Originally posted by raleel:
D&D has been about numbers for a long time. Players have been optimizing since the earliest editions. Many guides exist to help in these endeavors, and I don’t intend to tread on their ground. Instead, I will take on the other side of the equation.
It can also be said that it is important for the DM to have a clear understanding of his monsters. Not only to counter and provide suitable challenges to the optimizers, but also to be able to finely tune his combats to allow particular players to shine, to prevent TPKs, and make the story much more engaging. After all, the victory that is won after hard battle is far sweeter and will garner you more kudos and engaged players.
One of the most valuable tools in optimization is knowing your enemy. That is, knowing when to fireball and when to lightning bolt. When to holy smite and when to hold person. When to bring undead and when to bring an aberration.
This guide will attempt to do extensive analysis of the monsters, as published, so that you may better make informed decisions and avoid any unpleasantness
Originally posted by raleel:
Section 1
You are probably going to interact with most things in the Monster Manual in one specific way - through their defenses. Whether via hand to hand combat, spells, or social manipulation, they are there to be the antagonists to the PC’s protagonists. Thus, knowing their defenses is incredibly important.
Methodology
Very simple - a spreadsheet with the AC, HP, and attributes of all the monsters in the monster manual and some basic statistics run on it - an average of each. AC is not compared with anything else. In all cases, the highest AC available for the monster is used.
Additionally, an average difference between the minimum of (Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity) and the maximum of these three attributes. These three represent the most common saving throws by far. This measurement serves as a basic gauge of how important it is to be selective in your spell selection with a particular type of monster.
In some cases, multiple variants of a monster were available. They were computed in as well, which may lead to very slight weighting towards that monster’s attribute array. However, there are over 400 monsters - I am not concerned by the very slight impact that they may have.
In some cases, the groupings (ooze, plant, etc) are very small. They will show very slight deviations from the attributes of the creatures.
It is extremely
important to note - I do not factor in ANY immunities, resistances, or special abilities. this is straight up defenses.
The Data
Let us start by looking at all the monsters as an aggregated whole
As you can see, the averages are much lower than one might come to expect. As a whole, the monsters are not bright, but relatively strong and tough.
Lets add some meta-analysis into the equation
As mentioned above, this is the average minimum of Con/Dex/Wis, and the average maximum. The average diff is the difference between these. The modifier impact is essentially how much of a bonus you can expect to get by switching from attacking the maximum to attacking the minimum. Over the whole of all the monsters - 15% on spell defenses.
Lets break this down a big more - by monster type. Other posts will detail other ways to break this down
As you can see, most monster types don't deviant very far on AC. Indeed, half of the types don't even alter more than 1 point from the population. You can expect your to hit vs AC to remain relatively stable over the course of many levels. The really large noteable exceptions here are Dragons, Oozes, Plants, and Beasts. Dragons are always tough, but there are ways to deal with them. Oozes - having a low AC is not necessarily a bad thing for them, because several cause problems with weapons.
Beasts are important though - particularly for druids. Beat it in mind when you are wildshaping or summoning - they tend to be low AC and going to get beat up a bit.
The other interesting things here are that Dragons are very weak in the Dex. Big size, lots of HP, solid Wisdom, and very tough on Con. However, fireballs and lightning bolts will take them down. If you think you are going to meet a dragon, load up on these, and make sure you pay attention to color of the skin
Fey are at the other end, strong in Dex, and weak in Con. Not unexpected. Neither is the Beast weakness to will. Celestials (and to a lesser extend fiends) don't really have a weak spot. Fortunately, you probably won't be fighting many of them.
It is not well reflected in this average, but my own viewing of Humanoids showed they tended towards the ends of the spectrum. Perhaps I will go back and add standard deviations to this to help.
Lets take a look at the advantage you may garner
As you can see, picking you spells well with a giant can make a 25% difference in their ability to defend, and the same with dragons. In both of those cases, their low dexterities are really hurting them.
Interesting that Humanoids are pretty much the same across the board. You don't need to fine tune for them as much, which is not too surprising.
Originally posted by raleel:
Section 2
Defenses by CR
So, change in format here, because the tables are very large. So, we'll use charts.
Methodology
Very much the same as the previous section - it uses the same data. However, splitting it out by CR you can see growth per level and how your proficiency bonus is going to impact. DMs, you can tell where there are weak stats and where there is some excellent design space to work with.
Again, it is important to emphasize - no consideration was made for immunities. That might be another section
Anomolies
You should probably just ignore the big spikes in CR18. There is only one CR 18 monster in the MM - the demilich. The stats are radically skewed compared to most other things - low strength, high dex, etc.I would probably just ignore most everything above CR20. Those things are going to be special set piece battles. THe stuff below CR10 though - you'll fight that for a long long time.
