Yuan Ti?

[Eosin the Red]

I saw the front page note about the Yuna Ti article on the WotC website and clicked throught. Unsurprizingly what I find when I get there is not Yuan Ti but a 1/2 construct, a half fiend, and a grafted character. Am I the only person who uses stock creatures?

 

[Carnifex]

It seems to be a trend of those kinda articles on the website. They just add some class levels and slap on a bizarre template, then present it as if its a masterpiece of cunning NPC design.

I dunno, I find those 'Elite Opponents' things as rather lacking in effort on the part of the writers. It's just class levels and templates every time.

 

[Gnarlo]

Am I the only person who uses stock creatures?

No, but it can feel like it sometimes, can't it? And that your players are the only group that isn't fiendish half-celestial half-dragon minotaurs with 6 PrCs apiece.

 

[Alzrius]

I'm rather confused at the complaining over these articles. Honestly, what did you guys expect? Obviously this won't be just stock creatures...that would seem rather oxymoronic when the title of the series is "Elite" Opponents.

That said, given that these opponents are elite (that is, improved from the stock versions of the monster), how exactly do you expect them to be improved? Templates, advanced hit dice, and class levels are it for buffing up a monster. What else do you want?

 

[jasamcarl]

Yeah, it's a dumb complaint.

 

[SkidAce]

How about a stock monster with nothing but enhanced natural cunning? A couple of paragraphs about it's unique tactics, how it rallied other monsters under it's banner, the clever traps, the gold mine it uses to buy ammnesty from the local law, etc etc.

I can see both sides, but personally I also am slightly dissapointed. And it's certainly a valid complaint by the previous posters.

 

[Kanegrundar]

While I'm not likely to use any of the Elite Opponents, I'm still more than happy that WotC is putting up free material on the website for us to read/use. Why complain about something you got for free?

My 2 cents,
Kane

 

[Gnarlo]

Well, firstly, I didn't see the original poster's remarks or mine as a "dumb complaint" but as observation. It was a simple question, does anyone play the game without opponents (or PCs) that don't include half the Monster Manual in their genetic makeup? Just your standard high CR monsters? Just curious.

While I'm not likely to use any of the Elite Opponents, I'm still more than happy that WotC is putting up free material on the website for us to read/use. Why complain about something you got for free?

Once again, it wasn't a complaint (at least not how I read it). Now, if someone were to mail me an envelope full of dung, then I'd complain. Even if I'd got it for free

 

[Kanegrundar]

Never got an envelope of dung, but I did have some friends try and trick me with a flaming bag of poop once...

Anyway. I feel like I misread the original comments and took them a different way. My apologies.

As to the original question: I don't tend to use a lot of templates and class levels on monsters. It happens occasionally, but most of the time I stick to stock monsters. Every now and then when I want to shake up a fight I add in a monster with an added template and a class level or two. It's usually just easier to use the monsters as written though.

Kane

 

[Carnifex]

I'm rather confused at the complaining over these articles. Honestly, what did you guys expect? Obviously this won't be just stock creatures...that would seem rather oxymoronic when the title of the series is "Elite" Opponents.

That said, given that these opponents are elite (that is, improved from the stock versions of the monster), how exactly do you expect them to be improved? Templates, advanced hit dice, and class levels are it for buffing up a monster. What else do you want?

As Skidace suggested, making the monster themselves more interesting and challenging through cunning tactics, unique set-ups and situations, and things like that, would be of far more use to me than another monster with some random template on it.

It's not an article about making yuan-ti into elite opponents, into enemies to be respected and feared. It's about turning them into something completely different by hurling templates at them, or occasionally just adding some class levels. It's something that takes little effort on the part of the writers, and is something I could do quite easily myself - if I suddenly wanted half-golem yuan-ti running around. If the article came up with ingenious tactics or ideas, or interesting concepts,, it'd be worthwhile reading for me.