D&D (2024) Wizards have a problem with Spellcasting stat blocks

[mamba]

I think that maybe they did it to make the stat blocks look and feel more different from the 2014 MM.

doesn’t it make it feel more like the 2014 MM and less like MotM though? To me they went in a circle there

 

[Maxperson]

I don't want more monsters. I want usable monsters. I DO NOT want to flip pages in the middle of a combat.

Yep. Give me the information and then sell me another monster book with the information later in the year.

 

[Belen]

What the heck, Wizards?

DDB-first design. They want to make it easier with online tools.

 

[SkidAce]

Statblocks being useful doesn't have any impact on the fiction.

And requiring everyone use the same rules as the PHB makes the game boring and drains it of the fantastic.

Just to try to see your viewpoint, how would you answer the player that said "I'm an evoker, why haven't I learned that ability?"

 

[billd91]

Your characters heard that they are going to face a Fire Wizard or whatever. That should give them a general idea of what the NPC is capable of, but not a list of their spells.

Well, then that's not a case of them having the crap scared out of them because they can't understand the magic coming out of the NPC spellcaster.

And that's largely what I'm getting at. If you know that a fire wizard does a lot of fire damage - you prepare for it. If you recognize that you're up against an arcane caster, you know that a counter spell could be in their repertoire - so you maybe you try some less powerful save-based spells to draw out their countering resources rather than hit initially with your biggest save spell.

 

[Reynard]

Just to try to see your viewpoint, how would you answer the player that said "I'm an evoker, why haven't I learned that ability?"

There are two answers:

If the player, out of game, asked, I would answer: because NPCs are different than PCs.

If the character, in the fiction, asked, I would let them try and figure out how to replicate that magic with a combination of research, quests and other in-game stuff.

Why the difference? Because asking in-game is the player engaging the game and I just like rewarding that sort of thing.

 

[pukunui]

doesn’t it make it feel more like the 2014 MM and less like MotM though? To me they went in a circle there

In some respects, yes. They have come full circle with a number of things (see monster alignment).

 

[grimmgoose]

Totally agreed, it sucks.

That being said, I've solved most of it by using ChatGPT/Obsidian.

I've got a thread with ChatGPT where I setup a custom statblock (one that works for me), and when I want to add a new monster, I'll either take a screenshot of the statblock (or just copy/paste) and ask it to convert to my style.

Then I just drop it into my Obsidian, after which I don't have to mess with the monster book or D&D Beyond.

 

[Reynard]

Well, then that's not a case of them having the crap scared out of them because they can't understand the magic coming out of the NPC spellcaster.

And that's largely what I'm getting at. If you know that a fire wizard does a lot of fire damage - you prepare for it. If you recognize that you're up against an arcane caster, you know that a counter spell could be in their repertoire - so you maybe you try some less powerful save-based spells to draw out their countering resources rather than hit initially with your biggest save spell.

I have never once used a NPC caster to counterspell and only very rarely seen players use counterspell against NPC casters. Also, "counterspell" is a perfectly fine reaction to list.

 

[mamba]

Just to try to see your viewpoint, how would you answer the player that said "I'm an evoker, why haven't I learned that ability?"

you do not know all possible Evoker spells either, that is how. You could even say it is not one your school knows of but that other one does, and that is where the NPC is from