You will notice that Dex is very flat. In fact, it is so flat that any Dex save spells are going to get more effective as they go up, because proficiency bonus will overcome the increase in dex. Dex is very flat because the monster design space makes things bigger and more lumbering as CR increases as a whole. DMs, I'd recommend making sure to put together an adequate set of higher Dex (16+) monsters to prevent fireball inflation.
Know Your Enemy
A mini-guide to monster stats
A mini-guide to monster stats
It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle. -Sun Tzu
D&D has been about numbers for a long time. Players have been optimizing since the earliest editions. Many guides exist to help in these endeavors, and I don’t intend to tread on their ground. Instead, I will take on the other side of the equation.
It can also be said that it is important for the DM to have a clear understanding of his monsters. Not only to counter and provide suitable challenges to the optimizers, but also to be able to finely tune his combats to allow particular players to shine, to prevent TPKs, and make the story much more engaging. After all, the victory that is won after hard battle is far sweeter and will garner you more kudos and engaged players.
One of the most valuable tools in optimization is knowing your enemy. That is, knowing when to fireball and when to lightning bolt. When to holy smite and when to hold person. When to bring undead and when to bring an aberration.
This guide will attempt to do extensive analysis of the monsters, as published, so that you may better make informed decisions and avoid any unpleasantness
Originally posted by raleel:
Section 1
Defenses by category
If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.You are probably going to interact with most things in the Monster Manual in one specific way - through their defenses. Whether via hand to hand combat, spells, or social manipulation, they are there to be the antagonists to the PC’s protagonists. Thus, knowing their defenses is incredibly important.
Methodology
Very simple - a spreadsheet with the AC, HP, and attributes of all the monsters in the monster manual and some basic statistics run on it - an average of each. AC is not compared with anything else. In all cases, the highest AC available for the monster is used.
Additionally, an average difference between the minimum of (Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity) and the maximum of these three attributes. These three represent the most common saving throws by far. This measurement serves as a basic gauge of how important it is to be selective in your spell selection with a particular type of monster.
In some cases, multiple variants of a monster were available. They were computed in as well, which may lead to very slight weighting towards that monster’s attribute array. However, there are over 400 monsters - I am not concerned by the very slight impact that they may have.
In some cases, the groupings (ooze, plant, etc) are very small. They will show very slight deviations from the attributes of the creatures.
It is extremely
important to note - I do not factor in ANY immunities, resistances, or special abilities. this is straight up defenses.
The Data
Let us start by looking at all the monsters as an aggregated whole
| type | avg ac | avg str | avg dex | avg con | avg int | avg wis | avg cha |
| all | 14.25458716 | 14.95412844 | 12.85321101 | 14.95412844 | 8.516055046 | 11.79587156 | 10.11954023 |
As you can see, the averages are much lower than one might come to expect. As a whole, the monsters are not bright, but relatively strong and tough.
Lets add some meta-analysis into the equation
| Type | avg min | avg max | avg diff | modifier impact |
| all | 10.52293578 | 16.39220183 | 5.869266055 | 3 |
As mentioned above, this is the average minimum of Con/Dex/Wis, and the average maximum. The average diff is the difference between these. The modifier impact is essentially how much of a bonus you can expect to get by switching from attacking the maximum to attacking the minimum. Over the whole of all the monsters - 15% on spell defenses.
