The Monsters Know What They're Doing

The Monsters Know What They're Doing is a book series by Keith Ammann, published by Saga Press since 2019, consisting of unofficial supplements for fifth-edition Dungeons & Dragons.

Contents

The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters provides gamemasters with tactical recommendations for most of the creatures in the fifth-edition D&D Monster Manual.

Publication history

The content of the initial book is based on Keith Ammann's blog of the same name, started in 2016. It was extended into a series with similar topics, with The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters (2019) followed by Live to Tell the Tale: Combat Tactics for Player Characters (2020), MOAR! Monsters Know What They're Doing (2022) and How to Defend Your Lair (2022).[1][2]

Reception

SyFy author James Grebey called the seminal blog "a valuable resource for DMs who want to give their players a challenge and make their game feel truly immersive" and praised it for helping Dungeon Masters to "run monsters as the intelligent and exciting foes they're meant to be rather than just generic cannon fodder".[3]

John ONeill reviewed The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters for Black Gate, and stated that "To be honest, I don't know how much I'd actually use The Monsters Know What They're Doing, but it sure made fun reading."[4]

Awards

At the 2020 ENnie Awards, The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters won a Silver ENnie for Best Writing, and Ammann's blog won the Gold ENnie for Best Online Content.[5]


References
  1. Wieland, Rob (10 December 2022). "A 2022 Gift Guide For Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters". Forbes. Retrieved 8 February 2023. Any of Keith Ammann's books in The Monsters Know What They're Doing series would make an excellent Dungeon Master's gift. These books dig into the psychology of monsters from the Monster Manual and other sources to make them not just more realistic but more effective one the fight starts.
  2. "Keith Ammann". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  3. Grebey, James (29 November 2022). "'How to Defend Your Lair' teaches D&D players to make villain bases that don't stink". SyFy Wire. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  4. ONeill, John (November 3, 2019). "New Treasures: The Monsters Know What They're Doing by Keith Ammann". Black Gate. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  5. "ENNIES 2020 Nominees and Judges Spotlight Winners". ENNIE Awards. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
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