DMG Excerpt: Customizing Monsters

[Craith]

One small nugget for all those who want Low/No magic Campaigns:
the Monster Magic Threshold table tells you how you have to modify the stats of your monsters to count for the players magic items.

They will be a bit tougher (same hp, less player damage), but should be doable.

 

[Simon Marks]

The smartest fantasy characters I can think of (like Raistlin) also (I imagine) would not be very good at dodging punches.

I guess I can see a really intelligent (heroic fantasy character) martial artist using his brainpower to predict upcoming blows, but that still requires the dexterity to react. Perhaps int should add to AC together with dex only if the dex bonus is higher (so you need the reflexes along with the knowledge?)

Are you bringing realism into a discussion about if Int should add to AC?

For what it's worth, there are a good dozen or so ways in 3.5 to add Int to AC (starting with the Duelist in the DMG). It's not entirely new.

Think of it like parrying and pre-emptively ensuring you are covered as opposed to dodging. Even wizards (who have spent months-> years in dungeons) would work out where is the best place to stand to avoid being hit.

(Haven't we had this discussion before?)

 

[Keefe the Thief]

INT adding to AC is long overdue. Tactical thinking and planning is alpha and omega in every fight. A smart fighter will beat a dumb fighter of approximately similar levels of training and strength every time.

 

[hong]

Can someone post that awesome ninjae vs Einstein pic again? Thx.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I'm in for the fighting smarter. 4E is designed with the idea that even the Wizard is trained to be involved in combat. He's not a book-study conclave wizard, he's an ADVENTURER.

Fitz

 

[charlesatan]

More seriously: Regen 10?!? Woah. Particularly on that Lich. Sunlight I won't miss killing vampires, but shifting into a bat or wolf I will. Hopefully, that'll be taken care of once they hammer out the wrinkles in polymorph.

Yeah, natural armour not stacking is going to take some getting used to again, not to mention we're back to handwaving away the inevitable question of why. It's a good metagame reason but still.

You can always add in the Polymorph ability to turn into bats/wolves. Personally, I don't like vampires turning into wolves because it's encroaching into the lycanthrope's territory. (As for the bat, honestly, how threatening in combat will a bat be unless they're dire bats or part of a swarm?)

As for natural armor and actual armor, let's just say that there are situations when they are redundant, and when they're actually useful (i.e. padding). But a unified rule governing them is nice.

Think of it like parrying and pre-emptively ensuring you are covered as opposed to dodging. Even wizards (who have spent months-> years in dungeons) would work out where is the best place to stand to avoid being hit.

I'd also like to add that Int can be "mental" reflexes, being aware of predicting when a blow is about to strike. I'd also like to add that in 3.0/3.5, it's stated that if a creature has no Dexterity score, they use Int instead for determining things like Initiative so Dex and Int going hand in hand isn't that big of a deviation from the rules.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Great crunch, and I love the succubus vampire Sojorn..domination up the ying yang!

I want my vampires to get their faces melted off their skulls by the sun.

The Sun causes 10 (or 20 or 30 or whatever) radiant damage per round to susceptible undead

 

[hong]

Great crunch, and I love the succubus vampire Sojorn..domination up the ying yang!

Ouch.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Ouch.

ROFL

Ying Yang - Descriptive term meaning ‘all over the place’ and lots of it, for example “I’ve got paperwork coming out of the ying yang.”

 

[Spatula]

So, I can't take an orc beyond 5 levels up? No more 15th level orc barbarians? Or, rather, these rules don't work very well outside of that fairly narrow band of 5 up or down?

I'm not sure if I'm all that happy about that.

Or, am I missing something vital?

Note that the section on adding class levels to monsters is mentioned up top but isn't there. There was also a gleemax post from Mike Mearls in January talking about making a (templated) Gnoll Warlock NPC, so I'm sure it will be possible to make 15th level orc somethings (no barbarian class!).

"You’ll also find rules for adding a class to a monster, mining the Player’s Handbook for combat powers."