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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 4862673" data-attributes="member: 710">To go a little more back to the original topic (though maybe not), one thing I particularly like about 4E is a monsters identity and nature is far better represented in the game mechanics then ever before. Maybe I used the wrong word with "Sneaky" when talking about Kobolds. "Shifty" might be better. But it is definitely a great example of what the 4E game rules do. The monster race "Kobolds" feel different from the monster type "Orc" not just because they are lower level monsters. They also have different abilities. Kobolds shift as a minor action as their racial ability. That makes them a real pest in melee combat, they constantly evade your attacks and reform their battle lines, making it hard for the party to concentrate on one Kobold. The Orc instead gets a special attack he can use if he is bloodied that heals some hit points. If you fight an Orc, and you hurt him, you see him lashing out against you and regaining his fighting spirit. Compare that to a 3E Orc or Kobold? What is so unique about them? The Kobold is just a weaker threat, but he is not different. The only way you "know" that it should play differently is because the flavor text says so. The "simulationist" rules do not actually support much of that. And if you still want to use your Kobold 10 levels later, he's a Kobold with 10 levels in Sorceror and could as well be Orc with 10 levels of Sorceror - you wouldn't notice the difference by the way the battle played out.So for me, the MM is definitely not dry or devoid of flavor or fluff. Each monster (or group of monsters) has its unique thing that makes it stand out from the others, it has a shtick, something that will come up in play when I use the monster.</blockquote>

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