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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 6977600" data-attributes="member: 6785785">So you don't think her teleport ability would be able to allow her to escape? Or get to terrain that would be more likely to allow her to effectively combat the flying archer demons? She absolutely has to stand her ground and die? Again, I am not saying that some monsters don't need some tweaking. I personally have tweaked Mariliths in my campaign. My point is more about the fact that there are also usually more than one solution to the problem. Actually altering the MM entry may be necessary from time to time, but I think other steps should be tried first. In the example above, have the Marilith escape and THEN equip herself with some bows and then hunt the archer demons down and destroy them. I wouldn't allow her to die needlessly. Why would she do that? Beings described as master tacticians don't fight battles they have no chance of winning. So if the criticism is that the stat blocks don't support the idea that a Marilith is a tactical genius because she doesn't have mechanical abilities to support that....the answer is not to make things even worse by having her behave like a moron. No, I have acknowledged the issue. I think your complaint is valid. Please remember this, and then we can proceed with the discussion in that light. I absolutely understand the sentiment. I agree that Juiblex should have been given some immunity to forced movement. What I don't agree with is that this is such a devastating design flaw as to require a "complete overhaul" of the MM as you suggested. My point is not that your complaint is without merit. Instead, it's that it is within our power to solve the problem. Wanting WotC to fix the game as you see fit? Okay, fine. Expecting it? Yeah....good luck with that. Not everyone agrees about this design flaw....and that likely includes the designers. So I am not apologizing for them. I don't think the game is flawless. However, its flaws don't cause me that much trouble. No. I absolutely reject this sentiment. It's so wrong for so many reasons.First, I'll judge the game however I want. I'm not beholden to you to adhere to your views. In a discussion, all that I need to do is explain my view so that we are actually attempting to communicate. Second, my stance is that I must judge the game based on what's in my mind....the game relies upon imagination. Why would I remove that factor from any discussion of the game? I mean, the football rulebook contains the rules....not tactics or plays or offensive formations. Those things have all come from the minds of people who play the game. Would you divorce such areas from a discussion of football? As for the CR....I don't care. Honestly, it's a guideline. There is no way to determine exactly how challenging a monster will be for a given group. It's determined with a general group in mind. However, I play with a specific group....so when I decide what to put in front of them, I think of them, and not a general group. So yes, Juiblex's CR rating may be low. Who cares? What matters is how he actually fares against your party. If he does not fare well, then something needs to be done. If he fares well, then everything's fine. Worrying about his CR is the tail wagging the dog.  What I did was create an encounter that would be representative of the threat level I wanted Juiblex to have. That's what CR is supposed to be, right? So by ignoring the CR and actually thinking about how things would play out, I created an encounter that would be what I hoped. I didn't rely on a digit in a book to tell me what would work. I used my imagination. It's far more effective than CR.Not necessary to have her "cheat". If I found myself in such a situation where a Marilith was going to be attacked by a group of flying archers, and I wasn't able to simply narrate it (which would be how I'd tend to handle it) and I needed to maintain the idea that Mariliths are dangerous, the last thing I'd do is have her simply sit there and yell curses as the archers slaughtered her off. I'd have her retreat, prepare, and then hunt them down and destroy them. As I mentioned above in my reply to @<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=6787650" target="_blank">Hemlock</a>, having the Marilith sit there and die only makes the situation worse.</blockquote>

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