Which is really surprising because I thought it didn't come out until Tuesday. Is that normal? Or am I confused?
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
If anyone has any questions, I don't mind answering them (I got the collectors set so MMM and the updated Xanathar’s and Tasha's).
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
There is definitely some bew stuff compared to the MM. Pretty sure it should be considered a replacement for Volo's Guide to Monsters, not the MM, but I don't have a copy of Volo's to compare and confirm. I'll check the MM now and see if there is any overlap, and get back to you wheb I'm done.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
There are zero replications from the Monster Manual. There are a few similar but not the same (eg Duergar in MM is split into 9 different entries in MMM).
This would be best considered an expansion to the Monster Manual. I believe it is a replacement for Volo's, but don't quote me on that since I can't check and it is what I understand from what others have said. Indeed, at the beginning of the book, it describes itself as "A companion to the Monster Manual". The major difference in structure is that the MM begins explaining how to use monsters etc (eg it explains the CR system), where as this doesn’t, and replaces that section with a playable race section.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
My understanding is that the monsters in MMM are updates of those first presented in VOLO'S and MORDENKAINEN's. Nothing from the MONSTER MANUAL is updated. (Assumption being, that will happen in 2024.)
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Which is really surprising because I thought it didn't come out until Tuesday. Is that normal? Or am I confused?
Amazon? They sometimes jump the gun on deliveries and offiicial release dates, especially given this time of year where winter storms (at least in the U.S.) can lead to shipping delays (on top of the original production/supply delay as WotC had wanted this in stores before the holidays).
But you're not confused, it's supposed to be officially released on Tuesday ... or Wednesday for those of us who frequent a game store closed on Tuesdays.
I sat the boxed set out as I own 2/3 of it and I don't see MMM as "essential" to my current games so I'll pick it up in May or later if there isn't an incentive cover for that release ... I'm toying with doing a "Homebrew speed challenge" to see how long it would take me to put all the races in, I'm good with homebrewing races, monsters not so much yet so would enter those as a practice course.
I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot from a lot of corners, but I'd be interested in your impressions. Do you see yourself using it to immediately update your game, some options to play with?
The first part of Mordenkainen's is very heavy on lore and racial background, with the Blood War, the elven cosmology, the dwarven war with the duergar and so on. That stuff isn't exactly setting-agnostic. Did this info make it into M³, was it scrapped, or was it reworked?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Ordered via Amazon (no FLGS near me, unfortunately), fulfilled by Wordery and delivered by Yodel, so kind of. I'm glad though, it meant I was actually in for the delivery rather than playing games with the delivery driver.
I'll be using the playable characters as soon as I start a new campaign. I'm not convinced about their changes - I might retcon SS and pack tactics back in to the Kobolds because that interactivity appeals to me, for example - but I can't complain after getting 28 new (to me) races.
The bestiary is definitely better than the MManual. It's more focused and themed. For example, it has 9 kinds of Duergar, which means if I do a campaign which involves them, it's easier to have it themed and put together. MMM as depth versus the MM's breadth. I can't really speak for if it's worth it if you already have Volo's - all I had before were the core rules. However, if you don't have Volo's or MToF, and you want a bestiary, I'd definitely recommend it. Having multiple kinds of a race like the Drow and so forth just makes it much more interesting because you can have a varied group rather than either having monotonous enemies or trying to Frankenstein them together in weird and wonderful ways. I don't think it's worth doubling up on TCoE and XGtE just to get it, though. Well, I say that, I'm not sure what is actually updated about them. When I manage to get my daughter asleep ill have a look at look at new spell system, I forgot to check earlier.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
The first part of Mordenkainen's is very heavy on lore and racial background, with the Blood War, the elven cosmology, the dwarven war with the duergar and so on. That stuff isn't exactly setting-agnostic. Did this info make it into M³, was it scrapped, or was it reworked?
There isn't an exposition filled section, no. Each monster (or group of monsters), has some brief exposition before it that explains how they came about (ie their creation myth) and about some of their lore. If it is subdivided (for example, the different colour Abishai), then each division gets a further brief summary of what differentiates them from the other kinds. There isn't a section explaining about the Blood War, but since each monster gets some exposition, it could just be broken up into references between the various monsters. The setup isn't very useful for learning world building lore per se. It's very much set up to support the understanding of the monsters themselves. Any such learning (eg about the Blood War) will be incidental at best. Still, there is a lot of information presented, each monster seems to have a picture of it present, it's certainly not sparse. It's just very focused on presenting what you need to run the monsters.
Getting back to spellcasting...from what I saw (a quick glance before I had to go put.my daughter back for bed), the spells all seem to be either cantrip like (at will, can cast as often as they like), or each individual spell has x/day uses. I'm not convinced that the latter form actually helps very much, compared to spell slots when it comes to the DM tracking what it can do. Obviously, 1/day is fine, but the 3/day...I think slots would actually be easier. I think it'll be easier to remember/track that I have x amount of L3 slots left than to try and remember how many times I've cast each individual spell. Still, until I try it, I won't know for sure.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Is there any content in the book that makes it worth getting if you already own Volo's and Mordenkeinen's?
