|
Well, I actually sat down and read for a couple of hours last night and so finished reading the Dragon Empires Primer. So now, at long last, I am getting around to reading the D&D3.5 Monster Manual (I hadn't read this before because until switching to train travel to work my reading was limited to PDFs).
So what great monsters should I look forward to reading about? What monsters may seem "meh!" but are actually very cool in play? And what are just plain dumb (but potentially funny)?
Get me excited about reading the Monster Manual!
Get me excited about reading the Monster Manual!
Personally, I think they're all pretty entertaining to read about. That said, I don't think you'll really know how cool a monster is until you run a campaign that requires them. For example, I never gave the allip a a moment's thought until I started running a sea campaign. Then all of a sudden they seemed like a terrifying villain full of possibilities.
As for monsters to steer clear of, the only one I've ever run that I found to be absolutely miserable is the animated object. Due to their hardness, the things are hard as nails to kill. Meanwhile, they often don't have any special attacks of any kind, so they're dull as nails to run. (Did I overdo it on the nail similes?)
I think if you want to use an animated object, be careful with the hardness. Also, try giving it a special attack of some kind. For example, a candelabra isn't that exciting. A candelabra that can cast produce flame once every 1d4 rounds is lots of fun.
|
|
Thanks for the insight, I have read the 4e Monster Manual so some of the monsters are not totally new to me, but its also interesting to see how the mechanic write up differs.
I will take a look at the Allip again, what was it that made it a good fit for a sea based campaign - was it the similarity to a siren?
And thanks for the advice re animated objects!
Stupid monsters are generally great fun. For example, the time the low level party got attacked by two chokers in difficult terrain. These guys are dumb as rocks, and their main motivation is hunger, so after they managed to kill one, the other snatched away its buddy's corpse and went back into its lair for some dinner. Having ogres make thoroughly useless plans for how they plan to defeat the heroes is hilarious. I guess my point is that the monster in question isn't what makes a memorable encounter, though there are a few universal moments to watch out for. First dragon and first beholder tend to rank.
