Is it possible that there are mistakes in those monsters? I’m not aware of an official errata, so if it exists, please point me to it!
– Ogre (damage should be d8+3, since it’s Large, not Huge.)
– Hill Giant (damage should be d8+5, since it’s Huge, not Large.)
– Ettin (should be Huge, not Large, since its description says it’s a Hill Giant with two heads; so damage should become d10+ 5 instead of d10+3, and HP should be 20 instead of 16.)
– Dragon (HP should be 20 since it’s Huge, not Large.)
Well im fairly sure the monster stat creation is just a guideline. I almost never use the stats that RAW would have me use. I use what would best fit the fiction.
Personally I just use the monsters on the manual as they are, not bothering about maths, I mostly look at moves and description.
Also, If you look at how to create a monster you can see that there are different factors that can change monster’s stats, and it is not all about size.
Shadi Alhusary The DW Codex specify if a monster has been edited, so “its stats may not line up with standard monsters” (look for the “box and pen” icon at the lower right corner). The way I read this and the “Making Monsters” section in the book (p. 223), the monster stat creation is a rule as much as any other rule. That’s not to say that you play “wrong” if you just improvise a monster on the fly without bothering about the rule (I do it too), but there is still a rule that can be followed or not.
Lenny Pacelli I looked at the different factors, and the possible mistakes still do not line up with the rule.
Jordan Raymond I can see your point (even if not every monster you mentioned it is not in line with the monsters creation guidelines), but if you feel that is something gamebreaking for you, try asking to the authors. 🙂
But there is also a rule that you can modify monster stats if the normal method doesn’t really line up.
Lenny Pacelli nothing is gamebreaking. It’s just that I noticed some irregularities. And by asking my question here, I am asking the authors (and the whole DW community). 🙂
Tim Franzke , if that’s the case, I’d be interested to know why, because I don’t see it. Why should an Ogre deal more damage than a Hill Giant, which is (per the description) pretty much just a bigger, dumber and meaner Ogre? Why should a Dragon (which does not strike me as a particularly fragile creature) have less HP than it’s entitled to (per the rules)? Why should an Ettin (basically a two-headed Hill Giant) be one size smaller than a Hill Giant? To me, those things looks like mistakes (that happens, and it’s no big deal!), not common sense adjustments; I would simply correct them.
We’ve done some nudging in the rules, for sure. Think of the creation as a baseline and adjust from there!
Adam Koebel He has spoken!
Thanks for chiming in, Adam Koebel ! About the Ettin, shouldn’t it be Huge (like the Hill Giant) instead of Large, since it’s a two-headed Hill Giant?