Why don't monsters have power sources?

[Memona]

It is?

Using magic to counter the spell of another spell caster as it's being cast? Sure. Maybe not in the term of Counterspell, but many other fantasy settings have Counterspell almost as often as they have a fireball type of spell.

It might be my exposure to other games that has imprinted me on the premise, but it's there. Legend of the Five Rings, Magic the Gathering and a few other editions of D&D.

That being said, I do see an inherit problem with counterspell. You do have to know the spell is in fact Arcane. And that does add a few other problems that is harder to address. I guess an Arcane check could be in order, but that really is very fiddy and not in the spirit of 4e.

 

[Umbran]

I think monsters don't have power sources because we don't need that to differentiate them.

If you have two humans, the source, form, and fluff around their powers is largely what differentiates them - so, the power source matters.

If you have two monsters, you typically have lots of things to differentiate them. Only if they are of the same species, and yet you need them to be clearly different, does the power source come to matter.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

The problme is that whta power source is right??

lets take human or elf or gnome...some are arcande some are divine, some arfe primal...

 

[Zustiur]

Outside of providing a theme to each class, what precisely does the power source do?
Nothing so far as I can see. Which rather defeats the purpose of assigning them to monsters.
Oh sure it COULD be integrated into the rules, but it hasn't been as far as I can see.

 

[PeelSeel2]

Why complicate an elegantly simple thing? Monster creation is a no-brainer. Just give em what you want. If you want guidelines, look at other monsters and templates. Hell, look to player powers for inspiration if you want. If you want keywords, put them on!

 

[Psion]

I ran into a pink bunny with a power source once.

 

[hexgrid]

A power source comes from your class, not your race.

So monsters don't usually have power sources because they don't usually have classes. A monster with a class template would have a power source.

 

[the Jester]

Using magic to counter the spell of another spell caster as it's being cast? Sure. Maybe not in the term of Counterspell, but many other fantasy settings have Counterspell almost as often as they have a fireball type of spell.

Oh, OK, when you said "fantasy staple", I assumed you meant in movies, books and legends.

In gaming, counterspells satisfy a particularly gamist niche of design. But 4e does have dispel magic, you know.

On another note, monsters do have power sources- they just don't generally need to declare what it is. Check out Open Grave- there is a sidebar discussing undead power sources.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Using magic to counter the spell of another spell caster as it's being cast? Sure. Maybe not in the term of Counterspell, but many other fantasy settings have Counterspell almost as often as they have a fireball type of spell.

It might be my exposure to other games that has imprinted me on the premise, but it's there. Legend of the Five Rings, Magic the Gathering and a few other editions of D&D.

Those aren't literary settings; those are games. It's a game mechanic, not a spell from myth or literature. And no, a company selling a novel based on their game universe doesn't change Counterspell's origins.

4E is both more and less gamist than 3E, which has counterspelling.

In any case, I don't think you need power sources for monsters to create a 4E Counterspell.

 

[Memona]

In any case, I don't think you need power sources for monsters to create a 4E Counterspell.

Making a Counterspell Wizard Encounter, Utility or Daily would not be that hard to do. It guess it would be an Immediate Reaction against any ranged attack with an energy keyword.

In gaming, counterspells satisfy a particularly gamist niche of design. But 4e does have dispel magic, you know.

I'm not certain that it is gamist. In Legend of the Five Rings for example, all magic is controlled by powerful spirits. You have a cast the polar element to counter the spell; air against earth, water against fire, etc. This works perfectly in with the fluff, and makes sense in a narrative style.

I mostly agree with the premise in most games it is brought on by the metagame. Magic the Gathering was a bad example, as it is a nothing more than a card game and doesn't have to rationalize it's decisions with setting information. Rokugan, the setting for Legend of the Five Rings, is a setting and a game. It rationalizes just about every game mechanic with some sort of fluff; almost to the extent that fluff takes presidence over mechanics.