This is why it's harder to fight a thrush than a kobold. Little buggers are stupidly dangerous.
Some enemies will seem odd in lieu of other enemies. However, sometimes it may be because the enemies in question have worse tactics, or other factors. Thrush does have a better AC by 1, and as a flying creature they have better movement then a Kobold. To explain that one at least.
CR is a fickle thing, you never know when something is more or less powerful then its CR suggests.
and in my humble opinion, almost everything I have see in an adventure path is less powerful than it's CR.
And then there is adding templates to CR 1/4th creatures and the like.
Probably because they tried to assign CR based on its stats and not its name. Cool little traits are nice, but they add up in value. CR can be deceptive, because optimization turns it into a wider range of value versus a relative zone or even an absolute.
No matter; at level one a single runaway crit from anything is enough to imperil most PCs.
I wonder how many optimized builds were brought low by the humble dogslicer...
As a tangent, may I recommend looking up the legend of Tucker's Kobolds to illustrate how CR is more of a guideline than a hard definition of difficulty.
Probably because they tried to assign CR based on its stats and not its name.
Raccoon does 1d3-1 on a hit and can't attack a PC without entering his space. Kobold does 1d6-1 on a hit, can attacks with ranged weapons, and can sneak up on you with darkvision. Same ACs. Kobold has higher hit points.
The thrush does 1d2–5 damage on a hit.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
CR is a crapshoot sometimes. Nothing to be done about it.
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F&**ing shadows man, seriously.
Probably because they tried to assign CR based on its stats and not its name.Raccoon does 1d3-1 on a hit and can't attack a PC without entering his space. Kobold does 1d6-1 on a hit, can attacks with ranged weapons, and can sneak up on you with darkvision. Same ACs. Kobold has higher hit points.
The thrush does 1d2–5 damage on a hit.
Yes, but have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy? Raccoons can be DEADLY. :D
Eyeball it. The most useful GMing trick is to throw out CRs and then tell by looking at the stats about how well the monster will fare against your party.
Yes, but have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy? Raccoons can be DEADLY. :DProbably because they tried to assign CR based on its stats and not its name.Raccoon does 1d3-1 on a hit and can't attack a PC without entering his space. Kobold does 1d6-1 on a hit, can attacks with ranged weapons, and can sneak up on you with darkvision. Same ACs. Kobold has higher hit points.
The thrush does 1d2–5 damage on a hit.
Yes, but the racoon in the bestiary doesn't have piles of PC class levels, mythic ranks and several templates. It's just a regular non-anthropomorphic 'coon.
Yes, but the racoon in the bestiary doesn't have piles of PC class levels, mythic ranks and several templates. It's just a regular non-anthropomorphic 'coon.Yes, but have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy? Raccoons can be DEADLY. :DProbably because they tried to assign CR based on its stats and not its name.Raccoon does 1d3-1 on a hit and can't attack a PC without entering his space. Kobold does 1d6-1 on a hit, can attacks with ranged weapons, and can sneak up on you with darkvision. Same ACs. Kobold has higher hit points.
The thrush does 1d2–5 damage on a hit.
Kinda sucked the fun out of that one, eh? ;)
I don't really pay much attention to CR... I mean, I vaguely use it, but will safely wander +/-3 without really caring.
Who ever attacks the party with a raccoon anyway? ;)
Yes, but the racoon in the bestiary doesn't have piles of PC class levels, mythic ranks and several templates. It's just a regular non-anthropomorphic 'coon.Yes, but have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy? Raccoons can be DEADLY. :DProbably because they tried to assign CR based on its stats and not its name.Raccoon does 1d3-1 on a hit and can't attack a PC without entering his space. Kobold does 1d6-1 on a hit, can attacks with ranged weapons, and can sneak up on you with darkvision. Same ACs. Kobold has higher hit points.
The thrush does 1d2–5 damage on a hit.Kinda sucked the fun out of that one, eh? ;)
I don't really pay much attention to CR... I mean, I vaguely use it, but will safely wander +/-3 without really caring.
Who ever attacks the party with a raccoon anyway? ;)
The evil druid cult. Course, it wasn't just a normal racoon.
The evil druid cult. Course, it wasn't just a normal racoon.Yes, but the racoon in the bestiary doesn't have piles of PC class levels, mythic ranks and several templates. It's just a regular non-anthropomorphic 'coon.Yes, but have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy? Raccoons can be DEADLY. :DProbably because they tried to assign CR based on its stats and not its name.Raccoon does 1d3-1 on a hit and can't attack a PC without entering his space. Kobold does 1d6-1 on a hit, can attacks with ranged weapons, and can sneak up on you with darkvision. Same ACs. Kobold has higher hit points.
The thrush does 1d2–5 damage on a hit.Kinda sucked the fun out of that one, eh? ;)
I don't really pay much attention to CR... I mean, I vaguely use it, but will safely wander +/-3 without really caring.
Who ever attacks the party with a raccoon anyway? ;)
He had a gun, right? Levels in Gunslinger add to CR.
Eyeball it. The most useful GMing trick is to throw out CRs and then tell by looking at the stats about how well the monster will fare against your party.
If you're playing with XP, an army of raccoons and thrushes big enough to provide a threat to the party will level up the PCs pretty fast.
I'm seriously considering not using them as monsters in my campaign at all.
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A kobold is deemed less dangerous than a thrush. Two of them are worth as much as one raccoon.
Can anyone explain the reasoning behind this?
The CRs are derived using the ancient science of gematria, whereby the numerological significations of words are carefully teased out via a complex set of formulae mapping the values of letters to digits; the digits themselves, of course, have intrinsic cosmic significance. There is some disagreement on the messageboards about exactly which gematriac methodology is employed by the rabbinical council of Paizo - my personal belief (the justification and detailing of which is too long for this post) is that CRs are determined using Mispar Meshulash; as an (obvious) corollary to this, PC Wealth by Level must therefore be derived via Mispar Ne'elam.
Clearly.
Well, duh.
Well, that explains why orcs (Melee: +5 (2d4+4/18–20), ferocity, CR 1/3) are also considered less dangerous than raccoons.
I assumed it was because raccoons are swift and cunning and bold but if we apply Kabbalistic methods and assume the each letter is calculated as the cube of its standard value, it all falls into place.
My mistake y'all. Always thought they may have overvalued traits like flight for creatures. The Raccoon's Scent, Weapon Finesse, and +10 climb could've driven the value of the CR up, kinda my point when I meant stats... they are a part of it.
A kobold is deemed less dangerous than a thrush. Two of them are worth as much as one raccoon.
Can anyone explain the reasoning behind this?
Because by themselves, they're putting practice. They really are not that much of a threat encountered out doors on their own, far away from lairs or support.
It's when you face a whole tribe of kobolds in their carefully prepared lair that the Tucker phenomenon kicks in, and then that's when the CR is applied to an encounter, not a single creature.