Update SRD - Critters

[PatrickLawinger]

Does anyone have any sort of official word on this from WotC? It is possible that it was an oversight, that they had info. from the revised editions included and decided not to put it out, who knows?

WotC has been very good about the SRD and SRD issues. They are also very good about granting permission (when asked nicely) to use items not in the SRD when it doesn't impinge on their game world(s). I would hold off on condemning them until there is some sort of official word or comment on the inclusion/exclusion of some of the MM critters.

 

[jaldaen]

To be honest I'm fine with them cutting certain creatures... as someone said before it was understood under the gentleman's agreement that some things would change and even be cut...

that being said I think it is too bad that carrion crawlers and displacer beasts were taken out as they don't seem to me to be blockbuster IP names and ideas to me (or at least not as much as the others are)... I can understand the rest though and a part of me wonders if the creatures cut might be involved in some diabolical plan... such as the new campaign setting that is coming out from WotC?

Hmmm...

Could the new campaign setting be based on some (or all) of these creatures? Could taking them out of the SRD be part of a terrible plan to force those who love these creatures to have to come to WotC's new campaign setting for material on them?

I don't know, but someone out there does... and they are.... <thwak, muffled noise, the post ends abruptly>

 

[afstanton]

Re: More Missing Mythos

Again, WotC is weakening its own mythos with this move to "protect" its product identity.
<snip>

What needs to happen is that WotC needs to provide a mechanism by which D20 publishers can at least reference product identity, some way that wouldn't be construed as an attempt to challenge WotC's ownersihp rights. And if they won't do something like this, I'm all for seeing the existing D20 publishers start banding together to create a common shared mythos, and moving completely away from WotC's lead.

I really like the idea of a common shared mythos. In a sense, all the OGC content created by 3rd party publishers is a shared mythos, but I don't believe there is a strong tie between the various scattered elements. What would be really nice is to see the deliberate creation of a completely OGC world with support from multiple publishers. It would certainly have to be very large to accomodate the ideas that so many people can produce, but it would be a very interesting project.

This actually might be worth a new thread, if people are interested in discussing it further. Any takers?

 

[jmucchiello]

Could the new campaign setting be based on some (or all) of these creatures? Could taking them out of the SRD be part of a terrible plan to force those who love these creatures to have to come to WotC's new campaign setting for material on them?

Hmmm.... Veddy Einteresting......

 

[Legion]

Question?

Has anyone considered the fact that maybe these creatures aren't in there YET for some reason? Maybe WotC is doing something with them and will later update the SRD? Just because they aren't in there now, doesn't necessarily mean they won't be.

Just food for thought, and possibly hope for the future.

 

[Paradigm]

Re: Re: Missing creatures

Possible "end-arounds" - the monster stats are not there, but the names DO appear in other places in the RELEASED version of the SRD (at least as of 2-13-03 when I mirrored them).

I for one have no intention of being combative with WotC, in our experience, Wizards has been very helpful in SRD issues.

This does put a halt to 4 of our 5 next essential books, but only 1 of the 4 has had any energy put into it. As far as Yuan Ti, there are many mythological serpent-people, that is easy to fix with a rename.

Eric Wiener
Paradigm Concepts, Inc.
ewiener@paradigmconcepts.com

 

[afreed]

Re: Missing creatures

Based on my first run through the SRD, the following creatures all seem to be missing:

- Beholder
- Carrion Crawler
- Displacer Beast
- Kuo-toa
- Mind Flayer
- Slaad
- Umber Hulk
- Yuan-ti

Anyone like to confirm/correct this list?

As mentioned above, tanar'ri and baatezu are removed as terms, but the creatures remain.
Githyanki and githzerai have been removed from the Psi-monsters. And fologub is spelled wrong (though the correct spelling is in the combat section).
Control Shape and Improved Control Shape (the lycanthrope skill and feat) are referenced, but their descriptions appear to be missing. (Presumably an oversight.)

 

[HellHound]

Both the Gith races were never in the SRD, even the draft edition. Completely culled from the beginning.

 

[Frilf]

Both the Gith races were never in the SRD, even the draft edition. Completely culled from the beginning.

Bummer, huh? Now I can't release my OGC rapcore song "I'm a Githyanki Doodle Dandy".

Peace! Out!
da Frilfmeista

 

[I'm A Banana]

This isn't nearly as bad as it could be, y'know....

It's not hard at all for some d20 publisher to make a squid-headed creature that eats brains and is called the Brain Flayer...

Or for them to whip up a big eye with a lot of stalks and a jaw and magical powers from the eyes that is called the Eye Ball.

Or to make a feline with the natural power of displacement and tentacle-claws that is called the Displacement Panther.

Or to make an austere race of psionic monks that live on a plane of absolute chaos and call them the Xerai, and they have a long standing feud with their cousins the Yanky, who live on the plane of thought and ectoplasm and tame red dragons and are militaristic and worship a soul-consuming god-queen with the Lich template. And have them both enslaved in times gone by by the Brain Friars.

Vary the stats a wee bit (do Brain Friars really need the Cha or HD of a Mind Flayer? Give them more, or slightly less, or whatever).

If WotC wants to be a bit of a bad-guy by retaining things that are aparently essential PI for them, we can be a bit of a bad-guy by making our own generic knock-offs. We can make our own Faygo versions of these Coke and Pepsi products.

No problem.