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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 4002954" data-attributes="member: 710">I think you are missing the point of Minions, Regular, Elite and Solo monsters here. There isn't a Minion Goblin for 1st level characters and an Elite Goblin for 5th level characters.Instead, all of the Minion to Elite creatures are tied to basically one specific level. Their base statistics/modifiers (attacks & defense) are probably the same, but a Minion seems to be a simple creature that can maybe do one or two combat tricks, and can be dealt with swiftly. 8(or was it 15?) Goblin Minions might provide a reasonable challenge for 5 1st level PCs. A regular Goblin will have a little more staying power and 4 will challenge 5 1st level PCs. An Elite Goblin is the crop of the cream, and he has more staying power and more attack options, possibly even the ability to recover from injuries in mid-combat or directly react to enemy attacks, or he can attack multiple enemies at once (maybe a spellcaster?). 2 Elite Goblins would be a challenge for 1st level PCs. There probably won't be a "Solo Goblin", but if there was he would be a real powerhouse - lots of hit points, several attacks and debilitating effects, and a single one of them can challenge a group of 5 1st level PCs.In D&D 3.5 terms, take a normal Hill Giant as a regular creature for its CR. Add one head to the creature, and give him one extra attack at full attack bonus and Combat Reflexes, add 50 % hit points, and it would become an "Elite Hill Giant " (probably called "Ettin"). ----------------Levels in 4E indicate the "base statistics" for most things (base attack bonus, base skill bonus, base defense bonus). In addition, every time you level, you gain some kind of new ability. It might be just a further bonus to a certain type of check (Skill, attack, damage), or it gives you a new option in combat (or possible replacing an older option with a new, improved one.) Levels represent "chunks of advancement". They ensure that you don't over-specialise your advancement in a single area. (So you don't have a Wizard that casts fireballs, but still hasn't more than 5 hit points and a Reflex Defense of 11). Furthermore, they allow you to determine your relative strength to others, most notably monsters and NPCs. If you have only 3-4 degrees of separation, you can't make a lot of disinction between a Goblin and a Bugbear, or a Ogre and a Hill Giant. Your relative advancement would be sudden - Goblins used to be a dangerous threat for the past 20 game sessions, but last sessions, they are speed bumps and Fire Giants are suddenly the most dangerous opposition.</blockquote>

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