Arbitrary monster abilities

[Fifth Element]

My party wound up fighting some ropers over the weekend. It was a tough fight but we came through. I did have a thought in the middle of it, though: Why do ropers have magic resistance? Other than to make them tougher to kill, of course.

It just seems like such an arbitrary ability to give a monster like that. Same goes for the electricity immunity. They're probably legacy abilities (I don't have my old books with me and never fought one before this), and really exist only to increase the challenge to the characters.

Are there any monster abilities you find completely arbitrary? You know, the type of ability that just seems tacked on, and may even hurt the verisimilitude?

 

[NealTS]

Well, magic resistance I can see. After all, they're Underdark creatures, and the Underdark is supposed to be full of weird magic emanations that they have to live with. Especially seeing as how they're mostly stationary creatures.

Electricity? Hmph. I'm with you there. That just seems dumb.

 

[Fifth Element]

Well, magic resistance I can see. After all, they're Underdark creatures, and the Underdark is supposed to be full of weird magic emanations that they have to live with. Especially seeing as how they're mostly stationary creatures.

I can kind of see that. But there's a bunch of Underdark creatures without MR. It just strikes me as a "How do we make this monster tougher to kill?" "Oh, give it Magic Resistance."

 

[Pinotage]

It just strikes me as a "How do we make this monster tougher to kill?" "Oh, give it Magic Resistance."

There's nothing inherently wrong with that idea either. If you think of all the stereotyical fantasy creature from myth and legend, very few of them had magical resistance. But, to balance things against a magic-rich high level party, you need it. It's very much a balancing factor more than anything else.

Pinotage

 

[shilsen]

Are there any monster abilities you find completely arbitrary?

Giant lizards flying and breathing fire
Women with snakes for hair petrifying you with their sight
Cow-men being unerringly good in a maze (a dairy, on the other hand, would be justifiable)
Tiger-men being shapechanging spellcasters
Bird-women being enchanting singers

 

[Doug McCrae]

Are there any monster abilities you find completely arbitrary?

About half the monster manual.

 

[mhensley]

Those silly humans with their extra feat.

 

[Huw]

Cow-men being unerringly good in a maze (a dairy, on the other hand, would be justifiable)

That's always bothered me. The original Minotaur was put in the Labyrinth TO STOP HIM GETTING OUT! HE WAS NO MORE CAPABLE OF ESCAPING THAN HIS LUNCH!

(Sorry. You just pressed one of my rant buttons there.)

 

[Voadam]

Tendriculous, regeneration but vulnerable to bludgeoning and acid. OK, why? Fire doesn't work against the plant, and cutting the plant isn't any good, but hitting it with a blunt object does. Any stories behind why its this way? No.

Why are plants immune to poison? Herbicides should work.

Why are constructs, undead, vermin, plants, and oozes immune to mind affecting spells? Shouldn't that just be for mindless things but leave treants and such open to being charmed using charm monster?

Demon electricity immunity, no explanation, just an immunity that is different from devil fire immunity. I can kind of see a chaos lightning correspondence, but it would be nice to have something more than just demons get X immunity.

Slaads, no DR/law. Come on, monk lawful strike should come in against something, and the pure Chaos outsiders should be it.

 

[frankthedm]

Tendriculous, regeneration but vulnerable to bludgeoning and acid. OK, why? Fire doesn't work against the plant, and cutting the plant isn't any good, but hitting it with a blunt object does. Any stories behind why its this way? No.

Actually, yes there are reasons. You had this question answered last year.

I don't know if anyone here lives in the southern US, but there we have a plant called kudzu famous for being "the plant that ate the South". Kudzu grows so amazingly quickly that you can actually see it happening. It grows more than a foot a day. If you cut a kudzu plant in two, you will have two kudzu plants. If you burn it, it will grow back while you sleep. If you freeze it, it will go dormant until it warms again. The only ways to reliably kill the plant are to dig up its massive root system and pulp it (bludgeoning damage) or find an animal that can stomach the tough, fibrous plant (acid damage).

Considering the concept art called it Killer Kudzu you might be onto something.

Why are plants immune to poison? Herbicides should work.

Considering the rule set does not have any herbicides, the reasoning is sound.

Demon electricity immunity, no explanation, just an immunity that is different from devil fire immunity. I can kind of see a chaos lightning correspondence, but it would be nice to have something more than just demons get X immunity.

Yes, you will find folks agreeing with you on this issue.

Slaads, no DR/law. Come on, monk lawful strike should come in against something, and the pure Chaos outsiders should be it.

Agreed.