Does the Rakshasa have a too-high CR?

[fafhrd]

2 Simple substitutions. Swap melf's for scorching ray and haste for dispel magic. Should do the trick.

 

[painandgreed]

You're forgetting two of its most powerful powers being Detect Thougths (at will) and Change Shape. Placing it in a postion where it isn't able to take advantage of these is would be like putting a flying creature with ranged attacks in a suberanean maze with short passages.

 

[zoroaster100]

I think it depends if the PCs know the rakshasa's weakness. I had my players at ninth or tenth level face a rakshasa (with a slightly different spell selection) and its fire giant minion in the Shackled City campaign, and the players knew the old "blessed crossbow" bit, but not the 3.5 DR of the rakshasa. They didn't have blessed crossbows, so they just tried to do as best they could with other weapons, and none of them really used piercing weapons regularly, so they had a very hard time damaging the rakshasa given its DR and SR. The rakshasa used an illusion to postpone the combat momentarily, while using buff spells to buff up the fire giant with bull's strength, bear's endurance and another spell or two. Then the combat was joined and the players barely won.

 

[Sound of Azure]

Another option I found useful was using some of the other Rakshasa "forms": ape-headed and mantis-headed Rakshasa confused the heck out of my players who had managed to discover some Rakshasa's true forms. Most players I've encountered expect the "traditional" Tiger-headed variety.

 

[Hussar]

You're forgetting two of its most powerful powers being Detect Thougths (at will) and Change Shape. Placing it in a postion where it isn't able to take advantage of these is would be like putting a flying creature with ranged attacks in a suberanean maze with short passages.

Yes, but we already have that creature. It's called a Doppleganger and it's CR 3. Are the DR, SR and small spell selection worth +6 CR?

 

[Stalker0]

Yes, but we already have that creature. It's called a Doppleganger and it's CR 3. Are the DR, SR and small spell selection worth +6 CR?

I think a small change to the spell list makes this creature a much toucher fight. It defensive abilities are pretty good, if it has spells like fireball, scorching ray, etc...it can be a much more effective combatent./

 

[Sound of Azure]

Perhaps Mearls would like to redesign this one too?

 

[Tsillanabor]

I often find CRs to be WAY off where they should be. With decent minions and keeping a low profile I'd put the rakshasa at 9.

 

[painandgreed]

Yes, but we already have that creature. It's called a Doppleganger and it's CR 3. Are the DR, SR and small spell selection worth +6 CR?

I don't know if 7 levels of sorcerer would really be considered small. With suitable spells tailored to the situations the party finds the rakshasa in plus the DR and SR should make it fairly buff.

It's just one of the flaws of a challenge based XP system as opposed to the old objective XP value. There's a big challenge difference between a rakshasa caught in an open room by a party with a random spell list and one that the party does not suspect for being a rakshasa who is posing as a friend with spells picked out to match certain tactics for taking on the party. The challenge rating might not be suitable for an up and up fight as if playing DDM, but probably right for one that is posing as a merchant the party meets on the road who it trying to stop the party from getting to where they are going. Just because monsters have a CR does not mean the DMs job is over. It probably means more work fo the DM because they need to make sure they are using the monsters abilites to their fullest to get the proper CR.

 

[GwydapLlew]

I love Raks. I do think that they belong to the category of monsters that are a little too weak for their listed CR but too powerful for anything lower than the current listing.

The arguments that "Rakshasa should never be caught alone" is a bit of a obfuscation; their CR is based on fighting one of them, not one of them and all their minions.

IMO, Raks should be played incredibly intelligently and incredibly selfishly. Another poster mentioned modelling them after the British colonials, and that's an excellent start. A Rakshasa that doesn't have a network of minions to do its dirty work for it is a sad, sad creature.

One of the things I love most about MMIII is the new breeds of Rakshasa. IMC, the Rakshasa culture is still primarily in Acheron, with Ravenna as their ultimate leader. There are several breeds (read: castes) of Rakshasa, all with different positions in society. For a Lawful Evil creature nominally based on Hindu mythology, it only makes sense to have a labrynthine bureaucracy of caste and favor that all hinge on greasing the palms of those more powerful than you and trampling on those beneath you.