"Every great DM needs a copy of this book like a player needs a D20 that rolls a lot of critical hits. It won't make the other side happy, but it will make the game more exciting." --Two-time Campbell award finalist Stina Leicht, author of Cold Iro

"I hope my DM doesn't read this book." --Hugo award-winner Elizabeth Bear, author of Ancestral Night

"The best movie villains are the ones you fall in love with. Keith's book grounds villains in specificity, motivation, and tactics--so much so that players will love to hate 'em. This book will enrich your game immeasurably!" --Matthew Lillard, award-winning actor, director, producer, and co-founder of Beadle and Grimm's Pandemonium Warehouse

In the course of a Dungeons & Dragons game, a Dungeon Master has to make one decision after another in response to player behavior--and the better the players, the more unpredictable their behavior! It's easy for even an experienced DM to get bogged down in on-the-spot decision-making or to let combat devolve into a boring slugfest, with enemies running directly at the player characters and biting, bashing, and slashing away. 

In The Monsters Know What They're Doing, Keith Ammann lightens the DM's burden by helping you understand your monsters' abilities and develop battle plans before your fifth edition D&D game session begins. Just as soldiers don't whip out their field manuals for the first time when they're already under fire, a DM shouldn't wait until the PCs have just encountered a dozen bullywugs to figure out how they advance, fight, and retreat. 

Easy to read and apply, The Monsters Know What They're Doing is essential reading for every DM.