Would you prefer the new monster/npc stat block in IH products?

[Upper_Krust]

Hey all!

I'm just curious who would prefer the revised monster/npc stat block in (past and future) Immortals Handbook products. Reading over some WotC books lately and it really does look a lot fresher and 'cleaner'.

I know we sort of talked about this before, and I was sort of on the side of keeping continuity throughout the books.

But with the print version of the Bestiary still given no official release date I probably have the time after Ascension to go back and refit the stat blocks (as well as giving me a chance to make a few minor changes such as revising the Neutronium Golems CR). To be honest it shouldn't take more than an hour per stat block, so I could probably finish the Bestiary in less than a week...or quicker if I get help *wink*...in which case, please don't post such stat blocks here, I'd prefer them emailed to me agooddesigner@hotmail.com

Any comments are, as ever appreciated.

 

[Kerrick]

No. HELL no. I think that statblock is the ugliest piece of crap I've ever seen. It's non-intuitive, poorly laid out, and non-templatable. I don't see why WotC felt the need to redo all the statblocks - the magic item statblock takes up 5 lines now!

 

[Phantom Llama]

While the new format (with the obvious tweaks needed) is better in terms of layout and running monsters, it's worse in terms of reverse-engineering/construction/modification. Those are more important in IH material, so I wouldn't support this.

It's also nice to have continuity across products.

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

From what I have seen the new stat block has 1 advantage: If you don't know what any of the creature/npc's abilities or feats do, it can spell them out. (Under 'attack options'; only relevant if it's filled out in total)

I would much prefer the new stat block to the old npc stat block. (The jumbled mess, just look up Elminster in the ELH to see what I mean) For monsters though, the old monster stat block seems to work fine.

 

[Fieari]

Yikes, I can't see how anyone can prefer the old statblock to the new one. The old one is completely disorganized, with masses of important information jammed under the catchall "Special Abilities", the completely redundant "Attack" line (as opposed to Full Attack), mushing together melee and ranged attacks on the same line, scattering defensive and offensive information all over the place... there's no rhyme or reason to it, and the only way I could see people finding it easier to use is pure conditioning over time.

And yet, so far, I seem to be in the minority here...

 

[paradox42]

I concur completely with Phantom Llama. I don't like the new statblock as a sole source of creature stats. It's great for combat, but otherwise much harder to use. If you want to have both the old and new statblocks in the book, then I'm all for it; however, since that ups the page count, you're probably not proposing that. And I definitely prefer the old statblock for most purposes other than combat.

 

[WarDragon]

I'm going to second the "HELL NO." Everyone knows where to find everything in the old one, in the new one you have to hunt it down. It repeats information two or three times, and is completely counterintuitive; instead of "Special Attacks" for everything active, and "Special Qualities" for everything passive, you have to look through Senses, Special Actions, Resistances, Immunities, Attack Options.... no thanks. It's just ugly.

 

[mercucio]

If you want us to keep buying your products I suggest you NOT switch to the new crap-block.

 

[Phantom Llama]

Here we see the second, more practical problem with switching stat blocks: While some people prefer the new block, everyone tolerates the old since they have lived with it for so long. Conversely, some people dislike the new one so much they will avoid products that use it. You won't lose any sales by sticking, but you may lose some if you change.

For the record, I agree with Fieari.

 

[Pssthpok]

Big, emphatic hell no on that one.