Do you roll for your monsters stat?

[Winternight]

I do,
not for the rank and file shure, but for the SBEG:
I did get a Annis w/ str 32 and Dex 24.
If I understood the MM correctly the stat there are just for the standard guy. (human equivalent of 10 in each)

 

[Vurt]

Usually, I just use the MM stats if it's a random encounter or generic creature.

If it's something I preplan, with class levels, then I would usually roll, or just pick some reasonable higher stats. Recently, however, while perusing the 3.5 SRD under Improving Monsters, I discovered that they recommend you use the elite array of 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 for monsters with class levels. (Obviously arrange to taste, and then apply racial adjustments.) I've found that it to work reasonably well.

Cheers,
Vurt

 

[Plane Sailing]

For standard foes I just use the MM stats.

For special foes I take the MM stats as a base and then add what I want to them

 

[FrankTrollman]

I never roll for any NPCs. I give them whatever stats I want.

-Frank

 

[Camarath]

I like to use the stat generation method that the players used when making non-generic foes.

 

[astralpwka]

I use the MM stats, unless I want a unique foe or a leader.

 

[Nifft]

Point-Buy. 25 for mooks, 32 for named NPCs (and for PCs).

-- N

 

[Pax]

I use a custom point-buy:

[color=white]Score     Cost
 6         -4
 7         -3
 8         -2
 9         -1
10          0
11          1
12          2
13          5
14          8
15         13
16         18
17         25
18         32

[b]CHARACTER TYPE      POINTS   DESCRIPTION[/b]
Peon                   0     Generic monsters, townsfolk, and the like
Tough Peon            10     village bully, village or town watchman,
                               normal soldiers etc
Thug                  20     bouncer in a tavern, city watchmen, veteran
                               soldiers, the paladin's mount, etc.
Cohort                30     watch captain, significant NPCs, cohorts,
                               etc
PC                    40     PCs, the BBEG's lieutenant(s), most younger
                               dragons, etc
Star NPC              70     most BBEGs, truly plot-central NPCs, and
                               the majority of established dragons.
Ultra-BBEG           100     ... here, we're talking Avatar of a God, or
                               a [i]truly[/i] powerful dragon.  Never EVER
                               likely to use this ... [/color]

Most monsters are Peons; a few are a bit tougher, and now and then some are Thug-class (which about equates to the Elite attributes discussed in the revised SRD). Dragons, as noted, tend to have at least as good an array of attributes as the PCs (before racial modifiers), and often, much MUCH better.

At the Peon level, I can just use the attributes as presented in the MM, or wherever -- which is why 99.99% of the NPCs and monsters in the world only rate Peon. ^_^ Less work that way.

 

[Crothian]

Important ones I'll adjust as needed

 

[Ferret]

I only do it if I want to personalise the monster, give it a life beyond the fights it does. And if it raises the CR to high I don't do it; rolling stats should be for clased monsters/people