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Message: <blockquote data-quote="smathis" data-source="post: 4111298" data-attributes="member: 56465">There's been a lot of good advice here. I'm not a naturally tactical-minded DM either. I do, however, have a hyperactive imagination at times and I've found that can help me out just as much.I always try to put myself in the monsters' shoes. I ask "If I were stuck living in this crummy dungeon, what would I do?" Generally not what the adventure depicts me doing.The trick is -- in most encounters -- the monsters are the defenders and start out with the tactical advantage. Think of how you could use terrain (or traps) to your advantage. I mean, in theory, these monsters have lived there most of their lives. Once they become aware of the PCs, they should be able to take advantage of some of their lair's defenses.And don't be afraid to fall back. I have monsters do this all the time. If they're obviously losing, there's no way in blue Hades they'll just sit there and keep fighting. Unless you want them to fight dumb.* So, if the tide is turning against the monsters, I frequently have them fall back (which is usually pretty easy for them since they know and can take advantage of the terrain). Then harry the party with lurkers and artillery to give the controller time to regroup for a second attack. Basically, switch to guerilla tactics to wear the party down.That denies the PCs the opportunity to rest. Evil GM, I know. But, hey, if somebody was trying to go into my haunted cave, well... you know...I once nearly TPK'd a 10th level party in 2e with just a whole bunch of Kobolds and some homefield advantage. I played the Kobolds no smarter than, say, a Badger. But they knew the traps in the dungeon, knew to lure the PCs there and had set up a network of tunnels (too small for the non-Halfling PCs to get into -- and none of the PCs were Halflings) for just this problem. Well, actually there was a big group of Hobgoblins that would enslave and eat the Kobolds that probably constituted a bigger long term problem...But, to give you an idea, the dungeon was B1 (Into the Unknown), with just a lot of Kobolds in it. The PCs never got to the Hobgoblins. The Kobolds wore them down with very basic Guerilla tactics and I wound up having to pull out the "Big Neon Sign" to get the PCs to the bottom level and out of the dungeon. Who knew that Kobolds could be so tough?But I believe trying to think from the Monster's perspective is the key. I mean, the players are trying to kill you. So fight like you mean it. Because they do. I've seriously had players slaughter monster babies just for the fun of it. And you want to protect your monster babies, don't you?!I'm really happy that the 4e MM has tactics pretty well spelled out. All that is really needed is the environment to optimize their advantage. And many of the creature's descriptions and abilities should suggest themselves to some brutal possibilities. And it looks like the DMG will be actually useful for a change.* - Some creatures (like Low-to-No Intelligence creatures) I just portray as dumb. Zombies are a good example. No sense of self-preservation. Even a Green Slime has a sense of self-preservation and would (should) slink away at the first sign of a heat source. But no, sometimes it's fun to play fanatical or otherwise handicapped monsters that just have no desire to live (in the broadest sense of the term). That's okay too. I generally throw a handful of those at a party to warm them up. And then I introduce them to the Swarm. Because watching the PCs glow with pride as they dispatch 8 zombies is nice. But watching the PCs terror as the sneaky rogue comes back from scouting to inform them that there are 100s of these things screaming for brains, that's priceless.And, let me say, I never do this to win. I roleplay the monster. Yeah, I can see that coming back to bite me, sorta like the old "I'm just roleplaying my alignment" cop-out. But I really don't enjoy playing adversarially. I don't think that precludes me from playing the monsters with some sense of self-preservation, though. I mean, I'm only doing it to protect my monster babies.The one thing I don't do that a monster (especially a lurker) probably would do is target the weak PCs. I think it would be too easy to kill a PC like that. And that's not the goal.The goal is to challenge the PCs, not kill them -- despite my earlier monster babies statement.So, I target all the PCs equally. If a monster is "smart" enough to know what a spellcaster is, then he might get some extra attention in some cases. But if not, generally the troops scatter after a fireball.Then they regroup to discuss what happened and what they can do about it.So, long post short, think like the monster. Tactics will suggest themselves.</blockquote>

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