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7 months ago ::
Nov 05, 2012 - 9:08PM
#1
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Date Joined:
May 12, 2009
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Wandering Monsters
Things From Beyond The StarsBy James WyattBeholders, mind flayers, and aboleths have snagged the brains of monster handler James thisweek. Take a look at these three aberrations after you get a good feel for the current working definition of aberrations.Talk about this column here.
Yan
Montréal, Canada
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7 months ago ::
Nov 05, 2012 - 10:24PM
#2
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Date Joined:
Mar 26, 2007
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Very happy to hear about psionics again, not really heard anything since the 1st playtest packet (grey ooze); so mindflayers are often spellcasters, using arcane (rarely divine) magic or psionics.
It doesn't mention that mindflayers are humans from an alternate future (blackened all the suns) or that aboleths predate the current cosmos, the last one being destroyed by the Leshay, but, maybe later.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 05, 2012 - 10:28PM
#3
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Date Joined:
May 12, 2009
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Both the Beholder, Mind Flayer and Aboleth's Lore pretty much spot IMO.
I also like the Aberration definition not tied to a particular plane and thus dissociated as much from the Far Realm as possible for those not using it.
Yan
Montréal, Canada
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7 months ago ::
Nov 05, 2012 - 10:48PM
#4
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Date Joined:
Oct 17, 2007
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Ironically, the idea that Aboleths onced ruled the world is baked right into the flavour, even though that is not necessary. The Far Realm is a good explanation for where these creatures came from without carving out a spot in the mortal world as their homeland, and is ignorable/mutable if you do have a place in mind.
"People want balance but can't accept this homogenization that occurs as a result of that balance being implemented. then they complain that the fighter is weaker than the wizard ad nauseam.: - Teitan
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7 months ago ::
Nov 06, 2012 - 12:59AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2006
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* About beholder: The future Monster Manual II should recover the beholder-kin (Death kiss, eye of the deep, gauth, orbus, spectator, undead, hive mother, director, examiner lensman, overseer, watcher, the eyeball familiar). And about the anti-magic cone...what if PC aren´t spellcaster at all but other power source (like psionic or ki/incarnum..). If I could... the beholder had got lots of (half-daelkyr) humanoid cultist followers with symbionts and grafts, and spelljammer technology like alien mechas (= giant contructs). * Mind slayer. I wish the return of half-illithid template, the illihithitaed (cessirid, embrac, kigrid, and saltor) and the brainstealer dragon...(why not for Monster Manual II?). What about the cult of thoon (MM V)? It was a interesting idea. Was there a link between thoon and incarnum or ki? * Aboleth. They aren´t my favorites..and they could rebember lots of old dreams about things never happened. really. They are better to be used to campaings like Call of Chulthu or Spelljammer. ---- I miss other aberrations like ethergaunts and kaortis from Fiend Folio or Zerns (Monster Manual IV). Kaorti could be like necromorphes mutants from Dead Space videogame. Flumphs could come back in a 1st April article. I would like add a little tribute to a 1956 sci-fi film, The island Earth. The Metaluna mutant is like a umber hulk with a great brain (like devourer intelect).  I would like the idea of aberration infection or plague, like "ganado" from Resident Evil 4, majini "Resident Evil 5" and J´avos (Resident Evil 6) or "Oozes" (Resident Evil: Revelations).
"Say me what you're showing off for, and I'll say you what you lack!" (Spanish saying)
Book 13 Anaclet 23
Confucius said: "The Superior Man is in harmony but does not follow the crowd. The inferior man follows the crowd, but is not in harmony"
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7 months ago ::
Nov 06, 2012 - 4:21AM
#6
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Love the aberrations general background and each of the individual monsters with a few minor exceptions.
Steely_Dan, the things you talk about in your last paragraph sound like they should be setting specific, just like the Far Realm. I wouldn't expect to see that stuff until much later in the playtest, or possibly not at all until settings actually are released.
Alter_Boy, I too would like to see the Aboleths ruled the world part removed from the general creature description. There isn't any need for that to be in the creature description and every reason it should appear in a setting module.
Kalex the Omen Dungeonmaster Extraordinaire Concerning Player Rules Bias
Show
Gaining victory through rules bias is a hollow victory and they know it.
The argument goes, that some idiot at the table might claim that because there is a "default" that is the only true way to play D&D. An idiotic misconception that should be quite easy to disprove just by reading the rules, coming to these forums, or sending a quick note off to Customer Support and sharing the inevitable response with the group. BTW, I'm not just talking about Next when I say this. Of course, D&D has always been this way since at least the late 70's when I began playing.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 06, 2012 - 6:57AM
#7
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...but even these abilities are alien and unusual, often involving the strange magic of psionics...
STOP DOING THAT! Psionic power is NOT magic!… Oh who am I kidding. People cry that Psionics don't fit in their LotR rip-off setting, so you want to water down the concept so it fits better in those odd games that want to be really down to earth despite the fact there's magic all over the place. Magic makes sense, but other supernatural things in the world? Well now, this is just getting silly. [/rant]
...I also like the Aberration definition not tied to a particular plane and thus dissociated as much from the Far Realm as possible for those not using it.
This. Not because I don't want the Far Realm in my game, but because I don't want it linked to things so conceivable and mortal. When there are Far Realm related things that are feared less than a bear, it doesn't really give off that "eldritch horror" feeling.
What I think the Wilder Design Goals should be. Psionic Homebrew Mk2! Changed core, Focus Points, Psionic Potentials, stuff! Very basic core stuff. :P Homebrew Psionics blog posts archive: Spoiler:
Show
UPDATED Dec/18/2012: BAMN! Random update with a modest amount of hard rules for Animal Affinity, Telepathy, and Telekinesis. ADDED: Discipline Burn and more "soft" ideas.
Dec/13/2012: Small Psionics Homebrew Update, now that I'm done with Finals.
Really old.
Nov/02/2012:
I'm working on a homebrew Wilder, and so a homebrew Psionics system. Here's a 3 part post with info on where I am in the design process.
Part 1, Hard rules/example soulknife discipline: Link.
Part 2, Basic ideas/goals on basic numbers and classes: Link.
Part 3, Direction/ideas I want to take with specific disciplines: Link.:3
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7 months ago ::
Nov 06, 2012 - 7:08AM
#8
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Date Joined:
Dec 20, 2011
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I want them to make cutesy models / sculptures of beholders now like they did with the owlbears.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 06, 2012 - 7:24AM
#9
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I think James has been doing a pretty good job of distilling the basic essence of all the D&D creatures since he has moved on from the giants and humanoid ones. The only reason I think there has been a problem with them was because they have so many different variations available in stories.
Anyways good job with these three although, I do not see really anything different presented from how they have been traditonally been viewed in any of the editions, simply put they could be a 1st or 4th ed version of the creatures and work fine. Since this is what I believe he was going for he suceeded with flying colors.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 06, 2012 - 8:03AM
#10
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Date Joined:
Jan 10, 2012
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"Beholders have a high Intelligence score. Their strengths are their eye beams, their role as masterminds, and their antimagic eyes. Their weaknesses are physical combat (a beholder's bite should not be anywhere near as scary as its eye rays) and their inability to cooperate or work together."
I really hope this means that anti-magic has returned.
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