Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Angel7 Aug 31, 2014 12:11:28	For the last few months, and in anticipation of the 5e monster manual, I've been curious as to which classic entries will make the cut. To my surprise, the D&D facebook page posted a pic of the MM contents and I was immediately pleased. For fun, and to appease my obsessive tendencies, I immediately compared the 5e monster list with all the MMs of old and am absolutely thrilled that all the iconic and classic creatures will be represented. I only hope that the fluff and art are as rich and appealing. Here's a few questions for you all.   1) Are you pleased with what you see in the Table of Contents ? 2) Are there missed entries that you feel should have made the cut, or included entries that should have been dropped ? 3) Can you spot the return of some nostalgic monsters that we haven't seen since the earliest editions of the game? 4) Do you think that the  5e MM will have a classic breakdown of Monsters by Type ie: categorizing monsters by type like aberations, contructs, dragons, elementals, fey, giants, magical beasts, monstrous humanoids, oozes, outsiders, shapechangers, undead, vermin, etc. ?   4) If the monsters are classified by type, will each type also share "mechanical" similarities.  ie: specific resistances, vulnerabilities, immunities, etc ?   Finally, I hope the section on oozes contains all the classics like gelatinous cubes, black puddings, green slimes, and ochre jellies and that they clean up the categories like outsiders and magical beasts / monstrous humanoids.  Overall, I'm about 99 percent satisfied with what I'm seen so far and hope that this book pleases gronards, fans of specific editions, fans of all editions, and everyone else that loves this great game.  My one percent sadness??  My pet blinkdog Shady was stolen from my yard and replaced with a winged elk like I wouldn't notice. Poor shady. He was always 3 feet from where he should have been....
#2 seti Aug 31, 2014 12:57:26	I really like what I've seen of the new MM.   I'm buying it regardless if I ever play/run 5e or not.   The art, fluff, and layout/design are amazing.   The stat blocks are missing things to help the DM*, but, eh...Neo-retro is cool now.   There seems to be a nice set of classic monsters, and I'm happy to see things like Modrons return. The 5e Lich is a true arch-villan finally!   *Having to look up spells for caster monsters in the PHB again blows, not having clear monster levels, roles, and types (by types I mean minion, solo, elite) blows, etc.
#3 Mechatarrasque Aug 31, 2014 14:50:15	I am pretty happy with what I have seen.  Looks good and pretty much what I expected to see in terms of monsters.  My only reservations are:   *  I hope that there is a list of devil/demon/angel magic that they didn't feel like repeating in each entry, if not, I will add a cantrip or two (caster level CR score) which will be worth some extra XP, but not really worth an extra level of CR.  The bone devil will rock viscious mockery and chill touch.     *  I would like a few more critters for conjure celestial and conjure fey.  From the index, conjure elemental will have a lot of options, but from what I have seen from posted lists of monsters from people who went to Gencon, it looks like there will only be 3 celestials (and no angels) that fit the spell (max CR 5).  Plenty of fey, but nothing in the CR  4-5 range.  I am not too worried about this, as it seems like a good idea to throw in a couple of monsters into the discussion of the planes in the DMG.
#4 MonsterEnvy Aug 31, 2014 15:56:01	Angel7 wrote:
(Reply to #2) arderkrag	seti wrote:
#6 dmgorgon Aug 31, 2014 19:22:04	arderkrag wrote:
#7 seti Aug 31, 2014 20:47:34	I'm not saying monster stat blocks need to have a page or more of spells copied out of the PHB verbatim.   I'm saying do it like 4e did. Keep monster spells/spell-like abilities simple, and down to one line each, and put that in a stat block.   Obviously, something like the Lich is an ending campaign boss, and giving it a proper PC-style spell treatement is something I'd want to do as a DM. But, I don't want some simple throw-away caster enemies (or even beholders with their eye-rays) requiring look up times, spell card making, etc, etc. That's too much DM busy work. I'm not in high school anymore. My prep time and play time is limited.