In part two of my look at the evolution of Dungeons and Dragons statblocks, I look at the 3e and 4e statblocks for the Carrion Crawler. (see Part one)
Third Edition Carrion Crawler
I really like the art here. And, the third edition did not feel the need to have each monster take up a full page if it didn’t need to. I generally like both of those changes.
We now start with the type, as the type of creature has become more important to the combat. Indeed, we have moved the combat information to the top of the block, with the world building information below that. I wish I had a cleaner copy to use, I had to copy this from the internet, but we can still mostly read things clearly.
We now get the skills and abilities, as those are also now important for combat. In the writeup, we get the non-combat information (enough of it, but not too much), then how the crawler acts in combat. The description for paralysis is still in the words, and not the block, but we finally get the save information along with the action.
So, what do we like? I like that the combat stuff is first in the block, but that we get the world building in the block also. I love that the initiative modifier is right there at the beginning! That comes and goes in later blocks, alas. I think overall, you can see the advancement in layout and other things meant to make a DM’s life easier.
What don’t we like? Well, in fairness, some of the clutter (like where the AC comes from) are related to how 3e runs, but it seems a bit cluttered to me in places. I don’t love that CR is in the middle of the world building. We’ll talk more about the layout of that kind of information in the 5e writeups. Also, as mentioned above, we still have combat information in the fluff/text parts. I also feel like we’ve lost some of the world building stuff from before (we’ll talk about what we want to keep in the final post in this series).
Fourth Edition Carrion Crawler
You know, one thing 4e did was have many types of the same monster. I think the 4e MM had four different carrion crawlers, but it may have been five. We’ll look at one of them here. This is actually from the Monster Vault. In looking at the monster manual 2, there are some differences in how the text is laid out in general, not the blocks, that lay out encounters and lore. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the 4e MM….
Some massive changes here. Frankly, I loved 4e and one of the things I loved was the monsters. So many things! Oh, but wow, a lot of long time players hated 4e….and look at how much the layout has changed! It is easy to pick out things, but it is very different. Note that the art it a token, some / many felt this was a symptom of something they didn’t like in 4e, but we aren’t here to start an edition war…
We see that this is all about combat. There is no world building here at all other than alignment and languages. Yikes, that is a step backward for me as a DM. The layout is built to make it clear what a creature can do when, and how often. There are symbols which I kind of liked, but didn’t love. The language is no longer natural, and everything you need is in the block. There are no explanations in the “fluff” entries at all.
The first third gives us stuff we need to run the creature, like AC, hit points, initiative, etc. The next third are actions of different kinds. We finally get all the information we need about actions in the blocks. Lastly, we get the six stats and alignment and language. One thing I note is that we don’t have hit dice for the first time. We just have hit points.
Dang, look at that bite damage! That’s an example of how 4e emphasized multiple options for actions for most monsters. That decision is not statblock related, per se, but is one reason 5e is simplified (too much at times for my taste). There are multiple pages of fluff, around the multiple pages of blocks.
This is an easy to read block. The hard lines in color make it clear where different kinds of information are, though I don’t get why there isn’t a hard line before the stats.
Things I don’t love: Where is all my world building? Sure, it it is in the fluff for some / many monsters, but it isn’t standardized and clear. I am unsure how I feel about the loss of hit dice and random hit points. We still have random damage!
Things I love: We still have initiative bonuses. The standard saves are right by the AC, though that is harder in other editions because saves are different here. I love that all of the information you need is right in the block. No looking at the page of fluff to find stuff you need during play. The level (Challenge Rating) and XP are out of the way and don’t take up space. The layout is just really easy to understand and use in play. In the books, there is regular art. You’ll note the block comes with a token. They sold tokens and used them on maps for encounters in adventures.
Really, 3e and 4e were both steps forward and backward in terms of statblocks. In 4e, everything you need to run a creature is in the statblock. There is a lot of information in the fluff in both versions. In 3e, things we need in combat are still outside the block, alas, but we also get the great layout for the world building. I reckon this is an example of what long time players didn’t like.
Both 3e and 4e really benefit from advancement in layout and editing. Interestingly, IMO, 3e cut more of the fluff than 4e did, despite what I think most think is the case (though that could be that the Monster Vault added it back in as a reaction to peple hating how much as taken out). Overall, I’d keep the world building stuff from 3e, but the layout of the rest in 4e. Compare how much easier it is to read the six standard stats, for example.
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