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Let’s Read Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.
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<blockquote data-quote="Sulicius" data-source="post: 8583969" data-attributes="member: 6896569"><p>This is a severe underrated review of the Cloud Giant Smiling One, and I cannot agree with the bulk of this assessment.</p><p></p><p>Let's start with the ranged option. A Smiling One could toss a rock at 60ft. for 30 damage on average. If it somehow got advantage, through cleverly being hidden or invisible (with a terrible +1 to stealth checks) it would deal an additional 14 points of damage <em>once</em>. So either as a DM you force this surprise or none of your players have proficiency in perception, as at that point in the game, their passive perception will probably notice a giant getting ready to throw a rock within 60 ft.</p><p></p><p>Now? It's ranged attack is only +7 to hit, which is a big difference. A +5 is sometimes compared to having disadvantage which would... be similar to a giant throwing a rock at more than 60 feet away! And it can do it twice, for a whopping total of 50 damage. So instead of getting close, rolling godly on stealth or telling your players that they really are surprised from a squirrel tossing a boulder, the ranged attack is more reliable and deals more damage.</p><p></p><p>I'm not gonna repeat the story for his morning star, but I would like to point out that there is nothing else on the stat block of the old or new giant that allows it to get advantage without spending a turn setting it up. So instead of +14 damage to maaaybe ONE attack during the whole combat, it now has +5 to EVERY attack, which is a buff! </p><p></p><p>And then we get to how the Cloud Giant Smiling One has really improved: flight and free teleportation. A flying creature can find cover better, easily move to reach vulnerable enemies and stay out of reach of devastating attacks and effects. Even a 11th level party is not expected to have dependable flying on their melee classes. So in a way, 12 hit points are a low cost for dodging at least 1 attack by being far more mobile without wasting concentration. And then we get to the "misty step". Even if it allows the cloud giant to teleport once per combat, that means that it can get out of grapples or magical confinement and not trigger opportunity attacks for free! If you have ever had a big gribbly monster of yours locked down in the first turn of combat, you will know the immense power boost this is to a monster. The teleport will also give it more reach to get to the squishy spellcasters and ranged attackers, increasing its chances to deal damage.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and can fly, teleport and still cast a spell in one turn!</p><p></p><p>The minus to the ranged attack bonus I will agree with to a point, but they have made the Cloud Giant Smiling One more consistent in performance, powerful, easy to run and capable of doing more things in a turn to show what makes it unique. This is exactly what I want from every monster, and it's a shame they didn't do it to all monsters.</p><p></p><p>I don't want to say you're not doing a great job with going over all the stat blocks, you are. I couldn't let this go by me <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>Losing Cure Wounds is part of a lot of monsters losing utility spells. Some won't be missed, but this one is curious. Maybe it didn't fit with the concept of a giant trickster?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sulicius, post: 8583969, member: 6896569"] This is a severe underrated review of the Cloud Giant Smiling One, and I cannot agree with the bulk of this assessment. Let's start with the ranged option. A Smiling One could toss a rock at 60ft. for 30 damage on average. If it somehow got advantage, through cleverly being hidden or invisible (with a terrible +1 to stealth checks) it would deal an additional 14 points of damage [I]once[/I]. So either as a DM you force this surprise or none of your players have proficiency in perception, as at that point in the game, their passive perception will probably notice a giant getting ready to throw a rock within 60 ft. Now? It's ranged attack is only +7 to hit, which is a big difference. A +5 is sometimes compared to having disadvantage which would... be similar to a giant throwing a rock at more than 60 feet away! And it can do it twice, for a whopping total of 50 damage. So instead of getting close, rolling godly on stealth or telling your players that they really are surprised from a squirrel tossing a boulder, the ranged attack is more reliable and deals more damage. I'm not gonna repeat the story for his morning star, but I would like to point out that there is nothing else on the stat block of the old or new giant that allows it to get advantage without spending a turn setting it up. So instead of +14 damage to maaaybe ONE attack during the whole combat, it now has +5 to EVERY attack, which is a buff! And then we get to how the Cloud Giant Smiling One has really improved: flight and free teleportation. A flying creature can find cover better, easily move to reach vulnerable enemies and stay out of reach of devastating attacks and effects. Even a 11th level party is not expected to have dependable flying on their melee classes. So in a way, 12 hit points are a low cost for dodging at least 1 attack by being far more mobile without wasting concentration. And then we get to the "misty step". Even if it allows the cloud giant to teleport once per combat, that means that it can get out of grapples or magical confinement and not trigger opportunity attacks for free! If you have ever had a big gribbly monster of yours locked down in the first turn of combat, you will know the immense power boost this is to a monster. The teleport will also give it more reach to get to the squishy spellcasters and ranged attackers, increasing its chances to deal damage. Oh, and can fly, teleport and still cast a spell in one turn! The minus to the ranged attack bonus I will agree with to a point, but they have made the Cloud Giant Smiling One more consistent in performance, powerful, easy to run and capable of doing more things in a turn to show what makes it unique. This is exactly what I want from every monster, and it's a shame they didn't do it to all monsters. I don't want to say you're not doing a great job with going over all the stat blocks, you are. I couldn't let this go by me ;) Losing Cure Wounds is part of a lot of monsters losing utility spells. Some won't be missed, but this one is curious. Maybe it didn't fit with the concept of a giant trickster? [/QUOTE]
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