Playing monsters "smart"

[buzz]

*Mild CotSQ spoiler to follow.*

In the last session of our CotSQ campaign, the PCs were up against a summoned noble salamander. Not expecting this encounter, I just opened up the MM and plowed ahead. It was a pretty easy battle, and one of the players (who plays a slamander in another game) pointed out a bunch of abilities that I'd neglected to use that would have made the encounter more challenging.

Now, it's entirely possible that I simply suck at tactical or analytical thinking. I can't play chess or most strategy games to save my life. There may simply be no hope for me.

Nonetheless, are there any general guidelines people would like to offer on how to play monsters/NPCs "smart"? Barring combat notes in the MM, how does one best assess a creature's stats and determine the best course of action for it to take?

 

[Shade]

It's really more of an art than a science. I usually first look at the monster's mental stats to determine if it would fight tactically or just wade in and beat on things.

I generally look at the monsters supernatural and spell-like abilties first, and then see what it would likely want to start with. In the case of the noble salamander, I'd probably have it start with a fireball at range to assess its opponents' fire resistance, If a monster has "buff" spell-like abilities, and is not immediately threatened by the characters, I usually have it use one of these.

Look at the monsters speed, skills, feats, and reach. Generally, it doesn't make much sense for a monster to move in any closer than its maximum reach; this allows it to possibly gain an attack of opportunity on the opposition later. If it has Tumble ranks, make sure to have it tumble in so as not to draw AoOs. If the monster has Power Attack, I generally have it open with a few points of PA so it can guage its chance of hitting its opponents.

In the case of the noble salamander, I'd have it move within 20 feet of an opponent, and probably Power Attack 3 for the first round of full attack. If it misses with a couple of attacks, I'd cut back; if it hits, I'd raise it to 5 on the following round.

Also, avoid moving intelligent creatures into positions where they can easily be flanked or surrounded. If the monster has a special movement mode like fly or burrow, use it to the monster's advantage.

I hope this helps!

 

[Li Shenron]

It can be pretty tough to play a monster well if it has many abilities. Players should understand that they have much more time to focus on their PC (even if they play more at once) than a DM to consider every monsters options.

As a DM, I confess that I very often "downplay" monsters. It happens that I forget an ability which the monster should have known it was a must to use in a circumstance (but to be honest, I forget the same with my PCs as well...

I don't have guidelines, but you could just write down on a little square of cardboard a short list of KEY actions for the monster, but not all of the possibilities. For instance, in the case of the Salamander the list could be:

• Longspear 3 attacks + tail slap (grab)*
• Constrict if grappling
• Fireball
• Wall of fire
• Summon fire elemental
• Dispel magic (if targetted by a spell)

*can power-attack and cleave

Some obvious options (e.g. flee if seriously damaged) don't need to be on the list to be remembered. Other attacks of the salamander can just be forgotten (Burning Hands, Flame Sphere).

Then you could decide to put yourself numbers on the list items. A Salamander may like to fireball until someone gets close, another may start with the summon.

You may also remove some options from the list just because. E.g. just remove the Wall of Fire if the party isn't very big, as it's almost always best to use a Fireball in that case.

 

[Corsair]

At least you're trying to do better. All too often I read about DMs who seem to go out of their way to play monsters stupid if they have an intelligence less than 10.

 

[Celebrim]

Well, in your defense, its hard to play a creature smart when you aren't prepared for the encounter. Also, its rather unlikely that a single Noble Salamander in and of itself is going to present much of a challenge for a skilled party of more than about 8th level. The reason is that it is a low AC monster, and parties of 8th level or higher can generate a massive ammount of damage on low AC monsters.

In the case of the Noble Salamander, the things that stands out to me as strengths are +25 grapple bonus, constrict, and the high attack bonus combined with power attack. These are the features which are exceptional in a CR 10 opponent.

It's big weaknesses are poor manueverability and low AC. These are the features which are well below average in a CR 10 opponent.

His hitpoints are fairly average, and his spell casting ability is unremarkable.

All this paints a picture for me of a creature with alot of flexibility, but who tends to be overmatched against a specialist no matter what he does. He can't stand up and fight in a slogfest (low AC + unremarkable hitpoints), and he doesn't have enough spellcasting ability to trade blows in a ranged fight, and he's got limited ability to manuever to gain advantage. In other words, this is a creature that very much needs to have a prepared position to defend - and getting summoned into a fight is not all that great.

The way for a Noble Salamander to win is to get the opponent come to him, thereby allowing him to maximize the advantage of his reach (more AoO), his multiple attacks (he wants to take full attack actions), and his ability to nuetralize an opponent with his tail attack/constrict ruetine.

The way for a Noble Salamander to lose is chase a group of opponents, or otherwise get in a situation where he's swapping blow for blow. Note that generally speaking, casting one spell per round although it sounds attractive because the spells are so flashy is probably a way to lose because the PC's party will then be matching thier collective actions against the one action per round of the Salamander.

