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Message: <blockquote data-quote="billd91" data-source="post: 5536648" data-attributes="member: 3400">It was a bit of both, I'd say. They declared that they set out to revise the monsters to better fit the CR assigned to them in 3.5. But did it with use in PF play in mind. Characteristics of the monsters could change a bit, but the CR would be considered fixed in place.They did that so they could be as backward compatible as possible - in the sense that if you use PF PCs with an older module, you can plop the PF monster in the module in place of the 3.5 one without making any further changes. The CRs would be the same as the expectations in the original mod, but they'd now be more appropriate for their CR and for the PF characters.I think you can see the push to make monster powers fit the CR a bit better in the cockatrice and basilisk, both of which turn a character to stone more slowly or with an easier remedy than the spell stone to flesh (the iconic medusa's petrifaction power is functionally unchanged) which would be harder to get for parties squaring off against CR 3 and 5 creatures. They apparently also felt, and I agree, that many of the creatures at higher CR levels were somewhat weak in the hit point department given what characters can dish out at them. The CR 7 medusa more than doubles in hit points with 2 additional HD and more Con from a weak 33 to 76. That may seem like a lot, but she's still pretty easy to hit. Just about everybody who attacks her will be damaging her, fighter-types more than once/round.From the playtest discussions and the Bestiary guidelines, they spent a fair amount of time with the idea of trading off hit points and armor class. The medusa, compared to average CR 7 creatures, is actually low on both counts, significantly for AC. The danger of her offense probably makes that a worthwhile tradeoff.</blockquote>

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