3Mar/104
New D&D 4E Monster Format
I just read a post over on the D&D website that showed a few examples of the new formatting for the monster stat blocks for D&D 4th Edition. I definitely like the new design as it sorts all the information in a slight easier to use fashion. All of a monster's traits, standard actions, minor actions, and triggered actions are grouped together, which makes it more organized and easier to find it's abilities. Powers also have been changed to have a formatting more similar to a PC's power cards, so each power has an "attack" and "hit" section, etc.
Overall the changes to the monster info block make complete sense and will help DMing run a little more smoothly. Check out a comparison of a Kobold Dragonshield below, side by side.
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March 4th, 2010 - 00:35
Nice! That is much easier to read.
March 4th, 2010 - 05:11
I’ve been using a similar format as well for monsters. I never use the Monster Builder’s layout or read directly from the books. I actually transcribe the monster stats into my own format. It sounds tedious, I know, but the simple act of transcription allows me to study how the monsters work so that by the time I’ve finished copying them I know how to use them tactically.
March 4th, 2010 - 06:19
Wow – that’s pretty slick. A marked improvement over the old format.
March 4th, 2010 - 19:05
I like it. The layout is MUCH easier to follow, especially in the confusion of combat. It should speed combat up as you no longer have to read the entire statblock each round to decide what the creature will do. Of course, you could always just memorize each stat block, I reckon.