Nobody's preventing you from doing anything you like-- but that's got nothing to do with what you can and can't see.
What do you mean by "can and can't see"?
What has this got to do with using villains as solos, surrounded by lower level mooks?
Nobody's preventing you from doing anything you like-- but that's got nothing to do with what you can and can't see.
They are if you are using them as intended.
If they are not, they will be more powerful than you think they are-- because they are designed to overcome Lanchester's.
Actually, the rule is that you can only use one AP per encounter, and then they go on to state that solo monsters break this rule.Per the rules, you can normally only use one AP per turn.
That's odd, since all encounter suggestions in the MM include extra monsters, aside from the solos. I will agree that most of the adventures done by WotC also use this: 1 solo and not much else.
Maybe someone (coughmearlscough) who knows can enlighten us. Are solo mobs intended to be used on their own? Or just to be able to hold their own against a party?
What has this got to do with using villains as solos, surrounded by lower level mooks?
Given that the Kas (solo soldier) encounter suggestion in "Open Grave" features him along with 3-4 soldier bodyguards, I'll give an educated guess as to which side of this debate WotC falls on.
The presence of additional creatures alongside the Solo changes the "square relationship." The power that a Solo enjoys as a result of being designed to face the party alone is out of proportion when it isn't alone.
The more creatures you add, the more poorly designed the Solo will seem-- on the side of "too powerful."
You could compensate by dramatically reducing the power of the Solo and increasing the power of his allies, but it's not a linear relationship, and you'll basically be "fudging" the intended feel of the Solo.
My educated guess is that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.
And my educated guess is that WotC have started experimenting with Solo encounters since writing the DMG.