Sense Dungeon is the DM's resource here's something I'd like to see...
I want a mechanic for modifying a monster’s CR for more or less equipment than it’s CR or class level would dictate. The Monster Manual gives good guidelines for improving monsters, but says nothing about making them weaker or modifying the equipment they normally use. Giving us something like that would make high level adventures easier to write (at least for me it would).
The hardest thing for me to swallow with high level adventures like Throne of Iuz is the ammount of magical equipment the cannon fodder needs to balance things out. Really, who has the money and XP to outfit an army with magical equipment. Not only that but outfitting all the NPCs and monsters like adventurers floods the PCs with minor magic items they’ll probably just sell. As a DM I’d rather give the PCs a few big items they’d want to keep. I know there are all kinds of ways around this problem, and some PC might find a use for a couple hundred +1 weapons, but like I said, I’d like to see a mechanic for it.
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I'm trying to do this without my books in front of me BUT I believe that the Savage Species book had a breakdown of CR adjustments for people that wanted to make their own monsters. You could always look there and adjust the CR of the monster. Example a troll using a horn of blasting would possibly be a CR 7 since a troll is normally 5 and sonic attacks in Savage Species is worth +2 level adjustment(I think).
Let me clarify a bit…
I know the Monster Manual lists all kinds of ways to improve monsters and adjust their CR accordingly, but it’s sadly lacking when it comes to toning down a monster or taking away a NPC’s equipment. There's no law saying every 9th level character will have 15,000gp of equipment and every monster will be average or better. This is where the Dungeon, as the DM’s resource, could pick up the slack.
I'm looking for an article with guidelines or a mechanic for making a monster or NPC weaker: Take away all of the 15th level fighter’s equipment and give him a sharp stick and a loin cloth. What's that fighter's CR now? What about the littlest giant, who’s no bigger than a house, and only has 8 hit die instead of 12, what’s his CR? What if the red dragon doesn’t cast spells (like 60% of his first edition predecessors), what does his CR drop to?
I'm looking for an article with guidelines or a mechanic for making a monster or NPC weaker: Take away all of the 15th level fighter’s equipment and give him a sharp stick and a loin cloth. What's that fighter's CR now? What about the littlest giant, who’s no bigger than a house, and only has 8 hit die instead of 12, what’s his CR? What if the red dragon doesn’t cast spells (like 60% of his first edition predecessors), what does his CR drop to?
I'd love to see (or write) something like this, although I'm not sure which magazine such an article would fit into Paizo's new publication model. My personal guess is Dragon, just because Eric seems to be making its subject matter more flexible.
With regards to reducing CR, one could easily use the advancement rules in reverse, to strip away hit dice and reduce a monster in size. How effective this would be in terms of producing an accurate CR is somewhat debatable, but if you don't take it too far (i.e. only a 1-2 CR / one size category) drop, it should produce fairly decent results. When doing this, it's particularly important to strip away feats and attribute points as well, and I'd suggest an 'inferior' stat set (-4, -4, -2, -2, +0, +2) be applied to the attributes of base monsters who have a high attributes compared to monsters that are CR-appropriate to the party's current level.
As a rule of thumb from my first 3.0 campaign, an equipment reliant character type with sub-par or mundane gear loses about 1 point of CR per five character levels (e.g., a 10th level fighter with only masterwork equipment is about CR 8). Characters who are less reliant on equipment, such as spellcasters and monks, should usually only be docked about 1 point of CR, assuming the reduction in their gear makes them appreciably less dangerous or easier to kill.
An off-the cuff estimate on the fighter you describe is CR 9 or so (15, -3 for mundane gear, -2 for AC and damage deficiencies, -1 for being unable to use his weapon-specific feats).
With regards to the dragon, no CR reduction for the loss of spellcasting until CL 6 (or higher), and maybe -1 or -2 after that. Dragons aren't scary because they can cast spells, and they aren't losing hit dice or anything else important as part of the deal.