Yoink! The only 2 monsters in MM3 I was interested in I got for FREE! Suckers!!!!!!!!

[Darklone]

Balance reasons to keep it at LA +0.

 

[Droid101]

Balance reasons to keep it at LA +0.

Nope, I don't buy it. In the guidelines for creating your own playable race of LA +0, it says that for every plus two to a stat, you must give minus two to another (unless strength was the plus two, then you must impose a minus four to other stats). Both setups, +4, -2, -2; and +2, -2 fit the criteria, so neither one is more or less advantageous according to the RAW.

 

[BOZ]

i so wish i had the time to put a "monsters they got wrong" sort of thing together, because i would. it would be very long though (not the whole MM or anything, but there would probably be dozens)

 

[Dr_Rictus]

Actually, I'm a bit relieved that it isn't closer to the version from previous editions, because that version was just a different interpretation (less faithful, I thought) of the tengu from Japanese myth, which is something we already have. For some reason a pet peeve of mine is taking one mythological creature and making several ostensibly different monsters out of it, with slightly different names.

But this version is so far off base from the mythical tengu that I'm able to pretty much accept it as its own different thing. They can call it a "kenku" if they want and it only bothers me a little bit. They want a really generic ECL +0 bird-guy? Sure, call it whatever you want.

Mind you, when I say "we already have" the tengu, I admit that "we" only includes people who have OA (and, if desired, the 3.5 update to OA and a little elbow grease).

Parenthetically, I note that the web version includes text about a "kenku sneak" (almost certainly a kenku with some rogue levels rather than being a War1) that isn't actually provided in the stat block. Presumably it's in the book. Which seems to be a nod to the "all kenkus have abilities as a 4th-level thief" aspect of the previous version.

 

[Gez]

Scrolling down...
Hm... something seems a little... off. They go from +4 dex, -2 Con, -2 Cha; to +2 dex, -2 str.

What's the dilly, yo?

Str 11, Dex 14, Con 8, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 9

Reverse the racial adjustments, you get:

Str 13, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 9

Ain't it one of the non-elite NPC array? I've noticed WotC often does this kind of stuff, now -- usually, they include a line that says "The <critter> warrior in the stat-block had these stats <insert stats> before racial adjustment."

 

[Droid101]

Ain't it one of the non-elite NPC array? I've noticed WotC often does this kind of stuff, now -- usually, they include a line that says "The <critter> warrior in the stat-block had these stats <insert stats> before racial adjustment."

I did read that for another monster before. I checked the kenku entry, and it didn't have that little snippet. Maybe it'll be in the full version of the book.

 

[Kirin'Tor]

Scrolling down...
Hm... something seems a little... off. They go from +4 dex, -2 Con, -2 Cha; to +2 dex, -2 str.

What's the dilly, yo?

The creature block specifically says "The kenku warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 9." - it's under 'COMBAT'

So, as Gex said above, the racial adjustments are correct. Most NPC creautres have this kind of entry (and this is technically an NPC, since it has 1 racial HD, repalced by 1 level of warrior), where as pure mosnters do not.

 

[Piratecat]

Incidentally, I loved the silent-kenku as a NPC, but it didn't work well for us as a PC. Luckily, there's no reason that you can't take this kenku, remove the mimicry and any speech, and use as is (perhaps boosting the stat adjustments slightly as compensation for not being able to make any noise, or giving them a minor SLA.)

 

[Droid101]

The creature block specifically says "The kenku warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 9." - it's under 'COMBAT'

So, as Gex said above, the racial adjustments are correct. Most NPC creautres have this kind of entry (and this is technically an NPC, since it has 1 racial HD, repalced by 1 level of warrior), where as pure mosnters do not.

Thanks... didn't notice. Argh, I hate when they do that!

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Scrolling down...
Hm... something seems a little... off. They go from +4 dex, -2 Con, -2 Cha; to +2 dex, -2 str.

What's the dilly, yo?

Not at all, because of this:

The kenku warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 9.

It's how they treat all 1hd races in 3.5e: They state that it is a 1st-Level Warrior and that it isn't generated with a flat 10s array, but with a special array (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8).