WotC has a milking machine now (Draconomicon I)

[The Little Raven]

Actually, TSR did do some market research--or am I the only one who remembers those feedback cards that used to be included in modules?

They didn't necessarily do it effectively, and they may have stopped doing it during the last couple of years of the company's life, but they did do some of it.

From Ryan Dancey's account of purchasing TSR in 1997 (http://web.archive.org/web/20040530094717/http://atlasofadventure.com/Archive/TSR1997Buyout.asp)

In all my research into TSR's business, across all the ledgers, notebooks, computer files, and other sources of data, there was one thing I never found - one gaping hole in the mass of data we had available.

No customer profiling information. No feedback. No surveys. No "voice of the customer". TSR, it seems, knew nothing about the people who kept it alive. The management of the company made decisions based on instinct and gut feelings; not data. They didn't know how to listen - as an institution, listening to customers was considered something that other companies had to do - TSR lead, everyone else followed.

According to him, TSR knew dick about their customers, which doesn't really suggest they did any research (and if they did, they threw it away or hid it from him).

 

[Hussar]

Are you a playtester and know this for sure? Because all the stat blocks we have seen so far do not have this sort of flexibility. They have fixed statblocks with fixed abilities. And dragons are supposed to be the same. Several dragons of each type (for different levels) with fixed abilities. (e.g. Black Dragons lvl 16 -> Acid Breath, Acid Aura, Earthshaker, Weakining gaze). No "suggested list" unless you assume that the whole MM is just a big suggestion.

No, not a playtester. But, I have been reading the blogs where they say EXACTLY what I said.

You failed to answer my question though. What customization, beyond spell casting, could you do to a 3e dragon?

 

[Jack99]

Thanks.

Definitely not an easy book to write, as my first 4E gig, but I think the end result is pretty nifty.

Oo... Nice.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

They offered, but I'm pretty severely lactose intolerant.

Judging from your avatar, you probably prefer blood, right?

 

[Derren]

You failed to answer my question though. What customization, beyond spell casting, could you do to a 3e dragon?

Feats and skills. Especially the feats in combination with spells could make two dragaons of the same color and age very different from each other.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Not trying to edge in on this massive argument, but do monsters get access to feats in 4E? Or is that just under DM fiat customisation?

 

[Campbell]

unless you assume that the whole MM is just a big suggestion.

Now you're getting it.

 

[D.Shaffer]

Are you a playtester and know this for sure? Because all the stat blocks we have seen so far do not have this sort of flexibility. They have fixed statblocks with fixed abilities.

We have had statements from the Devs that customization of monsters on the fly is intended (and easy) in the game.
We have had statements that the DMG has a whole section about customizing monsters, including templates.

Yes, I think we can state that we 'know for sure' that dragons can still be customized.