D&D 5E [POLL] Your experience running monsters

[Sacrosanct]

There have been multiple threads on monster design, and I don't want to rehash that here. If you can't refrain from insulting the designers or players who do it differently, then this thread isn't for you. I want to be very clear on that.

Instead, what I'd like to discuss, is to capture how people are using the monsters in their games. There are different styles of play, and I believe that if something isn't working for us, there may be some best practices shared from someone else, on how they do things. For example, if I'm finding that goblins just aren't doing what I'd expect, perhaps the way someone else runs them may give me some insight, and I can use their ideas.

Please choose the option that best fits you, and if you do modifications from RAW, what do you do?

*Edit* Since the poll questions are limited in characters, let me expand the options:

1. I run them as RAW, mostly the statblock, and have no issues at all
2. I run them RAW, using the entire entry including flavor text and statblock, and have no issues at all. Your monster behavior in the encounter is both using the RAW stats, and you use the RAW flavor text to help design the encounter and drive the monster's behavior.
3. I focus on the role-playing part (motivations, tactics, intelligence, flavor text) to boost their impact. The flavor text part is more important. You focus on the behavior and motivations of the monster, along with the environment, any allies, etc. The stats are just there to resolve the mechanical bits, but the encounter is very much not like game pieces on a board. Monsters/NPCs may set traps, use tools, the environment, flee, beg, or do dastardly things (the iconic hostage situation in order to force PCs into difficult positions)
4. I focus on the mechanical part (increase stats, give extra abilities) to boost their impact. The mechanics are what resolve most of the issues. In order for a monster to feel threatening, it has to mechanically have staying power and be a threat. Not too worried about the flavor text or intelligence. Prefer battles to be tactically grid based.
5. I increase the statblocks, give items (even magical), and spend time outlining the flavor text impacts (tactics, minions, planning, etc). Basically really boost everything. Not only do a major boost to statblocks, and give extra abilities, and even give extra equipment, but spending the time to plan out all of their motivations, minions, the environment, and how the opponent is feeling during the encounter. Boosting both stats and treating each monsters like a living breathing creature

 

[JonnyP71]

Hard to pick my exact choice in the poll.

If there is a small group of them, I tend towards the norm - roll hitpoints, or choose them based on whether or not I want the specimen to be tougher or weaker than normal.

But if it is a living, breathing lair (eg Goblins), I will give some of them names, personalities, often change weapons (a cook with a skillet, a smith with a hammer, etc), change armour, make a few stronger individuals, a few weaker ones - just to make the lair feel more authentic.

I don't bother adjusting CR or XP values though, they stay as per normal. It tends to average out of the course of the whole lair.

Also I never, ever, ever use those desperately dull averages for hitpoints and damage. If the pages of the MM were white I would have used Tipp-Ex to erase them, such is my feeling towards them.

 

[Sacrosanct]

For my answer, I selected #3. I'm pretty experienced (playing since 1981) and so are most of my players. RAW is probably really good for the newer player, or those players who are casual and don't really get caught up in optimizing or even care one whit about it. Personally, I think that's most players.

Since I am mostly the DM, I don't get a chance to play PCs often. So as the DM, the monsters and NPCs ARE my PCs. So I like to play them as if they were living beings with appropriate intelligence, motivations, in an environment that is fully intractable. I have found that by doing so, the majority of the time I don't need to tweak stat blocks at all. How does that look?

* a pack of wolves will use hit and run and harassing attacks, always staying out of reach and only coming in to attack the weakest looking PC when the opportunity presents itself. They make it extremely difficult for the party to get in short and long rests, because they are constantly being harassed. And when you start making it harder for rests, the overall challenge of the game significantly increases.

* intelligent evil monsters will play the PC's heroism as their weakness. A dragon who knows it might not win in a grid based battle will leave and start torching villages, forcing the PCs to come on its terms. Or they will strafe during the darkness, where darkvision doesn't have the range to see it coming before it torches you. Again, ruining long rests. If I do add abilities, I'll follow the DMG guidelines and add some casting levels. A dragon with counterspell will wreck the PC's day.

* monsters in lairs will have the lair set up with traps and other things to make life difficult for the PCs. Intelligent lair monsters will have minions, and spies, and thus will know most everything about the PCs before they ever get there and can plan accordingly

* monsters in dungeons/castles don't go on pause when the PCs want. They are living creatures, and if they find out their dungeon has been infiltrated, they will search for the party. They will not just stay in their room waiting for the party to come to them.

 

[Charlaquin]

I don’t really understand some of the options in this poll. What does it mean to “focus on the role playing/mechanics to increase their impact?”

I use most monster’s stat blocks more or less as-written, but I will tweak them slightly from time to time. The monster flavor text I use for ideas, but will alter how I play the monsters to suit the needs of my settings.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I don’t really understand some of the options in this poll. What does it mean to “focus on the role playing/mechanics to increase their impact?”

I use most monster’s stat blocks more or less as-written, but I will tweak them slightly from time to time. The monster flavor text I use for ideas, but will alter how I play the monsters to suit the needs of my settings.

Then it sounds like you are option 2. What it means by "increase their impact" is that RAW, you find them significantly lacking as a challenge for one reason or the other, so you make a focus on boosting those (like doubling HP, or maxing HP, or increasing damage, or giving abilities, or really focusing on the tactical/planning/intelligence of the monster to make them more effective in battle. That RAW just doesn't do it in most cases.

 

[Satyrn]

Then it sounds like you are option 2. What it means by "increase their impact" is that RAW, you find them significantly lacking as a challenge for one reason or the other, so you make a focus on boosting those (like doubling HP, or maxing HP, or increasing damage, or giving abilities, or really focusing on the tactical/planning/intelligence of the monster to make them more effective in battle. That RAW just doesn't do it in most cases.

Hmm, when I focus on the "tactical/planning/intelligence of the monster" they wind up acting like the Trailer Park Boys.

 

[ccs]

Mostly #1 I guess?

At least that's where I start. Then I'll change things as I need.

 

[Wiseblood]

2 but or and 1,3,4,5 also 6 mostly I flip through the book and say hmmm that looks interesting. Can I use it?

 

[Rhenny]

I do all of the options at various times, but overall, I try to rp to make them more than just stats.

Sometimes I modify their abilities or max hp for special individuals.

 

[Wulffolk]

I definitely focus on the RP.

When I don't RP creatures I feel like I am cheating the players of a whole dimension of their experience. If I were to play them as nothing more than straight stat-blocks then I might as well just scatter bags of XP around a dungeon and tell players how much damage they take when they pick it up.