DM's what kinds of monster features 'annoy' you or make your job harder?

[Aholibamah]

Personally I think that level draining powers suck. Why should a player be punished just for having an encounter he didn't plan? It's one thing to get killed outright in a fair encounter but I've never liked that one. Nor do I like stat draining abilities.

 

[Fifth Element]

I don't mind ability damage but I have never used, nor will I ever use, level drains in my games. WAAAAAAY too metagamey of a concept.

Curse Gygax for foisting it upon us. Curse previous designers who didn't have the guts to remove it.

 

[Evilhalfling]

hydras probably top my list, not so much the sundering as the muliple AoO and multattack after a charge. Beholders and Bodaks - save or die with low DCs - I guess its better than save or die with a hard DC.

the Herzou with its Blasphemy at CR+2 caster level. I guess these will never see use with the lower level party.

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

I don't like monsters that nullify entire classes. Like an Iron Golem. There is nothing a rogue can do to it, other than run away or perhaps set a trap. It has tons of DR, so unless the rogue carries an Adamantine Dagger, he isn't doing any damage. This matters to me as a player and as a DM, because as a DM, I have to think of something else for the rogue or wizard to do so they don't feel unfairly penalized. (Although the wizard can usually contribute with things like Haste)

Otherwise, monsters with a laundry-list of abilities; Like ones that have 8 different relevant spell abilities, a Breath Weapon, and an aura, plus improved grab, DR, Immunities, Spell Resistance, and Feats it needs to actively use, etc. Like Dragons. I hate how they have a billion possible actions but only a few are even good. (Like their spellcasting at older ages)

 

[Voadam]

Blaphemy, no save just die if lower level. Hezrou and big half fiends

Bodak save or die gaze.

These are things I don't want to have happen to the party, it is not mechanically fun to run or deal with the consequences of them happening.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

Level drain, just slows the game down too much recalculating everything and also angers the players.

 

[Pants]

Blasphemy at will is annoying. It's just... not fun for the players. 1/day is fine, the creature mucks with the PC's for a round, then it can't do it again. I've taken to downgrading or swapping out blasphemy for other abilities.

Bodak death gaze. With the gaze, bodaks can easily destroy an equal level party with a few bad rolls. Without the gaze, bodaks just suck as threats.

Swallow Whole. It just doesn't make any damn sense!

Improved Grab + Grapple. Too many creatures have it and it's almost impossible to break the grappling of some of the higher CR creatures.

Golem Magic Immunity. Again, doesn't make any sense.

High CR Creatures without abilities to deal with flying PC's or without DR or SR.

Useless abilities. Yay, a CR 11 demon with sleep at will!

 

[Hypersmurf]

My own personal bugaboos are, honestly, defensive abilities like regeneration and damage reduction. Either the PCs can counter it, in which case the monster might as well not have it, or they can't, in which case it's much more powerful than it should be. Things which can be countered, though, fall into "flavor abilities," so I guess they're all right.

There's the middle ground, where one or two PCs can counter it, and the rest can't - let's say DR 10/Good, say, where one character has a Holy weapon. It forces a change in tactics, where the characters who aren't directly effective take up a support role - protecting the spellcaster who can bypass DR with direct damage spells, aiding the paladin whose weapon is effective, and so forth.

For an entire campaign, it gets frustrating. For a single encounter, it's an interesting change of pace.

-Hyp.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Chalk me up as not in favour of touch attack ability damage.

A level 9 character should not be as easy to kill as when they were level 1.

 

[pawsplay]

Black puddings. Where does the split pudding go? I once made the mistake of staging a fight on a stone bridge over a black pudding. Does the pudding go no the bridge? Squeeze in the pit? Cause nuclear fusion? Who knows? I emailed custserve... they said to wing it.