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<blockquote data-quote="Nifft" data-source="post: 4338712" data-attributes="member: 6562">While this is true, it's not exactly applicable: we don't have animals that look like artificial structures, who survive exclusively off of human explorers (because other animals don't pay much attention to treasure chests). The mimic is a monster aimed directly at PCs.Because I grew up with them, I do have a bit of a soft spot for the utterly implausible buggers, but I can't excuse their designer: he took the easy way out.&nbsp;My &quot;bad monster&quot; list has nothing to do with balance, and everything to do with making players feel stupid. Not PCs: players.Violating expectations as a gimmick is a cheap trick.It's far more rewarding IMHO to make players go &quot;OH CRAP!&quot; when they realize a monster has good synergy in its visible abilities -- for example, a group of Jovocs -- than it is to spring some secret unexpectable ability on them.Cheers, -- N</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Nifft, post: 4338712, member: 6562"] While this is true, it's not exactly applicable: we don't have animals that look like artificial structures, who survive exclusively off of human explorers (because other animals don't pay much attention to treasure chests). The mimic is a monster aimed directly at PCs. Because I grew up with them, I do have a bit of a soft spot for the utterly implausible buggers, but I can't excuse their designer: he took the easy way out. My "bad monster" list has nothing to do with balance, and everything to do with making players feel stupid. Not PCs: players. Violating expectations as a gimmick is a cheap trick. It's far more rewarding IMHO to make players go "OH CRAP!" when they realize a monster has good synergy in its [u]visible[/u] abilities -- for example, a group of Jovocs -- than it is to spring some secret unexpectable ability on them. Cheers, -- N [/QUOTE]

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