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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celtavian" data-source="post: 6639744" data-attributes="member: 5834">1. Monsters use Dodge Action while closing distance on PCs. 2. Grappling with dragons. Use reach bite to grapple and carry someone off while flying, usually someone lightly armored. Carry them to isolated location, kill them, and repeat process until party figures out how to stop it. Smart parties should prepare for this eventuality in advance. Note: This tactic may be cruel in 5E. In 3E this tactic was countered by freedom of movement liberally cast upon the group often using disposable magic items. That is much more difficult in 5E. Though it is easier for a character with athletics or acrobatics to resist the grapple. Use your judgment to determine if you will wipe the party using this tactic.3. AoOs are better than full attacks. If you can position your monster to take only AoOs while delivering full attacks, do it. DPR race is in their favor. Very difficult to do with optimizers focusing on ranged attacking over melee in 5E.4. If you have a visibility advantage over the PCs such as them making a group of humans, use the visibility advantage. Have your monsters attack their light sources. Most groups are smart enough to carry a magical light source. If you have lazy casters not taking the light cantrip and relying on lanterns and torches, feel free to hammer those items with attacks plunging them into darkness.5. Once the PCs get past level 3 or so don't design a major encounter against humanoid or intelligent NPCs without giving them caster or magical support. Surest way to turn an encounter trivial is to let the casters have their way without anyone challenging their magic with dispels, counterspell, or similar spell support. Might as well not even run that encounter and let the PCs chalk it up as a win. PC casters providing support for the group is the largest advantage the PCs have over everything they fight. That's why anything less than a determined enemy with caster support generally turns out to be a trivial encounter against a party with casters that is smart enough to scout ahead.6. Do not be afraid to focus fire on a PC: Whether you're running a group of intelligent humanoids or a pack of ghouls, do not be afraid to have them focus their attacks on a single PC. The enemy is looking to kill the PCs. If they know a group of PCs has wizard or cleric support or a particular PC is particularly troublesome, have the entire group focus on killing that one PC if they are able. And creatures like packs of ghouls often attack the nearest thing looking to tear it apart. Don't hold back due to kindness. Swarm and kill only spreading out the NPC attackers if it makes sense for the enemy to do so.7. If a party spreads out, a dragon should look to blast a target with the breath weapon and close for the kill. While the dragon is at full hit points, it should focus on killing at least one party member quickly using everything it has. Breath weapon, close for melee, lair actions, legendary attacks. Do not spread the damage. Have the dragon take someone out as fast as possible in the first round absorbing a round or two of attacks from the PCs. If it drops the target, don't even wait for the target to get "pop up" healed. Continue to attack the fallen PC auto-critting on the attack and causing two missed death saves followed by a killing blow. If the dragon is able, have it pick up the body and carry it off to prevent healing and put it in advantageous negotiating position with the invading PCs. If it is able to kill at least one PC, have it leave the fight recharge its breath weapon, and prepare another vicious assault. If it gets low on hit points, then it can negotiate using the body of the dead and taken PC to force terms. If the PCs refuse to negotiate, have it leave and plan to kill them later. Dragons live a long time, they can force a lot of people to work with them. If the PCs fail to kill the dragon, have it spend its time plotting their demise and hunting them using humanoids and other creatures to set them up. Entire towns or cities might shun PCs being hunted by a dragon if they know the dragon will burn them to ash for helping the PCs in any way. A dragon might even put a bounty on a PCs head offering treasure or mercy if they bring the PCs heads to them.Note: You can do this with any powerful, intelligent creature from demon lords to mind flayers. The main lesson to teach the PCs is come prepared to kill your enemy preventing them from escaping or prepare to be hunted.8. Use terrain advantages whenever possible. If you have a fliers, put them in difficult terrain with lots of cover positions fliers can reach easily. Even creatures of low intelligence are smart enough to take advantage of terrain.</blockquote>

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