Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spatzimaus" data-source="post: 869660" data-attributes="member: 3051">I prefer "bullet sponge", myself.  But I'll agree on this... the only true "tanks" are Fighters, Barbarians, and to a lesser extent Paladins and Psychic Warriors (yeah, only d8 HD but they have tons of great defensive powers that really compensate nicely if you buff up: Vigor+Displacement+Inertial Barrier goes nicely, especially if you use a few of the new powers from Mind's Eye).You don't NEED a tank; plenty of groups have managed to win fights without one.  In the situation mentioned in the original post, none of the characters appeared to be capable of standing toe-to-toe with the Dire Bear, so while you'd kill the thing more quickly than a defense-oriented group, you really risk that sort of damage.  There's nothing wrong with that, but you shouldn't nerf one stat solely because it made your chosen strategy risky.  A Dire Bear is a dangerous opponent if the enemy is stuck on the ground, can't go invisible, has low AC/HP, and can't move quickly.  But, that's ALL it can do, so it's balanced as CR 7.Now, as to the original question: No, I wouldn't change the system.  That bear was given a STR of 31 exactly because it was supposed to have a high melee attack bonus and damage.  If you change the system so that STR gives less benefit, you'll need to increase the bear's STR to keep it balanced, and then you're back where you started.</blockquote>