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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fnwc" data-source="post: 4037848" data-attributes="member: 48368">As stated, monsters no longer follow the same rules as player characters -- which greatly simplifies the procedure for creating a monster and also allows for some nifty, unique abilities. The bugbear example given doesn't really bother me. A DM can rationalize this anyway they wish; maybe bug-cub stranglers learn how to grapple and toss things about at a very young age, and practice fighting each other by using small woodland animals as shields. Whatever.It's not like we question the ability of a warrior to perform a class specific feat called, "Blade Fury" for example. Why can't any mercenary out there wielding a blade do the same thing?The alternative is that monsters will need to justify special attacks through a special subsystem of rules, which is more of the way that 3.0/3.5 does things. In this example, we'd have to create a new rule involving 'using enemies as shields' and determine the system behind it. Maybe we require Improved Grapple as a feat (and you have to be grappling the target), and the restriction that you must be one size category larger than your 'shield'. Also, you must have a minimum strength and/or beat the opponent in kind of opposed strength roll. Finally, we might also consider the amount of limbs required to hold a single 'shield' into place. With this system in place, you might end up with every single Large/Huge/Gargantuan creature doing this every battle, which would get pretty boring. Besides the unnecessary addition of an obscure and cumbersome subsystem, it makes designers have to justify everything in the stat block, which is how 3.0/3.5 does it.In fact, the system I described above is so complicated that it makes my head hurt just thinking about how this would resolve in a combat (touch attack, opposed grapple, opposed strength -- plus, try figuring this out on the fly when you're a raging enlarged barbarian that is level drained from 20->19). It's this kind of slow down during combat that causes 3.0/3.5 combats to be so time consuming. I have a friend who attends a high level (20+) game who brings a handheld to his sessions so he has something to do in between his combat turns.And why can't players do this? Well, maybe someone one day will make rules for a  Bugbear Strangler PC. I'd expect the 'Living Shield' power to be available to them as a racial power at some level.Personally, I'm in favor the new design goals in this regard, as it will make for some much more interesting monsters. I agree 100%.</blockquote>

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