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<blockquote data-quote="Xaelvaen" data-source="post: 7637289" data-attributes="member: 6681906">Own and read the MM?&nbsp; Sure.&nbsp; Read it in the middle of combat?&nbsp; Completely off the mark.&nbsp; This creates a major problem of DM agency being questioned (with less-familiar circles).&nbsp; I don't think I've run a monster 'by the book' in over a decade, unless I need to whip up a quick random encounter the players have created themselves.&nbsp; I make the monsters ahead of time, and alter their abilities to my needs, as appropriate.&nbsp; With my long-term group, this isn't an issue - they understand that what they know about a monster is irrelevant aside from the most basic of details.&nbsp; In public play, players whipping out the book and saying ignorant things such as &quot;That attack only has a DC of 16!&quot; or &quot;That creature doesn't have access to that spell!&quot;, is a problem.&nbsp; I've experienced it, and encountered it even moreso happening to newer DMs trying their hand at being creative.So I just politely ask public players to leave their MMs closed, and inform them ahead of time that I use my own versions of several creatures, and that the books won't help them anyway.&nbsp; Do I care if the player knows Silver hurts Lycanthropes or Bludgeoning works better on Skeletons?&nbsp; Not at all - just know it, don't open the book.&nbsp; This touches a different aspect of my games though, anyway - no phones or tablets active at the table, though leaving them on and checking for emergency calls/texts is acceptable (we offer free printing of digital character sheets at our FLGS for that reason as well), books only open if you absolutely need to reference something you wrote down half-assed, and everyone paying attention to the whole game, not just their own personal bubble of interaction.As a second point, there is also an element of campaign-specific information to be taken into account.&nbsp; When I play something darker and grittier, a gothic campaign, low magic, no magic - anything of the sort, players -must- be able to roleplay a lack of knowledge of certain things, no matter how much they've read books and fiction about certain monster types.&nbsp; In those settings, however, the parties are usually smart enough to contact some retired Witch Hunter or library and research legends of what they hunt in particular, and that's just part of the experience.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Xaelvaen, post: 7637289, member: 6681906"] Own and read the MM? Sure. Read it in the middle of combat? Completely off the mark. This creates a major problem of DM agency being questioned (with less-familiar circles). I don't think I've run a monster 'by the book' in over a decade, unless I need to whip up a quick random encounter the players have created themselves. I make the monsters ahead of time, and alter their abilities to my needs, as appropriate. With my long-term group, this isn't an issue - they understand that what they know about a monster is irrelevant aside from the most basic of details. In public play, players whipping out the book and saying ignorant things such as "That attack only has a DC of 16!" or "That creature doesn't have access to that spell!", is a problem. I've experienced it, and encountered it even moreso happening to newer DMs trying their hand at being creative. So I just politely ask public players to leave their MMs closed, and inform them ahead of time that I use my own versions of several creatures, and that the books won't help them anyway. Do I care if the player knows Silver hurts Lycanthropes or Bludgeoning works better on Skeletons? Not at all - just know it, don't open the book. This touches a different aspect of my games though, anyway - no phones or tablets active at the table, though leaving them on and checking for emergency calls/texts is acceptable (we offer free printing of digital character sheets at our FLGS for that reason as well), books only open if you absolutely need to reference something you wrote down half-assed, and everyone paying attention to the whole game, not just their own personal bubble of interaction. As a second point, there is also an element of campaign-specific information to be taken into account. When I play something darker and grittier, a gothic campaign, low magic, no magic - anything of the sort, players -must- be able to roleplay a lack of knowledge of certain things, no matter how much they've read books and fiction about certain monster types. In those settings, however, the parties are usually smart enough to contact some retired Witch Hunter or library and research legends of what they hunt in particular, and that's just part of the experience. [/QUOTE]

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