As a DM, you should always be aware that the advantage of the PC party is that thier combined actions per round and/or combined hitpoints generally exceeds that of any group of foes that they are facing. The way to make a fight tough on the PC's is to neutralize those advantages, by 'stealing' actions from the PC's or 'stealing' hit points from the PC's. In the first case, you want to get the PC's to waste actions doing things that don't take hitpoints from the monster, and in the second case you want to place the PC's in a position where they are all threatened by continious damage.

The noble salamander has several options for each. In the case of getting the PC's to waste actions, he's got a reach weapon. If he can 'trip' PC's as they move through his threatened area, or playing it safer if he can just take advantage of those AoO to just gain an extra 'virtual' round or two, then he's doing good. Also, if he can get the PC's to come to him, then he can match his full attack action versus the PC's standard actions or (better yet) charge attacks. The other nifty thing he can do is grapple an opponent, nuetralizing that opponents ability to act. The best situation for a grapple is either a) isolating a single PC, who will then likely be helpless against a grapple attack, or b) grappling a low strength/small PC and then taking a -20 on his grapple check (it would still be +5) in succeeding rounds forcing the PC to spend at least a round trying to escape and with bad rolls several rounds, while the salamander doesn't have to waste any actions.

In the case of stealing hit points from the PC, he's got several area of effect spells. However, evocation is generally a weak attack in 3rd edition. Although it is tempting to lauch fireballs at the party, this is only an effective strategy if the PC's have decided to pull back and try to force the salamander to come to them. In this case, the Salamander should first try to use Wall of Fire to gain cover - because even trading fireballs with the PC's spell attacks + ranged weapon attacks is a losing proposition. Once the Salamander gains Wall of Fire as cover, he can then summon a Huge Fire elemental or additional walls of Fire as further cover. This should force the Party to change tactics, back to a tactical situation that Favors the Salamander. The Salamander should only launch waves of fireballs if the PC party is unable to concentrate their actions on the Salamander (such as if they all are forced to deal with the elemental). Keep very much in mind that the Salamander is capable of fireballing his own position with no harm, and if he has oppurtunity to fight in a static position he'd very much prefer to prepare that position by positioning a wall of fire close behind him, forcing anyone engaged in melee with him to take continious damage.

Remember what I said about the Salamander needing a prepared position? If he can start the fight with a wall of fire behind him and a greater fire elemental in front of him, he's a darn tough CR 10 opponent. Add in a bit of treasure which improves his AC and a few minions, and he can make a very memorable foe. Without those advantages though, he's got a problem, and he probably can't afford to give the PC's two full rounds while he prepares his position. Depending on the shape of the room and whether he's got some space between him and the PC's, it may be worth it though to make his first action summoning up the elemental and hiding behind it as cover. Since it's huge, he may well be able to gain complete cover on the PC's. Even if this didn't occur to you, the fact that Monster Summoning VII is a 7th level spell normally available only to 13th level Wizards (CR 13) is something that you should notice.

Lastly, if the Party loses line of sight on the Salamander for some length of time, don't forget that the Salamander is pretty good at hiding for a CR 10 creature, and can set a new ambush to gain ('steal') a surprise round from an unwary party.

It would be very hard to come up with an easy answer to your question. I don't really know how good my disection of the Noble Salamander is, but I think its pretty decent. I'm known as a very harsh DM, so I think I'm probably pretty good at getting the most out of my monsters. Hopefully, by listening to me disect the Salamander, you've gotten some indication of what you should be looking for in the monsters description that tells you how to use that monster to its utmost.

 

[buzz]

This is all great advice. Thanks! Celebrim, your analysis of the salamander is spot-on, based on my salamander-loving buddy's similar assessment.

 

[Celebrim]

Ok, several people got a chance to comment before I finished. Some comments on the comments.

Wall of Fire vs. Fireball: Generally speaking, cast Wall of Fire. Even if you don't know why you are casting the higher level spell, you are usually better off casting the higher level spell. There is usually a reason that it is higher level. First, as a direct attack, Wall of Fire is going to be a better attack against an average PC party. The fireball will do 10d6, average 35 damage. The Wall of Fire will do 2d6+15 damage, average 22 damage BUT (and this is a big BUT), the fireball offers a saving throw and the wall of fire doesn't. I would expect the majority of the party to make a DC 14 save, and I'd expect anyone with evasion to take no damage. Furthermore, remember what I said about stealing actions and hit points from the party? So long as the wall of fire stays up, its like getting extra attacks on the party. Even if everyone in the party is only forced to take an addition 1d4 damage per round (with no save) its like getting an extra attack every round for the duration of the fight.

In this case, there is also a hidden tactical advantage to wall of fire. Remember that the noble salamander's basic strategy is going to be force my opponnent to come to me. If the Salamander casts a Wall, he's got something to hide behind (or even within depending on the shape of the room). Behind the Wall, he can't be seen. This forces his opponents to use actions coming to him, and gives him time to prepare himself.

