D&D 5E - Carrion Crawler error?
I don't think it's an error, and I would caution against trying to quantify all monster stats against a formula. I get that feedback from some of the monsters I've done as well, like "Your damage for that CR creature is a little low, it should be X-Z." And my answer is typically, "take the entire monster in context, not just a stat. It's damage might be a little low, but it has this other feature that helps offset it...."In the CC's case, it used to have 8 tentacle attacks each round, to the higher +8 to hit reflects the fact that it's attacking with several tentacles, and not just one each round.
*Edit* Let me expand on this thought that a grain of salt must be taken when evaluating mechanical balance ala a formula for monsters. I'm sure there's someone out there who will say, "You need to have all monsters of a certain CR fit within clear parameters for stats in order to keep balance." Here is why I don't think that's a hard and fast rule, but only a general guideline. The only important thing CR should tell you is "this monster will be a challenge for PCs of a certain level range." That's it. Stats, like HP, attack bonuses, and damage should not be directly tied to CR in every case because often there are other factors that go into the only important question above.
For example, if you have a monster with a very slow movement or stationary aspect, it might have hp much higher than all other monsters of an equal CR to be able to answer the question with, "yes, this CR is a challenge for PCs level X-Y"
Or you might have a monster with lower than normal damage, but has an ability that causes HP loss over time to be able to answer the question with, "yes, this CR is a challenge for PCs level X-Y"
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