3.5 - Monster Environments are not so well thought-out?

[Jon_Dahl]

For instance:
Primary terrain for trolls is cold mountains. But according to Fire Giant's Environment trolls live in symbiosis with them, but not with Frost Giants. Fire Giants live on warm mountains and Frost Giants live on cold mountains. Hmm? Even Gnolls have symbiosis with Trolls, even though they don't share the same language and live in completely different environments (compare desert and Himālaya).

Kobolds live in forests, but they are made as miners... They even have bonus for mining, but several other creatures like dwarves don't possess such affinity to mining (no bonus) but they live in mountains. I find it hard to understand what sort of mining you do in forests...

I could give more examples, but I do wonder what they were thinking when they wrote up these environments?

[Eloel]

D&D developers were on crack during the whole development - not only that.

[absolmorph]

... Why the hell would trolls work together with fire giants? Isn't fire the only thing that does lethal damage to them?

[Kurald Galain]

... Why the hell would trolls work together with fire giants? Isn't fire the only thing that does lethal damage to them?

That's precisely why fire giants are one of the few creatures capable of bullying trolls into working with them

[Runestar]

Who even uses the environments? I simply slot monsters in as and when I feel like it...

[Eloel]

Actually, all monsters are in the same environment - dungeons :)

[Jon_Dahl]

Who even uses the environments? I simply slot monsters in as and when I feel like it...

I share your view, but this thread was mainly created to behold the "ingenuity" of the developers

And about Fire Giants bullying Trolls into submission... Well... Since warm mountains are quite far away from cold mountains (temperate being in between) I see little point in hauling trolls all this way, there has to be better options closer... Thats like travelling from Kilimanjaro to pick up henchmen from Scottish Highlands. Easy?

[Kurald Galain]

"Common environment" isn't the same as "only environment". Also, "warm mountains" are generally just a few thousand feet down from the cold parts of the very same mountain.

[Serpentine]

Has anyone ever actually used a beholder in "cold hills"? As opposed to, say, underground?

[Octopus Jack]

Has anyone ever actually used a beholder in "cold hills"? As opposed to, say, underground?

I will do... Sounds like a fun encounter