QuestionC's page

Hello, I just wanted to clarify what I was talking about here exactly with a little anecdotal experience.

I generally run low-level adventures, and this problem originally arose because I ran Goblin Dogs assuming they would present a similar challenge to Hyenas. This is far from true, and Goblin Dogs are probably more in line with a 1/2CR monster. The challenging encounter of the adventure was turned into a nonevent, so I started adding a "Balance" section to the bottom of my creature statblocks in order to calculate their 'true' CR using Table: Monster Statistics by CR, and eyeballing for the special abilities, and it soon became apparent that the listed values had a margin of error of about 2CR, which is extreme IMO.

I understand that the table is simply a guideline, but I honestly believe there is a large disconnect between the monster CRs and any real system, which adds to my work as a DM.

Anyhow, here is a bit of an extreme example, but one which certainly comes up in low-level play: Goblin Dogs and Ghouls. The parenthetical numbers are the suggested CR matching to that stat.

Goblin Dog: HP 9(1/2), AC 13(1.5), Hit +2(1), Damage 6.5(1)
- The Goblin dog has an "Allergic Reaction" special ability, which has no meaningful combat impact.

Ghoul: HP 13(1), AC 14(2), Hit +3(1.5), Damage 13.5(3)
- The Ghoul has a "Paralysis" special ability, which tends to removes a PC from the fight if he fails the save.

I want to point out that this isn't a great criticism against the system; every RPG I have ever played has had oddball difficulty assignments. I was just hoping that someone had maybe gone in after the fact and 'fixed' the ratings so I don't have to. It is one of the more time consuming parts of planning a game.

Barring that, does anyone have the Bestiary stats in a database format?

There is a very large disconnect between the CRs of statted creatures in the Pathfinder Bestiary, and the CR guidelines in the "Monster Creation" section of the bestiary. Basically, statted monsters in the bestiary are too strong; sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot.

Has anyone updated the CRs in the Bestiary to something more appropriate? I find myself doing this on a case-by-case basis as I include the monsters in my adventures, but that is time-consuming, and renders it impossible to look up monsters by CR.

Here's the thing that's getting me... If the Leopard is balanced, doesn't that mean that Table: Monster Statistics by CR is just flat wrong? There's no way that they can both be right.

According to that table, the Leopard has the hitpoints of a CR 2 creature.
The AC and Attack Bonus of a CR 3 creature.
And the damage of a CR 4 creature.
And on top of that, its special abilities seem to really knock the damage potential up.

I'm a bit of a noobie to pathfinder, so I am not sure if my instincts here are wrong, or if I should go ahead and adjust monsters which on paper seem unusually strong for their CR.

The problem is the Leopard's damage output. It is a CR 2 creature. On a pounce, it will charge in with 5 attacks at +8 to hit. If the attacks all land, it deals 18-33(25) damage. That number is frankly terrifying at level 2. Its hitpoints and AC seem in line with that of a CR 2 creature.

Even ignoring its pounce and grappling skills, the normal damage for this creature is out of line with the monster creation guidelines in the back of the book(as do the other Felines). So do I just knock its Str+Dex down until it is in line with Table: Monster Statistics by CR?

I guess I'm just coming here for a reality check. Is this monster really too strong or am I overreacting?