Lets break this down a big more - by monster type. Other posts will detail other ways to break this down
| type | avg ac | avg str | avg dex | avg con | avg int | avg wis | avg cha |
| aberration | 14.52631579 | 13.78947368 | 13.31578947 | 14.78947368 | 11.52631579 | 11.26315789 | 11.05263158 |
| beast | 12.03092784 | 12.05154639 | 13.08247423 | 12.36082474 | 2.329896907 | 10.90721649 | 5.175257732 |
| celestial | 17.42857143 | 21.42857143 | 18.57142857 | 20.85714286 | 17.28571429 | 20.14285714 | 21.28571429 |
| construct | 15.3125 | 14.9375 | 12 | 14.125 | 5.875 | 10.6875 | 5.5625 |
| dragon | 18.31111111 | 21.62222222 | 11.4 | 20.24444444 | 13.91111111 | 13 | 16.8 |
| elemental | 14.43478261 | 14.26086957 | 13.52173913 | 16 | 9.782608696 | 11.56521739 | 10.69565217 |
| fey | 14.14285714 | 10.42857143 | 15.42857143 | 12 | 12.14285714 | 13 | 13.71428571 |
| fiend | 15.69444444 | 16.19444444 | 14.47222222 | 16.72222222 | 11.94444444 | 13.16666667 | 13.83333333 |
| giant | 15.07692308 | 21.07692308 | 11.23076923 | 18.23076923 | 9.461538462 | 10.53846154 | 10.91666667 |
| humanoid | 14.07042254 | 13.35211268 | 13 | 12.90140845 | 10.83098592 | 11.73239437 | 10.85915493 |
| monstrosity | 14.65384615 | 17.76923077 | 12.84615385 | 16.17307692 | 6.980769231 | 12.5 | 9.596153846 |
| ooze | 7.4 | 14.4 | 5.2 | 16 | 1.4 | 6 | 1.2 |
| plant | 10.92857143 | 10.85714286 | 7.714285714 | 12.64285714 | 6.142857143 | 8.857142857 | 4.642857143 |
| undead | 14.12903226 | 12.03225806 | 14.06451613 | 14.58064516 | 10.93548387 | 11.90322581 | 12.38709677 |
As you can see, most monster types don't deviant very far on AC. Indeed, half of the types don't even alter more than 1 point from the population. You can expect your to hit vs AC to remain relatively stable over the course of many levels. The really large noteable exceptions here are Dragons, Oozes, Plants, and Beasts. Dragons are always tough, but there are ways to deal with them. Oozes - having a low AC is not necessarily a bad thing for them, because several cause problems with weapons.
Beasts are important though - particularly for druids. Beat it in mind when you are wildshaping or summoning - they tend to be low AC and going to get beat up a bit.
The other interesting things here are that Dragons are very weak in the Dex. Big size, lots of HP, solid Wisdom, and very tough on Con. However, fireballs and lightning bolts will take them down. If you think you are going to meet a dragon, load up on these, and make sure you pay attention to color of the skin
It is not well reflected in this average, but my own viewing of Humanoids showed they tended towards the ends of the spectrum. Perhaps I will go back and add standard deviations to this to help.
Lets take a look at the advantage you may garner
| Type | avg min | avg max | avg diff | modifier impact |
| aberration | 9.894736842 | 16.15789474 | 6.263157895 | 3 |
| beast | 9.917525773 | 14.64948454 | 4.731958763 | 2 |
| celestial | 18.14285714 | 21.85714286 | 3.714285714 | 2 |
| construct | 8.375 | 16.8125 | 8.4375 | 4 |
| dragon | 10.86666667 | 20.46666667 | 9.6 | 5 |
| elemental | 10.86956522 | 17.34782609 | 6.47826087 | 3 |
| fey | 10.71428571 | 16.85714286 | 6.142857143 | 3 |
| fiend | 12.36111111 | 17.55555556 | 5.194444444 | 3 |
| giant | 9 | 19.07692308 | 10.07692308 | 5 |
| humanoid | 10.69014085 | 14.56338028 | 3.873239437 | 2 |
| monstrosity | 11.42307692 | 16.65384615 | 5.230769231 | 3 |
| ooze | 5.2 | 16 | 10.8 | 5 |
| plant | 6.642857143 | 12.92857143 | 6.285714286 | 3 |
| undead | 10.61290323 | 16.70967742 | 6.096774194 | 3 |
Interesting that Humanoids are pretty much the same across the board. You don't need to fine tune for them as much, which is not too surprising.
Originally posted by raleel:
Section 2
Defenses by CR
So, change in format here, because the tables are very large. So, we'll use charts.
Methodology
Very much the same as the previous section - it uses the same data. However, splitting it out by CR you can see growth per level and how your proficiency bonus is going to impact. DMs, you can tell where there are weak stats and where there is some excellent design space to work with.
Again, it is important to emphasize - no consideration was made for immunities. That might be another section
Anomolies
You should probably just ignore the big spikes in CR18. There is only one CR 18 monster in the MM - the demilich. The stats are radically skewed compared to most other things - low strength, high dex, etc.I would probably just ignore most everything above CR20. Those things are going to be special set piece battles. THe stuff below CR10 though - you'll fight that for a long long time.
You will notice that Dex is very flat. In fact, it is so flat that any Dex save spells are going to get more effective as they go up, because proficiency bonus will overcome the increase in dex. Dex is very flat because the monster design space makes things bigger and more lumbering as CR increases as a whole. DMs, I'd recommend making sure to put together an adequate set of higher Dex (16+) monsters to prevent fireball inflation.
Last edited:
