New Monsters damage et al driving me insane.

[Goonalan]

Right then, I'm trying to patch up the monsters in the next scenario we're playing, as per the new rules in the errata, I'll be honest- I'm struggling because there doesn't seem to be any quick fix I can see, let me explain.

1. I'm doing this because even at Heroic Levels my players are not being challenged as much as they'd like, when I did this for the previous scenario (in a very ad hoc way) then it played much better. I know Heroic creatures don't have to be changed up but I want, we want to... not doing it is not an option.

2. Next, how do I know the monster doesn't already fit with the new rules- the guys below are from Scales of War Den of the Destroyer from Dungeon magazine 160 November 2008. I'm therefore pretty sure they need fixing.

Which still leaves me with the question- when did the new designs start, from what date (or Dungeon magazine, or WOTC adventure) did the changes come into play?

3. I've got all the errata to hand and yet I'm still not sure what needs to be changed, the truth is I want (need) an official line. I'm not foolish enough to think that WOTC are going to go back and re-do all the previous monsters. However this is genuinely preventing me from gaming- I'm an anally retentive so-and-so and if it's not right (the official version) then I don't... well at the moment I don't game.

So here are the bad guys and my versions, before and after-

BEFORE-

Bounty Hunter Snaremaster
Level 7 Artillery
Small natural humanoid
XP 300
HP 61; Bloodied 31
AC 19; Fortitude 18; Reflex 20; Will 19
Speed 6
Initiative +7
Perception +11

Standard Actions
m Rapier (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +14 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8 + 5 damage.
r Bolas (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: Ranged 10/20; +12 vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d4 + 5 damage, and the target is restrained (save ends).
R Keep'Em Separated (weapon) • Recharge
Attack: Ranged 10/20 (three targets in range); +10 vs. Reflex
Hit: 4d4 + 5 damage, and the target slides 2 squares and is restrained (save ends).
Triggered Actions
Second Chance • Encounter
Effect (Immediate Interrupt): The bounty hunter snaremaster forces the attacker to reroll the attack and take the new result.
Str 10 (+3)
Dex 19 (+7)
Wis 16 (+6)
Con 13 (+4)
Int 13 (+4)
Cha 10 (+3)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common, Dwarven
Equipment leather armor, rapier, bola x6
Monster found in Dungeon Magazine 160 and Compendium

AFTER-
Bounty Hunter Snaremaster ND
Level 7 Artillery
Small natural humanoid
XP 300
HP 61; Bloodied 31
AC 19; Fortitude 18; Reflex 20; Will 19
Speed 6
Initiative +7
Perception +11

Standard Actions
m Rapier (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 3 damage.
r Bolas (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: Ranged 10/20; +12 vs. Reflex
Hit: 3d4 + 6 damage, and the target is restrained (save ends).
R Keep'Em Separated (weapon) • Recharge
Attack: Ranged 10/20 (three targets in range); +11 vs. Reflex
Hit: 4d4 + 5 damage, and the target slides 2 squares and is restrained (save ends).
Triggered Actions
Second Chance • Encounter
Effect (Immediate Interrupt): The bounty hunter snaremaster forces the attacker to reroll the attack and take the new result.
Str 10 (+3)
Dex 19 (+7)
Wis 16 (+6)
Con 13 (+4)
Int 13 (+4)
Cha 10 (+3)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common, Dwarven
Equipment leather armor, rapier, bola x6

CHANGES- Rapier reduced to +12 To Hit damage changed from Low to Medium, Bola damage Low to Medium.

BEFORE-
Bounty Hunter Subduer
Level 7 Skirmisher
Medium natural humanoid
XP 300
HP 76; Bloodied 38
AC 21; Fortitude 20; Reflex 19; Will 18
Speed 6
Initiative +8
Perception +5

Traits
Combat Advantage
The bounty hunter subduer deals an extra 2d6 damage on melee attacks against any target it has combat advantage against.
Standard Actions
m Maul (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + 5 damage.
M Knockout Blow (weapon) • Recharge 5 6
Requirements: Requires maul.
Attack: +10 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 4d6 + 5 damage, and the target is knocked prone and dazed (save ends).
Skills Nature +10
Str 18 (+7)
Dex 16 (+6)
Wis 14 (+5)
Con 12 (+4)
Int 10 (+3)
Cha 10 (+3)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common
Equipment leather armor, maul

