Just remember that Whirlwind Attack takes a full-round action to execute.-blarg
True. I suggested it for the horned devil despite its drawbacks (very feat intensive, requires full-round to use) because it allows the horned devil to make multiple attacks at its highest bab (though it has to spread them out). Since the devil can potentially stun on a hit, I thought that disabling multiple PCs might be better than simply focusing on one PC at a time.
Whirlwind would be nice on monsters which lack iterative attacks, but again, the problem is qualifying for it, since it does require good int and dex scores.
Instinctively, I'm opposed to that. It seems like the troll has that weakness on purpose, and that might be its only weakness. I think Steadfast Determination fits for Elite monsters -- when you wish a regular bum could fill the shoes of an all-around credible bad guy, then you patch up all his weaknesses with the Elite feats.
You do have a point. I guess it really boils down to whether you are comfortable with the monster in question having such a gaping weakness which the party might be able to exploit, or if you wish to plug the gap to make the fight less 1-sided.
At lv5, a wizard has a DC of at least 16 (16int, 3rd lv spell), possibly more with a higher int and/or spell focus. That troll just won't stand a chance!
I
Googled that and wow, PHB II had a lot of feats for monster roles. Forced movement (defensive sweep), lurker damage (bounding assault), skirmisher rewards (Vexing Flanker).
Which is ironic, considering it is a book with options for players, yet I felt the feats inside tend to benefit monsters just as much, if not more.
And I also find it funny that while dodge and mobility are undeniably crappy feats, they are the prerequisites for some fairly strong feats. As mentioned, spring attack lets you move before and after attacking (useful for creatures with only 1 attack and for denying fighters their full attack), bounding assault/rapid blitz grant extra attacks (pseudo-full attack while moving???) and complete warrior even has elusive target, which helps protect monsters with low ACs from becoming power-attack magnets.
I am still trying to find a use for melee evasion though. At the moment, it seems the primary use is on monsters with a lot of bab, but crap touch AC (such as dragons). But then again, they already have ray deflection...
