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Message: <blockquote data-quote="redrick" data-source="post: 6580231" data-attributes="member: 6777696">Hey Marty, thanks for your thoughts. This is probably the only aspect of 4e that I miss — monsters were completely and totally divorced from PC mechanics, and monsters were really only supposed to have a few "powers," no matter what their level. 5e, on the other hand, seems to exist in some middle ground when it comes to NPC/Monster spell casters, as most of them are given caster levels with corresponding spell slots and spell lists. Probably, this allows them to enjoy much more of the flexibility that a high-level caster should have, but, yes, for me it's a little closer to madness. Maybe the best thing for my game is to move a little bit back to that approach for my casters. Since the poor sap probably won't make it more than 4 rounds anyway, I just need to worry about a couple spells for the top level spots and then a couple spells for the next level down. Spells I actually know how to use. [MENTION=6776887]Tormyr[/MENTION], thanks for that 150% rule. I'd noticed, of course, that the caster level (just like PC levels in general) doesn't really correspond to the CR in the NPC statblocks in the MM, but it's nice to have a quick number I can use to know what spell levels I should expect from a CR-x monster. The problem with "no spell list, just cast whatever spells are appropriate and assume he was smart enough to be prepared" is that then I need to know every damn spell in the spellbook before I run a caster! The nice thing about having a spell list is that it gives me a finite number of spells to familiarize myself with before running an encounter. It allows me to think about how that caster would approach combat before-hand, so I don't end up just flailing wildly when the d20s come out.Unfortunately, my monster tactics are still pretty weak-sauce, and the only way I can compensate is by taking the time beforehand to come up with a bit of a game plan, including likely spell options. Then, if that gameplan falls apart, I can just fall back on the highest level damage spell I've got.</blockquote>

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