April and Beyond: Actually full of things most people will like!

[Incenjucar]

Seriously, check some of this stuff out.

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (April and Beyond)

The Wander Tower is especially fantastic. It's a monster that is basically its own adventure, and it can be converted into a hundred awesome concepts. Imagine being stuck on a spelljammer in the middle of the astral that turns out to be a giant mimic trying to eat you.

 

[Aegeri]

Yeah, no matter what I think of what Wizards is doing with some player content they can't go wrong with monsters. They've completely nailed good monster design in this edition and just continue to get better. The Wandering Tower is a spectacular monster - not only is it just a great monster it's an entire adventure by itself.

 

[Evenglare]

is it too much that i just want to go up to them and slap whoever is in charge of putting damned cards in the game ? Just stop it . Stop it.

 

[Aegeri]

is it too much that i just want to go up to them and slap whoever is in charge of putting damned cards in the game ? Just stop it . Stop it.

Yeah I don't care about the cards at all - though I will defend the fact they work brilliantly in gamma world. Quite frankly, so long as they have monsters of the quality of the Wall Golem in there, I don't really care and WILL be buying it.

 

[Incenjucar]

While it's true that, in the old days, they would just have put a d100 table up for that exact purpose, 4E sorta eliminated d100s. The actual effect of the cards is snazzy, I think, though I wouldn't use it as frequently as they suggest. If the party is suffering from despair EVERY SINGLE DAY I'mma suggest they take some Prozac.

 

[Vicar In A Tutu]

is it too much that i just want to go up to them and slap whoever is in charge of putting damned cards in the game ? Just stop it . Stop it.

I have nothing against the despair deck. It's non-random, and the cards work quite well for players remembering what type of "despair" they are suffering from. Not like the fortune cards, which I didn't like and thought was a wasted opportunity (they were boring and expensive).

But holy cow the tower mimic rocks! This article just reinforces my impression that 4E has gotten a lot more "fluffy" since essentials. It seems the designers want to breathe life into a rules-system that was very flexible and quick, but also at times a little dry and lifeless.

 

[Dice4Hire]

If the rest of the MV is that good, I'm getting it ASAP. Every monster on there was excellent.

Shadowlfell, meh. A player in my group is getting it as he bought all the planer books. I'll look at his copy.

Fens? Looks ok, nice detail

Overall what is coming up looks decent even if it is awful thin.

 

[ragingpeanuts]

I love cards in the game, for the very simple reason that it makes it way easier for players to remember stuff. I use Weems condition cards so they know what's affecting them. I was working on a despair deck of my own, but stopped that the moment I heard this came out. I'll be picking it up as soon as it comes out.

I don't have much info about the population that plays d&d. But speaking for my own group (3 guys inc. me and our gf's), they simply don't have the time to figure out every little detail of the game. One couple's got a baby. One's busy getting a masters degree or starting their own company. For us, it enhances the experience.

As far as monsters are concerned: the new monsters rock.

 

[Riastlin]

Yeah, no matter what I think of what Wizards is doing with some player content they can't go wrong with monsters. They've completely nailed good monster design in this edition and just continue to get better. The Wandering Tower is a spectacular monster - not only is it just a great monster it's an entire adventure by itself.

I agree. They really have done a good job with monsters in this edition, at least in terms of making them easy to create your own or modify others. It takes hardly any time at all to create a new monster now and even less to modify or change the level of another. Plus with the new MM3 damage, monsters pack a serious punch now and encounters are becoming a lot more entertaining while remaining at or near the party's level.

Just ran the new MV beholder yesterday, leveled it up to level 12, gave it some babies in the form of a beholder swarm, and let it wreak havoc on the party. Everything worked really well in my opinion, the party had a blast, pulled out most of the stops, and pulled through without any casualties (though it was touch and go for the ranger for much of the encounter). All told, I spent about a half an hour designing the encounter, if that. Back in 3.x to do that it would have absolutely been a lot longer.

 

[TerraDave]

As a DM, sure, there was some good stuff there.

BUT, I:

Am also not seeing much
Do NOT like that fiction in there