D&D 5E Monster Manual and Players Hand Book Power Levels

[TerraDave]

The epic part lies in the hit point totals and damage output.....

And the various abilities of the monsters.

When I look through it, I see plenty of dangerous monsters! Just because you can hit the dragon, does not mean that you will defeat it.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

The monsters are weak in this current version of the MM and the players do have some seriously nifty super powers to put the pain on the monsters. Super hero D&D?

This bit here does not match up with my experiences with the system - at all. Especially at the lower levels.

Seriously, there have been plenty of threads here mentioning character deaths and party wipes in Lost Mines of Phandelver and Hoard of the Dragon Queen. Numerical bonuses might be lower and character abilities might be awesome, but the monsters are no joke, especially when you get more than 2 or 3 of them ganging up on the party.

4 orcs will be a "beyond deadly" encounter until the party is 5th level, and won't become a "medium" difficulty encounter until they're 8th level. That's for a 1/2 CR creature, and things get even worse when you start adding more orcs.

"The monsters are weak" is just a claim I don't think you'll find many folks agreeing with you on.

 

[Tormyr]

4 orcs will be a "beyond deadly" encounter until the party is 5th level, and won't become a "medium" difficulty encounter until they're 8th level. That's for a 1/2 CR creature, and things get even worse when you start adding more orcs.

????
4 orcs at 1/2 CR are 100 XP each. That is 400 XP together and 800 XP after the multiplier is applied.
For a 4 person 1st-level party, that would be beyond deadly (400). At level 2 it would be at the top end of deadly. At level 3 it is within hard (900). At level 4 it is within moderate. At level 5 it is within easy. I think your multiplier might have been off or something.

That being said, I completely agree that enemies are deadly. I had a CR5 giant croc take the rogue from full to 1 hp in one hit (not a crit). I have had spell casters floor several members of the party with web followed by a fireball. Kenku have split up the party and swarmed individual characters. I have had characters stunned, swarmed and nuked. It is a regular occurrence for some character to be face down on the floor during an encounter.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Don't forget evil cultists. Inflict wounds is devastating to level 1 or 2 PCs. And if you have a group of them? Watch the frack out.

 

[Tormyr]

Don't forget evil cultists. Inflict wounds is devastating to level 1 or 2 PCs. And if you have a group of them? Watch the frack out.

Yes, but they were scarier when Inflict wounds was a ranged attack in the play test.

 

[Boarstorm]

Yes, but they were scarier when Inflict wounds was a ranged attack in the play test.

That's the truth. TPK'd THAT particular playtest group.

 

[Mercurius]

To the OP, what you see as a problem is actually a feature of 5E, and one of its strengths, according to its advocates. Consider that in most versions of D&D--certainly 3E and 4E--monsters quickly became fodder when PCs levelled up beyond a certain point. 4E tried to partially rectify this by having, for instance, steroidal orcs and such, but it led to mixed results. 5E has effectively made lower level monsters remain threatening well past their former sell-by date, so an ogre is always--or least for a good while--scary and ogrish, rather than becoming some kind of massive inflatable ogre-shaped balloon.

 

[Sacrosanct]

To the OP, what you see as a problem is actually a feature of 5E, and one of its strengths, according to its advocates. Consider that in most versions of D&D--certainly 3E and 4E--monsters quickly became fodder when PCs levelled up beyond a certain point. 4E tried to partially rectify this by having, for instance, steroidal orcs and such, but it led to mixed results. 5E has effectively made lower level monsters remain threatening well past their former sell-by date, so an ogre is always--or least for a good while--scary and ogrish, rather than becoming some kind of massive inflatable ogre-shaped balloon.

And conversely, lower level hirelings or lower level PCs introduced to the party can still be effective and have an impact fighting tougher monsters with a higher level group. Which is a good thing, IMO

 

[eryndel]

Make sure you are using the 5e PHB with the 5e MM. Best not to compare between versions.

Good point, next time I run my 5e home group, I'll have to make sure I bring out my 3.5 MM. That'll really scare them.

 

[Astrosicebear]

Good point, next time I run my 5e home group, I'll have to make sure I bring out my 3.5 MM. That'll really scare them.

Truly... the best thing about 5E? If you're old PFRPG or 3.5 characters were ascended to godhood or you want them to be gods in your campaign, dont change a thing.