Question for DMs: How smart do you play your monsters?

[draquila]

If you are a DM, how often do your creatures use skills like

• charge
• grab
• aid another
• ready/delay action
• flank
• focus fire on the controller instead of the defender
• etc?

Are creatures assumed to be able to use these skills or are they meant to be available only to players?

I guess the most RP consistent answer is to play depending on the INT score of the monster and common sense (so goblins might be smart enough to ready an action or aid each other, while a rat swarm probably won't be).

Do the XP values of monsters take into account how intelligently they are played? Because it seems to me the natural behaviour of most creatures would be vastly different in difficulty to the same creatures under the control of a master tactician.

 

[OnlineDM]

It depends on three things for me:

• What I think the monster would do if it were real (intelligence, common sense)
• Whether the battle is too easy or too hard for the party
• What would be the most fun

The first point is pretty common. Mindless monsters like zombies probably just go after the closest PC to them, or maybe whichever PC hit them most recently. Brilliant monsters/NPCs are far more likely to use tactics, luring PCs into disadvantageous positions, readying actions, etc. (And yes, grabbing, readying, aiding, etc. are available to monsters - I just wouldn't use it with all monsters).

The second point is probably more controversial, but if the monsters are fighting very intelligently and the PCs are getting slaughtered, I might dial down the bad guys' tactics a notch or two. I won't have them do anything blatantly out of character in terms of stupidity, but I might not go for the most optimal choice, perhaps the most obvious one. It's a little harder to have dumb monsters suddenly fight smarter, but it might be possible to come up with a plausible explanation (a leader arrives and directs the battle tactics perhaps).

The third one is the most important. An example: I recently ran my online party though a Living Forgotten Realms adventure (WATE1-1 Heirloom), which has as its final battle an encounter in a room in an inn. The PCs are coming from the hallway, and the bad guys are ensconced in the room. The bad guys include a pair of guard drakes, who start out blocking the door (they're guard drakes - they guard). Doing this made it impossible for the PCs to do much until they defeated the drakes, and a 2-square wide hallway didn't leave much room for the melee attackers to do anything at all (this was a party of eight players).

So, even though it wasn't the tactically smart thing to do and probably not what the guard drakes' master would have told them to do, I had the drakes shift back a square to let the PCs into the room. The battle was way more fun and interesting that way. You could argue (I would) that this was an encounter design problem, but in a published module I felt stuck with it (oops on me). So, I had the monsters fight a little bit stupidly in order to make the battle way more fun (for me and for the players), and I'm glad I did.

 

[Lancelot]

• Charge: always
• Grab: rarely (maybe once every 12 sessions... unless the monster has a specific power or ability that utilizes grab)
• Aid Other: never
• Delay: never
• Ready Action: rarely (only if it's unable to perform any other action; e.g. restrained, immobilized)
• Flank: frequently, unless the monster is relatively unintelligent - in which case I try to model it's lack of intelligence by choosing suboptimal combat tactics
• Focus Fire: sometimes; perhaps every other encounter
• Coup de Grace: rarely (perhaps once every 8 sessions); however, I use the threat of the Coup more frequently, to make the players nervous
• Bullrush: sometimes, when a narrow passage is log-jammed, or there's a chance of knocking a PC off a cliff

There's nothing in rules-as-written to prevent monsters from using these tactics. A good DM should use at least some of them to keep things interesting.

However, I think you can take it too far. I've played with one DM who makes tactically optimal decisions for most of his creatures (whether they be "stupid" troglodytes or "cunning" hobgobilns). I'm less concerned with suspension of disbelief than I am with speed of combat. All DMs are human - it takes a little time to process what is the most tactically sound option for all those creatures you're controlling. I find it's better to just make snap decisions. Don't always work out the optimal flank, don't always choose the movement route that won't provoke attacks of opportunity, don't always use ready actions. This has several benefits:

1. It'll come as more of a surprise when you do use optimal tactics for an encounter.
2. It more easily differentiates the truly smart creatures.
3. It gives the players more of a chance to enjoy the game. I've seen some frustrating situations where PCs are effectively kept out of the combat for multiple rounds because creatures keep tag-teaming them the second they get healed up from unconscious. Is this tactically smart? Yes. Is it frustrating to the player? Hell yes. Especially when they know that the DM won't hesitate to drop a Coup if they leave the unconscious PC on the ground.
4. ...and the #1 benefit: it speeds up combat. Most of the time, the best thing you can do as a DM is just move the monsters towards the nearest PC and swing. Just because you're running 6 monsters against every other player's 1 PC, doesn't mean that your "turn" should be 6 times longer than theirs.

It would be nice if the XP values reflected tactics, but it rarely plays out that way (unless the DM intentionally acknowledges it). Something to think about, though - good suggestion.

 

[Aegeri]

I assign monsters a leadership score, this determines how smart they fight in combat and unintelligent creatures can substitute the leadership score of other creatures if commanded (Zombies use a necromances leadership for example).

charge

Quite often, given this is basically a rapid shuffle, scuttle or whatever towards whatever is attacking them. The +1 is nice as well.

grab

Monsters that like grabbing frequently do, but generally not for regular mooks.

aid another

Basically never, though sometimes this is what minions will do.

ready/delay action

Very high leadership creatures will do this, often to avoid conditions that are save ends they have a good chance of shrugging off or similar.

flank

Most creatures have sufficient intelligence to flank, unless they are utterly unintelligent.

focus fire on the controller instead of the defender

Depends on the leadership, but intelligent monsters do not bother attacking brick walls ineffectively. A zombie nearly always attacks whoever hit it last as an example, while a Molydeus or a devil will correctly realize sticking the sharp pointy thing in the squishier guy is better in the long run.

