Mike Shea

But when it comes to monsters, like one thing I'll say is all my complaining about the monsters that I just did, they're still better than the 2014 versions. And we've been using the 2014 versions for 10 years. Many players have only ever used the 2014 stuff and it worked just fine.

But when it comes to monsters, like one thing I'll say is all my complaining about the monsters that I just did, they're still better than the 2014 versions. And we've been using the 2014 versions for 10 years. Many players have only ever used the 2014 stuff and it worked just fine.

But when it comes to monsters, like one thing I'll say is all my complaining about the monsters that I just did, they're still better than the 2014 versions. And we've been using the 2014 versions for 10 years. Many players have only ever used the 2014 stuff and it worked just fine.

So this will work better, which means that in my opinion, the D&D 2024 set is better than the 2014 set because they improved a lot of the things that needed improvement. like encounter balance guidelines, like monsters that hit at their challenge rating. Lots of things that they've done that I think have improved the game of fixing a whole bunch of problematic spells.

So this will work better, which means that in my opinion, the D&D 2024 set is better than the 2014 set because they improved a lot of the things that needed improvement. like encounter balance guidelines, like monsters that hit at their challenge rating. Lots of things that they've done that I think have improved the game of fixing a whole bunch of problematic spells.

So this will work better, which means that in my opinion, the D&D 2024 set is better than the 2014 set because they improved a lot of the things that needed improvement. like encounter balance guidelines, like monsters that hit at their challenge rating. Lots of things that they've done that I think have improved the game of fixing a whole bunch of problematic spells.

It's a bunch of things that they've done in order to smooth it out. So I think we're pretty good. So I'm going to do a much deeper look at the 2025 Monster Manual in a couple of weeks, but I wanted to give some thoughts about it right now because I've had it and because it's worth doing. But let's look at a stat block. We today are going to look at The Lich.

It's a bunch of things that they've done in order to smooth it out. So I think we're pretty good. So I'm going to do a much deeper look at the 2025 Monster Manual in a couple of weeks, but I wanted to give some thoughts about it right now because I've had it and because it's worth doing. But let's look at a stat block. We today are going to look at The Lich.

It's a bunch of things that they've done in order to smooth it out. So I think we're pretty good. So I'm going to do a much deeper look at the 2025 Monster Manual in a couple of weeks, but I wanted to give some thoughts about it right now because I've had it and because it's worth doing. But let's look at a stat block. We today are going to look at The Lich.

For the record, in case anybody is wondering, I have permission from Wizards of the Coast to show pictures from the book. I just can't show entire chapters, and I have to meet fair use. Who gets to decide that?

For the record, in case anybody is wondering, I have permission from Wizards of the Coast to show pictures from the book. I just can't show entire chapters, and I have to meet fair use. Who gets to decide that?

For the record, in case anybody is wondering, I have permission from Wizards of the Coast to show pictures from the book. I just can't show entire chapters, and I have to meet fair use. Who gets to decide that?

Because fair use is not, there's no clear absolute guidance on what is or isn't fair use, but I'm pretty sure showing one stat block falls within Wizards of the Coast's range of that's probably okay. So we're going to look at the Lich, because the Lich is one of my favorite stat blocks. It is also a stat block that in the 2014 guide, I don't think I ever ran it right.

Because fair use is not, there's no clear absolute guidance on what is or isn't fair use, but I'm pretty sure showing one stat block falls within Wizards of the Coast's range of that's probably okay. So we're going to look at the Lich, because the Lich is one of my favorite stat blocks. It is also a stat block that in the 2014 guide, I don't think I ever ran it right.

Because fair use is not, there's no clear absolute guidance on what is or isn't fair use, but I'm pretty sure showing one stat block falls within Wizards of the Coast's range of that's probably okay. So we're going to look at the Lich, because the Lich is one of my favorite stat blocks. It is also a stat block that in the 2014 guide, I don't think I ever ran it right.

And now we have a different kind of Lich. So let's dive into this one. I have kind of two benchmarks that I look at when I'm looking at a particular monster. One is how are its hit points compared to its challenge rating? And two is how is the damage compared to its challenge rating?

And now we have a different kind of Lich. So let's dive into this one. I have kind of two benchmarks that I look at when I'm looking at a particular monster. One is how are its hit points compared to its challenge rating? And two is how is the damage compared to its challenge rating?

And now we have a different kind of Lich. So let's dive into this one. I have kind of two benchmarks that I look at when I'm looking at a particular monster. One is how are its hit points compared to its challenge rating? And two is how is the damage compared to its challenge rating?

One of the things that you'll see right off the bat, and this talks about this, like you can't run it wrong, is that if you take the lich's least kind of basic attacks, it should still hit at its challenge rating. And the example is it's multi-attack. So the hit points are fine. 315 hit points at challenge rating 21. That's about 15 hit points per challenge rating. That's really good.

One of the things that you'll see right off the bat, and this talks about this, like you can't run it wrong, is that if you take the lich's least kind of basic attacks, it should still hit at its challenge rating. And the example is it's multi-attack. So the hit points are fine. 315 hit points at challenge rating 21. That's about 15 hit points per challenge rating. That's really good.