AFTER-
Bounty Hunter Subduer ND
Level 7 Skirmisher
Medium natural humanoid
XP 300
HP 76; Bloodied 38
AC 21; Fortitude 20; Reflex 19; Will 18
Speed 6
Initiative +8
Perception +5

Traits
Combat Advantage
The bounty hunter subduer deals an extra 2d6 damage on melee attacks against any target it has combat advantage against.
Standard Actions
m Maul (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + 5 damage.
M Knockout Blow (weapon) • Recharge
Attack: +10 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 4d6 + 5 damage, and the target is knocked prone and dazed (save ends).
Skills Nature +10
Str 18 (+7)
Dex 16 (+6)
Wis 14 (+5)
Con 12 (+4)
Int 10 (+3)
Cha 10 (+3)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common
Equipment leather armor, maul

CHANGES- None, Maul damage already set on Medium, and High for Knockout Blow.

BEFORE-
Bounty Hunter Strongarm
Level 7 Brute
Medium natural humanoid
XP 300
HP 98; Bloodied 49
AC 19; Fortitude 20; Reflex 17; Will 19
Speed 5
Initiative +4
Perception +11
Low-Light Vision
Traits
Brute Rush
When a bounty hunter strongarm makes a bull rush attack, he pushes the target 2 squares instead of 1 square.
Stand Your Ground
When an effect forces the bounty hunter strongarm to move—through a push, a pull, or a slide—the bounty hunter strongarm moves 1 square less than the effect specifies. When an attack would knock the bounty hunter strongarm prone, the bounty hunter strongarm can roll a saving throw to avoid falling prone.
Standard Actions
m Greataxe (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +10 vs. AC
Hit: 1d12 + 8 damage.
C Clear The Area (weapon) • Recharge 6
Requirements: Requires greataxe.
Attack: Close burst 1; +8 vs. AC
Hit: 2d12 + 10 damage, and the target is pushed 1 square.
Str 13 (+4)
Dex 12 (+4)
Wis 16 (+6)
Con 18 (+7)
Int 11 (+3)
Cha 8 (+2)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common, Dwarven
Equipment leather armor, greataxe

AFTER-
Bounty Hunter Strongarm ND
Level 7 Brute
Medium natural humanoid
XP 300
HP 98; Bloodied 49
AC 19; Fortitude 21; Reflex 17; Will 19
Speed 5
Initiative +4
Perception +11
Low-Light Vision
Traits
Brute Rush
When a bounty hunter strongarm makes a bull rush attack, he pushes the target 2 squares instead of 1 square.
Stand Your Ground
When an effect forces the bounty hunter strongarm to move—through a push, a pull, or a slide—the bounty hunter strongarm moves 1 square less than the effect specifies. When an attack would knock the bounty hunter strongarm prone, the bounty hunter strongarm can roll a saving throw to avoid falling prone.
Standard Actions
m Greataxe (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d12 + 8 damage.
C Clear The Area (weapon) • Recharge
Attack: Close burst 1; +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d12 + 10 damage, and the target is pushed 1 square.
Str 13 (+4)
Dex 12 (+4)
Wis 16 (+6)
Con 18 (+7)
Int 11 (+3)
Cha 8 (+2)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common, Dwarven
Equipment leather armor, greataxe

CHANGES- Increased Fort Def by 1 to give average 19 (Brute 12+7 for other Defences). Increased To Hit Greataxe & Clear the Area To Hit as per Brute (Level +5 vs AC). No other changes as damage for both already set on High.

Sorry but this is really the only thing stopping me from gaming, there seems to be no pattern to it- it takes me just far too long to do and because there's nothing (or no-one) to say that's right then...

I need to find a simple solution to this and for life of me I can't see it, I see the errata says for the damage then single target... two or more targets... that just screams dull at me- everything does the same damage that's the same level... I don't get it.

I'm trying to compare it also to the charts from DM Tips but... again I can't see the pattern?

Yet another school of thought says just double the static damage, and in the case of Brutes triple it- that still doesn't feel right, for the Strongarms above that's +24 and +30 respectively.

Please help, this is stopping me from gaming- haven't played now in two weeks because I just can't look at my new creations and say/feel- 'that's it- that's right.'

