Either that or the metallics yo-yoed in and out of the MM until they were finally left out for good.

Oh good lord! No one "screwed up", sheesh. WotC clearly stated that one mini from Dungeons of Dread would not appear in MMI based on the information they had at that time. I could frakking care less if that has changed or not since then, or if someone from WotC later "misspoke" and said all minis from DoD would be in the MMI. I doubt you are trying to slam WotC here Puki, but the tone of your post brings to mind all the overblown claims of "WotC lied to us again!" or "WotC, those incompetent fools!". Or maybe I'm just oversensitive.

 

[Dire Bare]

What annoys me is that they made such a big deal about how the Capricous Copper Dragon's design was based on work being done in 4th edition. Then they highlighted Mettalics in World and Monsters. They even went on about how Brass and Bronze dragons were getting replaced by Iron and Adamantite.

Then we got hit with the Young Silver Dragon in Dungeons of Dread, the second large silver in the DDM line. Apparently there is going to be a Huge Silver Dragon in Against the Giants, which would be the second Huge Silver in a row (of the Huge sets). Why did they waste so much space on the Metallics when they could have included minis from the 4th edition MM?

The 4th edition Draconomicon is supposed to be focused on chromatics. When is WOTC going to include Metallics? Even further, if we have to wait till next years MM II for Metallics, when will we see the off shoot dragons like the Gem Dragons, Fang, Shadow, or Deep?

Soooooo . . .

How dare WotC not include Metallic Dragons in MMI . . . and how dare they then supply Metallic Dragon miniatures in 4e format to us?!?!?! And how dare they preview material that won't be released soon!?!?! Those animals!!!

You're a glass half-empty kind of guy, right? Look at it this way, we won't see the complete write-up on the metallics until next years' MMII . . . but the metallic dragon minis they release between now and then are freaking PREVIEWS to satisfy a portion of our geeky need for metallic dragons. We'll probably see some stuff on D&D Insider also. Oh, but wait, we've got to PAY for D&D Insider (unlike the hardcover books . . . wait . . .)

Besides, as should be obvious, WotC can't give us ALL the dragons at once. They'd fill the entire Monster Manual, and then some! While I'd also prefer to see the core metallics in MMI, I am neither annoyed or angered (or any other silly emotion regarding a game) that I'll have to wait a while.

 

[ZetaStriker]

He made a valid complaint, Dire Bare, so there's no reason to use sarcasm as a way to insult him. WotC stopped saying 'all but one' at one point, which lead people to hope that metallics might be in. And even if that weren't the case, Metallics are iconic to the game in ways that 90% of the rest of the Monster Manual can't compare to. The 10 'standard' types of dragons were expected of the Monster Manual, and I think it's fair that someone isn't exactly ecstatic about half of them being excluded. If he's upset, he's allowed to be, but he isn't running around bashing the game, so lay off.

Anyway, I expect that we'll see Metallics on DnDi at some point before the Draconomicon or MM2 will include them. Like gnomes, they're just a little too popular to leave out of the game for too long, in my opinion.

 

[pukunui]

Oh good lord! No one "screwed up", sheesh. WotC clearly stated that one mini from Dungeons of Dread would not appear in MMI based on the information they had at that time. I could frakking care less if that has changed or not since then, or if someone from WotC later "misspoke" and said all minis from DoD would be in the MMI. I doubt you are trying to slam WotC here Puki, but the tone of your post brings to mind all the overblown claims of "WotC lied to us again!" or "WotC, those incompetent fools!". Or maybe I'm just oversensitive.

Definitely being oversensitive there, Dirb. I'm not out to slam WotC at all. I'm very much a 4e fanboy. So much so it hurts.

All I want to know is why WotC said "all but one" mini (the copper dragon presumably being the excluded one) but then started saying that all of them, including the copper dragon, would be in the MM when that's clearly not the case. Is it because the metallics weren't going to be in then they were and now they're not again? Or is it because someone misunderstood? Or what? I'm just curious really.

There's also the fact that they've been teasing us with all this metallic stuff, like others have pointed out (references in W&M, references to fights with metallics in playtest reports, metallic dragon minis, etc.). Also, they've said that they're trying to make all monsters "fightable" so the metallics aren't going to be goody-two-shoes dragons anymore. What's so special about kruthiks?

If I'm upset about anything, it's the fact that at least 7 out of 10 of my posts here at ENWorld go ignored. Most of them just get lost in the shuffle, I'm sure, but I find that I sometimes have to repeat myself in order to get anyone to notice, and so if you're actually reading the entire thread, you might see me belaboring a point and it'll look like I'm really upset about it when I'm not. I'm just trying not to be ignored.

 

[ZetaStriker]

I hear you there, Puk. I still haven't gotten a response from Pawsplay in our argument over the use of minions, which I've decided to take as a win.

 

[Gargazon]

Oh, and before I forget...Storm giants are crazy as well. They have a sphere around them (3 squares I think) where the "elemental storms" are going crazy constantly....in that effect take 20 dmg, it's considered difficult terrain, and they get cover from outside.

Oh god, Storm Giants sound epic

Can you remember what level the Storm Giants were, and how many stat blocks there were with their entry? Was there a Storm Titan, by any chance?

 

[Hambot]

Storm Giants sound like Thundercloud Shaman, a cool MTG card that comes into play and zaps everthing. Its got a cool picture of a giant walking along with his own personal storm following him.

 

[thalmin]

I can appreciate not covering all 10 dragons in the MMI. With each dragon taking up about 4 (or was it more) pages in the MM, each one removes 2 other monsters. Leaving some dragons out gives more variety to what is presented.