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<blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6662551" data-attributes="member: 6787650">Unsurprising. This would be my reaction too, and hopefully my players' too. The whole point of roleplaying an itinerant adventurer is to learn to master your environment by killing things more efficiently. I hardly ever get to play PCs but &quot;What would you do if...?&quot; is a fun thought-game. What would you do if there might be a medusa in that tower you're about to investigate? (Scout ahead with a familiar.) What would you do if you were a 10th level wizard fighting a Rakshasa solo? (Summon a Fire Elemental, the only kind that can damage him. And pray.) By thinking through scenarios in advance, you have a much better chance of actually having the tools to deal with whatever problems arise in &quot;real life&quot;, e.g. you won't just know a bunch of blasting spells when the Rakshasa shows up.That is also why I enjoy playing hyperintelligent monsters with good intel access, because then I actually have an excuse to pull out some of that &quot;what you do if...&quot; content against the PCs without breaking the 4th wall. It is fun to use good tactics like drow stealth, hobgoblin fortifications with 3/4 cover, beholders drilling through ceilings with Disintegrate, beholders shielding themselves from arrow fire with wooden barricades lofted by Telekinesis[1], etc.[1] Unfortunately this one doesn't work reliably with MM beholders because their eye-rays are random. Either you accept that fact and have the beholder stay mostly ground-bound, moving in short bursts whenever they roll a telekinesis ray; or you say, &quot;That's lame, untraditional for D&amp;D, and unrealistic: beholders can choose their eye rays in my game as long as they don't use the same one twice in one round.&quot; Per DMG guidelines that doesn't change the CR, so you're good.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="FormerlyHemlock, post: 6662551, member: 6787650"] Unsurprising. This would be my reaction too, and hopefully my players' too. The whole point of roleplaying an itinerant adventurer is to learn to master your environment by killing things more efficiently. I hardly ever get to play PCs but "What would you do if...?" is a fun thought-game. What would you do if there might be a medusa in that tower you're about to investigate? (Scout ahead with a familiar.) What would you do if you were a 10th level wizard fighting a Rakshasa solo? (Summon a Fire Elemental, the only kind that can damage him. And pray.) By thinking through scenarios in advance, you have a much better chance of actually having the tools to deal with whatever problems arise in "real life", e.g. you won't just know a bunch of blasting spells when the Rakshasa shows up. That is also why I enjoy playing hyperintelligent monsters with good intel access, because then I actually have an excuse to pull out some of that "what you do if..." content against the PCs without breaking the 4th wall. It is [I]fun[/I] to use good tactics like drow stealth, hobgoblin fortifications with 3/4 cover, beholders drilling through ceilings with Disintegrate, beholders shielding themselves from arrow fire with wooden barricades lofted by Telekinesis[1], etc. [1] Unfortunately this one doesn't work reliably with MM beholders because their eye-rays are random. Either you accept that fact and have the beholder stay mostly ground-bound, moving in short bursts whenever they roll a telekinesis ray; or you say, "That's lame, untraditional for D&D, and unrealistic: beholders can choose their eye rays in my game as long as they don't use the same one twice in one round." Per DMG guidelines that doesn't change the CR, so you're good. [/QUOTE]

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