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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celtavian" data-source="post: 6859835" data-attributes="member: 5834">Mariliths should not be melee monsters in my opinion. That is what I plan to change in the future. I want to bring back some of their spellcasting. They are supposed to be master strategists. It's very hard to do without magic.This idea of constantly incorporating strange environments doesn't interest me. As I stated, a monster like a marilith should be a challenge when mobile. If they show up in a town leading a demonic horde, they should be hard to beat and able to counter an adventuring party. They are war leaders that often lead forays into other realms. A pure melee monster is not great at doing this. I prefer the 3E/Pathfinder version with substantial spellcasting. I plan to return spellpower to both the balor and the marlith to make them more dangerous.Nothing you mentioned changes the underlying problems with some abilities in 5E. A part of the game as a DM is also knowing when particular combinations are far too advantageous in far too many circumstances and require some toning down. That has also been a part of every edition of D&D. In 2E, two-weapon fighting was a big problem for a long time, which is why they nerfed the living crap out of it in every edition since 2E. I can't remember which edition the Unearthed Arcana Cavalier came out in, but that combination and the barbarian were insanely powerful in 1E/2E. 3E had so many overpowered combinations that I can't even mention them all. 5E has a few power combinations that a DM should be aware of and be willing to adjust to make the game easier to run. Overpowered combinations are as much a part of every edition of D&D as modifying monsters, creating great stories, and everything else in every edition of D&D.Admitting there are problem combinations or weakly designed creatures doesn't mean 5E is a bad game. It just means certain design decisions don't work very well or cause problems with gameplay. This type of analysis has also been a part of every edition of D&D since it was made. As long as you know which combinations are causing the problem and what the problem is, you can modify to get the result you want. That's what I'm doing. And yes, sometimes I do create some nasty environments. I don't and can't do it all the time or it becomes stale or discouraging. I definitely don't like environments that take away the main focus of a PC. Players want to use their abilities. It's how they have fun. Best to work out some kind of compromise with problematic abilities to make the game easier on the DM while still giving the players their toys.I'll stop this discussion here. Let's get back to seeing how the PCs finish the job at White Plume Mountain. I'm waiting to see how Azurewraith's party does.</blockquote>

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