The free D&D Beyond adventure Scions of Elemental Evil was a nice surprise. And it includes an appendix of creatures with the note: "These creatures appear in the 2025 Monster Manual and aren’t the final versions." It was neat to see a Pirate and Pirate Captain included with these. But I am concerned that these do not play well with nor cleanly replace the existing pirate stat blocks from Ghosts of Saltmarsh (Pirate Bosun, Pirate Captain, Pirate Deck Wizard, and Pirate First Mate. With the Bandit stat block representing the average pirate.). The stated goal of the 2025 Monster Manual is to update existing monsters while keeping the CRs the same (changing the power of the stat blocks to match the intended CR). This new Pirate Captain is CR 6, while the old one is CR 2. They are not interchangeable as written, so I hope the Pirate Captain of the new MM is renamed so as not to invalidate the GoS one without providing a suitable replacement. (Or alternatively is redesigned to be CR 2.) Similarly, the new Pirate and the Pirate First Mate are both CR 1, when logically a First Mate would be tougher than the average Pirate. I don't mind tougher pirates... It just makes it harder to play GoS and adventures based on it with the current naming. I also liked the Sea Legs pirate trait from GoS and for consistency would like to see it incorporated into any new pirate stat blocks in the new MM. If the new MM is not already set in stone, I would like to see these inconsistencies addressed in some fashion. (Maybe the inclusion of lesser and seasoned pirates of various roles? The lesser ones being at the GoS power levels and replacing them with matching CRs?)
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The free D&D Beyond adventure Scions of Elemental Evil was a nice surprise. And it includes an appendix of creatures with the note: "These creatures appear in the 2025 Monster Manual and aren’t the final versions." It was neat to see a Pirate and Pirate Captain included with these. But I am concerned that these do not play well with nor cleanly replace the existing pirate stat blocks from Ghosts of Saltmarsh (Pirate Bosun, Pirate Captain, Pirate Deck Wizard, and Pirate First Mate. With the Bandit stat block representing the average pirate.). The stated goal of the 2025 Monster Manual is to update existing monsters while keeping the CRs the same (changing the power of the stat blocks to match the intended CR). This new Pirate Captain is CR 6, while the old one is CR 2. They are not interchangeable as written, so I hope the Pirate Captain of the new MM is renamed so as not to invalidate the GoS one without providing a suitable replacement. (Or alternatively is redesigned to be CR 2.) Similarly, the new Pirate and the Pirate First Mate are both CR 1, when logically a First Mate would be tougher than the average Pirate. I don't mind tougher pirates... It just makes it harder to play GoS and adventures based on it with the current naming. I also liked the Sea Legs pirate trait from GoS and for consistency would like to see it incorporated into any new pirate stat blocks in the new MM. If the new MM is not already set in stone, I would like to see these inconsistencies addressed in some fashion. (Maybe the inclusion of lesser and seasoned pirates of various roles? The lesser ones being at the GoS power levels and replacing them with matching CRs?)