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<blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 9414590" data-attributes="member: 50987">For monsters of average intelligence, I take my cue from the players.&nbsp; Intelligent monsters will focus-fire on spellcasters, avoid dangerous melee situations, double-tap downed opponents, loot items off of downed characters in mid-combat, etc.&nbsp; They never flee or surrender, either, no matter how intelligent they are...they always fight to the death for some reason.&nbsp; In short: they act just like the player characters.Monsters of incredible intelligence and cunning (devils, dragons, and the like) will do all that and more: they never take risks, never underestimate the party, and never let their opponents have advantage on anything if they can help it.&nbsp; They set ambushes, they stalk the party for days from a great distance and then attack them when they're vulnerable (wounded from another fight, for example), that sort of thing.&nbsp; As soon as these monsters take any damage at all, they flee--hoping to kite one or two members of the party away from the safety of the group, but otherwise healing up and getting ready to try again in an hour when the party stops to rest again.&nbsp; And possibly with reinforcements.&nbsp; They are nasty and persistent.Unintelligent monsters, like beasts and certain monstrosities, will fight like wild animals.&nbsp; They target the smaller, weaker, or most wounded member of the party, and fight until they lose about half their hit points, then flee in search of easier prey (unless they're driven by extreme hunger, or magically compelled to keep fighting.)&nbsp; They might also be frightened away by loud noises, scary-looking illusions, and bright lights.&nbsp; The party gets full XP for defeating them even if they flee, and since these monsters don't typically carry treasure, the players are generally cool with it.Mindless monsters, like oozes and zombies, will usually zero in on a single target, even crossing flames to get to their foe.&nbsp; They'll attack one character over and over again, swallowing or dragging it away if they manage to knock it unconscious.&nbsp; They won't stop, or flee, or even change targets without some serious convincing.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CleverNickName, post: 9414590, member: 50987"] For monsters of average intelligence, I take my cue from the players. Intelligent monsters will focus-fire on spellcasters, avoid dangerous melee situations, double-tap downed opponents, loot items off of downed characters in mid-combat, etc. They never flee or surrender, either, no matter how intelligent they are...they always fight to the death for some reason. In short: they act just like the player characters. Monsters of incredible intelligence and cunning (devils, dragons, and the like) will do all that and more: they never take risks, never underestimate the party, and never let their opponents have advantage on anything if they can help it. They set ambushes, they stalk the party for days from a great distance and then attack them when they're vulnerable (wounded from another fight, for example), that sort of thing. As soon as these monsters take any damage at all, they flee--hoping to kite one or two members of the party away from the safety of the group, but otherwise healing up and getting ready to try again in an hour when the party stops to rest again. And possibly with reinforcements. They are nasty and persistent. Unintelligent monsters, like beasts and certain monstrosities, will fight like wild animals. They target the smaller, weaker, or most wounded member of the party, and fight until they lose about half their hit points, then flee in search of easier prey (unless they're driven by extreme hunger, or magically compelled to keep fighting.) They might also be frightened away by loud noises, scary-looking illusions, and bright lights. The party gets full XP for defeating them even if they flee, and since these monsters don't typically carry treasure, the players are generally cool with it. Mindless monsters, like oozes and zombies, will usually zero in on a single target, even crossing flames to get to their foe. They'll attack one character over and over again, swallowing or dragging it away if they manage to knock it unconscious. They won't stop, or flee, or even change targets without some serious convincing. [/QUOTE]

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