A gaunt lich casts cloudkill, enveloping the area in green, poisonous gas. Five adventurers—a halfling swashbuckler with a rapier, a fighter in Mughal-style chain mail, a sickle-wielding druid in West African–style garb and a head scarf, an aasimar bard-swordswoman wearing a ruqun, and a long-haired elf wizard—struggle forward through the poison gas cloud. The elf wizard is collapsing. A bug in the corner indicates that this blog won a gold ENnie award in 2020.

The Monsters Know What They’re Doing

Ready-to-Use Tactics for D&D 5E

Month: December 2021

  • Well, That Took a Long Time

    |

    I honestly did not expect writing my latest book to eat the entire year. My bad.

    I’m happy to report, however, that it’s now finally done, and I’ll have more to say about it soon. Quite a bit more.

    In the meantime, MOAR! Monsters Know What They’re Doing is just a week away from release—huzzah!—and I’ll return to blog writing in the new year, picking up where I left off. Wizards of the Coast has kindly provided us with several new books for me to look at monsters from, including Van Richten’s Ezmerelda’s Guide to Ravenloft (she did the work, Racist Uncle stole the credit—that’s my headcanon, and I’m sticking to it), Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons and Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos. I’ve got my work cut out for me in 2022 (and probably 2023 as well)!

    See you all after the odometer rollover.

Support the Author

The Monsters Know What They're Doing cover
Live to Tell the Tale cover
MOAR! Monsters Know What They're Doing cover
How to Defend Your Lair cover

Order Keith Ammann’s books from your favorite independent bookseller, or click one of these links:

Spy & Owl Bookshop | Tertulia | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indigo | Kobo | Google Play | Apple Books | Libro.fm | Audible

Praise for The Monsters Know What They’re Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters

“I’ve always said, the Dungeon Master is the whole world except for his players, and as a result, I spend countless hours prepping for my home group. What Keith gets is that the monsters are the DM’s characters, and his work has been super helpful in adding logic, flavor, and fun in my quest to slaughter my players’ characters and laugh out the window as they cry in their cars afterward.” —Joe Manganiello

“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

“This book almost instantly made me a better Dungeon Master. If you’re running games, it is a must-have enhancement. I gave copies to the two others in our group who share in the Dungeon Mastering, and both of them came back the next time grinning rather slyly. Keith is a diabolical genius, and I say that with the utmost respect!” —R.A. Salvatore

We See It Differently cover
Circle of the Cryptid cover
Oath of Deliverance cover
Buddy System cover

Find my short works on the Dungeon Masters’ Guild, or just toss a coin to your witcher:

Tags

aberrations beasts celestials constructs CR 1 CR 1/2 CR 1/4 CR 1/8 CR 2 CR 3 CR 4 CR 5 CR 6 CR 7 CR 8 CR 9 CR 10 CR 11 CR 12 CR 13 CR 14 CR 15 CR 16 CR 17 CR 18 CR 19 CR 20 CR 21 CR 22 CR 23 dragons drow elementals fey fiends giants humanoids meta monstrosities multiverse NPCs plants shapechangers undead yugoloths

Archive

Log in