Rebalancing monsters if removing stat drain / damage?

[Jazzic]

Hello there fellow GM's/players.

Im new here to this forum, but i couldnt find an answer to this anywhere else, so thought i might aswell ask the pros.

Im GM for a group of 5 players, and we have been playing for a few years, but we have come to the conclusion that we want to start playing without the abilities that involves Stat drain and Stat dmg and negative lvl drains and the like. The reason for this being that we think these abilities ruins some of the fun about the game, and is a rather big turnover due to just 1 attack/spell.

But since its easy for the players just to select other skills/spells and avoid it, i was wondering if the exists any such rules on this matter, on how to rebalance mobs/villains? So that i may give them a higher die roll on dmg/some more attack or whatever is needed for making them match their listed CR without those abilities?

I hope someone can help me, or atleast give an idea of what is fair to implement and what is not. :)

Regards
Jazzic.

[Claxon]

Currently there are no rules/advice on re-balancing creatures due to removing key abilities such a negative level damage and ability drain.

I would look at other creatures of equivalent CR and try to gauge it from there.

[GeneticDrift]

Maybe have them cause fatigue, exhaustion, and other effects.

[Atarlost]

Do not use those monsters.

You might reconsider removing ability damage, though. That can be treated with a spell that has no expensive material component and by sufficient rest. Leaving ability damage in while removing the drains gives you something to convert ability drain to.

[Ascalaphus]

Ability drain may seem pretty harsh.

Ability damage however is something I wouldn't want to part with. It's a good way to simulate diseases and poisons, and exotic injuries. Otherwise you'd either have to use lots of conditions, or just lump everything together as boring damage.

[ShortRedandLoud]

You could have the ability damage and level drain not persist outside of the encounter.

[Jazzic]

Alot of fine suggestions. :)
The part with just removing drain and keeping damage might be a good idea, and i also like the one with just keeping it as a "Encounter lasting" effect.
The one thing that i just cant cope with, and that my players also find kinda lame is fx. when they get to the major villain/dragon/WE, they can just nuke it with stat dmg/drain, and kinda make the last encounter be a little dull.
And using the two upper options kinda gives them that option, since i cant really alow mobs to use it, and not them. :P

- Jazzic

[Claxon]

Jazzic wrote:

Alot of fine suggestions. :)

The part with just removing drain and keeping damage might be a good idea, and i also like the one with just keeping it as a "Encounter lasting" effect.
The one thing that i just cant cope with, and that my players also find kinda lame is fx. when they get to the major villain/dragon/WE, they can just nuke it with stat dmg/drain, and kinda make the last encounter be a little dull.
And using the two upper options kinda gives them that option, since i cant really alow mobs to use it, and not them. :P

- Jazzic

If your players dislike that they can ability nuke the BBEG, make him immune. Either through spells, or creature types, etc. Or it just happens because you say so.

[Ascalaphus]

Note that a lot of BBEGs will tend to have some of those immunities already, as determined by creature type. Immunity to poison is fairly common for example. Immunity to negative energy is also not unheard of. And those are probably the ability damagers/drainers that work fastest.