And again I know (as in point 1. above) that perhaps Heroic creatures don't need this- it's just that I don't want to mess with the XP levels (add creatures to encounters) I want to be able to play the scenarios as written with the errata applied.

Thanks.

 

[OnlineDM]

Personally, my heroric-level combats have become more exciting for the players when I've simply upped the damage that monsters deal. Battles aren't grinding, so I haven't bothered lowering monster defenses or hit points, but I have increased the damage output. There's no rhyme or reason to it, though - I've simply added a few points to static damage or added an extra damage die whenever it "felt" right to me. I've never lowered the monsters' bonuses to attack rolls - hitting less often is not what I'm looking for.

In short, I'm of no use to you, though I'm doing something similar to what you're doing, for similar reasons. I'm not following any "official" guidelines, just going by feel.

 

[Lordhawkins9]

As far as Damage is concered, I asked the Dev team at GenCon if they planned on updating the new damage charts to the older monsters.

After telling me there's nothing wrong with the older monsters, they mentioned that in their games, they add 1/2 monster level to damage and that seems to work out fine.

 

[Mengu]

I also have a somewhat ad hoc method of adjusting damage. The baseline I use is the updated damage values. I look at the average. For instance let's say the damage expression at level 9 is 2d8+8, average 17. I have a creature that uses a battle axe, and originally does 1d10+5 and ongoing 5 damage at will. I approximate the ongoing to be straight damage so that would be average 15.5. I add 2 points, changing the creature's damage to 1d10+7, ongoing 5, and call it done with this minor tweak.

The creature's encounter power lets him shift 3 and attack enemies adjacent any time during the shift. It does 1d10+5 damage and knocks them prone. Limited expression for multiple attack (2d6+6 plus 25%-50%) should do 16-19 damage, so we need a bit of a bump. I change the expression to 2d10+7.

Then I look at a limited expression on the same monster (immediate attack when first bloodied) that does 1d10+5. I decide that's nowhere near good enough, since as a limited expression targeting one creature, it should dish out around 21-25 average. But for an immediate action that may be too much, since the expressions assume we will use them for standard action attacks, so I don't mind knocking a few points off that expression. I change it to 2d10+7, for an 18 average.

In essence, what I did was +2 to all damage, and add an extra die to the limited expressions. But I like coming from some math to back up the changes I make.

When designing encounters, published monsters are just a starting point for me. I invariably make changes to fit the encounter I'm using them for, adjusting levels, changing encounter powers to suit my needs, etc. Setting damage is always part of my process, so I don't really think so much in terms of how I'm going to adjust the damage. I'm usually just figuring out how much damage should this creature do with this power.

 

[monboesen]

I'm a fellow anal retentive DM who had trouble challenging my players.

But unlike you I don't find a chore to implement the errata changes. I'll do the same monsters you did, time it and explain what I did and why.

Bounty Hunter Snaremaster Level 7 Artillery
Small natural humanoid XP 300
HP 61; Bloodied 31
AC 19; Fortitude 18; Reflex 20; Will 19
Speed 6
Initiative +7
Perception +11

Standard Actions
m Rapier (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 3 damage.
r Bolas (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: Ranged 10/20; +12 vs. Reflex
Hit: 3d4 + 5 damage, and the target is restrained (save ends).
R Keep'Em Separated (weapon) • Recharge 5 6
Attack: Ranged 10/20 (three targets in range); +12 vs. Reflex
Hit: 4d4 + 4 damage, and the target slides 2 squares and is restrained (save ends).
Triggered Actions
Second Chance • Encounter
Effect (Immediate Interrupt): The bounty hunter snaremaster forces the attacker to reroll the attack and take the new result.
Str 10 (+3) Dex 19 (+7) Wis 16 (+6)
Con 13 (+4) Int 13 (+4) Cha 10 (+3)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common, Dwarven
Equipment leather armor, rapier, bola x6


Time: 3 minutes.

1. I checked the defenses. They are spot on the guideline for artillery.
2. I changed his to his bonuses to the guideline +5 vs. AC and +3 vs. other defenses.
3. I checked the attack bonus and damage on the three attack options. The expected damage should be around 15 (lvl+8) for at-will attacks and 25-50 % higher on encounter attacks.

