Creating monsters for 4e is easier, but less fun.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 01:28PM We've been working hard behind the scenes here to give you what U20 should be all about; great free monsters, awesome paid monster products, monster design tips and advice, and useful instructions on how to run and fight monsters better.
Promises, promises.
If I'm tired of saying it, you must be tired of hearing it, but yes; it's all on the way. In the meantime, I've discovered that creating monsters for 4e is easier, but less fun, than for 3.X.
The formulas that take all the heavy lifting out of a creature's math stifle creativity in 4e. How? Since 4e is such a finely-tuned simulation of a simulated fantasy world, the rules for building critters are rather specific, and it's obvious that you are deviating from those rules every time you want a creature that has a higher-than-average armor class, fewer hit points, more damaging attacks, or a string of abilities that work together rather than the multiple-effect abilities we see in 4e.
This week I have four critters in the works--two for 3.5 D20 games, and two for 4e, and while I spend much more time writing while making 3.X critters, they always turn out how I want them to. For 4e, I always have to compromise on my vision when moving from conception to design to force it into a pre-defined role. (what if my critter doesn't really fit into any of those roles? Shouldn't your game system provide you with the tools to make anything you can imagine work?)
The toolkit provided by 4e is lacking, but I say that knowing how young it is.
Am I the only one who feels that 4e is less fun to design for? I enjoy playing it, but I still can't crack a new chapter of any 4e core book without feeling disappointment with one design decision or another. I want to be convinced that these feelings are wrong because it looks like 4e is not only here to stay, but to thrive.
Reader Comments (2)
It seems that you can't HAVE to follow the guidelines that they give you, but you can always deviate. Even the creators at wizards deviated a ton (so I've heard). The guidelines are just that - guidelines. Follow your heart when creating your monster, and it can be just as fun, if not more so.
sorry, get rid of the word "can't"