Determining Monster CR

[MatrexsVigil]

I've been wondering for a while--how do you determine a monster's CR if they have EoMR based powers? For example;

Dazzlefly

Small Vermin [Life, Light]
Hit Dice: 1d8 (4 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), fly 80 ft. (good)
Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural, +1 size), touch 13, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: -1/-1
Attack: Bite -1 melee (1d3-1)
Full Attack: Bite -1 melee (1d3-1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Blind, Shine
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., vermin traits
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +1
Abilities: Str 9, Dex 14, Con 11, Int —, Wis 12, Cha 12
Skills: Spot +5, Survival +1*, Hide -8**
Feats: —
Environment: Temperate plains, Temperate forests
Organization: Solitary (called a sparkle), glitter (2–5), or glare (11–20)
Challenge Rating: 1/2(?)
Treasure: No coins; no items
Advancement: 2–4 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —

Resembling very large butterflies with wings covered in the many colors of the rainbow, dazzleflies are peaceful vermin. They are content to lazily fly from flower to flower in the spring and summer months. During colder times, dazzleflies may swarm to warmer climates, creating a light spectacle rivaling a rainbow.

Dazzleflies do not become aggressive unless threatened or attacked by [Shadow] element creatures.

Blind (Sp - Evoke Light 2/Gen 1): Twisting their bodies and tilting their wings just right, a dazzlefly can blind (Reflex DC 12 to negate) an enemy up to 30ft away for two rounds. This blindness induces a 50% miss chance, takes away all Dexterity bonuses to AC, gives +2 to all attackers' attack rolls, movement is slowed to half, and most Strength- and Dexterity- based skills suffer a -4 penalty.

Shine (Sp - Abjure Shadow 1/Gen 0): Drawing on their own ambient light energy, dazzleflies can ward themselves from shadow-based attacks. Upon using this ability, the dazzlefly enjoys Shadow, Acid, and Void resistance 5 for one minute.

Skills: Dazzleflies have a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks. *They also have a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks to orient themselves. **Dazzleflies take a -8 racial bonus to Hide checks because of their flamboyant colors.

Without the spell-like abilities, it's almost harmless. How much would those abilities change the CR? I have no idea where to even start for this--especially how to create a forumla for determining CR. Should it based on the number of spell-like/supernatural abilities, MP cost of each of them, useable times per day? Help, please! ^^

-P.C.

 

[RangerWickett]

Sadly, the same way you do it for normal D&D monsters. Guess and check. Compare to similar monsters, and in the end just eyeball it and make an educated guess.

For this critter, I'd say CR 1/3 or 1/4. Sure, it can blind a low-level character, but it'd take 3 or 4 rounds in melee combat for it to actually kill anyone, and in that time even a blinded foe is likely to hit it once for enough damage to kill it.

 

[MatrexsVigil]

Heh. This is what always happens with CR. I kinda wish they had put in a different system in the Core books with the ability to actually be more than guess work. I can't blame them too much, though; I don't think I could have done much better. Thanks for the words, RangerWickett. ^^

-P.C.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

A chap called UpperKrust has spent a lot of time on a CR system. It shouldn't be too hard to find on the boards. Assuming EoM casting levels are as good as Sor/Wiz/Clr levels, it should be easy to use.

 

[Verequus]

I've talked with Upper_Krust about the estimation of those mage levels - comparing them to the psionics, the power level would be 0.4 CR instead 0.44, because the spells are weaker than the core spells. The .v4 is located in this thread: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=66470 .Version .v5 isn't available officially due to a bug in the XP calculation.

Still, there isn't a calculation method for spell-like abilities in EoM-style - maybe one can break down the Anima class for that.