For the attacks I adjusted all to hit settings to normal and all damage settings to medium and 15 damage.

Then i bumped the Rapier melee damage down by 25% to reward players who choose to melee an artillery piece.

I also bumped the at-will bola damage down by 25 due to the annoying restrained condition. The attack bonus I increased by 2 as recommended for artillery ranged attacks.

For the encounter bola attack I bumped the damage up by 25%. The attack bonus I increased by 2 as recommended for artillery ranged attacks.

Done



Bounty Hunter Subduer Level 7 Skirmisher
Medium natural humanoid XP 300
HP 76; Bloodied 38
AC 21; Fortitude 20; Reflex 19; Will 18
Speed 6
Initiative +8
Perception +5

Traits
Combat Advantage
The bounty hunter subduer deals an extra 2d6 damage on melee attacks against any target it has combat advantage against.
Standard Actions
m Maul (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 3d6 + 5 damage.
M Knockout Blow (weapon) • Recharge 5 6
Attack: +10 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 4d6 + 4 damage, and the target is knocked prone and dazed (save ends).
Skills Nature +10
Str 18 (+7) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 14 (+5)
Con 12 (+4) Int 10 (+3) Cha 10 (+3)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common
Equipment leather armor, maul

Time: 2 minutes.

1. I checked the defenses. They are spot on the guideline for skirmishers.
2. I checked his to his bonuses to hit, they are correct.
3. I checked the attack bonus and damage on the two attack options. The expected damage should be around 15 (lvl+8) for at-will attacks and 25-50 % higher on encounter attacks.

For the attacks I adjusted all to hit settings to normal and all damage settings to medium and 15 damage.

For the encounter attack I bumped the damage up by 25%. Foregoing the 50% because of the possible recharge and nasty condition.

Done


Bounty Hunter Strongarm Level 7 Brute
Medium natural humanoid XP 300
HP 98; Bloodied 49
AC 19; Fortitude 20; Reflex 17; Will 19
Speed 5
Initiative +4
Perception +11
Low-Light Vision
Traits
Brute Rush
When a bounty hunter strongarm makes a bull rush attack, he pushes the target 2 squares instead of 1 square.
Stand Your Ground
When an effect forces the bounty hunter strongarm to move—through a push, a pull, or a slide—the bounty hunter strongarm moves 1 square less than the effect specifies. When an attack would knock the bounty hunter strongarm prone, the bounty hunter strongarm can roll a saving throw to avoid falling prone.
Standard Actions
m Greataxe (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d12 + 11 damage.
C Clear The Area (weapon) • Recharge 6
Attack: Close burst 1; +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d12 + 15 damage, and the target is pushed 1 square.
Str 13 (+4) Dex 12 (+4) Wis 16 (+6)
Con 18 (+7) Int 11 (+3) Cha 8 (+2)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common, Dwarven
Equipment leather armor, greataxe

Time: 1 minute.

1. I checked the defenses. They are spot on the guideline for brutes.
2. I changed his to his bonuses to the guideline +5 vs. AC and +3 vs. other defenses.
3. I checked the attack bonus and damage on the two attack options. The expected damage should be around 19 ((lvl+8)*1,25 because its a Brute) for at-will attacks and 25-50 % higher on encounter attacks.

For the attacks I adjusted all to hit settings to normal and all damage settings to medium and 19 damage.

For the encounter attack I bumped the damage up by 50%. Why, because Brutes need to hit hard and he is unlikely to rechare the attack.

Done


So about 6 minutes work to make the three dudes more of a challenge. In fact this post took far longer than the actual work.


So what I don't really get is why it's taking you so long. I have printed the two relevant tables (Damage per level and Monster statistics by role) and use the Monster Builder. With those two I find it both fast and easy to adjust the monsters.


And boy have my players been able to feel the difference. To be fair I warned them that I was now going by the new expected accuracy and damage values.

Since then level appropriate monsters have been much more challenging. And the players have a new found respect for brutes

 

[Goonalan]

1. I checked the defenses. They are spot on the guideline for artillery.
2. I changed his to his bonuses to the guideline +5 vs. AC and +3 vs. other defenses.
3. I checked the attack bonus and damage on the three attack options. The expected damage should be around 15 (lvl+8) for at-will attacks and 25-50 % higher on encounter attacks.

