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kwanzaabot
2008-06-02, 06:23 AM
Okay, so through some mysterious means, I, like everyone else in the world, somehow managed to acquire the 4th edition rulebooks. Needless to say, I went straight for the monster manual. So, here's what I think.

1. Dinosaurs: they're called "Behemoths" now. Seriously? Seriously!? And all I saw was a Stegosaurus and an Ankylosaurus. Disappointing. I want angry mama Tyrannosauruses, dammit!

2. Goblins: cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttte!!! :smallredface:
Check out the Goblin Hexer if you don't believe me, that thing is freakin' adorable.

3. Gorgon: old art. Same with the Vampire, Night Hag, and i'm 99% sure the Bog Hag art is from Oriental Adventures. Even the Drow art is recycled, as is some of the Kobold art- and you know how much Wizards of the Coast loves those guys! I think the Rakshasa assassin art is old, too.

4. Humans: Yep, they're in the Monster Manual. And about damn time! All your generic human NPC's are fully taken care of. You've got your mages, lackeys, guards, bandits and beserkers. Very cool.

5. Orcus, the demon prince guy, he's got stats. Wierd.

6. Slaad art= love

7. I can be a Githyanki without level adjustment! Neato.

8. Way too many dragons and dragon-like monsters.

That said, I don't know if 4e is the game for me. I really enjoyed some of the concepts, and i'd love to see 4e races and monsters converted into 3.5 versions, and the art that wasn't recycled (I mean, really?) was just wonderful. It confused me a little how types all seem to bleed into one another, but I haven't touched the PHB or DMG yet.

In conclusion, I might play 4e someday, but for now i'm happy using parts of it to inspire my 3.5 campaign. It's probably not the way Wizards of the Coast intended their books to be used, but whatever. =P

Goddamn, those Goblins were adorable.

AaronH
2008-06-02, 06:50 AM
I wasn't nearly as dissapointed with the monster manual as I thought I was going to be. As for to many dragons, come on, its half the name!

The only thing I was dissapointed about was that once again, chokers were snubbed and not given a PC writeup....

I want my choker paladin :(

kwanzaabot
2008-06-02, 07:07 AM
As for to many dragons, come on, its half the name!

Well, what about dunge... er, those "and" symbols? (ampersands?) They got like, no coverage. :smalltongue:

And the MM was definitely a good read. I would actually put Gnomes in my campaign if they were like the 4th edition ones. Those guys are awesome. :D

Tsotha-lanti
2008-06-02, 07:14 AM
All the hag art is old; one's a night hag, one's from Oriental Adventures, and one is from Unapproachable East. (Or is it Sandstorm ?) Real cheap, that.

kwanzaabot
2008-06-02, 07:33 AM
All the hag art is old; one's a night hag, one's from Oriental Adventures, and one is from Unapproachable East. (Or is it Sandstorm ?) Real cheap, that.

Very cheap. :smallfrown:

ghost_warlock
2008-06-02, 07:44 AM
Well, what about dunge... er, those "and" symbols? (ampersands?) They got like, no coverage. :smalltongue:

http://www.sevenagain.co.uk/assets/dungeons%20and%20dragons%20vol%201.jpg
The Ampersand is a type of dragon; has been for years.

kwanzaabot
2008-06-02, 08:02 AM
The Ampersand is a type of dragon; has been for years.

What kind of breath weapon does it have?

ghost_warlock
2008-06-02, 08:04 AM
What kind of breath weapon does it have?

Obviously, it has an orange-yellow breath weapon.

SamTheCleric
2008-06-02, 08:18 AM
He breathes... fruit... juice? :smalleek:

ghost_warlock
2008-06-02, 08:25 AM
He breathes... fruit... juice? :smalleek:

Kind of a scalding hot strawberry-mango, yeah.

Person_Man
2008-06-02, 08:29 AM
http://www.sevenagain.co.uk/assets/dungeons%20and%20dragons%20vol%201.jpg
The Ampersand is a type of dragon; has been for years.

Man, I wish the cartoon had artwork as good as the promo picture. Sheila actually looks good for a change.

Anywho, since I made no effort to get the books early, I have yet to aquire them and render a verdict on 4th ed. It's sad to hear that they've cut corners - old art, boring feats and powers, I've even heard rumors of a few editing mistakes. But we'll just have to wait and see.

Starbuck_II
2008-06-02, 09:10 AM
kwanzaabot:


Okay, so through some mysterious means, I, like everyone else in the world, somehow managed to acquire the 4th edition rulebooks.

I just thought I'd let you know. In case yours is a PDF, on En World the Rouse says the PDF is missing some monsters and has a a few they took out in final copy.

Kinda funny, the ones who got stuff early are missing some stuff.


The Behemoth change is probably to applease playtesters who don't like dinosuars in D&D.

Swordguy
2008-06-02, 09:15 AM
Anywho, since I made no effort to get the books early, I have yet to aquire them and render a verdict on 4th ed. It's sad to hear that they've cut corners - old art, boring feats and powers, I've even heard rumors of a few editing mistakes. But we'll just have to wait and see.

The day an RPG comes out with ZERO editing mistakes, I'll eat something uncomfortable and bad-tasting.

kwanzaabot
2008-06-02, 08:58 PM
kwanzaabot:

I just thought I'd let you know. In case yours is a PDF, on En World the Rouse says the PDF is missing some monsters and has a a few they took out in final copy.

Kinda funny, the ones who got stuff early are missing some stuff.

The Behemoth change is probably to applease playtesters who don't like dinosuars in D&D.

I guess I could understand the behemoth thing if they had some more variety (I mean, nobody is going to be threatened by the dinosaurs they used. I mean, sure, a stegosaurus could put on the hurt if threatened, but hello? T-rex please?)

If they did leave out some monsters that are actually worth it, then sure, i'll probably buy the book when I decide to play 4e. The final version seriously better have new art, too.

EvilElitest
2008-06-02, 09:01 PM
I'm looking forward to the MM more than anything else, but Behmoths? Why not just copy Ebberon?
from
EE

Jarlax
2008-06-02, 09:49 PM
1. Dinosaurs: they're called "Behemoths" now. Seriously? Seriously!? And all I saw was a Stegosaurus and an Ankylosaurus. Disappointing. I want angry mama Tyrannosauruses, dammit!

they seem to have scrapped dinosaurs in favor of splitting the species across multiple entries and types. you will find many of the smaller variates of dinosaurs now in the "drake" section of the MM.

Jorkens
2008-06-02, 10:01 PM
The Ampersand is a type of dragon; has been for years.
It's a demon, actually.

A dragon is a D and an adventurer (or generic humanoid) is an @.

Bleen
2008-06-02, 10:14 PM
It's a demon, actually.
And sometimes, if you spend enough time near it, you might get stat bonuses. But only when it's certain colors.

Jorkens
2008-06-02, 10:15 PM
And sometimes, if you spend enough time near it, you might get stat bonuses. But only when it's certain colors.
:smallbiggrin: