What I'm missing from the DM's Guide or Monster Manual

[zoroaster100]

The one thing I feel that I'm really missing which I wish had been in the 4E Monster Manual or DM's Guide is a big assortment of pre-made player character race/class "monsters" from level 1 on up. I especially feel that I need more human opponents, as the campaigns I run tend to be human-centric and I really like using humans as major opponents. But I'd like to have a big variety of human "monsters" in different roles and with different abilities to challenge the players with variety in combat. I hope that either WOTC or a 3rd party publishers soon fills this void. I know I can create these human "monsters" myself, but I really don't want to spend that kind of time on it and would rather buy a book or PDF with a big variety. I love 4E's approach to monsters, but I want that applied for me with humans that I can use in my games.

 

[Tervin]

The one thing I feel that I'm really missing which I wish had been in the 4E Monster Manual or DM's Guide is a big assortment of pre-made player character race/class "monsters" from level 1 on up. I especially feel that I need more human opponents, as the campaigns I run tend to be human-centric and I really like using humans as major opponents. But I'd like to have a big variety of human "monsters" in different roles and with different abilities to challenge the players with variety in combat. I hope that either WOTC or a 3rd party publishers soon fills this void. I know I can create these human "monsters" myself, but I really don't want to spend that kind of time on it and would rather buy a book or PDF with a big variety. I love 4E's approach to monsters, but I want that applied for me with humans that I can use in my games.

Considering how easy it is to create such NPCs, my wish is for a fanmade "(random) NPC generator" that we can use either online or as a downloadable applet. I would not pay for a printed version, as it is just so easy to do yourself, but a simple generator tool could be nice as a way to trigger my imagination and make some filler NPCs that I don't want to spend time and effort on.

 

[Wormwood]

I love 4E's approach to monsters, but I want that applied for me with humans that I can use in my games.

I absolutely agree that we can never have enough monster stat blocks---keep 'em coming!

That said, there are lots of level-appropriate monsters whose serial numbers I can file off and run straight out of the book as humans (or elves, or whatever), so I should be set for next ten or so levels. After all, the players don't know that the human Mercenary Captain is using the stats of a Drow Weaponmaster or Hobgoblin Commander.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

I absolutely agree that we can never have enough monster stat blocks---keep 'em coming!

That said, there are lots of level-appropriate monsters whose serial numbers I can file off and run straight out of the book as humans (or elves, or whatever), so I should be set for next ten or so levels. After all, the players don't know that the human Mercenary Captain is using the stats of a Drow Weaponmaster or Hobgoblin Commander.

This pretty much takes the words out of my mouth...

Heck, you could even use a Mind Flayer, recast it in human skin (as it were) and have an alternative take on the vampire...

 

[Jack99]

I don't know if I agree. I really like that they moved certain humanoids up to a certain minimum level (by the books anyway). I like that a base Drow is always more powerful than a base orc. I am pretty sure this goes against some people's verisimilitude or something, but for me, it works really well.

 

[zoroaster100]

It would be nice to have some equivalent level power to easily substitute for Goblin Tactics, Shifty, etc. to easily turn goblins, kobolds and others into humans. But using the stat block without change would either cheapen the distinctiveness of those abilities being tied to certain creatures or if simply removed, would leave a less challenging opponent.