Unhappy w/4E monster manual..3PP pls. publish monster books pronto!!

[D'karr]

Wow, talk about thread necromancy...

The 1,1,1,2,2,2,3,3,4,4 kobolds while effectively the same as the 1hp minion kobolds (think that whole black box 4e philosophy here), is different in terms of the information their hps represent. Those two 4hp guys are most likely considered the toughest by their peers while the 1hp dudes get kicked around by everyone in the clan. This most likely effects how they act in combat as well (with either the 4hp kobolds valiantly charging into the fray or resolutely pushing all their lessers to the front).

I understand the sentiment but I think this is a fallacy, specially 3 years after the game's introduction.

The DM that wants the 4 HP kobolds to fight differently still only has regular kobold stats to do so. So everything he's doing is making things up.

A 4e DM can make things up too, and has quite a bit of mechanical support to do so. If he decides to minionize all kobolds he could have a Dragonshield that effectively does fight differently than the others because his mechanical stats are different. He'd still die in one hit if he decided to do that.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

I understand the sentiment but I think this is a fallacy, specially 3 years after the game's introduction.

The DM that wants the 4 HP kobolds to fight differently still only has regular kobold stats to do so. So everything he's doing is making things up.

I think not so much making things up as interpreting the stats he or she is given. The 4hp guys are obviously meant to be tougher than the 1hp ones. It is then up to the DM to plan out the fight according to what makes sense to them.

A 4e DM can make things up too, and has quite a bit of mechanical support to do so.

Any DM can make things up and yes 4e gives you as the DM a lot of different ways to slice a loaf of bread. Back at high school though playing AD&D at lunchtimes in the library, you did the best you could interpret.

If he decides to minionize all kobolds he could have a Dragonshield that effectively does fight differently than the others because his mechanical stats are different. He'd still die in one hit if he decided to do that.

1hp versus 4hp or 36hp (or 1hp as you say) all makes a difference. I still can't help but feel the difference from older editions to the current though: 36hp used to mean the creature was tough where as now 36hp represents the creature's amount of expected screentime. YMMV.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[pemerton]

I still can't help but feel the difference from older editions to the current though: 36hp used to mean the creature was tough where as now 36hp represents the creature's amount of expected screentime.

Very very good point.

I'd want to gloss - one way of making sense of that screentime in ingame terms might be toughness (think a purple worm) but another might be brute luck (think a goblin underboss).

But anyway, a great way of capturing the way that mechanics feed into the difference between simulationist and non-simulationist play

 

[rounser]

Nevermind