OMFG… What a nerf…

So, I just spent some time reading the stats on Green Slime, Black Pudding, etc. in 5E.

I certainly get that 5E dumped the whole “Save or Die” thing, I don’t even disagree with that (though I’m re-instituting my old Crit and Fumble tables, two Natural 20’s is an instant kill!). But talk about making an old and very scary set of monsters utterly underwhelming…

Yeah, I’m Noping right out of that.

Expect these things to act more like out of 1E, perhaps I’ll write some stats up later and post them. But what a waste of an excellent old set of monsters!

D

 

Volo’s Guide to Monsters (Review)

Ok, so this came in last Friday and I have to say that I’m pretty favorably inclined to it. I’m not even sure that I care about the extra monsters stat blocks, at this point I seem to be more inclined to grab my 1e books and adapt things on the fly, or I’m using modules and doing the same thing. But, the monster lore and character races are really nicely done – even the bits I will never use.

Beholders – don’t have them in my world, so not a thing for me, but still a nicely done section. I don’t have standard giants or an Ordning in my world so this is probably the least useful section for me. Yaun-Ti are the basis for my Ithians, and it was nicely done.

I don’t have Mind Flayers, so this is less useful to me but like beholders I things it’s well done section. My Ichneumon Vorre are essentially my version of Illithids, so over the years I have ganked some bits and pieces for them. The Goblinoid and Orc sections are similarly iffy, but mostly because my goblins are more Harn-esque than Tolkien in many ways, but I plenty of stuff there than I can use.

Kobolds and Hags are kind of interesting. I have kobolds, but as jungle-dwelling or desert-dwelling creatures (two differently adapted relations, the same with lizard men) but I liked the write-up. Hags as an organized group really gives me some food for thought – not sure if I’ll use it, but it’s well done.

The PC races would all need to be tweaked in the same way that I’ve tweaked the “standard races” but I like them. The new Aaismar is much more evocative than the version from the DMG, and the rest have their interesting aspects that are worth looking at.

Worth it as a GM (though perhaps not if you are a player), especially if you playing in a standard 5e setting.

D.

Will-o-the-Wisp redux

So, I’m not sure now what the actually “type” the old 1E Monster Manual would have been, I always treated them as some sort of Fae (especially with the whole Boggart thing). In the new 5E Monster Manual however they are specifically a variety of Undead – probably in a quiet shout-out to the Dead Marshes.

Now, in my opinion this sort of monster always works better when the players can’t be sure what they are dealing with. As a result I had come up with two extra versions, one Celestial and one “good” Fae. So there is no good reason why I can’t keep them around for the same purpose.

In this version of the game I’d give them the same stats with the following differences:

Guardian Angel – Alignment is any good, instead of Consume Life it can use Beacon of Life (as the 3rd level spell) at will, the radius equal to it’s shed light radius (bright not dim). It’s damage for the shock attack is Radiant instead of Necrotic.

Fools Flame aka Fools Fire aka Fae Flame – Alignment is Chaotic Neutral, instead of Consume Life it can use a Hypnotic Pattern (as the 3rd level spell) at, the radius equal to it’s shed light radius (bright not dim). It’s damage for the shock attack is Psychic instead of Necrotic.

Now, you can mess with your player’s heads – and they (hopefully) won’t attack every single bobbing light they come across in the world. The substitute powers for Consume Life seem relatively balanced to me given how nasty that ability actually is in the new rules. I’ll get back to writing up world history now…

TTFN!

D.