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Message: <blockquote data-quote="grodog" data-source="post: 5866516" data-attributes="member: 1613">In my experience, that's going to vary by:- how careful the PCs are in approaching the dungeon, including if they have been loud/obvious in their approach, taken the same approach repeatedly, left an obvious trail, and/or have been very successful (either from the POV of town-based threats, because PCs have come back rich!, or from the POV of dungeon-based threats, because the PCs have wreaked major havoc)- how smart the monsters rolled (presumably WM) are---this is based on their Int, and to a lesser degree, their alignment (since lawful/organized monsters are more likely to have sentries, set spies/traps, etc.) and/or demeanor/nature (are they vengeful, unable to survive in sunlight, etc.)- how careful the PCs are in navigating the dungeon (similar to the first Q about approaching the dungeon, but from the POV of its inhabitants):  are PCs moving through the areas methodically, or willy-nilly; are they loud/noisy (spiking doors, lots of battles in hallways, etc.); what light sources are they using (continual light and bullseye lanters are wonderful, but negate the PCs' chances to surprise enemies and are visible from FAR away....); etc.- how careful the PCs are in encounters:  have many monsters survived battle with the PCs (if so, smart/organized ones will learn between battles), have the PCs dropped unintended hints about their goals/identities/etc. (names shouted out in battle, wearing obvious heraldry/holy symbols/etc., questions asked of monsters, etc.)The two articles I mentioned in WD38 offer some excellent advice around these Qs, KZ.  They're entitled "Monsters Have Feelings Too:  How to Get the Most from Your Monsters" by Oliver MacDonald, and "Extracts from the Uruk-Hai Battle Manual" by Graeme Davis (WD38, Feb 1983).  Worth digging up, if you're able. Glad to hear it <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

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