D&D 5E (2014) What monsters in 5e overshoot or undershoot their CR?

S'mon · Sep 7, 2019

Intellect Devourers, Banshees, & even Shadows can be very deadly. Undead with nasty abilities generally seem under-CR'd.

JeffB · Sep 7, 2019

Marilith and Mummy Lord are weak for the CR, IME.

Nebulous · Sep 7, 2019

S'mon said:
Intellect Devourers, Banshees, & even Shadows can be very deadly. Undead with nasty abilities generally seem under-CR'd.

I critted a character with a wraith not long ago, and it did so much horrific damage and capped the cleric at 5hp.

S'mon · Sep 7, 2019

Nebulous said:
I critted a character with a wraith not long ago, and it did so much horrific damage and capped the cleric at 5hp.

I had a similar experience, wraith dropped a level 5 elf wizard from max hp to max hp = 0 in one blow!

5ekyu · Sep 7, 2019

Ash Mantle said:
What monsters do you think overshoot their CR in 5e? That seem too powerful for their respective CR or should be moved to another CR entirely?

Similarly, what monsters do you think are too weak for their CR in 5e? That seem to belong to a lower CR entirely?

Or, although an issue in earlier editions of the game, the mechanics for monster design and CR assignation is tight in 5e and the monsters as rated prove the appropriate amount of challenge?

Unfortunately, all of them do both, depending on the party and the environment.

Caveat - Any monster with odd mechanics bypassing instant kill stuff likely breaks thr mold.

But most any of the monsters will vary o widely from gtoup to group and terrain and setup so greatly impact the outcome that it's a lot more critical to see those factors at play than the numerical CR.

Ogres might hit hard, but if they get spotted way off due to their size and noise, the resulting ambush or avoidance makes them less dangerous than their weight in goblins.

In a sectioned dungeon and a captive audience of PCs at close range, now those ogres can hurt, hurt a lot.

Some red flags to watch for:
Can this creature one-shot a PC with a single turn of its attacks?
Does the creature have an effect or ability that your group has no counters for? Early petrifications are an example.
Does the creature have resistances and immunities that are gonna hit the party at their main attacks?
Does the setup and scenery seriously limit the PC actions in a way that means they will lose actions that matter or are unable to do things that matter? Easy flying outdoors with no cover is one example.

Matrix Sorcica · Sep 7, 2019

S'mon said:
Orc is a weak CR 1/2, but just squeezes in due to the +5 to hit bonus.

By the monster design guidelines, Orcs should be CR 1 (defensive 1/8 + offensive 2 = 1).

The Vampire is hopelessly underpowered at CR 13. Should be 7 or something like that.

cmad1977 · Sep 7, 2019

I’ve found that when monsters punch above or below their weight(CR) it’s mostly because of circumstance, terrain and DM utilization of their abilities.
A hobgoblin or two are weak.
A squad of them in formation does damage.

Goblins are feeble.
Goblins scurrying around the battlefield and causing havoc thanks to their abilities are a major pain.

A wolf is lame.
A pack of wolves knocks it’s prey to the ground and attack with advantage.

Bitbrain · Sep 7, 2019

Intellect Devourers and Shadows are both overpowered in my opinion.

They’re like the only 5e monsters who directly attack a PC’s ability scores.

Retreater · Sep 7, 2019

I did a CR 8 hydra last night, and the 5th level party stomped it.
Maybe I read it wrong, but fire damage stops all regeneration abilities - and fire damage is VERY common. And to even be able to regenerate a lost head, a head has to be chopped off (inflicting 25 points in a single turn).
So the party cut off two heads, but it was never able to regenerate due to fire damage.
I'm guessing a hydra dies at 0 hp even if it still has heads "alive?"