D&D 5E Just played one of my D&D board games and there's one thing I think could greatly benefit the current edition (or any really)

[Reynard]

I think board game like charts would be a little too workaday for a Monster Manual. Better to use expressive language in an RPG product, IMO, and it would not use up too much space. Examples:

"Orcs are vicious fighters and prefer the chaos of close combat. If an orc gets within 30 feet of an opponent, it will close and attack with its melee weapon. Even archers are apt to drop their bows and go for a hand to hand kill. Orc archers are not well regarded in the armies of darkness."

"Goblins are cowardly warriors, avoiding close combat as best they can and using hit and run tactics when they can't. Goblins never get involved in melee if their numbers are not at least 2 to 1 in their favor. 'Live to fight another day' isn't just a saying among their kind -- it's a creed."

"Nothing defines a beholder as well as the word 'arrogant' and that includes during combat. Beholders use their eye stalk powers efficiently and as cruelly as possible. Making a spell caster cower in its anti-magic beam before being devoured brings the beholder great pleasure. Beholders use a special attack against an opponent that will be most injured by that attack and will attack to kill downed opponents if possible."

 

[designbot]

This is more or less what they did in the 4th edition Monster Manual:

Elf Archer Tactics
An elf archer attacks with his longbow and uses archer’s mobility between attacks. If an enemy engages the elf archer in melee, he uses not so close and moves away on his next turn.

Elf Scout Tactics
An elf scout often tries to fight an opponent in difficult terrain where she can shift but an enemy cannot. She tries to flank opponents to gain combat advantage.

Encounter Groups
Elves are typically encountered with other elves and creatures of the wild.

Level 2 Encounter (XP 625)

• 2 elf archers (level 2 artillery)
• 1 elf scout (level 2 skirmisher)
• 2 gray wolves (level 2 skirmisher)

 

[strider13x]

I can picture the player entitlement now...
"But he's at 1/2 HP and is supposed to run away! You're DMing wrong!"
I would leave tactics in the modules/adventures rather than in the MM.

 

[Fleetwood C. DeVille]

I can picture the player entitlement now...
"But he's at 1/2 HP and is supposed to run away! You're DMing wrong!"
I would leave tactics in the modules/adventures rather than in the MM.

This.

It's bad enough that experienced players know all the monster stats and magic. Give them the Monster Playbook too?

 

[DEFCON 1]

I think a 'Monster Manual Tactics' book would be something that could actually get some play on DM's Guild, were someone to write it.

If you included every single monster in the Monster Manual and gave each of them a bullet-point paragraph of what their standard tactic order would be, I think that's an original-enough product that you might find takers. *Especially* for those monsters that have spells at their disposal-- listing which spells might already be up on the monster prior to the party's arrival, and the order of spells it would cast should it have other creatures available with them to engage the party first.

That could also help the so-called 'Solo monster' issues, if their tactic lists had abilities already up, plus additional tactical options using the terrain and such-- things the DM might not have thought of prior to the group running into it.

Good idea!

 

[Jediking]

I think one or two lines in the statblock would be more than enough to show how to play certain monsters. Traits give a good idea how to play and show the strengths of many monsters: Orcs are Aggressive, Hobgoblins are Martial (Disciplined), Goblins have Nimble Escape (Cowardly), Gnolls attack in Packs.

I am not huge on playing to strict alignment and following a couple letters in the corner of your character sheet, but it can give a good gist of how a creature will act in abnormal situations. If the PCs take a monster hostage, different monsters may react differently. Hobgoblins (LE) may try and parley and strike a deal. Orcs (CE) may rush forward and hack through the new meatshield. Goblins may rush off and leave the captured one without a backwards glance.

Having actions with specific triggers could be useful to new DMs, but sometimes they are already there. A monster with a bow and sword has three simple actions (Sword, Bow, Run). Depending on the other stats involved (Damage, Attack, Movespeed, etc) then the choice becomes more clear. Set actions may inhibit a new DM from playing the monsters as individual monsters and instead treat each one the exact same. I think it's better to struggle a bit and improvise rather than follow the same steps.

 

[designbot]

I think a 'Monster Manual Tactics' book would be something that could actually get some play on DM's Guild, were someone to write it.

I also think this would be great. Someone attempted a project like this on Reddit a while back, but it seems to have petered out.

• Reddit thread
• Pack Tactics example

 

[cmad1977]

Yeah, general suggestions or ideas about behavior would be cool in the modules I think. That way the author can take into account the specific area/attitude of the creatures.
'These creatures should try to use the pillars/pools to their advantage' or 'these creatures are particularly cowardly, and flee after a few casualties. Their allies however are fanatics and fight to the death'

Page count becomes a factor with too much of that though.

 

[Reynard]

Yeah, general suggestions or ideas about behavior would be cool in the modules I think. That way the author can take into account the specific area/attitude of the creatures.
'These creatures should try to use the pillars/pools to their advantage' or 'these creatures are particularly cowardly, and flee after a few casualties. Their allies however are fanatics and fight to the death'

Page count becomes a factor with too much of that though.

It strikes me as odd that would not be a regular feature of a module. I don't use many and most of those are old school (i.e. 1E and B/X D&D) which tend to be bare bones. Do modern adventures not indicate why the goblins are there and what they plan to do once the swords start swinging?

 

[Lehrbuch]

Do modern adventures not indicate why the goblins are there and what they plan to do once the swords start swinging?

Good adventures do.

What would be much more useful in a DMG or MM (probably DMG) would be one or more random tables of strategic goals and tactics. With stuff like "just passing through and will attempt to disengage with minimal casualties" or "defending a nearby breeding ground and will fight to the death" and so forth. Perhaps it is even there already --- I can't recall. The idea being that in a random encounter the DM can quickly make the encounter more interesting and can also use the results as inspiration for what opponents in non-random encounters might be doing.