Voss said:Furthermore, when you have 5 types of kobolds in a room, and 4 can take 20 to 30 times they damage of the other, there is a verisimilitude issue that isn't even vaguely corner case. Its really that 1 out of 5 kobolds will die to a dagger thrust, while the other 4 *won't die* if hit with a greatsword. Maybe that doesn't bother you. It does bother me, and it certainly isn't more or less intelligent to ignore it than to point it out. Its a matter of playstyle preference. I enjoy games more if they are internally consistent, and if they stand up to a little thoughtful analysis.
I think a large part of this comes with the new definition of HP. Now I don't really want to bring that whole fight in here, enough people are discussing what hp actually represents. From a 4e design standpoint though what it seems to represent is nothing truly physical or an aspect of morale. It seems to me at least that hp is now meant purely as a representation of their plot worth. The max hp is the representation of how important they are to the story, and the current result is a value of how close they are to leaving it.
Technically EVERYONE should die if they are hit with a greatsword. However some foes are supposed to be more memorable, therefore they slip out of the way or are simply tougher. Think of the leader of the Uruk-hai, he was a regular monster while the rest where minions. They could still do damage en masse(and even kill "players") yet died relatively quickly when brought to combat. Also compare them to normal orcs, who are essentially lower level minions.
I think of it instead as a single one of the monsters was not as well trained as the other four, they are a real challenge for the pcs, this guy is the newbie in the group, or was simply unlucky. Regardless it allows in a sense for more cinematic play that enforces verisimilitude. Instead of having 20 level 1 orcs against your level 10 pcs (who know for a fact that they can't touch them since they are level 10) instead the weak guys that drop like flies actually matter in the battle.