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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 5441440" data-attributes="member: 22779">But, what about those of us who want to use iconic monsters but don't want to turn encounters into autokills?&nbsp; What about those of us who want to use iconic monsters but don't want to always have to set them up in EXACTLY the same way every time?&nbsp; ((going back to the statuary fetish that medusa's apparently ALL have))SSSoD does not mean that the creatures are no longer lethal.&nbsp; It means that the math of the game lines up the encounter with expectations of the level of lethality of the creature.&nbsp; Wicht above mentions that our 1 HD orc with +25 damage is now a CR 6 monster.&nbsp; But, it's not.&nbsp; It can't hit anything at EL 6 - it only has a +3 (or 4?) attack bonus.&nbsp; By 6th level, most PC's are running in the low 20's for AC's.&nbsp; Now, it's an insignificant speedbump and not even a threat.That's why I call SoD bad design.&nbsp; Because it doesn't work.&nbsp; It's entirely unpredictable.&nbsp; How much xp should that orc be worth?&nbsp; How much xp should a creature that can kill you instantly be worth compared to a monster that can beat you to death?These mechanics don't exist in a vacuum.&nbsp; They have effect all the way along.And, one the 3 strikes example, I obviously disagree.&nbsp; Maybe football should go to one down?&nbsp; After all, that would be more exciting.&nbsp; Soccer should go to sudden death rules?&nbsp; One strike baseball would be incredibly boring.&nbsp; Much, much faster, but, snore.&nbsp; The whole point of tension is you need periods of build up.&nbsp; A little foreplay goes a long way towards a better climax.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D"&nbsp; data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 5441440, member: 22779"] But, what about those of us who want to use iconic monsters but don't want to turn encounters into autokills? What about those of us who want to use iconic monsters but don't want to always have to set them up in EXACTLY the same way every time? ((going back to the statuary fetish that medusa's apparently ALL have)) SSSoD does not mean that the creatures are no longer lethal. It means that the math of the game lines up the encounter with expectations of the level of lethality of the creature. Wicht above mentions that our 1 HD orc with +25 damage is now a CR 6 monster. But, it's not. It can't hit anything at EL 6 - it only has a +3 (or 4?) attack bonus. By 6th level, most PC's are running in the low 20's for AC's. Now, it's an insignificant speedbump and not even a threat. That's why I call SoD bad design. Because it doesn't work. It's entirely unpredictable. How much xp should that orc be worth? How much xp should a creature that can kill you instantly be worth compared to a monster that can beat you to death? These mechanics don't exist in a vacuum. They have effect all the way along. And, one the 3 strikes example, I obviously disagree. Maybe football should go to one down? After all, that would be more exciting. Soccer should go to sudden death rules? One strike baseball would be incredibly boring. Much, much faster, but, snore. The whole point of tension is you need periods of build up. A little foreplay goes a long way towards a better climax. :D [/QUOTE]

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