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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KidSnide" data-source="post: 5540557" data-attributes="member: 54710">I think there are two aspects of this fight.  First, it's a fight with a single standard (i.e. non-solo/elite) monster of higher level.  Second, it's a fight with an deadly but injured monster.  You want your design to reflect both aspects.To handle the first aspect, you want to reduce the level of the monster and increase its "type" appropriately.  IIRC, a solo has the same xp budget as a standard creature ~9 levels higher.  You might adjust the "true" level of the giant a bit to get the right result, but I would stat the creature as a lower level solo.  This is to create a fight that's just more fun to play.  The encounter is a more interesting fight if the creature has ways of engaging multiple characters.  Of course, you need to address the in-game fiction, but I've never had a problem saying that creatures use different moves against enemies of substantially different ability.  (The same orc you subdued 10 levels ago is now a minion because you've learned an attack that can kill him in a single blow.)Of course, you also want a fight that's faster than usual (because the monster is injured), but more deadly than usual (because the monster would be too dangerous to find if it wasn't injured).  That suggests that you want a solo creature that is several levels above the PCs, but who starts off bloodied (and, presumably, slowed).  That way, you get the action economy of a good solo fight, but keep the deadly feel of an enemy that hits harder and is more difficult to strike than usual.  The key here is balance.  You want math that doesn't have the regular damage and hit probabilities, but you also want a fun encounter.  A wounded level 14 standard monsters will be frustrating for 1st level characters, because they only hit on a 20 and the monster auto-hits.  It's scary, but mechanically tedious.  -KS</blockquote>

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