Recent Posts
Dire Bat is weak! Edit: What about the Dire Wolf...
The problem is you're comparing these stat blocks to 3.5. If you're playing 3.5, you really should be using the Monster Manual.
We "nerfed" Dire Bats because they were VERY strong for CR 2. A fair amount of animals were like this; the amount of damage a dire bat did in 3.5 plus its other stats made it more properly a CR 3 or maybe even CR 4 creature, and again, we didn't want to mess with the CR scores (especially since for animals those scores already interacted all over the place in things like summon nature's ally and other spells).
So while the dire back is "weak" compared to its 3.5 version... compared to other CR 2 monsters from the Pathfinder bestiary, he's actually pretty right on the mark for balance.
Same goes for the dire wolf. And everything else in the Bestiary.
The fact that they look similar stat-wise is intentional, in other words. And before you complain that summoning spells got weaker... remember that the higher level ones let you summon things like storm giants now...
Dire Bat is weak! Edit: What about the Dire Wolf...The problem is you're comparing these stat blocks to 3.5. If you're playing 3.5, you really should be using the Monster Manual.
We "nerfed" Dire Bats because they were VERY strong for CR 2. A fair amount of animals were like this; the amount of damage a dire bat did in 3.5 plus its other stats made it more properly a CR 3 or maybe even CR 4 creature, and again, we didn't want to mess with the CR scores (especially since for animals those scores already interacted all over the place in things like summon nature's ally and other spells).
So while the dire back is "weak" compared to its 3.5 version... compared to other CR 2 monsters from the Pathfinder bestiary, he's actually pretty right on the mark for balance.
Same goes for the dire wolf. And everything else in the Bestiary.
The fact that they look similar stat-wise is intentional, in other words. And before you complain that summoning spells got weaker... remember that the higher level ones let you summon things like storm giants now...
Ok, thanks for the reply; I guess I'm looking at a small amount of data compared to the whole bestiary. I do understand that the backward compatible part can't possibly cover absolutely everything otherwise nothing would have changed and I guess Pathfinder wouldn't exist!
I also think that backwards compatibility, in this case, still works out fine for adventures that used a creature that has been rebalanced for its CR, since if creature X was too powerful for a CR 2 creature, and the adventure still calls for a creature X, the rebalanced, less powerful creature X can still be used fine, especially since a lot of adventures just say "Creature X, MM pg xx" in it.
Also... note that while the dire bat from 3.5 and the dire bat from PRPG are different... they both use the same rules. They both work the same way. You can use a 3.5 dire bat in a PRPG game and a PRPG dire bat in a 3.5 game. THAT'S the definition of compatibility, to be honest. The two dire bats can be compatible but shouldn't be identical... no more so than a PRPG bard should be identical to a 3.5 bard.
It's pretty widely accepted that the CR system had a lot of problems with it, and by fixing those problems by standardizing what a monster of a specific CR generally can do and what its stats generally look like, we hopefully fix the problems with CR. But that DOES mean that monsters will not be identical to their MM equivalents, especially incases where the the MM version doesn't really work under its intended CR.
So, is rakshasa getting a boost and staying CR10, or getting dropped to the CR8 suggested in a certain AP volume?
I hope CR8 to be honest! I'd like to use them even earlier!
Rakshasas are staying CR 10, because that's what all the adventures that have used them so far think they are. That said... in order to be CR 10, rakshasas get a boost in power. Which is good, because there are fewer options for CR 10 foes than there are for CR 8 foes, and therefore bolstering their numbers is good.
Fair point, good to know!
Is there anyway to decrease monsters in power, such as the young template?
Because one may love a monster, but prefer a lower level of play, or is that maybe an idea for Bestiary II, a reverse to the advanced template.
Abviously its easier to add than remove, but it might be doable, at least to lose a CR or 2, lower is probably dangerous if things have spell-like abilitys of a certain level.
Fair point, good to know!
Is there anyway to decrease monsters in power, such as the young template?
Because one may love a monster, but prefer a lower level of play, or is that maybe an idea for Bestiary II, a reverse to the advanced template.
Abviously its easier to add than remove, but it might be doable, at least to lose a CR or 2, lower is probably dangerous if things have spell-like abilitys of a certain level.
Yes. The rules for advancing monsters in HD or size can easily work both ways—you could, of course, do this in 3.5, but there were some weird side effects. The Bestiary appendix does talk about making wimpier versions of monsters to a certain extent, but note that in some cases it might not be possible, say, to build a Diminutive version of a monster. It's not easy, but there will be guidelines on how to do it.
Do burning skeletons genuinely not gain the fire subtype? If not, what would happen if a druid tried to quench one?
They do not gain the fire subtype. A quench spell cast on would would remove the skeleton's fiery aura and negate its fiery death ability and remove the extra fire damage they do on a hit, although I'd give the burning skeleton a Will save to resist the effect, and let it return to fire mode in 1d4 hours. Basically, treat the skeleton as a fiery magic item, in this case.
The celestial dire bat (thanks Summon Monster III) was the MVP for my party against a drider last night. Smite evil is acutally useful now! Combined with inspire courage, the bat was doing 1d8+10 damage per hit!
The concept of a giant, scary bat with a halo makes for a disturbing mental image though...:)
[edit] the drider was on the ceiling of a tower inside a Darkness effect, so the usual bruisers had a hard time getting to it
I'm probably going to sound just a bit thick, not being a GM, but here goes...
First - YAY FOR PREVIEWS!!!! Happyhappyjoyjoybouncebounce!!!
Second - I'm confused by the high XP in the previews.
Unless my grip on reality has slipped even more (not that hard - I subscribe to the Mythbusters attitude to reality after all), those numbers seem a tad high. I mean, 135XP for a goblin? Hello, these little pests are cannon fodder!! Without getting up and flicking thru my old Monster Manuals, that sounds like doubling their XP value just like that. Last time I looked, one level-one hero turning a dozen goblins into triple that number of goblin body-parts did not result in levelling up immediately afterwards.
Sorry, but I'm REALLY confused...:(
Help?
