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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bolares" data-source="post: 7938398" data-attributes="member: 6790082">On the topic of monster statblocks and actions that they can do, following raw, the MM says this:"When a monster takes its action, it can choose from the options in the Actions section of its stat block or use one of the actions available to all creatures, such as the Dash or Hide action, as described in the Player’s Handbook. "Looking at the PHB, the book desbribes actions in combat as follows:"When you take your action on your turn, you can take one of the actions presented here, an action you gained from your class or a special feature, or an action that you improvise. Many monsters have action options of their own in their stat blocks.When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure."Other than this, the book describes Attack, Cast a Spell Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, Hide, Ready and Use an Object.So, in my interpretation, all the listed actions, and improvised actions are permited to monster per RAW, it's up to the DM to balance them well.EDIT:Reading the post again, a point that could be made is that "you" on the PHB section describing improvised actions refers to PCs only, so I went back and checked. The start of the combat chapter clarifies it like this:"This chapter provides the rules you need for your characters and monsters to engage in combat, whether it is a brief skirmish or an extended conflict in a dungeon or on a field of battle. Throughout this chapter, the rules address you, the player or Dungeon Master. The Dungeon Master controls all the monsters and nonplayer characters involved in combat, and each other player controls an adventurer. “You” can also mean the character or monster that you control."</blockquote>

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