So I've got my copy of Volo's Guide and I'm enjoying it a lot. Plenty of good stuff to work with, it's a pretty packed book.
The one thing I do find incredibly frustrating though is the return of a problem I had with several of the 4E sourcebooks: some of the entries don't actually describe the creature at all.
The worst one for this is the Firbolg race. In two pages I learn a lot about how Firbolg act, where they live and how they interact with other races... but no-where is there a description of what they are or what they look like.
We have an image, which is fine but a bit non-descript; but is this a typical member of the race? Is it meant to be furry, like some kind of animal-man? How much do they vary from this? What do the females look like? I'm relying entirely on one artist's interpretation. As a DM I want more help describing this race to my players. I don't just want to be describing the same picture to my players every time of of these things turn up; I want an actual mental image that springs from the text, something I can work with and extrapolate from.
Now I love my mythology and I'm familiar with the Irish Book of Invasions, so I know of the Fir Bolg (although they are pretty vague there also). I'm also aware of some of the previous incarnations of the Firbolg in past versions of D&D. What I don't know is what Firbolg are in 5E, and their entry in Volo's Guide just leaves me scratching my head. I can't get an angle on them.
This same problem crops up in some of the subsequent monster entries. What does a Deep Scion look like other "piscine"? Is their true form the piscine one or the humanoid one? The Boggles and Korreds have fantastic illustrations, but if they were not there I wouldn't have a clue what these things looked like. Morkoths are simply a "tentacled monstrosity" and here the image doesn't give me much more to work with either. How does one tell them apart from a Kraken or some other tentacled monster? Thank goodness I have seen pictures of trappers before or I might not have a clue what they are about in this book.
Again, overall I am very happy with this book, but this is the big, big fly in the tasty soup, and I hope it gets nipped in the bud for future products (gotta love them mixed metaphors).
So that this thread is useful and not just me ranting at an otherwise great addition to the game: what's your take on Firbolg in 5E? What are their origins? What are their physical attributes and ranges? What are they?
Or, what are Deep Scions, or any of the other monsters you think need a bit more description for their 5E debut? Yes I could go back and draw on 3E or previous additions, but I'd rather hear your ideas.
Let's go!
The one thing I do find incredibly frustrating though is the return of a problem I had with several of the 4E sourcebooks: some of the entries don't actually describe the creature at all.
The worst one for this is the Firbolg race. In two pages I learn a lot about how Firbolg act, where they live and how they interact with other races... but no-where is there a description of what they are or what they look like.
We have an image, which is fine but a bit non-descript; but is this a typical member of the race? Is it meant to be furry, like some kind of animal-man? How much do they vary from this? What do the females look like? I'm relying entirely on one artist's interpretation. As a DM I want more help describing this race to my players. I don't just want to be describing the same picture to my players every time of of these things turn up; I want an actual mental image that springs from the text, something I can work with and extrapolate from.
Now I love my mythology and I'm familiar with the Irish Book of Invasions, so I know of the Fir Bolg (although they are pretty vague there also). I'm also aware of some of the previous incarnations of the Firbolg in past versions of D&D. What I don't know is what Firbolg are in 5E, and their entry in Volo's Guide just leaves me scratching my head. I can't get an angle on them.
This same problem crops up in some of the subsequent monster entries. What does a Deep Scion look like other "piscine"? Is their true form the piscine one or the humanoid one? The Boggles and Korreds have fantastic illustrations, but if they were not there I wouldn't have a clue what these things looked like. Morkoths are simply a "tentacled monstrosity" and here the image doesn't give me much more to work with either. How does one tell them apart from a Kraken or some other tentacled monster? Thank goodness I have seen pictures of trappers before or I might not have a clue what they are about in this book.
Again, overall I am very happy with this book, but this is the big, big fly in the tasty soup, and I hope it gets nipped in the bud for future products (gotta love them mixed metaphors).
So that this thread is useful and not just me ranting at an otherwise great addition to the game: what's your take on Firbolg in 5E? What are their origins? What are their physical attributes and ranges? What are they?
Or, what are Deep Scions, or any of the other monsters you think need a bit more description for their 5E debut? Yes I could go back and draw on 3E or previous additions, but I'd rather hear your ideas.
Let's go!