To make a normal monster a solo (boss) monster, multiply it's HP by 32, or 40 if it's over lvl10. Also, it gets a +5 bonus to saving throws.
You won't be using solo monsters
Why won't you be using solo monsters?
The damage output growth of the PCs and the HP growth of pretty much everything diverges as the levels increase, with Hp growing faster. The higher your level, the less relative damage you deal.
Solo monsters are supposed to be as powerful as a group of 5 PCs on their own, but they have
40 times the Hp of a regular monster of the same level. Put this on top of the fact that Hp grows faster than damage and you get longer and longer battles as the game goes on.
I hate the new saving throw system. I really hate the new saving throw system.
"Saving Throw" is a misnomer. 4E saving throws are like 3E *durations*.
I hate the new saving throw system
with a passion. Applying a status condition to a regular monster will hamper it for one round. But then on the next, it has 50% chance of being back in business. This would be fine if fights only lasted a few rounds, but apparently your supposed to spend one hour to resolve a single battle. Combine this with the fact that combat rounds are supposed to be faster than in 3e, that means that your going to spend dozens of rounds fighting...
In the DMG, the guidelines for interacting with non-combat NPCs sounds like description of what happens when you click on an NPC. Actually, the stuff on social interaction with NPCs and monsters in general is leaving me dissatisfied.
What... what did you want them to say?
I dunno. Something like:
Orcs: The Endless War
Two words: Town Portal
Or, you know, a cross between Teleport and Word of Recall. Taking out Teleport is for the best.
I disagree with that notion, and it's incorrect. Teleport is now harder to set up, and harder to perform. It also has the potential to be exactly like way points in Diablo 2 (with a moderate cost), with the additional option of giving players the option to set up their own way points.
You will not want to craft items. Ever.
Sure you will. That's how to get the exact items you want.
I stand corrected. You will use the crafting rules to transform 5 +5 swords for 1 +5 flail. Or 5 +5 flails to transform for 1 +5 sword. Whatever. That's fine.
However, noone in their right mind will use the economy rules, as their just moronic. Trading 5 +5 swords for 1 +5 flail, or 5 +5 flails for 1 +5 sword, is just stupid. It doesn't make any sense. A +5
anything theoretically has the same amount of magic in it, and even if two things of different value are being traded you can add other things to make the deal more even. Three
+2 turnips for a
+3 potato and a
Net of Butterflies or something like that.
Optionally: No plot. No dungeon master. Violence only. Final Destination. 
Some people play hack-and-slash D&D. The offhandedly-mentioned ability to run a quick hack-and-slash session (while waiting for someone to show up, say) is bad?
Only if its the only viable option for what is supposed to be an RPG. More and more, this is looking to me as an advanced
Tactical Miniatures Battle Game labeled as a
Role Playing Game.Since our monsters are nothing but homicidal maniacs with bling we want, this is the only option.
You're a big boy. Give your NPCs motivations on your own. A generic "all Xs react like Y" monster blurb is useless. Seriously, did the 3E MM ever help you run a monster personality-wise? I managed to do it all on my own.[/quote]
The 3.5 MM at least didn't depict every single entity as exclusively a combat hungry beast. Every single entry in the 4eMM is designed around facilitating the stabination portion of the game. It doesn't even tell you that normally animals don't fight to the death cause they're more interested in
surviving more than making acquiring XP a chalenge.
The only entry (I found) that does run away after being injured is the hippogriff. Everything else, including the dinosaur herbivores, is a homicidal maniac.
