D&D 5E Ten little things my players hate the most. But I use as much as possible in 5ed.

[werecorpse]

Ok, here are my answers to what you asked.

1) The grab manoeuver will be used to manoeuver a PC out of formation. Example: PCs are in a 10' corridor. The two tanks are blocking the way so that only one giant is able to attack. Perfect tactic from the group. The giant will grab the pc, turn and drop him behind him. Now the PC might give advantage to his buddy. But the giants are in advantage to attack him too. The same goes for hobgoblins, orcs and many other monsters. Even owl bears can do that.

Aah now I understand, you play the flanking gives advantage DMG variant. We don't.

 

[Helldritch]

We use almost every variant in the book including facing.

And even without the variant, the manoeuver is useful as now, two giants can fight where only one could.

 

[Rya.Reisender]

I always play smart monsters smart and dumb monsters like a state machine. Generally I don't make encounters harder as in the APs, so generally that means they are pretty easy, so I can usually give me all, trying to kill them and they still win.

Though one thing I particularly play dumb is that I make the attacks more spread out on the different party members. Not all will attack the weakest party member until its dead. Some may launch ranged attacks at the wizard too. That is because I don't want to make someone feel left out because he has to spend most of the playing time being unconscious. I also don't make enemies attack unconscious targets unless all party members are unconscious or it's in the nature of the enemy (wild creatures hunting for food mostly).

Edit: By the way, playing smart as DM is a very good way to teach players new tactics. You really should do it.

My concern over monsters attacking in the night is mainly that I don't want to TPK my party, and interrupting their (system mandated, basically) rest makes that more likely.

If my players rest and are basically at the brink of death already, I don't ambush them, but if they take a long rest and are still half filled with HP and spell slots and probably didn't even do 6 battles for the day yet, then it works quite well as a "punishment".

 

[Horwath]

[MENTION=6813788]sim-h[/MENTION]
Yep, the move shoot and take cover can be countered by the players readying and action. Then, it will go as it did in my game last night.

Player: this. I ready an action to shoot the first one that shows its ugly head. One arrow in its ugly face will do it.

Me: (roll a dice) Ok, As the hobgoblins are dodging again, one of them notice that the ranger is steadying his arrows. He shouts something.

Player: What did he say?
Me: Ho yeah, forgot you spoke goblin. He said something like: Waiter.
Player: Waiter?
Me: Yep. Waiter.
Player: What does that mean in goblin?
Me: Just about the same thing as in common. Waiter. Unless hobgoblins have an other meaning for it that you are not aware.
Round continues. Round end.

Player: Hey! They did not come out of hiding?
Me: No, there's a waiter for them, said I with an evil grin.
Player: Not funny... Ok I shoot the dodger on the left. (a miss)
Me: The hobgoblin shouts something that sounds like: SAFE SHOT!
Player: I hate you...

This is how we do it.

Now the ranger just has to gouge the DPS lost from him vs. DPS of how many goblins are afraid to peek around the corner to shoot. If the ranger is in plus, then his doing nothing is working for the party.

 

[UselessTriviaMan]

I was mostly thinking of monsters, rather than animals. Goblins and Kobolds aren't really smart enough for something like this.

In my campaign, kobolds are very much smart enough to use good tactics. There's a reason why their section of the Dungeon is called the F. U. Gauntlet (FUG, for short) by the Delver's Guild.

 

[Herobizkit]

Just wondering how word can get around if the Party leaves no survivors?

It's actually been a running joke in my home campaign that the players always let one foe get away/knock one unconscious just so he can live to tell the tale. ^_^

 

[Helldritch]

If my players rest and are basically at the brink of death already, I don't ambush them, but if they take a long rest and are still half filled with HP and spell slots and probably didn't even do 6 battles for the day yet, then it works quite well as a "punishment".

This is exactly what I do. I hate the 5mwd with a passion. I prefer long and harduous exploration days with varied encounters. Some will be for laugh, other will be deadly and most will be between those two extremes.

 

[Lord Twig]

This is how we do it.

Now the ranger just has to gouge the DPS lost from him vs. DPS of how many goblins are afraid to peek around the corner to shoot. If the ranger is in plus, then his doing nothing is working for the party.

Exactly this.

My group would look at a bunch of dodging hobgoblins with archers hiding behind rocks and see that there is no incoming damage. They will happily attack at Disadvantage for a few extra rounds if they take no damage in the process. They might even encourage it by having a couple archers covering the ranged hobgoblins. With one designated to shoot the first one that comes out and the other taking the next one.

The question then becomes, how long are the hobgoblin dodgers going to let themselves be beat on before they call their archer buddies back into the battle?

 

[Beleriphon]

Sometimes, when an NPC is particularly hated, he is defeated by the players and for some reason, the memory of that vilain stick. There is nothing better than to have the vilain resurected and come back to haunt the players. " You may have won a victory but I will kill you in the end, worms!"
[/INDENT]

Bonus points if the villain is an undead abomination and turns into a giant snake.

 

[Helldritch]

Exactly this.

My group would look at a bunch of dodging hobgoblins with archers hiding behind rocks and see that there is no incoming damage. They will happily attack at Disadvantage for a few extra rounds if they take no damage in the process. They might even encourage it by having a couple archers covering the ranged hobgoblins. With one designated to shoot the first one that comes out and the other taking the next one.

The question then becomes, how long are the hobgoblin dodgers going to let themselves be beat on before they call their archer buddies back into the battle?

This is where tactic comes into play. That is what is so fun with playing monsters at full capacity. It lets your players show their skills, their abilities and their inventiveness. They can solve their problems with tactics instead of just dice throwing. These combats are much more memorable than those that are too easy or simply boring. It could lead to a charge from the hobgobs or simply the players deciding that they have enough and spend more ressources than they should've.

A DM is not against his players, he's making a story with them. But I found out long ago that the more devious you are with the enemies (if their intellect warrants it) the more enjoyable the game is. It is only a matter of pacing with hard to laughable encounters that it can be achieved. Getting to the end boss after many long and bloody fights and winning is much more entertaining that getting to the boss directly after a nice nap. And the more the end boss is at the "end" of the day. The more the outcome seems uncertain and make the tension rise at the table. I have seen players litteraly jump from their seats with screams of joy as the boss gets down with a well placed critical hit when the outcome could've gone either way. Yep, it is sometimes good to be a devious DM.