I seriously don't get it. 5e is already an edition with a lot of hp inflation and low lethality, mainly if compared to 2e. Why inflate enemy hit points even further? I saw an lv 4 spider in a cave with freaking 138 hp. Back on 2e times, Vecna, a Legendary demigod Lich had 150 hp. Demogorgon, one of the most legendary demon lords, had 200 hp. Myrkul avatar, 228. Goblins which you cold slay an entire army with an single fireball on previous BG, takes so much time to die. It is not fun or engaging, just boring.
138 hp is enough to soak 18 heavy crossbow bolts from a good(+3 dex/str) hunter. firing dozens of eldritch blasts, firebolts, arrow shots and polleaxes swings is not fun or engaging. Just tedious.
5e already has a lot of bloat. We don't need more hp bloat. Especially in a turn based game with slow animations and no option to use concurrent turns like ToEE had.
You call it bloat some enemies are "bloated" You mean their health is higher than the avg roll on their monster sheet? Take the owlbear, in game its 81 hp but lost a few points, Sheet says 7d10+21 for health and avg at 59, CR 3. If the DM rolled for health and or raised the health, would you even know? Or rather should you even know as a player?
Also keep in mind that most encounters don't last that long/dont have many enemies in 5e. What you should be worried about are the two 32 + unit encounters in BG3.
THE ONLY MONSTER, that i have encountered, THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE HEALTH ON THE MM are the 2 SPECTATORS those are super bloated.
Also in the case of the goblins and other NPC humonids, it seems like larian decided to have them use hit die from their classes and levels. So really you are fighting things that have leveled.
Also phase spider matriarch:
This same boss you can actually deal 1/3 total hp per round as a caster/ranged? Roughly 46 hp per round until spider rages, then its about 2 rounds to put it down, without haste. Please understand that larian does reward you for resolving fights in abnormal ways. As do some DMs.
Had astarion sneak under the boss to break some eggs, boss aggroed and will shift on to webs in order to summon spiderlings. 2x Break the web with a fire arrow or fire bolt scroll and pass your stealth check. After the spider rages it will most likely make a straight line to GALE who could die in one round if at full health, but really not a problem for an abjurer wiz with mage armor on.
For those having issues, keep in mind that all classes are actually viable, their subs might be better than others however.
Evil playthrough ran:
Eldritch knight: 22 ac buffed (tyrs protection), relied on cantrips at range MM 1d4+1 x3 (9dmg avg)when needed, melee in short. Never died. (extremely reliable for choke points) Super tank. Can have 22ac with resistance to blud/slash/pierce. Most of the time was spent pushing foes around and grouping them up, as well as soaking all the hits and melee dmg 1d8+5 with poison 1d4 (11 avg dmg per round)(lets face it, even if she isnt an eldritch knight, she still will have 22 buffed ac)
Astarion thief: 16 ac, ranged when needed 1d8+5 plus 1d4 plus 2d6 sneak (avg 14 per roundish), melee when burst needed 1d6+5 1d4 2d6 (avg 13 ish) + bonus actions 1d4+5 1d4 x1 since 1 usually missed (avg 11 dmg) (soloed many encounters because sneak attack / stealth with poison op) If you are in a bind (wyvern poison can save the day at an extra 7d6 21 dmg avg) I also had him carry a Sussacc (magic drain flower)...what is more mage killing than no magic casting while a rogue smashing your backside in? Granted this only worked in certain areas and had minimal use haha.
Gale (alive and dead): 15 ac with mage armor: high damage dealer, spell of choice MM2 1d4+1 x 4 (12dmg avg), used fog cloud when gale surrounded, hardly died. Gale was sacrificed at certain choke points in 1st playthrough, since dead Gale is kinda OP. Do note that GALE CANT SEE TO SAVE HIS LIFE IN THE DARK and relying on dancing lights, light, or darkvision from a spell is okay at best. MM is pure gold because it hits 100% unless you are like me and forget to check if the path is obstructed.
PC Light cleric: 21 Ac buffed (absolute's protection) . Used a bonus action to cast heal once, maybe twice in the whole run. Healing as an action is a joke (in this game, not 5e lets get that straight), use items and food to heal then use your action to do some damage. Had decent dmg through longbow prof, BANE all day with casting and gloves of absolute. 1d8+4 (8 dmg avg) if not casting bane/FF or guiding bolt if comfortable.
This was a quicker and easier run through than my first. Do note that i used a good deal of items to speed things along after eveyrone ganged up on Zae. Nothing beats Caustic brine explosions if you want aoe dmg, until you get fireball that is.
Also keep mind that surface damage is a DEX savethrow. Your characters keep failing them, either cast Aid pre fight to mitigate, get higher dex, get prof, or endure them and give them a piece of their own medicine 10fold.
Honestly though, many some fights were already nerfed. (ahem hooked horrors)
Oh and who would have know most magic constructs dont work when magic is nullified? This is why items in game are ACTUALLY OP if you use them in certain ways.
