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notXanathar
2019-10-21, 03:44 PM
To 'brew, or not to 'brew, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of having 'brewed something which is very likely to be done officially, thus having something that contravenes official canon, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and in opposing not have this really cool idea available, until wizards comes out with another blasted source book which has the thing I want in, and which I have to buy, and it's probably in a different form anyway, BUT AT LEAST IT'S RAW!

Basically, I have an idea for how to use wendigos. They'd be connected to gnolls, since they are cannibalistic spirits. My dilemma is this: since the wendigo is a pretty cool & well known creature, wizards of the coast will probably release it later on in a different book, and at that point I will probably switch over. I don't like the idea that my creature has a built in obsolescence. It would be really annoying if I bought the book, and it was the other end of the CR spectrum, or if I was otherwise totally wrong about something like the lore. I'm sure that this wouldn't bother some of you, but it's like wizards of the coast barging in, saying 'actually...' and completely contradicting you.

So: is the wendigo likely to be statted out? If so, is it likely to be in the foreseeable future (probably not during the current story, but the next maybe)? Is it worth the risk to have it in the game now, and have wizards come in later and say that the players should have been fighting my measly CR 4 creature with a vorpal sword and robes of the archmage? I know that the last one is a bit personal opinion, but still. I don't want to be playing january 2017 UA artificer after ebberon comes out.

Breccia
2019-10-21, 03:55 PM
since the wendigo is a pretty cool & well known creature, wizards of the coast will probably release it later on in a different book

Not your problem. The iron is hot now.

Besides, what's a little harmless renaming?

"As the last gnoll falls, there is a scraping sound from the dark tunnel, and a wendi*cough* skullflinder comes around --"

sandmote
2019-10-21, 06:46 PM
Not your problem. The iron is hot now. To continue this, given you've struck and struck and made the iron hot, finish what you've been making.

Worst case is you'll have to rename it.


Is it worth the risk to have it in the game now, and have wizards come in later and say that the players should have been fighting my measly CR 4 creature with a vorpal sword and robes of the archmage? I know that the last one is a bit personal opinion, but still. I don't want to be playing january 2017 UA artificer after ebberon comes out.
You can scale the same monster to a different level without much difficulty, so "my measly CR 4 creature" isn't a great analogy. I think "something with fundamentally different abilities," is the actual problem, cause that means it'll show up with different allies and dealt with in a different manner.

In which case you can explain what happened and rename one version at your table. This isn't like player options where the DM needs to be on the same page as the PCs and decide on which version of the artificer to use.

notXanathar
2019-10-22, 01:47 AM
Thanks. Yeah, I'll go ahead with it, and rename if it comes out in a sourcebook.

Zhorn
2019-10-22, 02:35 AM
If a thing doesn't exist in an official format at the time you need it; then not making a homebrew is the greater crime.
And even if they release an official version at some point, if it doesn't have a feature you want; homebrew again is the best solution.

RAW should be seen as a launchpad, not a landing strip, who's best function is to supply a common frame of reference for all players. Homebrew and tablerules are the ideal direction for most games that are not AL, as the needs of the story, of the table, and of fun, are more important in the long run.

noob
2019-10-22, 04:04 AM
To 'brew, or not to 'brew, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of having 'brewed something which is very likely to be done officially, thus having something that contravenes official canon, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and in opposing not have this really cool idea available, until wizards comes out with another blasted source book which has the thing I want in, and which I have to buy, and it's probably in a different form anyway, BUT AT LEAST IT'S RAW!

Basically, I have an idea for how to use wendigos. They'd be connected to gnolls, since they are cannibalistic spirits. My dilemma is this: since the wendigo is a pretty cool & well known creature, wizards of the coast will probably release it later on in a different book, and at that point I will probably switch over. I don't like the idea that my creature has a built in obsolescence. It would be really annoying if I bought the book, and it was the other end of the CR spectrum, or if I was otherwise totally wrong about something like the lore. I'm sure that this wouldn't bother some of you, but it's like wizards of the coast barging in, saying 'actually...' and completely contradicting you.

So: is the wendigo likely to be statted out? If so, is it likely to be in the foreseeable future (probably not during the current story, but the next maybe)? Is it worth the risk to have it in the game now, and have wizards come in later and say that the players should have been fighting my measly CR 4 creature with a vorpal sword and robes of the archmage? I know that the last one is a bit personal opinion, but still. I don't want to be playing january 2017 UA artificer after ebberon comes out.

You could homebrew 5e templates then afterwards base your wendigo on a basic human then when wotc makes epic wendigos that fire lazers and fly at the speed of light and explode continents you can just pretend that it is because the epic wendigo is made from a different creature.

Breccia
2019-10-22, 10:48 PM
Thanks. Yeah, I'll go ahead with it, and rename if it comes out in a sourcebook.

To rip off an idea from Morrowind, of all places: just add a prefix.

"Around the corner come three gnolls and a Helgian wendigo."
"Hey guys, I got that new MM, wendigos are -- "
"No no, Helgian wendigos."

PhantomSoul
2019-10-25, 10:54 AM
To rip off an idea from Morrowind, of all places: just add a prefix.

"Around the corner come three gnolls and a Helgian wendigo."
"Hey guys, I got that new MM, wendigos are -- "
"No no, Helgian wendigos."

Or "the lore and information your characters *cough cough* you players *cough cough* have encountered isn't guaranteed to be correct."

jjordan
2019-10-25, 12:40 PM
Or "the lore and information your characters *cough cough* you players *cough cough* have encountered isn't guaranteed to be correct."This.

Them - "Wait, wendigos can't do that!"
Me - "Says who?"
Them - "Honest Bob's Bestiary, the new official source from Littoral Spellcasters!"
Me - "You should write them a letter and complain."

noob
2019-10-25, 03:32 PM
This.

Them - "Wait, wendigos can't do that!"
Me - "Says who?"
Them - "Honest Bob's Bestiary, the new official source from Littoral Spellcasters!"
Me - "You should write them a letter and complain."

the reverse is weirder

Player - "wait wendigos can shoot continent exploding laser beams and are invulnerable to all forms of attacks yet that wendigo did not shoot any laser and it was wounded by our +3 axe of the vengeful dead swung by our paladin using his smite"
Gm - "who says they can do that?"
Player - "Honest Bob's Bestiary, the new official source from Littoral Spellcasters!"
Gm - "You should write them a letter and complain."