Legend4ry Monsters: Stat Blocks

I have talked about monster bloat before and how it has become a problem for DMing. Not a problem in the traditional sense, per se, but in that with so many different Goblins and Kobolds out there, choosing the "right" one proves increasingly difficult. Having two or three different varieties of Kobolds, for example, really provide us a nice baseline, and if we need further customization, we can do so from this baseline on a case-by-case basis.

One of the biggest problems with monster bloat is the increasingly large size of the monster stat blocks. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE 4e's stat blocks. They are concise and to the point and give me everything I could possibly want. This is monster design done (mostly) right. BUT, for the average campaign or encounter, do I really need to know this Goblin Minion's Strength modifier? Sure, there are fringe cases where this will present itself, but over-all, how often do you actually need that information?

I want to redesign the 4e monster stat block. Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't going to work for every monster or even every encounter. I attempted in a previous post to compile four different types of Kobold into one stat block and I think it was quite effective. Kobolds, for example, are going to be pretty similar across the board, with some minor differences here and there, mainly with powers and trained skills (if any.) For equipment we can really just hand-wave this stuff. Unless your party is in a Diablo-esque mindset where they must pick up every piece of loot to sell back, majority of that stuff is going to just remain where the monster fell in the dungeon. 

Here is an example of my previous attempt to compile 4 different types of Kobold Minion into one stat block, it is a work in progress, but I think that with some tweaking it will be not only effective but easy to understand and read:

Click to Enlarge!!

This is a start, for sure, but it still has a lot of extra information on it. Do we really need to know the Dexterity modifier or even really what gear is on it, unless it is unique or magical in nature? I really don't feel like we do. Like I said before, there are some fringe cases where this information is actually needed, but in my entire "career" of DMing 4th edition, I've maybe had to consult the Ability Scores of a monster 1 time? Now, this isn't to say that it isn't useful information, but for my play-style and the situations my players run across, it is largely unimportant.

Here is an attempt at simplifying the stat block even further. We have all of the vital information for this creature: type, level, XP value, speed and initiative, traits, powers, skills, and more. The odds of me needing any more information for this NPC (an unlikely combatant) is rare. While normally I don't stat out NPCs at all, this was a special occasion for a variety of reasons. I will note that with regular monsters, there would be an HP and Bloodied value, but as Nibblet is a Minion, I am operating on the assumption that everyone knows how Minions work mechanically. 

I've primarily only addressed Minions in my stat block redesigns, and I am going to attempt to rectify this with a "standard" monster in the near future. Ideally I will try both stat block redesign concepts I have separately, and then attempt to combine them into 1 simplified stat block for a variety of Kobolds, Goblins, whatevers.

Until next time,

-blob

You can follow me on Twitter @Sorcerer_Blob or via the hash-tag #legend4ry. You can also find my blog and others at the Fourthcore Hub and at the RPG Blog Alliance.