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New Design Paradigms - What are they and are they good or bad?
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<blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 3355739" data-attributes="member: 3586"><p>The only way you can get HD=CR=LA=ECL is by making monsters all the same, with no variance in special abilities. The moment you give a monster an interesting ability (like flight), the LA goes up far more than the CR does, because of what that ability means is very different as a PC than as a foe. That idea is bunk, and should be ignored.</p><p></p><p>What <em>is</em> happening is that they're trying to get rid of monsters whose special abilities are very powerful, but can be killed in one hit - I call them "coin flip" monsters, but I think "glass cannon" is also used.</p><p></p><p>Consider a monster with 1 HD (4 hp) and a DC 20 Death gaze. If you win initiative, it dies. If you lose, it dies. That's my definition of a coin-flip monster, and there are quite a few in D&D; but fewer designed now. Ogre Magi is an example: one really powerful attack (cone of cold), but nothing else, and few hp.</p><p></p><p>A monster's attacks should be on scale to how hard it is to destroy. Now, you can have a lower-HD monster have the same CR as a high-HD monster... but the low-HD monster will have more defenses. Consider a 40 HD Zombie... lots of HP, but (relatively) poor attacks and poor AC. Meanwhile, a 15 HD Outsider with a good AC would probably be at the same difficulty, and thus CR.</p><p></p><p>The other evolving philosopy of monster design is as regards simplicity: having 100 special abilities (see devils and demons, also dragons, especially in 3e) does not make a good monster. Having 2 or 3 strongly themed special abilities that affect play does make a good monster. That's the philosophy behind MMIV, and it created some really good monsters; unfortunately that was obscured by the more questionable design decisions in MMIV (enlarged ecologies and tribal monsters).</p><p></p><p>Cheers!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MerricB, post: 3355739, member: 3586"] The only way you can get HD=CR=LA=ECL is by making monsters all the same, with no variance in special abilities. The moment you give a monster an interesting ability (like flight), the LA goes up far more than the CR does, because of what that ability means is very different as a PC than as a foe. That idea is bunk, and should be ignored. What [i]is[/i] happening is that they're trying to get rid of monsters whose special abilities are very powerful, but can be killed in one hit - I call them "coin flip" monsters, but I think "glass cannon" is also used. Consider a monster with 1 HD (4 hp) and a DC 20 Death gaze. If you win initiative, it dies. If you lose, it dies. That's my definition of a coin-flip monster, and there are quite a few in D&D; but fewer designed now. Ogre Magi is an example: one really powerful attack (cone of cold), but nothing else, and few hp. A monster's attacks should be on scale to how hard it is to destroy. Now, you can have a lower-HD monster have the same CR as a high-HD monster... but the low-HD monster will have more defenses. Consider a 40 HD Zombie... lots of HP, but (relatively) poor attacks and poor AC. Meanwhile, a 15 HD Outsider with a good AC would probably be at the same difficulty, and thus CR. The other evolving philosopy of monster design is as regards simplicity: having 100 special abilities (see devils and demons, also dragons, especially in 3e) does not make a good monster. Having 2 or 3 strongly themed special abilities that affect play does make a good monster. That's the philosophy behind MMIV, and it created some really good monsters; unfortunately that was obscured by the more questionable design decisions in MMIV (enlarged ecologies and tribal monsters). Cheers! [/QUOTE]
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