Why would a swarm be dealing more damage per member of the swarm than an individual of that creature type does on its own?
When I was at school we were playing indoor rounders (similar to baseball). I managed to hit it at a group of catchers who all went for it at once...and managed to knock the ball out of each other's grasp...repeatedly, until it hit the ground. By the time one of them picked it up, I'd completed a home run.
Sometimes, being in a group is not multiplicative of power. For lower intelligence or less cooperative beings, I can imagine them being in a swarm would lower the output of the individual (but still increase the overall power).
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Why would a swarm be dealing more damage per member of the swarm than an individual of that creature type does on its own?
When I was at school we were playing indoor rounders (similar to baseball). I managed to hit it at a group of catchers who all went for it at once...and managed to knock the ball out of each other's grasp...repeatedly, until it hit the ground. By the time one of them picked it up, I'd completed a home run.
Sometimes, being in a group is not multiplicative of power. For lower intelligence or less cooperative beings, I can imagine them being in a swarm would lower the output of the individual (but still increase the overall power).
Yeah, every member of the swarm is not able to bite/sting/claw simultaneously. A swarm of fifty rats is more dangerous than fifty individual rats, but if fifty individual rats can potentially deal fifty damage in a single round, a swarm of fifty rats shouldn't be potentially dealing three hundred.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I've run three campaigns over the last 5 years, each lasting over a year, and I'm just kicking off with my 4th, about 4mos in.
The most dangerous monsters in all of them are the player's characters. They are the most dangerous, unpredictable, persistent, off the cuff bundles of dangerous joy. They have always been the bane of the world. Unleashing great hell on the unsuspecting villages, cities, and townsfolk in general. Unleashing long laid to rest creatures to summoning new ones.
And while I believe they are the most dangerous. They are also the most fun.
I've run three campaigns over the last 5 years, each lasting over a year, and I'm just kicking off with my 4th, about 4mos in.
The most dangerous monsters in all of them are the player's characters. They are the most dangerous, unpredictable, persistent, off the cuff bundles of dangerous joy. They have always been the bane of the world. Unleashing great hell on the unsuspecting villages, cities, and townsfolk in general. Unleashing long laid to rest creatures to summoning new ones.
And while I believe they are the most dangerous. They are also the most fun.
You left out the best part, they're also the ones most likely to cause the deaths of PCs.
The aspects of Bahamut and Tiamat from FToD are each equivalent to two CR 30 monsters. Or a tarrasque with a bunch of magic items, like a massive headband of intellect around its horn, and 20 class levels in wizard.
Bad players. Players who act in bad faith and/or disrespect other members of the group or attempt to disrupt play intentionally for the lulz. I had the displeasure of playing a couple of sessions with two such knuckleheads, they ended destroying/breaking up the group. No D&D monster worse than that, that I can think of.
If you want to kill the party, then any high CR monster is your best bet - and if you want to be sure, bring several.
If you're after ones which are dangerous to run, IE have a high chance of inadvertently killing characters in what should have been a fair fight, at higher levels, the answer to me would be Shadows. They are low CR, so a "balanced" "deadly" fight against 3 level 15 adventurers is 48 shadows. Good luck not running a TPK from that. For 3 level 20 characters, a "Hard" encounter would be 95 Shadows. (For context, each hit from a Shadow reduced the targets Strength by 1d4 until they rest. If they drop to 0, then they die - not death saves, just death. And it spawns a new shadow a few hours later.)
If you're after "which monster would win in a fight against other monsters", probably Tiamat.
When I was at school we were playing indoor rounders (similar to baseball). I managed to hit it at a group of catchers who all went for it at once...and managed to knock the ball out of each other's grasp...repeatedly, until it hit the ground. By the time one of them picked it up, I'd completed a home run.
Sometimes, being in a group is not multiplicative of power. For lower intelligence or less cooperative beings, I can imagine them being in a swarm would lower the output of the individual (but still increase the overall power).
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Yeah, every member of the swarm is not able to bite/sting/claw simultaneously. A swarm of fifty rats is more dangerous than fifty individual rats, but if fifty individual rats can potentially deal fifty damage in a single round, a swarm of fifty rats shouldn't be potentially dealing three hundred.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I've run three campaigns over the last 5 years, each lasting over a year, and I'm just kicking off with my 4th, about 4mos in.
The most dangerous monsters in all of them are the player's characters. They are the most dangerous, unpredictable, persistent, off the cuff bundles of dangerous joy. They have always been the bane of the world. Unleashing great hell on the unsuspecting villages, cities, and townsfolk in general. Unleashing long laid to rest creatures to summoning new ones.
And while I believe they are the most dangerous. They are also the most fun.
You left out the best part, they're also the ones most likely to cause the deaths of PCs.
The Hasbro, or even its little brother the Wotc?
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A really angry GM.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Yes, it's better not to meet this monster, lol
The aspects of Bahamut and Tiamat from FToD are each equivalent to two CR 30 monsters. Or a tarrasque with a bunch of magic items, like a massive headband of intellect around its horn, and 20 class levels in wizard.
I feel as though we are overlooking Tiamat (unless I missed someone mentioning her)
Edit: I definitely did miss several mentions lol
Bad players. Players who act in bad faith and/or disrespect other members of the group or attempt to disrupt play intentionally for the lulz. I had the displeasure of playing a couple of sessions with two such knuckleheads, they ended destroying/breaking up the group. No D&D monster worse than that, that I can think of.
This depends on your goals!
If you want to kill the party, then any high CR monster is your best bet - and if you want to be sure, bring several.
If you're after ones which are dangerous to run, IE have a high chance of inadvertently killing characters in what should have been a fair fight, at higher levels, the answer to me would be Shadows. They are low CR, so a "balanced" "deadly" fight against 3 level 15 adventurers is 48 shadows. Good luck not running a TPK from that. For 3 level 20 characters, a "Hard" encounter would be 95 Shadows. (For context, each hit from a Shadow reduced the targets Strength by 1d4 until they rest. If they drop to 0, then they die - not death saves, just death. And it spawns a new shadow a few hours later.)
If you're after "which monster would win in a fight against other monsters", probably Tiamat.
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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Anything the players (or the character) isn't prepared to deal with.
I once had a Barbarian drown because he failed his Athletics checks to swim.
I have seen characters die because they leaped from a high point and forgot that their Featherfall ring had been stolen earlier in the session.
I can't even remember how many times the ONE person in the party with Revivify died.
In short, the most dangerous enemies in the game are the players and the dice...