Smart DM, Stupid Monsters (possible KotS spoilers)

[the8bitdeity]

Hello,
I'm curious to get people's take on this issue. It's not 4ed specific, but being that I'm going to be running some more 4ed encounters, that will be the context I'm apply the ideas to.

So firstly, I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person (frankly I consider most gamers a cut above). So the question is, what's the best solution to running stupid monsters.

Let's use the Irontooth Encounter from KotS as an example:

Spoiler

So my players waded through the first part rather quickly, but as they moved inside they got pinned down rather badly. Also I had the minions whom were close to the two side entrances double back and surround the PCs. Needless to say it was a TPK after Irontooth became bloodied, and rolled no less than a 8 on his extra damage.

Now, my question is, should a Kobold whom has a reasonably low intelligence have the ability to think tactically in a fight? While they may not be able to read "War and Peace", or do a NY Times crossword, it seems reasonable to assume that they would know how to handle themselves in a fight.

The whole situation made me think about the concept as a whole. What do folks do to adjust tactically running monsters. On one hand I want every monster to be considered a threat, but Intelligence should have some play into this.

What do my fellow DMs do? How do you use monster Intelligence to affect tactics? This is less of a specific question, and more an open thread. I'm curious to hear the results.

 

[ValhallaGH]

I use a foe's mental abilities to limit how creative or maximally effective he can be. Also, how quickly he'll react to unexpected tactics and techniques.

So, if the PCs came out of 'nowhere', then it would be a few rounds before the dummies leading the enemies sent a force around to flank the PCs. However, it's a 'simple' tactic that they would think of.
Using that same force to, say, push the heroes into a clump and then drive them off a ledge into a pit, fire, or other hazard is actually pretty creative and reserved for guys with mental abilities above 12.

 

[Boarstorm]

Reposted from the clone thread:

An 8 int is certainly capable of tactical thinking. They may not be as good at it as a 22 int mastermind, but they're certainly capable of realizing "Hey, if we attack from behind, they can't hit us as easily!"

Heck, even beast-level int is capable of cunning and ambush in hunting.

 

[Deltran]

A general rule of thumb I have been following for 4e is this - use the creature's ability to the fullest extend you can imagine.

Kobolds get lots of shifting abilities. (Sometimes it's only 1, but that's usually 1 more than other monsters and/or PCs) Thus, reguardless of how dumb you may think a Kobold is, they should use their slide abilities on a level equal to someone twice to four times as intelligent as themselves. They will try to get into flanking positions if it is 'easy' for them, since shifting is good for that. The skirmishers have a sneak-attack ability, thus they will utilize shifting and sneak-attacking (flanking) to the best of their (aka, your) ability. Typically, the monster with the bonus is the one doing most of the work. If a soldier already has flanking with something, he isn't likely to shift just because the skirmisher wants to backstab. This won't stop the skirmisher from trying to find a sutable target with the best of his ability, however.

In other systems (and in 4e) look at the flavor text to find out what their tendencies are. This lets you know what activities they'll do to the best of their (your) ability and what activities they don't do well at (aka, you can be careless about).

If the monster is known for animal-like intelligence, you can ease off the throttle a little. The rule still applies, but they will either focus on food or the last thing that made them mad.

That's my rule of thumb.

 

[Makaze]

Int 10 is supposed to be "average". So if you think your average medieval dirt farmer/modern day cubicle troll could formulate such a plan then someone with at least 10 int should be able to as well. Colored by personality of course. Kobolds aren't supposed to be geniuses but they are supposed to be conniving sneaky little buggers so, much like ambush, flanking and attacking from behind seems a perfectly reasonable strategy for them.

 

[Mengu]

Depends on how well or how badly the party is doing. If the party is mowing through them, they get smarter, try to get flanks, focus on taking down weaker opponents, etc. If the party is having a bad dice day, the monsters start to do dumb stuff, like yelling out warprayers to their gods in place of attacking, slapping each other in the back congratutorially, taunting, mooning, and whatever else they need to do so I don't end up with a TPK.

 

[Boarstorm]

Depends on how well or how badly the party is doing. If the party is mowing through them, they get smarter, try to get flanks, focus on taking down weaker opponents, etc. If the party is having a bad dice day, the monsters start to do dumb stuff, like yelling out warprayers to their gods in place of attacking, slapping each other in the back congratutorially, taunting, mooning, and whatever else they need to do so I don't end up with a TPK.

Ah-ha! A softie!

 

[Lord Sessadore]

It's also important to remember that most of the creatures the PCs will fight, especially the humanoid ones, are warriors. They may not be able to count higher than the farmer or whatnot, but they know how to fight. Was Rocky smart? No, he was a little below average intelligence. Would you say that impeded his ability to fight? I wouldn't say so. He may have used different tactics than Sun-Tzu, but he knew what his abilities were and how to use them properly.

I'd say use a monster's powers to maximum effect in 99.9% of cases. That's the creature's abilities, whether natural or trained - they know how to use them well. As for target selection (ie taking out the cleric first instead of the fighter), that's a more sophisticated thing, I'd say that kind of thinking depends on monster intelligence.

 

[James McMurray]

How tactical is the party's 8 - 10 Int fighter?

 

[Mengu]

Ah-ha! A softie!

Guilty as charged. I'm a story over combat kind of guy, and there is no way I'm going to end a campaign with a TPK.