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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MechaPilot" data-source="post: 7704760" data-attributes="member: 82779">Level draining and SoD should be presented as options for those who want them.  If I had designed the medusa in the MM, I would have a sidebar that talks about an option for making the gaze SoD, and the XP and CR impacts thereof.  Likewise with level drain on vampires.As Tony has already pointed out, THAC0 differs from those options in a very fundamental way, by straight up replacing the calculation of successful attack rolls with a different paradigm, which would necessitate ripples though the armor table, the calculation of spell-attack bonuses, and the ACs of every creature already printed.  By contrast, new subclasses and optional buffs to monster abilities are additive in nature.  If you have a sidebar that talks about how to make the medusa's gaze SoD on a failure instead of on a failure by 5 or more, that affects the challenge and xp awards of the creature, but it doesn't ripple through the armor table and the ACs of every creature in the game.Also, SoD does exist in the game.  In my game, which I'm running in a few hours, the PCs are fighting a Solar.  The Solar's bow (as worded in the MM) has an SoD effect against creatures it strikes who have 100 or less HPs.</blockquote>