 

[Festivus]

It depends on three things for me:

• What I think the monster would do if it were real (intelligence, common sense)
• Whether the battle is too easy or too hard for the party
• What would be the most fun

Almost the same list as yours, but I switch them around a bit.

• What do I think the monster would do based on intelligence, wisdom, terrain, social situation, etc
• What would be the most fun/unexpected thing to happen
• If things are too easy/hard

If there is a jumping spider who has built a web beneath an overhang, it might try to knock prey into the webbing with a bull rush.

If there are a bunch of kobolds, I would probably have the minions work to hold down an enemy while the striker or soldiers came up to split it's skull open.

 

[FireLance]

Fairly often:
- charge
- flank
These are fairly basic and (IMO) obvious tactics that almost all monsters would have the sense or the instincts to take advantage of. If a monster has no other way to attack a PC except by charging, it charges. If a monster can move into position to flank before attacking, it does so.

Seldom:
- grab
- aid another
- ready/delay action
These are seldom used simply because grabbing and aiding another are seldom better options than even a monster's basic attack, and delaying or readying is seldom better than just taking its turn when it comes up.

Situational:
- focus fire on the controller instead of the defender
- etc
Here, my general rule of thumb is: what is the most fun yet plausible things for the monster to do. A controller who has not been very effective is unlikely to attract attention from a monster marked by the defender. However, if the controller has just used a daily that killed or incapacitated half the monster's allies, and the controller's player is basically daring the monster to attack him, it just might!

 

[Jhaelen]

If you are a DM, how often do your creatures use skills like

• charge
• grab
• aid another
• ready/delay action
• flank
• focus fire on the controller instead of the defender
• etc?

I'm using all of them, but rarely right from the start, unless they're very intelligent, well-trained, and/or know how capable the pcs are.
Monsters are more likely to use one of these options if they have an ability (or are accompanied by a leader granting it) that grants a bonus or a special attack depending on the special action. This is because it indicates that it's the prefered attack mode for them.

I guess the most RP consistent answer is to play depending on the INT score of the monster and common sense (so goblins might be smart enough to ready an action or aid each other, while a rat swarm probably won't be).

See above. Intelligence is a good indicator but it's not everything. E.g. wolves hunt in packs. Surrounding their prey (i.e. flanking) is instinctual behaviour for them.

I don't think superior tactics have to be reflected by increasing xp. However, I'm not handing out xp, anyway. I just use them to determine encounter levels. And I don't think tactics will change an encounter's level.

Would you consider adjusting xp because the player have been playing unusually smart or stupid? I wouldn't.

 

[Jack99]

[*]charge

All the time, multiple times per combat.

[*]grab

Sometimes, especially if a caster is trying to shift away constantly to cast ranged spells.

[*]aid another

Never, my minions are more effective attacking

[*]ready/delay action

Mostly boss mobs, but normal monsters do it occasionally, if I get a good idea.

[*]flank

All the time, as long as they have a certain amount of intelligence

[*]focus fire on the controller instead of the defender

Not so much on the controller, but the leaders - ouchie!! Especially the cleric is often the target of focus fire. If there is a very intelligent NPC/monster, from the beginning, if not, then certainly later when he has shown the power of his healing.

Are creatures assumed to be able to use these skills or are they meant to be available only to players?

To all, of course.

I guess the most RP consistent answer is to play depending on the INT score of the monster and common sense (so goblins might be smart enough to ready an action or aid each other, while a rat swarm probably won't be).

Something like that..

Do the XP values of monsters take into account how intelligently they are played? Because it seems to me the natural behaviour of most creatures would be vastly different in difficulty to the same creatures under the control of a master tactician.

No and yes. That's just the way the game works. However, nothing stops you from giving some bonus exp if the fight was very hard, or giving less, if the fight was very easy, because the monsters were dumb. When I was still using xp, I just figured it would balance out in the long run.

 

[webrunner]

An example I had recently was two orcs who had spitting drakes on leashes.. the orcs would order the drakes around, but the drakes wouldn't always understand, sometimes doing stupid things like taking opportunity attacks. In response, the orcs would pull them by the chain to dicipline them.

One of the party members tried to calm down one of the drakes after the orc died and i said, if you can roll nature higher than this (and it was high but possible) they could get control o the drake..

natural 20.

 

[Mengu]

My monsters will use every dirty trick in the book, if the situation warrants it.
Charge - often
Grab - almost never
Aid - sometimes minions do this.
Delay - sometimes, usually beginning of encounter.
Ready - sometimes, more likely early encounter, but also to wait for flanks.
Flank - very often
Focus Fire - usually, what character is focused depends more on placement than role.
coup de grace - once in 8 levels
Bullrush - rarely, if the terrain asks for it, and I for some reason haven't given the monsters a push attack.