For the attacks I adjusted all to hit settings to normal and all damage settings to medium and 15 damage.

Then i bumped the Rapier melee damage down by 25% to reward players who choose to melee an artillery piece.

I also bumped the at-will bola damage down by 25 due to the annoying restrained condition. The attack bonus I increased by 2 as recommended for artillery ranged attacks.

For the encounter bola attack I bumped the damage up by 25%. The attack bonus I increased by 2 as recommended for artillery ranged attacks.




Okay I've just run through the above but I get a 5d4+5 for the Keep 'em Seperated attack, you said above to set it first to Medium and 15 damage- then when you add the 25% you recommended on it bumps it from 4d4+5 (average 15 damage) to 5d4+5 (average 17 damage).

I don't find this a chore (check out my sig) I just inhabit a world in which the only D&D advice I have is here and I'm floundering.

I also was unaware (or hadn't worked out- foolishly) that average damage is Level +8.

Can you check the above and see where I have gone wrong with the 5d4+5.

Also is the average damage different for attacks that target two or more ie Level +5, as per the table in the errata, if it is that would make the 4d4+5 right?

Thanks for the help, you also said-

So what I don't really get is why it's taking you so long. I have printed the two relevant tables (Damage per level and Monster statistics by role) and use the Monster Builder. With those two I find it both fast and easy to adjust the monsters.

What takes so long is probably me not seeing the correlation Level+8 and Level+5- foolish but sometimes the little things escape me.

I'll go practice using the other examples you gave.

 

[Goonalan]

I'm having a problem with this last one- the Strongarm

Standard Actions
m Greataxe (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d12 + 11 damage.
C Clear The Area (weapon) • Recharge 6
Attack: Close burst 1; +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d12 + 15 damage, and the target is pushed 1 square.
Str 13 (+4) Dex 12 (+4) Wis 16 (+6)
Con 18 (+7) Int 11 (+3) Cha 8 (+2)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common, Dwarven
Equipment leather armor, greataxe

Time: 1 minute.

1. I checked the defenses. They are spot on the guideline for brutes.
2. I changed his to his bonuses to the guideline +5 vs. AC and +3 vs. other defenses.
3. I checked the attack bonus and damage on the two attack options. The expected damage should be around 19 ((lvl+8)*1,25 because its a Brute) for at-will attacks and 25-50 % higher on encounter attacks.

For the attacks I adjusted all to hit settings to normal and all damage settings to medium and 19 damage.

For the encounter attack I bumped the damage up by 50%. Why, because Brutes need to hit hard and he is unlikely to rechare the attack.

For the At Will Normal 19 damage it's bringing up 2d12+6

For the Encounter Power- damage +50% = 15 x 1.5 = 22 damage then I end up with 2d12+9

What am I doing wrong?

Please.

 

[Goonalan]

Using your method then the next bad guy on my list is-

Wicked Fang Scout
Level 7 Skirmisher
Medium natural humanoid
XP 300
HP 77; Bloodied 39
AC 21; Fortitude 19; Reflex 19; Will 18
Speed 7
Initiative +7
Perception +10
Low-Light Vision
Traits
Pack Attack
The gnoll scout deals an extra 5 damage on melee and ranged attacks against an enemy that has two or more of the scout’s allies adjacent to it.
Standard Actions
m Shadar-Kai Short Sword (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d6 + 9 damage (crit 1d6+15), or 1d6+11 damage (crit 1d6+17) while bloodied.
r Hand Crossbow (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d6 + 9 damage, or 1d6+11 damage while bloodied.
R Cowardly Shot (weapon) • At-Will
Requirements: Requires hand crossbow.
Attack: Ranged 10/20; +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d6 + 9 damage, or 1d6+11 damage while bloodied; the gnoll scout can shift 2 squares both before and after making the attack.
Str 16 (+6)
Dex 15 (+5)
Wis 14 (+5)
Con 13 (+4)
Int 10 (+3)
Cha 10 (+3)
Alignment chaotic evilLanguages Abyssal, Common
Equipment shadar-kai short sword, hide armor, hand crossbow, crossbow bolts (20)

