The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-17 09:55:18
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Keith Ammann
- ISBN：1982122668
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
From the creator of the popular blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing comes a compilation of villainous battle plans for Dungeon Masters。
In the course of a Dungeons & Dragons game， a Dungeon Master has to make one decision after another in response to player behavior—and the better the players， the more unpredictable their behavior！ It’s easy for even an experienced DM to get bogged down in on-the-spot decision-making or to let combat devolve into a boring slugfest， with enemies running directly at the player characters and biting， bashing， and slashing away。
In The Monsters Know What They’re Doing， Keith Ammann lightens the DM’s burden by helping you understand your monsters’ abilities and develop battle plans before your fifth edition D&D game session begins。 Just as soldiers don’t whip out their field manuals for the first time when they’re already under fire， a DM shouldn’t wait until the PCs have just encountered a dozen bullywugs to figure out how they advance， fight， and retreat。
Easy to read and apply， The Monsters Know What They're Doing is essential reading for every DM。
In the course of a Dungeons & Dragons game， a Dungeon Master has to make one decision after another in response to player behavior—and the better the players， the more unpredictable their behavior！ It’s easy for even an experienced DM to get bogged down in on-the-spot decision-making or to let combat devolve into a boring slugfest， with enemies running directly at the player characters and biting， bashing， and slashing away。
In The Monsters Know What They’re Doing， Keith Ammann lightens the DM’s burden by helping you understand your monsters’ abilities and develop battle plans before your fifth edition D&D game session begins。 Just as soldiers don’t whip out their field manuals for the first time when they’re already under fire， a DM shouldn’t wait until the PCs have just encountered a dozen bullywugs to figure out how they advance， fight， and retreat。
Easy to read and apply， The Monsters Know What They're Doing is essential reading for every DM。
Reviews
Patrick
，
An absolute must buy for any and every DM。 There's so much to running a game proper and it's always a struggle to have all the pieces fall perfectly。 Using this book to give myself new ideas for encounters has allowed me to challenge my players more during combat。 An absolute must buy for any and every DM。 There's so much to running a game proper and it's always a struggle to have all the pieces fall perfectly。 Using this book to give myself new ideas for encounters has allowed me to challenge my players more during combat。 。。。more
Jerrod
，
I really enjoyed reading this。 I think there is a lot to take away from Keith's insights。 I think there is a lot richer world to be seen within his methods of pulling monsters apart based on what they are given stat and action wise。 I've noticed bits falling into how I play the characters in our games already。 I'm curious to see how much it stays in my mind as I move away from actively reading it to referencing the material。 I really enjoyed reading this。 I think there is a lot to take away from Keith's insights。 I think there is a lot richer world to be seen within his methods of pulling monsters apart based on what they are given stat and action wise。 I've noticed bits falling into how I play the characters in our games already。 I'm curious to see how much it stays in my mind as I move away from actively reading it to referencing the material。 。。。more
Robert
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Excellent reference
Nicole
，
So helpful！
AJ
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An invaluable resource for any GM running 5e。
Jeremy Blum
，
I originally didn't think I needed this book， but saw it in a bookstore one day and looked up its advice for some undead creatures in a game I was running later that week。 After a quick skim， I decided I needed it。 The Monsters Know What They're Doing is for DMs who already have a basic grasp on 5e's stat blocks and want to challenge their players with smarter opponents。 Keith provides solid advice to help you get out of the mindset that every battle needs to end in monsters fighting to the deat I originally didn't think I needed this book， but saw it in a bookstore one day and looked up its advice for some undead creatures in a game I was running later that week。 After a quick skim， I decided I needed it。 The Monsters Know What They're Doing is for DMs who already have a basic grasp on 5e's stat blocks and want to challenge their players with smarter opponents。 Keith provides solid advice to help you get out of the mindset that every battle needs to end in monsters fighting to the death， and then proceeds to break down even the dullest creatures in the Monster Manual with XCOM-style tactics。 It's all great stuff， and these days， I treat this as a pre-combat bible， quickly reading through a monster's entry a few minutes prior to running a game。 Get it， especially if you're a DM who struggles to make 5e combat interesting and colorful。 。。。more
Alice
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So useful for running a homebrew DnD campaign， especially as a new dm。 This is really helping me improve combat and add exciting twists to the story。
Tess
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Good reference
Alex
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A good book， better as a reference than a full read。 Really useful insights， would have given five stars but there are a few bits where the author comes off petanty "tribal warriors" would recommend to others。Was not quite the book I was hoping for as I was hoping for some more insights in running monsters together eg goblins with wolves but all the same solid book with well thought out reasonings for the most part A good book， better as a reference than a full read。 Really useful insights， would have given five stars but there are a few bits where the author comes off petanty "tribal warriors" would recommend to others。Was not quite the book I was hoping for as I was hoping for some more insights in running monsters together eg goblins with wolves but all the same solid book with well thought out reasonings for the most part 。。。more
