Quote Originally Posted by noparlpf View Post
As a DM I've had terrible luck with monsters pulled from WotC's Monster Manuals. They're either too weak for their CR and the party kills everything with hardly any damage taken at all, or they're way too strong for their CR and the party dies.
So now I don't use printed materials as much. (When I use a DM screen and they can't see my dice, I lie a little bit, but then I'm still not using the printed monsters, I'm making up fair numbers.)
I don't think that's what any business wants to have happen, because then I'm less likely to purchase the splatbooks or later editions' manuals.
There are a few things I won't mind or want from 3.5E, building encounters is NOt one of them. They need to burn all that material and forget that it ever existed when compared to 4E. That is one of the best features of 4E over 3.5 in my personal opinion.

About the rat...

I know personally I will grab some form of a stick (broom, base ball bat, my walking cane, etc) and proceed to kill the thing.

If there were multiple rats, then I would be closing the door and seeking for help. One? I think I could take it.