D&D 5E I miss easily scaleable modifiable monsters!

[Theovis]

I don't miss it. Took up a LOT of Monster Manual space.

 

[Sunseeker]

You mentioned awaiting an MM 2,3,4, so I assume you're talking about 3rd? Because honestly I felt 3rd was one of the worst editions for 'easily scalable monsters'. Or just making monsters in general. The lists of feats, the lists of spells, the special abilities, creating one monster for the party to fight above 5th level was more complicated than creating a 5th level PC.

 

[fjw70]

I do miss the even-easier-than-5e monster creation and modding of 4e.

 

[DaveDash]

I'm converting 3e content to 5e, and yes, 3e uses a lot of monsters with class levels and such. This is a huge hassle in 5e (adding classes to monsters), but fortunately it's pretty easy just to level a monster up using the DMG rules to a higher CR.

Adding more variety is a bit more of a pain, especially spell casting, but it can be done using the DMG. Some spells drastically effect CR more than others. I also find it pointless giving monsters large spell selections because combat doesn't last long enough for them to use them. It's easier just giving a CR8 Goblin Sorcerer a few spell like abilities instead.

If you don't care about accurate encounters then just wing it.

 

[Paraxis]

4th edition was wonderful in scaling monsters, 3rd not so much. The best near D&D system for this is 13th Age's system.



and



as examples of easy and quick monster making cheat sheets.

5th edition isn't worse than most games, I find it pretty easy to change up monsters but it is not as elegant, simple, or balanced as it should be IMO.

 

[painted_klown]

I have a player that has already memorized the stats for everything in the Monster Manual.

Did anybody else read that and think it was seriously amazing?!?! Wow! I only wish I had a memory like that.

Also, if you're unaware. Frog God Games has released a PDF file (with physical book coming soon) titled 5th Edition Foes, that is essentially a 5E MM/Fiend Folio.

 

[Bupp]

Giving monsters "class levels" is easy in 5e. The NPC section in the back of the MM (or the limited ones in the DM PDF) is quickly becoming my most used section of that book. Just pick the NPC that matches your power level you are looking for and add any monster abilities on top.

 

[Jester David]

A week ago I would have talked about how easy it was with the chart of hp and damage.
Now I'm looking at converting Gardmore Abbey to 5e, and the beholder is the wrong level and almost no monsters are perfect, and I kinda miss being able to just add +/-1 to their defences and tweaking damage.

Especially since the MM doesn't line up with the expected numbers in the DMG in the slightest...

A quick formula for changing hp and damage would be nice. I'm sure someone could figure it out.

 

[Psikerlord#]

Honestly, I like the fast and loose approach of 5E. Want a goblin wizard? Use the goblin boss profile and add a couple of levels of spellcasting ability. Or use the mage NPC and make it size small with 25' movement. Orc paladin could be the Eye of Gruumsh with plate mail and paladin spells swapped in for the cleric ones or the knight NPC with the aggressive trait and darkvision. Personally I find that once you have a feel for how 5E plays modifying a creature ad hoc takes less time than adding a formal template does (granted I have not used software gaming tools, but considering there is nothing for 5E yet that is a bit of a moot point).

Sure more monsters would be better than fewer and an NPC codex like Pathfinder has would be a nice resource but I prefer adjusting creatures according to my sense of what is needed for an encounter rather than the dictates of some preset template.

I agree and prefer the fast and loose approach of 5e. I've only glanced at the DMG monster modifying tables. Looks a bit fiddly to me.

I just wing it, using the MM and CRs as a guide. No problems so far. It's easy to switch AC and damage and changing number of attacks or tagging cool effects on. For HP, I tend to look at what other CR equivalent monsters have (I always roll HP anyway, so there is always a degree of luck involved). For spellcasters I just add spellcaster levels straight on and choose some spells. The most fun for me are the "solos" - grabbing a creature and modifying it using the legendary actions/resistances/lair rules as a guide (I hate the label "legendary" and prefer to think of it as simply "elite/solo", but the rules are great and really allow a single creature to threaten a whole party).

I couldnt be happier with 5e monsters and monster creation.

 

[gribble]

The best approach for scaling difficulty in 5e seems to be adding or removing monsters from a group. With bounded accuracy, a large number of monsters is way tougher than a smaller number with slightly increased stats.

Of course that doesn't help with adding class levels and the like, but if all you're after is a higher level version of a monster with higher stats like 4e tended to offer, I've found it's better (and easier) to just add more opponents.