D&D 5E So do enough monsters have ranged attacks this editon?

[miniaturehoarder]

Forked thread...

I think the whole point of this scenario is to prove they didn't do a very good job building the monsters in this edition. A high level monster should be able to deal with flying enemeis with abilities in his stat block.

Jump ability, sonic scream, throw debris ability, calls down Gamera, pretty much anything at all to deal with a ranged attacker.

It is almost like they didn't learn anything from the first few decades of gaming.

Do other folks think 5E foes too often lack ranged attacks? I know I was kind of disappointed that there didn't seem to be any fiends that had eldritch blasts especially after many of their 'classic' spells got clipped. The CR rules DO make adding in ranged attacks very easy, but in the age of the at-will cantrip, thrown weapons that use STR to hit / damage and crossbows that fire every round, do others feel more base MM monsters should have ranged capabilities?

 

[Bayonet]

Eh, depends on the monster. "Realistically" ( I know, fantasy-magic game, but hear me out)... realistically, if all the hulking big death machine beasties could ALSO peg someone with a magic missile from 3 miles out, there would be almost no humanoid life left in (Faerun, Krynn, etc).

Rushing up/ambushing and mauling something seems to be the dominant beast/monster fight strategy. Ranged missile attacks are a little more dependent on abstract thought, so they should require a higher base INT than most monsters have.

 

[Leatherhead]

It should be noted that only the combination of ranged combat options and the ability to perpetually stay out of melee range is a problem. Given dungeons, and melee/short range PC's it isn't nearly as bad as it is painted out to be in white-room discussions.

And if you do start having problems with it, adding ranged attacks doesn't even change the CR.

 

[Jaelommiss]

I'm finding that launching ambushes on a ranger with the sharpshooter feat is extremely difficult out in the open. Even with ranged attacks, most monsters tend not to cause serious damage. I've had to find imaginitive ways to get enemies through the deathzone that is 100-600 feet from the ranger.

Personal favourites are having giant scorpions emerge from the sand right next to the players, and having spellcasting variant dragons freefalling from the clouds then using Featherfall just before the ground and then opening up with a breath weapon.

Once my players get back to less open environments (forest, cave, etc.) I imagine the problem will go away.

Even for creatures without ranged attacks I have not had a problem when the party and enemy are less than 100' apart.

 

[Remathilis]

I'm finding that launching ambushes on a ranger with the sharpshooter feat is extremely difficult out in the open. Even with ranged attacks, most monsters tend not to cause serious damage. I've had to find imaginitive ways to get enemies through the deathzone that is 100-600 feet from the ranger.

Personal favourites are having giant scorpions emerge from the sand right next to the players, and having spellcasting variant dragons freefalling from the clouds then using Featherfall just before the ground and then opening up with a breath weapon.

Once my players get back to less open environments (forest, cave, etc.) I imagine the problem will go away.

Even for creatures without ranged attacks I have not had a problem when the party and enemy are less than 100' apart.

That is actually a feature, not a bug.

Open areas are DEADLY to melee fighters. This is why the English longbowman was widely feared. Range is king when you have line of sight for miles. The best way to counter this (as you've noted) is to remove their length of sight (walls, trees, mountains) to give them cover.

 

[Jester David]

I prefer the monsters to be representative of past versions of the monster, dis tiled and iconic in their presentation. Giving each monsters an eldricht blast or a spell cantrip or some new natural attack just to fill some ranged attack checkbox is silly and overly symmetrical. Especially when "kill it at range" should be a viable tactic for many monsters. And, conversely, some monsters should be best dealt with by rushing up to their face.

 

[fjw70]

I am not too worried about it. As a DM I can easily add one if it is appropriate for the monster and the situation.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I am not too worried about it. As a DM I can easily add one if it is appropriate for the monster and the situation.

Exactly. There are *always* buildings to pick up and throw. And before anyone says "there are no buildings in a dungeon"... I'll have you know that the DMG allows me to do anything I think is appropriate for my game, so if I want my monsters to throw a building, then dammit there's gonna be a building there for them to throw! RULINGS, NOT RULES DAMMIT!!!

 

[steeldragons]

I do not see the issue. Goblins and Hobgoblins have bows. Orcs have javelins & spears that they can throw. No reason they can't pick up a crossbow...and I don't need the MM to tell me creatures with XY weapons can pick up/use/have a Z, as well or instead.

Giants throw rocks. A harpy has her song. Dragons have breath weapons. A pit fiend has at will Fireball! A Balor's Whip attack, while listed as a "Melee", has a reach of 30'! That's a decent ranged attack, if you ask me. Drow and Svirf's get their hand crossbow/poisoned darts. Hell, Half-dragons get a breath weapon and a bow!

Other than this particular complaint of "eldritch blast should have been a given power/spell for most [or all] demons/devils" which, while I could get behind/understand, those demons with spellcasting can certainly be given an at will cantrip without breaking anything. Swap out one of their other at-will spell abilities to put in eldritch blast instead...and if you want it to be something "all demons/devils" can do? Well, there's one of the perks of being the DM.

But, all told/on the whole, I do not see where one can say monsters for which it makes sense to have ranged attacks do not have them.

EDIT: Or that the "bulk" of monsters are missing ranged attacks where/when they should have one. Or that those without ranged attacks -where it doesn't make sense they would have them in the first place - are somehow done "wrong" or diminish the quality of the MM. Creatures that can attack at range have ranged attacks. "Not everything/enough does?" Not everything should. *shrug*

 

[Paraxis]

Just want to point out that I said "A high level monster should be able to deal with flying enemies."

That doesn't mean every monster, it means high level or CR monsters should be able to deal with a common tactic that high level characters use. That doesn't have to be a ranged attack, it could be it's own flight or jump ability, it could be the ability to summon flying creatures, stuff like that. High CR monsters should be take more tactical thinking than just fly out of reach and shoot it.

Also most monsters should have more interesting abilities IMO, auras, special reactions, effects on death, stuff like that.

So no wolves, worgs, and gelatinous cubes don't need ranged attacks.