When I employ your method Normal Level+8, and check all the other stuff, then-

Wicked Fang Scout ND
Level 7 Skirmisher
Medium natural humanoid
XP 300
HP 77; Bloodied 39
AC 21; Fortitude 20; Reflex 19; Will 18
Speed 7
Initiative +7
Perception +10
Low-Light Vision
Traits
Pack Attack
The gnoll scout deals an extra 5 damage on melee and ranged attacks against an enemy that has two or more of the scout’s allies adjacent to it.
Standard Actions
m Shadar-Kai Short Sword (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + 8 damage (crit 1d6+20), or 2d6+10 damage (crit 1d6+22) while bloodied.
r Hand Crossbow (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + 8 damage, or 2d6+10 damage while bloodied.
R Cowardly Shot (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: Ranged 10/20; +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + 8 damage, or 2d6+10 damage while bloodied; the gnoll scout can shift 2 squares both before and after making the attack.
Str 16 (+6)
Dex 15 (+5)
Wis 14 (+5)
Con 13 (+4)
Int 10 (+3)
Cha 10 (+3)
Alignment chaotic evilLanguages Abyssal, Common
Equipment shadar-kai short sword, hide armor, hand crossbow, crossbow bolts (20)

Which is where I start to worry, what with the extra 5 damage for Pack Attack these guys are do a lot of damage (and I worry it's too much).

Help.

 

[Pickles JG]

I think what you are doing wrong mostly is overstressing it Remember you can change things on the fly if they seem to easy or too hard & you do not play a completely open game. It is especially easy to fudge recharge powers.

In the last example you are adding +50% for the encounter power but not +25% for being brute which gives you a bigger number. I think most AOEs should be -25% too as suggested & I hate recharge 6 powers as they seem too swingy. So I would make both 2d12+6 damage & make the burst recharge on a 5. (or make it a little more damage & no recharge).
2d12+6 is good for the basic attack. It has d12s which are great axe dice & it's the right value. I prefer 2d12+6 to 1d12 +12/13 as there is more variation & crits are better . IMO the static mod should be about 1/3 of the total damage plus or minus.

Your versions of the first two monsters are fine. The artillery looks more like a controller with a multitarget annoying condition so I would not use more than one in an encounter - or I would lose the status effect & give slightly more damage to both attacks (or any that lost the status effect). Given the guy has 6 bolas making the triple target attack an encounter power, not recharge, would also work.

I guess this shows there is afair bit of feel involved not just formulas -there are multiple right answers.

Like monboessen I tend not too boost artillery's secondary melee attacks on the same basis - to rewards players for forcing them into use.

All monsters of the same level have very similar defences hit points attack bonuses & damage. The different classes do differ enough to mix this up - especially defences & if they attack NADs themselves. Also using monsters in a 2-3 level spread will obscure this enough for the players not to feel it's formulaic.

 

[Jack99]

I'm having a problem with this last one- the Strongarm

Standard Actions
m Greataxe (weapon) • At-Will
Attack: +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d12 + 11 damage.
C Clear The Area (weapon) • Recharge 6
Attack: Close burst 1; +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d12 + 15 damage, and the target is pushed 1 square.
Str 13 (+4) Dex 12 (+4) Wis 16 (+6)
Con 18 (+7) Int 11 (+3) Cha 8 (+2)
Alignment unalignedLanguages Common, Dwarven
Equipment leather armor, greataxe

Time: 1 minute.

1. I checked the defenses. They are spot on the guideline for brutes.
2. I changed his to his bonuses to the guideline +5 vs. AC and +3 vs. other defenses.
3. I checked the attack bonus and damage on the two attack options. The expected damage should be around 19 ((lvl+8)*1,25 because its a Brute) for at-will attacks and 25-50 % higher on encounter attacks.

For the attacks I adjusted all to hit settings to normal and all damage settings to medium and 19 damage.

For the encounter attack I bumped the damage up by 50%. Why, because Brutes need to hit hard and he is unlikely to rechare the attack.

For the At Will Normal 19 damage it's bringing up 2d12+6

For the Encounter Power- damage +50% = 15 x 1.5 = 22 damage then I end up with 2d12+9

What am I doing wrong?

Please.

its not 50% of what it is listed as - its +25%-+50% of its at-will damage.

So, a level 7 brute should do level +8 (=15) * 1.25= 18.75 (19) damage with at-wills.

Its encounter power should do from 19*1.25 (24) to 19*1.50 (28) damage.