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General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Doing the Monster Math for the original MM
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<blockquote data-quote="Aegeri" data-source="post: 5266059" data-attributes="member: 78116"><p>I rag on MM solos a lot, but some of the Dragons are actually okay out of the box. I think they could use another attack when bloodied, or something else just to get that extra damage in like in MM2/MM3 - but they aren't unreasonable. White Dragons as I mentioned already have +5 vs. AC and +3 vs. NADs for their adult and ancient forms. I suggest shuffling around some powers, Ice Tomb is a great candidate for a minor action ranged power but they do okay. Same with the Red Dragon and such.</p><p></p><p>Dragons do okay because their power design was already pretty good. To me it feels like later solos were modeled around dragons. With the exception of extra HP and defenses, with a little on the low side for actions MM dragons can do pretty well. Depending on the type. Black Dragons are grindy in my experience, mostly because of their ability to make PCs blind constantly to really frustrate melee characters. They have a big, will targeting AoE stun so that does a good job as well.</p><p></p><p>Taking the older dragons like Reds and Whites, just copying over their powers and then maybe shuffling the odd one into minor/triggered could be enough to be honest. Make them pick up an extra attack on draconic fury while bloodied and I think you'd be set. The builder will adjust all the other math, so it should work perfectly.</p><p></p><p>Now <em>non-dragon</em> solos you'll have to be specific. Some of them are god awful (The Purple Worm and Dracolich for example). Some of them are just awful, but maybe with better damage they might be a lot better - Hydras in this case could be a simple fix as they can't be dazed or stunned, a common thing that thwarts many solos. Orcus needs more than maths, he needs some new powers, some new ways of dealing with conditions and probably some better evil henchmen. The Orcus empowered from E3 is a better way of going for him. Other solos vary, but to be honest the beholder is probably okay due to its free attack action spam (with more damage he should be fine). Just need to be specific, but in general if it looks Dragon like: EG has a decent multiple attack standard action, something to do when bloodied, maybe a triggered action or so you might be able to get away with it.</p><p></p><p>My hope is still that wizards will revisit many of these solos and other monsters in the Monster Vault so we don't need to worry anymore.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aegeri, post: 5266059, member: 78116"] I rag on MM solos a lot, but some of the Dragons are actually okay out of the box. I think they could use another attack when bloodied, or something else just to get that extra damage in like in MM2/MM3 - but they aren't unreasonable. White Dragons as I mentioned already have +5 vs. AC and +3 vs. NADs for their adult and ancient forms. I suggest shuffling around some powers, Ice Tomb is a great candidate for a minor action ranged power but they do okay. Same with the Red Dragon and such. Dragons do okay because their power design was already pretty good. To me it feels like later solos were modeled around dragons. With the exception of extra HP and defenses, with a little on the low side for actions MM dragons can do pretty well. Depending on the type. Black Dragons are grindy in my experience, mostly because of their ability to make PCs blind constantly to really frustrate melee characters. They have a big, will targeting AoE stun so that does a good job as well. Taking the older dragons like Reds and Whites, just copying over their powers and then maybe shuffling the odd one into minor/triggered could be enough to be honest. Make them pick up an extra attack on draconic fury while bloodied and I think you'd be set. The builder will adjust all the other math, so it should work perfectly. Now [I]non-dragon[/I] solos you'll have to be specific. Some of them are god awful (The Purple Worm and Dracolich for example). Some of them are just awful, but maybe with better damage they might be a lot better - Hydras in this case could be a simple fix as they can't be dazed or stunned, a common thing that thwarts many solos. Orcus needs more than maths, he needs some new powers, some new ways of dealing with conditions and probably some better evil henchmen. The Orcus empowered from E3 is a better way of going for him. Other solos vary, but to be honest the beholder is probably okay due to its free attack action spam (with more damage he should be fine). Just need to be specific, but in general if it looks Dragon like: EG has a decent multiple attack standard action, something to do when bloodied, maybe a triggered action or so you might be able to get away with it. My hope is still that wizards will revisit many of these solos and other monsters in the Monster Vault so we don't need to worry anymore. [/QUOTE]
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Doing the Monster Math for the original MM
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