D&D (2024) More D&D 2024 Tidbits: Aasimar, Goliaths, Town-Eating Gelatinous Cubes

Here are a few more tidbits from Game Informer's magazine coverage of the new edition's rulebooks.

• Iconic characters like Bobby the Barbarian, or Raistlin and Caramon Majere feature in the art.
• Each class and each subclass has its own piece of art.
• Species now include Aasimar, Goliath, and Orc.
• Bastions are in--player built bases.
• Greyhawk is the sample setting in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
• Each book is 384 pages.

Monster Manual

• 75 new monsters in the Monster Manual; over 500 in total.
• Challenge rating remains the same.
• There are some new lower challenge vampires, and a higher challenge one called the Nightbringer.
• Blob of Annihilation is a gelatinous cube that can eat towns.
• Elemental Juggernaut, Archhag.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I think 10 is a good number.

Shrug. 10... 12. No big deal either way. I just though that with the Psionic Subclasses being added, and Lae'zel (the Githyanki) being so popular in Baldur's Gate 3, it seemed like a good time to have Gith graduate to the PHB.

(Not to mention the increased desire to have D&D-excusive IP moved to the forefront. Every Fantasy Heartbreaker can have Elves & Dwarves!)

 

[FitzTheRuke]

In practice, the name isn't hyper-important, but 4E style Monsters and Encounters were not.in the cards: a fuzzier old school system was coming whether they used the words "Challenge Rating" or "Monster Level".

You don't need to have 4-style Monsters and Encounters to set monsters with Levels and balance them in power approximately equal to a weakly-built PC of that level. (With the idea being, in a 1-to-1 fight, a PC would win). It makes encounter balancing exceedingly simple. You'd still need guidance on how numbers change the game and on how mismatched levels works, but it STILL makes things much, much easier than CR, which is a total mess.

 

[BB Shockwave]

Can't say I like the idea of "lower and higher challenge monsters for every adventurer group". It sounds too video-gamey, like say in Diablo where you can encounter a Fallen in Act I and Act V too and they have been made tougher to present a challenge at higher levels. That eerily reminds me of 4E. Of course, maybe it can be done right. But I always say, that's what all the various other monsters are for. At lower levels, your characters should not fight a weaker version of a Vampire, let them fight some Ghouls or Wights.

 

[Parmandur]

Can't say I like the idea of "lower and higher challenge monsters for every adventurer group". It sounds too video-gamey, like say in Diablo where you can encounter a Fallen in Act I and Act V too and they have been made tougher to present a challenge at higher levels. That eerily reminds me of 4E. Of course, maybe it can be done right. But I always say, that's what all the various other monsters are for. At lower levels, your characters should not fight a weaker version of a Vampire, let them fight some Ghouls or Wights.

It's just a way to expand a DMs options when building Encounters.

 

[BB Shockwave]

One of the books that came out during the pandemic had an art scene where nearly everything was a mimic.

I can't remember the book now, but it is a horrifying scene.

It was in Tasha's, I think.
And I like to think it is just two old ladies who instead of collecting cats like old ladies do, collect and raise Mimics.
...Much to the horror or any bandit who tries to rob this prosperous farm.
Of course, maybe the old ladies are Hags in disguise, themselves. Or Doppelgangers.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

View attachment 364260
It was in Tasha's, I think.
And I like to think it is just two old ladies who instead of collecting cats like old ladies do, collect and raise Mimics.
...Much to the horror or any bandit who tries to rob this prosperous farm.
Of course, maybe the old ladies are Hags in disguise, themselves. Or Doppelgangers.

Or mimics.