Monster guidelines in DMG =/= MM?

[Tav_Behemoth]

I'm sure there have been threads already, but can someone point me to a discussion of how and why the MM monsters don't match the DMG guidelines?

For example, as a level 3 brute the warhorse's AC and defenses should all be level + 3, or 15. If you adjust for its stats' deviation from the norm, you'd expect AC 15, Fort 18, Ref 15, Ref 15. But the printed monster has AC 17, Fort 16, Ref 14, Will 14.

How do you take this into account when making your own monsters?

 

[feuer_faust]

Simply put, the DMG guidelines are just guidelines. The critters in the MM were probably created at that baseline, then fudged around a bit until they seemed right. Or, more accurately, the DMG provides some sort of average that a given monster might be (based on others of its level).

To be honest, I enjoy the lack of a concrete system. The monsters are created with the purpose of being a challenge appropriate to a party of PCs, not to conform to the method in which PCs are created.