tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post4196617993336413985..comments2024-03-28T22:10:04.089+08:00Comments on Monsters and Manuals: White Box Volume II: Monsters & Treasure - First ImpressionsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-29498340267004456022008-09-11T11:12:00.000+08:002008-09-11T11:12:00.000+08:00Sirlarkins: That is a really good thing, as D&...<B>Sirlarkins:</B> That is a really good thing, as D&D was meant to be universal enough to cover all sorts of literature - from the Celtic/medieval-style of Middle Earth, the Biblical/Arabian Nights-style of Hyboria, the Asian/Egyptian/Mezzo-American-style of Tékumel, or even some Greek Harryhusen-style setting. This was a real grass-roots, do-it-yourself game, and you could add/remove what elements you wished. It was not a guide book on how to play-out a fantasy, but a structure to help you play in a fantasy world you make up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-66216240562396708932008-09-11T09:44:00.000+08:002008-09-11T09:44:00.000+08:00Sirlarkins: Yeah. The advantage of the tiny monste...<B>Sirlarkins</B>: Yeah. The advantage of the tiny monster descriptions is more or less complete creative freedom. The disadvantage is that it's less interesting to read and you're faced with perhaps too much freedom.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-82707864342460910422008-09-11T00:45:00.000+08:002008-09-11T00:45:00.000+08:00It always struck me as odd that the first "of...It always struck me as odd that the first "official" D&D setting was Petal Throne. But now I'm starting to realize how that could have happened. I mean, these monster descriptions sound like the barest of bare write-ups. I could easily shift my thinking to imagine a non-European, non-Tolkienian setting that can still use the rules as written. That's much harder to do with later editions. Pretty much impossible to do nowadays without a whole "from the ground up" redesign.David Larkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04133630988557116729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-27349104984937690002008-09-10T23:19:00.000+08:002008-09-10T23:19:00.000+08:00Malcodon: By the way, I am definitely going to cre...<B>Malcodon</B>: By the way, I am definitely going to create Dwarf Swordsmen and Bearded Elf as character classes someday.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-48026998333637172962008-09-10T22:30:00.000+08:002008-09-10T22:30:00.000+08:00David: Oh yeah, the original MM isn't a patch on t...<B>David</B>: Oh yeah, the original MM isn't a patch on the 2nd edition iterations. <BR/><BR/>I'm with you on the art, too. I've been thinking about releasing some of my game stuff here on the blog as pdfs, and it makes me realise I could probably do most of the art myself and have it reach the level of the brown books.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-76230797678844920742008-09-10T20:45:00.000+08:002008-09-10T20:45:00.000+08:00The original monster manual amused me, but I miss ...The original monster manual amused me, but I miss the monster fluff and description from later works. Yeah, I know the philosophy of not doing our imagining for us ran through it, but I like reading about the fictional beasts in enough detail to imagine one standing there in front of me. I don't really get that vibe with the brown book.<BR/><BR/>Still fun to read, and the art is interesting in the way that I feel lik eI could duplicate it myself.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10546100677119484489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-81164015901465202382008-09-10T15:11:00.000+08:002008-09-10T15:11:00.000+08:00Although I remember reading somewhere (possibly on...Although I remember reading somewhere (possibly on Sham's blog?) that the pumpkin-headed Bugbear was a mistake on the part of the artist, after he misheard Gary Gygax saying something else.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-52104640363399032742008-09-10T13:09:00.000+08:002008-09-10T13:09:00.000+08:00The gnoll is patently not a hyena-thing. It is a "...<I>The gnoll is patently not a hyena-thing. It is a "cross between a gnome and a troll." (See picture below.)</I><BR/><BR/>Yep, much like the <I>Dwarf Swordsmen</I> and the <I>Bearded Elf</I>, they don't handle the monsters in the same way. In fact, they make the Bugbear look like a naked harry man with twisted, gnarly hands, and a head of a pumpkin, like a Jack-O-Lantern (page 67, Supplement I: Greyhawk).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com