I am currently working on mastering the monster creation rules, but I've hit a potential snag.
For the sake of this discussion, the various Action Points, defense bonuses, and Saving Throw bonuses are irrelevant. Don't worry about them. This only concerns the process listed under step #6: Adjust Powers and Abilities found on pg.185 of the DMG.
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First, for easy reference, I will post the qualities that are supposed to be assigned to each according to pg.185 in the DMG:
Elites:
--Recharge when first bloodied. An Encounter power recharges when the monster is bloodied.
Choose one of:
--Immediate Actions. Things like Immediate Interrupts and Immediate Reactions. Allows the monster to do things during the PCs' turns.
OR
--Additional Attacks. The ability to make two attacks per turn rather than only one attack.
Solos:
--More At-Will Powers. One of the creature's Encounter abilities can be used At-Will instead.
--Additional Standard Action. The creature gets two Standard Actions per turn rather than one.
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Looking at the Solo monsters in the Monster Manual for guidance, I can't discern a clear pattern. Some Solo monsters have traits from both the Elite and Solo methods, while others do not have any abilities from the Elite method.
Dragons are a good example of creatures with traits from both --they have Immediate Actions and Recharge when Bloodied (see the Red Dragon's Tail Strike immediate reaction and all of the Dragon Breath Weapons) from the Elite method in addition to Additional Standard Action (see Double Attack/Dragon's Fury) from the Solo method.
Purple Worms are a good example of a Solo that does not posses any traits from the Elite method. In fact, I'm actually having a bit of trouble seeing how the Purple Worm has any traits from the Solo method either, seeing as it only gets 1 attack per round maximum.
So, how do these rules interact? Any suggestions or observations anyone has gathered from experimentation?
For the sake of this discussion, the various Action Points, defense bonuses, and Saving Throw bonuses are irrelevant. Don't worry about them. This only concerns the process listed under step #6: Adjust Powers and Abilities found on pg.185 of the DMG.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, for easy reference, I will post the qualities that are supposed to be assigned to each according to pg.185 in the DMG:
Elites:
--Recharge when first bloodied. An Encounter power recharges when the monster is bloodied.
Choose one of:
--Immediate Actions. Things like Immediate Interrupts and Immediate Reactions. Allows the monster to do things during the PCs' turns.
OR
--Additional Attacks. The ability to make two attacks per turn rather than only one attack.
Solos:
--More At-Will Powers. One of the creature's Encounter abilities can be used At-Will instead.
--Additional Standard Action. The creature gets two Standard Actions per turn rather than one.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking at the Solo monsters in the Monster Manual for guidance, I can't discern a clear pattern. Some Solo monsters have traits from both the Elite and Solo methods, while others do not have any abilities from the Elite method.
Dragons are a good example of creatures with traits from both --they have Immediate Actions and Recharge when Bloodied (see the Red Dragon's Tail Strike immediate reaction and all of the Dragon Breath Weapons) from the Elite method in addition to Additional Standard Action (see Double Attack/Dragon's Fury) from the Solo method.
Purple Worms are a good example of a Solo that does not posses any traits from the Elite method. In fact, I'm actually having a bit of trouble seeing how the Purple Worm has any traits from the Solo method either, seeing as it only gets 1 attack per round maximum.
So, how do these rules interact? Any suggestions or observations anyone has gathered from experimentation?
