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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 4031509" data-attributes="member: 58197">3E stats are exactly the same, just pushed back a level.A 3E pit fiend has an AC of 40.  That number, as you say, comes from a formula... but the inputs to the formula are just as arbitrary as in 4E.  Why does the pit fiend have +23 natural armor?  Why does it have a 26 Dexterity, or a Large size?  No reason, it just does.  Those are the numbers the game designers decided to give it.  The natural armor in particular is a totally arbitrary fudge factor, which can be used to give the pit fiend any damn armor class you please.The pit fiend has an attack bonus of +30.  That's -1 size, +18 from Hit Dice, and +13 from Strength.  Why does it have 18 Hit Dice and 37 Strength?  No reason, it just does.  If the designers wanted the fiend to have a better attack bonus without changing its damage or hit points, they could have given it Weapon Focus as a bonus racial feat, or a special "Infernal Rage" ability that gives it a +X profane bonus to its attacks.  That sort of thing shows up all the time in 3E monster stat blocks.The only difference between 3E and 4E is that 3E requires designers to go through a big song and dance to give their arbitrary numbers the illusion of coming from somewhere other than the designer's rear end.  4E dispenses with that.Mike Mearls has specifically said that we will still have the ability to give class levels to monsters.</blockquote>