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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 3766137" data-attributes="member: 710">They are doing that in D&D 3.x, and it works sometimes, and sometimes not.The Beholder is not by any means a playable creature. It's 10 eye rays will ramp up its Level Adjustment so high that you could as well say you can't play the creature. D&D 4 will explicitly tell you and not bother giving you guidelines to do it differently. If you want a beholder that serves as a minion, you either make up the statistics yourself or they are provided by the MM.Ever looked at how many attacks a Dragon has per rounds, and at what attack bonuses they are? A Dragon _is_ the functional equivalent of 4-5 characters - at least if he gets a full round attack. If not, this might change (but he has area attacks and spells to make up for that). And that can be a problem, because it can turn into a glass jaw syndrom (it doesn't in the case of the dragon because dragons have little ways how you could exploit their "weaknesses" - high saves, great size, spell resistance, ability to fly)It's also next to impossible to play a dragon, because HD and LA will jump its ECL into the high level to epic level region.--A lot of these problems can also be solved by assuming that there are some standard guidelines for monsters: - Unless noted otherwise, a monster has a skill modifier equal to one half its level (plus its ability modifier)- Unless noted otherwise, a monsters attack deals bludgeoning damage according to size seen on the following table. [...] A game master may decide that a specific creature might deal slashing or piercing damage instead. Apply the creatures strength modifier to the attack as with a one-handed weapon. Use this damage if no other natural weapon is provided and the monster is disarmed of its usual weapon.- Unless noted otherwise, a monster attacks bonus is equal to its level + its relevant ability modifier. Use this modifier if the monster has been disarmed of a weapon or uses a weapon not listed in its description.- Unless noted otherwise, a monster statistics do not include any magical item or spell based modifiers. These are the most obvious ones, but others might add:- Unless noted otherwise, a monsters armor class against touch attacks is reduced by 5 points, and a monsters armor class when flat-footed is also reduced by 5 points. These modifiers stack.Using such guidelines, all interaction with the characters is easy to adjudicate. You don't have to write anything in the stat block.</blockquote>

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