If I'm creating a monster that can possess other monsters and grant some nice bonuses but that is much more frail in a proper fight, how should I handle the CR?
I want the encounter (a monster possessing another monster) to be very difficult, around CR 12, and the follow-up encounter (the possessing monster) to be fairly easy, around CR 8.
In other words, how do I CR a monster that is extremely dangerous in its optimal situation and only moderately dangerous otherwise?
Director of Narrative
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The easiest way is to have the possessing monster increase the CR of the host monster through use of its abilities. I did something similar in a monster I created for Kobold Quarterly's first King of the Monsters contest . I called it the spark, and because of how it interacted with its host and gave its host additional powers and abilities, it increased the CR of the host by 2. To get the best use of this, the host should be a higher CR than the possessing creature and there should be some sort of thing that would perhaps let the host and possessor work symbiotically to represent this boost.
I would agree with Adam on this. If it was fully two separate creatures under normal circumstances (such as a ghost possessing a person or monster) then I would suggest treating it as a fight with multiple creatures.
The latter is true. The creature prefers to have a host, but it's still a notable threat without one.
My question is how to assign its CR. It's a much greater threat in a particular situation. What's probably best is to mimic the Spark and write a template for the possession, though. Thanks for the help. :)