Robert Dennis
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If you play 5E D&D this book is a 5 star keeper and is a must own。 Just the number crunching alone on monster damage and strategy is worth the price of admission。 However I am not one of those people （I play 2nd edition and 3。5/Pathfinder） and the book doesn't really illuminate much for a DM of another rule system。 I did get a few fun role play ideas from the ideas Mr。 Ammann sets forth but in the end for any experienced DM outside of 5E this is a bathroom read and little else。 For a beginning D If you play 5E D&D this book is a 5 star keeper and is a must own。 Just the number crunching alone on monster damage and strategy is worth the price of admission。 However I am not one of those people （I play 2nd edition and 3。5/Pathfinder） and the book doesn't really illuminate much for a DM of another rule system。 I did get a few fun role play ideas from the ideas Mr。 Ammann sets forth but in the end for any experienced DM outside of 5E this is a bathroom read and little else。 For a beginning DM a lot of ideas sit in this 。。。more
Mitchell
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Fantastic reference book。 But hard to read straight through。 I got pretty far before returning this to the library。 I expect I'll buy this for my kindle。 Fantastic reference book。 But hard to read straight through。 I got pretty far before returning this to the library。 I expect I'll buy this for my kindle。 。。。more
Nick Vossen
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Great supplement for any DMs/GMs/Storytellers running a lot of diverse fantasy role-playing games。
Sean Mobley
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Did not finish。 I thought it would be an exploration of how to build interesting combat for players in role playing games， but it's limited exclusively to D&D， so is really only helpful to people playing that game。 Did not finish。 I thought it would be an exploration of how to build interesting combat for players in role playing games， but it's limited exclusively to D&D， so is really only helpful to people playing that game。 。。。more
Dave Stone
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Awesome Reference book （not as good audio book） I absolutely love this book！ I just bought this book in hard cover for my collection（from a local independent book store）。 。。。But the audiobook did get a bit tedious after a few hours。
Gene Parish
，
I recently listened to The Monsters Know What They’re Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters written by Kieth Ammann and narrated by Kevin T。 Collins。This book is written as a bit of an instructional guide for Dungeon Masters of Dungeons and Dragons 5E。 While this book is specific to this edition of the popular game commonly known as D&D， it’s principles of considering monster stats， abilities， and lore combine to give one a guide for running monsters in any combat oriented RPG system。 He use I recently listened to The Monsters Know What They’re Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters written by Kieth Ammann and narrated by Kevin T。 Collins。This book is written as a bit of an instructional guide for Dungeon Masters of Dungeons and Dragons 5E。 While this book is specific to this edition of the popular game commonly known as D&D， it’s principles of considering monster stats， abilities， and lore combine to give one a guide for running monsters in any combat oriented RPG system。 He uses the available information to inform the tactics of each creature， thus giving each a unique and vivid life at the table。Narration: Kevin T。 Collins actually brings a fairly well spoken and thought out diction to the task of reading this tome。 His reading elevates a topic that could be a dry read into something that is arresting。 He adds the emotion of an enthusiastic teacher to his reading and it matches the book’s tone quite well。Conclusion: This is an excellent book for any Dungeon Master in any tactically based RPG system， but especially for those invested in 5E。 The methods described here are a useful guide to turn boring statistics about creatures into a useful way of modeling a vibrant living breathing creature at the table。 It lets you bring your dragons to life！ 。。。more
Paul
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I read this as an audiobook。 It was around 25 hours。Being a reference book， it felt tedious at times， however you can't skim through it easily so I ended up listening to each and every monster tactic in the 5e manual。This is good stuff for newbies and veterans alike。 Much makes sense if you take the time to think it out， but the author already took that time and has excellent grasp of 5e rules and monsters。I think it is worth having on hand in print for easy consultation， but I do not regret the I read this as an audiobook。 It was around 25 hours。Being a reference book， it felt tedious at times， however you can't skim through it easily so I ended up listening to each and every monster tactic in the 5e manual。This is good stuff for newbies and veterans alike。 Much makes sense if you take the time to think it out， but the author already took that time and has excellent grasp of 5e rules and monsters。I think it is worth having on hand in print for easy consultation， but I do not regret the audiobook experience。 。。。more
Jason Bergman
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This is a good reference book for running Dungeons & Dragons。 That said， it's best for DMs who like to run heavily tactical games。 I don't， and more specifically， my players don't want to play that way， so this is of limited use to me。 But I do like Ammann's approach， and it made for an interesting read， even if I won't be applying all that much to my own games。 This is a good reference book for running Dungeons & Dragons。 That said， it's best for DMs who like to run heavily tactical games。 I don't， and more specifically， my players don't want to play that way， so this is of limited use to me。 But I do like Ammann's approach， and it made for an interesting read， even if I won't be applying all that much to my own games。 。。。more