I don't own either, I'm afraid, so I can't make that comparison. As per my post above, I'm not sold on the x/day spells over spell slots, but I'm not sure what the other differences would be.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
The first part of Mordenkainen's is very heavy on lore and racial background, with the Blood War, the elven cosmology, the dwarven war with the duergar and so on. That stuff isn't exactly setting-agnostic. Did this info make it into M³, was it scrapped, or was it reworked?
Re the Blood War. I've been reading through the pages like a book, and there's quite a lot of stuff on it. It wouldn't surprise me if there was just as much in this book - it's just divided up and written as relevant to the various monsters.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
The first part of Mordenkainen's is very heavy on lore and racial background, with the Blood War, the elven cosmology, the dwarven war with the duergar and so on. That stuff isn't exactly setting-agnostic. Did this info make it into M³, was it scrapped, or was it reworked?
Re the Blood War. I've been reading through the pages like a book, and there's quite a lot of stuff on it. It wouldn't surprise me if there was just as much in this book - it's just divided up and written as relevant to the various monsters.
Alright, thanks! I was curious because of the stated intent to make the rules less setting-specific. I already suspected that they would only go so far and that it would mostly be about explaining the floating ASIs away, seems I might have been right about that. I expect the Dwarves will still have bits about the pursuit of perfection, rigid mindsets, the clan and the stronghold, and references to stone work and masonry sprinkled in?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
The first part of Mordenkainen's is very heavy on lore and racial background, with the Blood War, the elven cosmology, the dwarven war with the duergar and so on. That stuff isn't exactly setting-agnostic. Did this info make it into M³, was it scrapped, or was it reworked?
Re the Blood War. I've been reading through the pages like a book, and there's quite a lot of stuff on it. It wouldn't surprise me if there was just as much in this book - it's just divided up and written as relevant to the various monsters.
Alright, thanks! I was curious because of the stated intent to make the rules less setting-specific. I already suspected that they would only go so far and that it would mostly be about explaining the floating ASIs away, seems I might have been right about that. I expect the Dwarves will still have bits about the pursuit of perfection, rigid mindsets, the clan and the stronghold, and references to stone work and masonry sprinkled in?
Actually, no. To be fair, there aren't any Dwarves per se, just Duergar (I know they're Dwarves, but you know what I mean). It spends about 2/3rds of a page talking about how they come from the Underdark, that their previous captivity has affected their personality, and how their picnic abilities were developed and how they're used. It closes by discussing their architecture and its geometrical forms.
Something that has struck me is how specific the descriptions are. It's not bland or generic at all. It feels like the lore that I previously wanted - it doesn't feel setting agnostic and the associated blandness at all. That doesn't mean that it's impossible to port them into different settings, but, and I'm grateful for this, they haven't skimped out on details to keep them generic either. I'm not sure what they've done to make them less setting-specific, but it's not in your face like I was concerned about.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Which is really surprising because I thought it didn't come out until Tuesday. Is that normal? Or am I confused?
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
If anyone has any questions, I don't mind answering them (I got the collectors set so MMM and the updated Xanathar’s and Tasha's).
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Does this replace the Monster Manual?
thanks
There is definitely some bew stuff compared to the MM. Pretty sure it should be considered a replacement for Volo's Guide to Monsters, not the MM, but I don't have a copy of Volo's to compare and confirm. I'll check the MM now and see if there is any overlap, and get back to you wheb I'm done.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
There are zero replications from the Monster Manual. There are a few similar but not the same (eg Duergar in MM is split into 9 different entries in MMM).
This would be best considered an expansion to the Monster Manual. I believe it is a replacement for Volo's, but don't quote me on that since I can't check and it is what I understand from what others have said. Indeed, at the beginning of the book, it describes itself as "A companion to the Monster Manual". The major difference in structure is that the MM begins explaining how to use monsters etc (eg it explains the CR system), where as this doesn’t, and replaces that section with a playable race section.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
thank ya much appreciated
Wait you got the physical copy correct.. ?
Itinerant Deputy Shire-reave Tomas Burrfoot - world walker, Raft-captain, speaker to his dead
Toddy Shelfungus- Rider of the Order of Ill Luck, Speaker to Friends of Friends, and Horribly big nosed
Jarl Archi of Jenisis Glade Fee- Noble Knight of the Dragonborn Goldcrest Clan, Sorcerer of the Noble Investigator;y; Knightly order of the Wolfhound
My understanding is that the monsters in MMM are updates of those first presented in VOLO'S and MORDENKAINEN's. Nothing from the MONSTER MANUAL is updated. (Assumption being, that will happen in 2024.)
Yeah, came today.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Is there any content in the book that makes it worth getting if you already own Volo's and Mordenkeinen's?
