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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mirrorrorrim" data-source="post: 9168110" data-attributes="member: 7040132">I'm coming at this from a player-facing Wildshape perspective.<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">First of all, it would have to happen in the Monster Manual, which is a non-starter for me, because no player should ever have to reference a book other than the PH for a primary class ability. Never. It just doesn't work for new players.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Monster Manual Stat blocks should be designed and balanced as DM tools/threats, not as player options. Those two goals are mutually exclusive. Monsters may have burst damage attacks and recharges that are appropriate for monsters that last for 3 rounds before dying, but are broken for PCs that are desgined to persist through every fight of a campaign.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">If you create a template system that scales every Beast in the Monster Manual from CR 1/8 to CR 20, you have to do it for every creature in the book, but Beasts aren't the same at the same CR. There are other variables. A CR 2 Bear would have different stats, as well as offensive and defensive capabilities, than a CR 2 Wolf, just for starters. You can't have a completely different mechanical template system just for one creature type. Also, if Wildshape or Polymorph allowed one to turn into a Monstrosity (like an Owlbear), the mechanics would need to exist to allow for it. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Every Monster entry basically either becomes a template formula, or if not, the player would have to map out each different beast with the formula. This doesn't work for anyone who is against the template idea. (At least with the PH Wildshape template idea, there would be one template formula that exists in the PH druid class description, that only needs updated once per level.)</li> </ol>Now I know that 4E monster statblocks was built around scaling monsters, but those weren't player-facing statblocks. While I am not opposed to easy scaling rules for all monsters in the 2024 MM, I would be very surprised if the designers included those rules. They have talked about their intent to re-balance Monsters to their specific CRs, and have not mentioned scaling.</blockquote>

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