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Message: <blockquote data-quote="evilbob" data-source="post: 9636426" data-attributes="member: 9789">1 - CRs are still too low for 5.5 characters, IMO. Maybe they balanced everything against having zero magic items or something but ALL the CRs are still too low, especially at high levels, to the point that even the helpful hack of the "lazy benchmark" has exceptions to its exceptions. CRs were always "ballpark estimates" but now they feel like wild guesses. Just means more prep (or more improv) for the GM.2 - Speeding up combat for the GM = good IMO. Happy to trade small details for speed, like the previous big change of 1d6 being "4" damage and move on. Then again, fights still take too long for as little dramatic tension as they create - which is connected to many facets other than the MM.3 - 100% agreed.4 - Hadn't noticed those yet, thanks for the tip!5 - So every "guard" is generic now and their species doesn't matter? Makes sense, given that player characters' species is also almost entirely flavor now. There's really nothing you need to know about a species for a "guard" encounter. Skill bonuses, cantrips, even advantage on saving throws: you can add a little spice in there if you want (the ELF guard noticed you but the others didn't!) but in the course of an encounter most of that reduces down to noise or GM prep time, and reducing those for speed = good IMO. (Even the fact that only three PHB species don't have darkvision probably won't come up most of the time - unless that's how you run your game.)The main problem I have with the 5.5 MM is the lack of grouping of some creatures but not others. There are threads about this, though.</blockquote>

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