Amazon? They sometimes jump the gun on deliveries and offiicial release dates, especially given this time of year where winter storms (at least in the U.S.) can lead to shipping delays (on top of the original production/supply delay as WotC had wanted this in stores before the holidays).
But you're not confused, it's supposed to be officially released on Tuesday ... or Wednesday for those of us who frequent a game store closed on Tuesdays.
I sat the boxed set out as I own 2/3 of it and I don't see MMM as "essential" to my current games so I'll pick it up in May or later if there isn't an incentive cover for that release ... I'm toying with doing a "Homebrew speed challenge" to see how long it would take me to put all the races in, I'm good with homebrewing races, monsters not so much yet so would enter those as a practice course.
I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot from a lot of corners, but I'd be interested in your impressions. Do you see yourself using it to immediately update your game, some options to play with?
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
The first part of Mordenkainen's is very heavy on lore and racial background, with the Blood War, the elven cosmology, the dwarven war with the duergar and so on. That stuff isn't exactly setting-agnostic. Did this info make it into M³, was it scrapped, or was it reworked?
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Ordered via Amazon (no FLGS near me, unfortunately), fulfilled by Wordery and delivered by Yodel, so kind of. I'm glad though, it meant I was actually in for the delivery rather than playing games with the delivery driver.
I'll be using the playable characters as soon as I start a new campaign. I'm not convinced about their changes - I might retcon SS and pack tactics back in to the Kobolds because that interactivity appeals to me, for example - but I can't complain after getting 28 new (to me) races.
The bestiary is definitely better than the MManual. It's more focused and themed. For example, it has 9 kinds of Duergar, which means if I do a campaign which involves them, it's easier to have it themed and put together. MMM as depth versus the MM's breadth. I can't really speak for if it's worth it if you already have Volo's - all I had before were the core rules. However, if you don't have Volo's or MToF, and you want a bestiary, I'd definitely recommend it. Having multiple kinds of a race like the Drow and so forth just makes it much more interesting because you can have a varied group rather than either having monotonous enemies or trying to Frankenstein them together in weird and wonderful ways. I don't think it's worth doubling up on TCoE and XGtE just to get it, though. Well, I say that, I'm not sure what is actually updated about them. When I manage to get my daughter asleep ill have a look at look at new spell system, I forgot to check earlier.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
There isn't an exposition filled section, no. Each monster (or group of monsters), has some brief exposition before it that explains how they came about (ie their creation myth) and about some of their lore. If it is subdivided (for example, the different colour Abishai), then each division gets a further brief summary of what differentiates them from the other kinds. There isn't a section explaining about the Blood War, but since each monster gets some exposition, it could just be broken up into references between the various monsters. The setup isn't very useful for learning world building lore per se. It's very much set up to support the understanding of the monsters themselves. Any such learning (eg about the Blood War) will be incidental at best. Still, there is a lot of information presented, each monster seems to have a picture of it present, it's certainly not sparse. It's just very focused on presenting what you need to run the monsters.
Getting back to spellcasting...from what I saw (a quick glance before I had to go put.my daughter back for bed), the spells all seem to be either cantrip like (at will, can cast as often as they like), or each individual spell has x/day uses. I'm not convinced that the latter form actually helps very much, compared to spell slots when it comes to the DM tracking what it can do. Obviously, 1/day is fine, but the 3/day...I think slots would actually be easier. I think it'll be easier to remember/track that I have x amount of L3 slots left than to try and remember how many times I've cast each individual spell. Still, until I try it, I won't know for sure.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I don't own either, I'm afraid, so I can't make that comparison. As per my post above, I'm not sold on the x/day spells over spell slots, but I'm not sure what the other differences would be.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Re the Blood War. I've been reading through the pages like a book, and there's quite a lot of stuff on it. It wouldn't surprise me if there was just as much in this book - it's just divided up and written as relevant to the various monsters.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Alright, thanks! I was curious because of the stated intent to make the rules less setting-specific. I already suspected that they would only go so far and that it would mostly be about explaining the floating ASIs away, seems I might have been right about that. I expect the Dwarves will still have bits about the pursuit of perfection, rigid mindsets, the clan and the stronghold, and references to stone work and masonry sprinkled in?
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Actually, no. To be fair, there aren't any Dwarves per se, just Duergar (I know they're Dwarves, but you know what I mean). It spends about 2/3rds of a page talking about how they come from the Underdark, that their previous captivity has affected their personality, and how their picnic abilities were developed and how they're used. It closes by discussing their architecture and its geometrical forms.
Something that has struck me is how specific the descriptions are. It's not bland or generic at all. It feels like the lore that I previously wanted - it doesn't feel setting agnostic and the associated blandness at all. That doesn't mean that it's impossible to port them into different settings, but, and I'm grateful for this, they haven't skimped out on details to keep them generic either. I'm not sure what they've done to make them less setting-specific, but it's not in your face like I was concerned about.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Good info, I appreciate your take.
Since you've already got it feel free to be the first entrant in the MMM PC Races Homebrew Challenge.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.