Kython CRs

[Biggus]

I'm planning to send my players into a nest of kythons (BoVD p.178) soon. In the process of reading up about them, I found an old thread where a couple of people said their CRs were too low, but didn't say by how much. So I compared them to the average monster stats from the SRD, and they do seem to be mostly about 1-2 points below what they should be based on that. However, obviously those stats only provide a rough guideline, so I'd like to hear from anyone who's actually used them in a game. Are their CRs too low, and if so what do you think they should be?

[StevenC21]

I only looked at the Kython Adult, but, oh boy.

Yeah. Bump that CR up. Seriously just compare that thing to a standard troll. 2 more attacks, higher AC, higher attack bonus, bigger damage die, DC 18 strength poison... Not even considering the Kython bioweapons.

+1 CR.

[Vizzerdrix]

I only looked at the Kython Adult, but, oh boy.

Yeah. Bump that CR up. Seriously just compare that thing to a standard troll. 2 more attacks, higher AC, higher attack bonus, bigger damage die, DC 18 strength poison... Not even considering the Kython bioweapons.

+1 CR.

Look at the little ones. The buggers go right for the con score!


Still, some of my most favorite monsters. I would love to get them onto a summon monster list somehow.

[Kelb_Panthera]

The adult kython should be CR 6 but the rest all look about right. They're vicious but they have no staying power; no DR, no fast healing or regen, and no spell resistance. Their AC is on the high end for their CRs but not shockingly so. They're relatively easy to sneak past too, as long as you can stay out of their blindsight area.

[Biggus]

I only looked at the Kython Adult, but, oh boy.

Yeah. Bump that CR up. Seriously just compare that thing to a standard troll. 2 more attacks, higher AC, higher attack bonus, bigger damage die, DC 18 strength poison... Not even considering the Kython bioweapons.

+1 CR.


The adult kython should be CR 6 but the rest all look about right. They're vicious but they have no staying power; no DR, no fast healing or regen, and no spell resistance. Their AC is on the high end for their CRs but not shockingly so. They're relatively easy to sneak past too, as long as you can stay out of their blindsight area.

Yeah, the adult was the one that stood out as most obviously strong for its CR. The broodling and slaymaster looked about right, but on the face of it the juvenile, impaler and slaughterking all looked pretty strong too. I did notice that while their AC is very good (but not record-breaking) for their CR, their HPs are mostly average to low. They do have good initiative and damage though, so I was a bit concerned about the possibility of multiple player deaths if they rolled well in the early rounds.

Looking at it them again, the juvenile seems the next most overpowered for its CR after the adult, do we think that it merits CR4?