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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tormyr" data-source="post: 6600080" data-attributes="member: 6776887">The suggested values are for "effective" HP, AC, DPR, and AB. This does not necessarily line up with what is printed in a stat block.  CR is also the average of the defensive and offensive CRs.  Other traits will affect the effective HP, AC, DPR, and AB as well.The Brown Bear: HP 34 starts at DCR 1/8, AC 11 brings that to DCR 0. DPR 19 starts OCR at 2, AB of +5 brings that to OCR of 3.  Average of 0 and 3 is 1.5.  They rounded down to 1.The Bugbear: HP 27 starts at DCR 1/8, AC 16 brings that up to DCR 1/4. Brute adds 7 to first round of damage. Average DPR of 13.33 starts OCR at 1 and AB of +4 leaves that unchanged. Average is.625, and it was rounded up to 1.So what it comes to is that everything at CR 1 generally causes similar levels of grief for the party, but they may go about it differently. Regarding solos, few of the monsters outside of legendary creatures are actually good at being solos. This is primarily because the party can very effectively gang up on most single monsters and unload on it.  Additionally, while it may seem that a monster of the same CR as the level of a 4 PC party would make a good solo, in reality, it is only a medium encounter.  Generally, I have found that most people expect a solo encounter to be more difficult.  To do that the CR of the monster must be higher.The legendary monsters may look great, but they are not really any more difficult, and therefore no more appropriate to be a solo, than another monster of the same CR. The legendary monster generally has lower hp and other stats when compared to a monster of the same CR because that is how it "pays" for its legendary resistance and legendary actions.Having run a few test encounters against a creature with the stats from the table in the DMG, the encounter for a 4 PC on 1 monster fight lasts about the same amount of time (3 rounds) as another similar CR monster from the MM. The HP may look great, but the PCs motor through it quickly. The DMG table can be used as quick stats for a monster, but it is better used as the starting point for figuring out the CR of a monster that is being made.In the end, hp is the most easily modified of the four CR stats and is therefore used to balance the monster. Hard hitting monsters get lower hp, and monsters that have resistance, saving throws, or legendary resistance get less hp as well.If you have not already, you might like to take a look at the Monster CR Calculator I put together.  It lets you plug in a monsters stats by going through the steps listed in the DMG and see what CR it ends up with. <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1189" target="_blank">http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1189</a></blockquote>

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