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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 3873930" data-attributes="member: 22779">Umm, what?  A glass cannon doesn't mean what you think it means.  If the creature either kills a PC or dies without being any real threat to the party, that's a glass cannon.  It has nothing to do with the PC's.  Again, what CR is a group of 5 creatures that has a 66% chance of killing one 20th level PC?Now, we have claims that CR doesn't work.  Well, that might be your opinion, it certainly isn't mine.  I've found that CR does work.  Not all the time, certainly, but, it does work when you realize its limitations.  I'm not saying CR is perfect.  Far from it.  A CR 13 encounter of stock goblins is a joke.  Of course, the CR system SPECIFICALLY STATES that it can't calculate this as well.  Pretty hard to talk about a failing when the failing is deliberately called out in the rules.But, Mustrum Ridcully has hit it nicely on the head.  If a rule requires special tap dancing by the DM to work, is it a good rule?  Is a monster that requires all sorts of fiddly bits in order to bring it back in line with its expected challenge well designed?IMO, no.  A monster should be usable out of the box.  I shouldn't have to do all sorts of extra work in order to use a monster.  If the monster has a specific location requirement (like a shark for instance), I shouldn't also have to make sure that the water is 72 degrees, there is a slight chop and overcast sky as well in order to use it.  Now, if I want to add in the extra effort and reward players for being smart, that should be up to me.  The rules shouldn't force me to do all this extra work, just to make up for faulty mechanics.  Fix the mechanics in the first place and we're good.  Like in the demon cult example I posted a bit back.  If I drop hints that there really is a demon up there and the party prepares for that, by all means they should be rewarded.  However, I don't believe that the reward should be an anticlimactic encounter where the party slaps the monster around like a rag doll.  Even the party armed with cold iron weapons and a Dimensional Lock spell still has to deal with that Glabrezu - no mean feat.  The party that slaps on slow poison and protection from petrification walks up to the medusa and noogies her for fun.Wow, great encounter.</blockquote>

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