D&D 5E Why do so few 5E monsters have save proficiencies?

[iserith]

The guy in my Discord crunched the numbers and came up with this:

CR 0-3: 81/780 monsters have at least 1 save
CR 4-9: 180/384
CR 10+: 216/288

Total: 477/1450

 

[NotAYakk]

First, in many cases, creature's are under control of the builder. A monster with +5 con and another monster with +2 con and a +3 save proficiency are identical -- the +2 con one can just have more HP.

Second, for attack stats, increasing your attack stat gives you higher accuracy. While granting save proficiency doesn't. A monster that misses all of the time is boring; so deciding between +5 strength and +2 strength +3 proficiency, going with +5 strength works.

Save proficiencies (and skills) makes the stat block very slightly more complex. You get more bang for the complexity buck if you drop it all things being equal; especially with low modifiers. A +2 bonus has less information:math than a +6 bonus does, so adding save proficiencies (or skill proficiency) has better bang:buck at higher CRs.

...

There may be deeper reasons. For example, lagging of save proficiencies from CR 1-8 would result in spellcasters gaining in power-per-action. If then save proficiencies became more common from CR 9-30, this happens around the same time that spellcasters start getting their level 5+ spells (which are a phase change in what they can do).

Meanwhile weapon based PCs "whiteroom" scaling is different, with a power bump at 5, and a flattening off at level 10+. With spellcasters running into DC walls at the same time that weapon users power curve flattens out, it could produce balance.

But I haven't done any math to prove that, nor evidence that even if it did happen it was intentional.

 

[pukunui]

I tend to give all named NPCs, even ones that are just using a generic stat block, at least two saving throw proficiencies.

 

[jasper]

Monsters are just bad savers. Do know how hard it is for a Medusa to get loan when half the bank is stoned?

 

[el-remmen]

Do know how hard it is for a Medusa to get loan when half the bank is stoned?

That's perfectly legal in Colorado.

 

[Weiley31]

I can see named NPCs, Rivals, and Boss monsters having save profiencies.

 

[NotAYakk]

Note that, under the DMG guidelines, an extra save proficiency is worth like 1/5 of a CR or so. Magic Resistance is worth like 1/2 of a CR.

So adding them on the fly on anything that isn't a mass foe isn't going to budge the encounter difficulty much, by the rules. And the rules are more like guidelines.

In comparison, +2 to your primary attack stat (so +1 modifier on attacks and saves) is worth about +1/4 of a CR.

 

[Flamestrike]

Because pretty much all spells have an extra save to shake the effects every single round, and with bounded accuracy it means they'll be affected for a round (two saves) or two (three saves) at most even without saving throw proficiency.

Plus it sucks to cast a spell and have it do nothing.

And there are always more monsters.

 

[el-remmen]

Yeah, I'll stick to adding them to major encounter monsters or named NPCs without a character class.

 

[DND_Reborn]

With the house-rules we are using at present, all monsters get save proficiency in all saves (but so do PCs) in balance to monsters having half the HP. (FWIW, they also get a +4 AC bump).

Monsters which actually have saves listed in their stat block now get advantage on those saves.

It works for us. shrug