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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kinneus" data-source="post: 5557105" data-attributes="member: 48215">Thanks... this is an excellent point, and exactly why the whole "It's not a problem because you can just house rule it" attitude irks me so much. Some settings don't have that luxury, whether it's LFR, a DM who's very by-the-books, or a new DM with new players that hasn't yet realized they even can house rule stuff. The problem is that lots and lots of monsters don't have to waste an attack to kill it. As I said before; bursts, blasts, environmental hazards, damaging zones, damaging auras, multi-attacks that require you to attack somebody other than the primary target. Here's the example I keep thinking of: You start the adventure. Aladdin the Rogue and his pet monkey Apu enter the dungeon with their fellow adventurers to see a few orcish warriors blocking their way. But, oh no, they didn't spot the archer on the ledge above them! The archer gets a suprise round. Since the entire party is clumped up together, the archer uses his surprise round to fling an area burst 1 attack at the party. The monkey was hanging out at Aladdin's heels, right beside him, because hey, that seems like the safest place, right? And sure, the DM could try and be 'nice' and exclude the monkey from the blast, but why would the archer do that, when he can catch more of the big, bad PCs in the blast if he includes the monkey? So, the party gets blasted in the surprise round, and the monkey, due to his level 1 defenses, is only missed on a 1. Apu dies in the very first encounter, before the group even rolls initiative, basically rendering Aladdin's theme useless for the entire adventure. And since they're just entering the dungeon, they're unlikely to get an extended rest any time soon. Is the party really going to call off their initial assault, leave the dungeon, and take an extended rest just so Aladdin can train another monkey-butler?</blockquote>

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