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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 5750489" data-attributes="member: 22779">Absolutely.If I'm using bog standard D&D zombies, they shouldn't be doing anything more complicated than rushing en masse.  If my zombies are avoiding AOO's, setting up flanking, using complex tactics, falling back and that sort of thing, I would freely expect my players to be pretty annoyed with me.If I'm playing a dragon with an Int and Wis in the stratosphere, then my combats are going to be chosen in highly advantageous locations, my spell selection will reflect my strengths and weaknesses and you can be damn sure that that dragon is going to use every trick I can think of.Orcs?  Well, an orc isn't the sharpest stick around, but, it's considerably smarter than a wolf, so, anything a pack carnivore could do, I would have no problems with letting an orc do.  OTOH, those orcs generally aren't going to have very complex tactics like fall back plans, rendevous points for regrouping, weapon caches set up for resupply and that sort of thing.  Their tactics are going to be pretty straight forward.  Nothing fancy.So on and so forth.  Heck, if I wanted to obliterate parties every session, that's ludicrously easy.  If I actually started playing every encounter to the best of my ability rather than what I think is reasonable for the monster, I'd kill PC's just about every time.  After all, I don't care if this orc or that orc sacrifices himself if I manage to kill that PC.  That's a mark in the win column for me.But, I certainly don't play that way.  It's completely breaking suspension of disbelief and way more antagonistic than I choose.As for what metric to follow, how about "This is what I believe to be a reasonable portrayal of the creature in question.  Does this break the fourth wall for anyone at the table?  Nope?  Then I nailed it."Note, as I've mentioned many, many times, its making the effort that counts.  That I don't succeed every time is a given.  But, I do try and I expect anyone I play with to make the effort as well.  -----------Funnily enough The Shaman, you actually come down on my side of the fence in the end.  As you say, characters have "Secrets" in your game which you expect them to portray.  If stats on the character sheet didn't matter, then why do these?What's the difference?--------------What really surprises me about all this is that this is such a contentious concept.  I would have thought, "Play the character that you made" would be about as reasonable as "Don't be a dick" or "Don't railroad as a DM".  It's pretty basic roleplay AFAIC.  If you don't want to play the character that you made, why did you make THAT character?</blockquote>

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