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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 8640503" data-attributes="member: 2629">1.) Environment: Use the environment.  There is a huge difference between three orcs with battle axes and three more with bows in a 30 foot by 40 foot room and those same orcs in a forest where the archers are up a cliff and the battle axe orcs are hidden in bushes by the road.  There is a huge difference between fighting a dragon in an empty cave and fighting in in a cave with high ledges, an underground lake, and pacthes of green slime or grey oozes.  2.) Intelligence: Pay attention to how smart the monsters are: And then use their smarts.  If the enemy should be capable of making great plans, find ways to use great tactics for them.  Alarms, traps, positioning, fodder allies, etc... are all methods of using their intelligence.3.) Homebrew: The more you introduce homebrew, the less your players will trust that they know what they're facing, even when they face monsters from the books.  After all, is that a normal beholder, or one with varaint eye rays?  Is the Ogre Mage going to unload on us with cone of cold, or does this one have Wall of Force, Hold Monster or Antilife Shell?   When your 10th level party is on a ship and a dozen 60 foot long tentacles start to wrap around the ship, are they dealing with a giant beast, an aberration, or something(s) else?  What is your party's opening salvo against a 10 foot tall demonic creature with a giant rhino horn on their head and two axes for hands?  4.) Skilled magic use: Monsters that have access to magic have been using it a long time.  They should use them as if they are experienced with the magic.  Before I use a monster that has magic and spells, I always look at their expected situation and think about how they can best use their abilities.  There is a huge difference between a wizard that just tosses out their lightning bolt and one that sets up the ligthning bolt by maneuvering enemies into a line.5.) On the fly adjustments: Not every battle needs to be a life and death encounter, but sometimes the PCs need a wakeup call if their attention is waning.  It can happen in any group.  I usually have a couple story elements in place where enemies might be pursuing or messing with the PCs.  I usually have a couple 'assassin' encounters on the ready and if the PCs are wading through an encounter I intended to be harder, it might be an ideal time for one of these assassin groups to try to catch the PCs unprepared.  If the PCs are in the Dungeon of a Mad Mage, that mage might muck with their plans by throwing some chaos at them.  If one of the PCs is a warlock that has not been attentive to their patron, the patron may pick that moment to deny the warlock their magic, or choose a different target for a spell.  6.) Merge encounters: If there is a nearby encounter available, I will let the next encounter flow into the current one by having them be alerted and join the battle.  This is also one of the techniques I use to prevent the 'long rest after every battle' or even 'short rest after every battle' problems some DMs face.</blockquote>

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