Power Attack: Generally speaking, power attack when you have a clear advantage. Because pouring power attack into your two-handed weapon is a pretty good trade off, having power attack strongly encourages you to pick on low ac foes first - hopefully taking them out of the fight and hopefully letting you take advantage of that cleave ability. Don't power attack too heavily against an armored foe, because that potentially steals actions from the monster - there is a greater chance the entire action will be wasted.

 

[Eccles]

CotSQ has a lot of villains who ought to be played smart. Drow are intelligent villains, and their long term plan is a cunning one. There are other monsters, including relatively bright undead and demons in the campaign.

I ran it for a long while, and seriously challenged my players. Deaths weren't uncommon. If you run the game really 'smart', then your players are going to be up for a long hard campaign.

Which just makes the victory at the end all the better!

 

[Alebrije]

Nonetheless, are there any general guidelines people would like to offer on how to play monsters/NPCs "smart"? Barring combat notes in the MM, how does one best assess a creature's stats and determine the best course of action for it to take?[/QUOTE]

Buzz if this helps, theres a bestiary of the Kingdoms of kalamar setting thats has some tactics on running monsters, its a great book

 

[Celebrim]

Cool.

Ok, let's move on to an even harder tactical problem. Suppose the Noble Salamander summons the Huge Fire Elemental. What's the proper way to play the Elemental?

The elemental is a hard monster to run well, because its got two competing exceptional abilities that it wants to take advantage of - speed and reach. Speed encourages you to keep well away. Reach encourages you to stay relatively close. You'll have to blend these into a good balance. Used well, they'll complement each other.

As far as advantages go, the first thing you should notice is that elemental is a combat brute for a CR 7 creature. In fact, CR 7 might be a tad light in its estimation (its probably closer to CR 8). It's list of combat advantages is enormous: DEX 25 + combat reflexes, speed 60 + spring attack, +11 bonus to initiative, average 44 points of damage + sets target on fire from a full attack, and DR 5/- + good hit points. It can take and give a beating, and I can easily see it overwhelming a party of 7th level characters in quite a few circumstances.

As far as disadvantages go, its only got two. It's got very low AC and its got absolutely no ranged attack. That last one cannot be overemphasised. Fast and brutal as it is, if it can't close with the party it loses. Fortunately, unless the party is just maxed out in ranged capabilities, that DR -/5 is going to be a huge advantage.

Note something here. It's got a +24 grapple bonus, and you might be attracted by that because I mentioned it as an advantage of the Salamander, but note that that is because the Salamander has improved grab + constrict and low manueverability. The Fire Elemental except in rare cases does not want to lose its manueverability advantages or dexterity advantage by taking the time to grapple something.

Where the Salamander is interested in controlling the ground that the fight takes place on, forcing his opponents to fight where he wants them, the Fire Elemental pretty much could care less about the particular ground that the fight is on (unless its water or something). The Fire Elemental wants to control the distance between himself and the party. In since, both the Salamander and the Fire Elemental share the desire to be chased by thier foes, but whereas the Salamander would prefer to not to have to move in order to acheive this goal, the Fire Elemental is happiest running around. If the party 'gets away' the fire Elemental cannot do anything about the parties ranged attacks. If the party gets too close, the Fire Elemental is going to lose its advantage from reach - It's a AoO generating machine with Combat Reflexes + 25 DEX, and ideally wants to get an AoO on everyone in the party every round.

Each round, the Fire Elemental should try to position itself such that it maximizes the ratio of attacks its going to get to make versus the number of attacks its opponents are going to get to make. Even though its full attack action does twice the damage of its regular attack, it should never stand and fight against a single foe. Standing and fighting against a single foe carries the risk that it will be the object of multiple full attack actions in succeeding rounds, and lose all or most of its AoO chances. So each round, the Fire Elemental should choose one target which can spring in on and attack, and then back out after finishing the attack to a position which ideally allows it to reach any spell casters or ranged attackers, but which forces melee attackers to move through its threatened area and to take move actions in order to attack. The best position is therefore one about 10' away from a ranged attacker (5' step is still in range), but about 15-20' from a melee attacker. Since you can take 12 5' steps with each move action, you should be able to find such a position that you can reach witout drawing an AoO while getting there. Remember ranged attackers don't have threatened areas.

If the party stays clumped, the average round for the Fire Elemental would be to attack someone and then circle all the way around to the back of the party after the attack. The party will shift around, and then so will the Elemental.

If the party has got strong ranged attacks and spreads out so that you can't get alot of AoO, things get harder. The best you can hope for is to pick on one weak party member, and hope that it forces the party to come to thier aid. Your DR gives you alot of staying power, and one PC's hit points just might not hold out. You really don't want to let the party move back far enough that you're forced to charge an opponent at some point, so the ideal situation is to fight in a rather large room (say 60' x 60' or maybe a little bigger) rather than a small room you can get pinned in or an open space that's too big to control fully. A flying foe is just enormously bad for a fire elemental. Low ceilings please.