Jessica
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Good assistance and reference book for DnD GameMasters。
Stan Pedzick
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An amazing reference book for any DM running a 5e adventure。
The_J
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Excellent insight into the structure and flow of D&D， and the skills needed to provide style and flair as a Dungeon Master。
Loracarol
，
I bought the book without actually finishing it。
Doug
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Some great advice for running D&D monsters and making sessions more enjoyable。
Ike
，
A really great resource for any DM！
Steven Rongley
，
Often dry， sometimes humorous; exactly what it says on the tin。 An excellent reference resource full of clever （read: "delightfully nasty"） ideas。 Often dry， sometimes humorous; exactly what it says on the tin。 An excellent reference resource full of clever （read: "delightfully nasty"） ideas。 。。。more
Scott Simmons
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Excellent for D&D I find his insight into how monsters might actually behave much more interesting than a constant berserker attack。 He offers some very helpful tips for playing realistic opponents。
Edward
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Great reference！ I expect I’ll get a lot of use out of the ideas presented here。
Gilbert Stack
，
This is a revolutionary book about the creatures encountered in the game Dungeons and Dragons and it will appeal to two kinds of people。 The first—that includes myself—are people who have years of playing the game under their belt （for many of us mostly in the distant pass） and enjoy nostalgically wandering through key events （like the creatures of the game）。 For those people， the audiobook may be the ideal method of absorbing the information。The other group are active Dungeon Masters trying to This is a revolutionary book about the creatures encountered in the game Dungeons and Dragons and it will appeal to two kinds of people。 The first—that includes myself—are people who have years of playing the game under their belt （for many of us mostly in the distant pass） and enjoy nostalgically wandering through key events （like the creatures of the game）。 For those people， the audiobook may be the ideal method of absorbing the information。The other group are active Dungeon Masters trying to improve their games by making their monsters more interesting。 They are going to want a paper or electronic copy as this volume will serve as a valuable resource to them in planning their next adventures。What Ammann has done here is analyze key groups of monsters and created rational tactics for them given their strengths， weaknesses， and known proclivities。 It makes for fascinating reading。 I was shocked by how many times he suggests the creatures would break and flee after taking a certain amount of damage。 When I was gaming， monsters rarely ran， which was convenient as they take their experience and treasure with them when they depart。 I thoroughly enjoyed getting into the mindset of creatures as disparate as a bugbear， a displacer beast， a dragon， and a common bandit。 The book is conveniently organized by type of creature and just fascinating to read。 D&D games are going to get a lot better if Dungeon Masters take advantage of this valuable resource。 If you liked this review， you can find more at www。gilbertstack。com/reviews。 。。。more
Andy Horton
，
Really interesting and useful DM's guide to every monster in the Monster Manual。 Ammann looks at stats， abilities and descriptions， and extrapolates both effective combat tactics and - for me more interestingly - plausible behaviours for them in encounters。Great use of the stats to justify how much DM knowledge it is fair to apply in e。g。 choice of target and in suggesting how sophisticated their tactics will be， but also looks at motivations。This could have been dry but is leavened by some enga Really interesting and useful DM's guide to every monster in the Monster Manual。 Ammann looks at stats， abilities and descriptions， and extrapolates both effective combat tactics and - for me more interestingly - plausible behaviours for them in encounters。Great use of the stats to justify how much DM knowledge it is fair to apply in e。g。 choice of target and in suggesting how sophisticated their tactics will be， but also looks at motivations。This could have been dry but is leavened by some engaging asides。 Personal touches here and there are nice to see - Ammann really doesn't want to make a fight with a unicorn easy *because attacking a unicorn is a bad thing to do*。 He also gently points out the clumsy approach to Arabic names and mythology in dealing with djinn， a reminder that cultural sensitivity hasn't always been D&D's strongest point， while still demonstrating his clear love of the game。 。。。more
Mark
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A book that advises DM's to annoy their players by having monsters use hit-and-run tactics， stealth， or just plain teleport away with all your loot。 It's very D&D 5e specific， with entries for that version's various beasties， but easily generalizable to other RPGs。The advice is indeed pretty sound， as it makes the simple but easy to overlook point that each monster comes with a personality that will play to its strengths。 So encounters should not all feel like similar exercises in dice rolling w A book that advises DM's to annoy their players by having monsters use hit-and-run tactics， stealth， or just plain teleport away with all your loot。 It's very D&D 5e specific， with entries for that version's various beasties， but easily generalizable to other RPGs。The advice is indeed pretty sound， as it makes the simple but easy to overlook point that each monster comes with a personality that will play to its strengths。 So encounters should not all feel like similar exercises in dice rolling with different skins。 Just remember to give your players loot some other way。 。。。more
Ogre
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