Part of being a quality DM is creating memorable encounters and in order to do that a DM must be able to bring creatures and villains to life. We spend time creating memorable NPC’s but it can be easy to forget about role playing and make combat nothing more than a numbers game. The following are some tips for the DM to bring the creatures and villains in your encounters to life.
1.Read the description in the monster manual. This is a role playing game and it’s not just the players who role play; the DM has the daunting task of role playing all NPC’s and all of the opponents that the party will face. It’s easy to get caught up in the combat and forget that it’s not just as simple as slashing with a sword and casting spells. Playing the advisory is more than just a numbers game, and it is the DM’s responsibility to make encounters richer by role playing each creature and villain the party encounters. When you choose an opponent for your players to face the first thing I recommend you do is read the description in the Monster Manual. It is not just fluff, the description about each creature contains valuable information to help you play the opponent you’ve chosen.
2.Do they fight alone or with friends? This ties in with tip number one. Some creatures fight alone, some fight as a pack, some are usually found alongside other creatures. Reading the description in the Monster manual will give you insight into this question. By following the advice found there you can construct more fulfilling encounters. Fighting an ogre that has crossed the party’s path is fine, but knowing that ogre bands are frequently found with goblinoids, orcs, or trolls makes an encounter much more exciting.
3.Play up or down to their intelligence. It’s easy to have the creatures just fight as you deem would be the best course of action, but remember this is role playing. You have to think about how intelligent your creature or villain is. Ask yourself, “How smart is this creature or person? Would it have the sense to take out the biggest threat first or would it just target whoever is closest to it?” An ogre is not going to have the same tactical knowledge that a half-elf barbarian has. As the DM you need to look at things through the intelligence level of the creature you are playing and be sure to play true to that creature's abilities.
4.Find their motivation. Being a DM is a lot like being an actor. Good actors always know why their characters are doing what they do. Role playing a creature or a villain is no different. Why the creature is doing something affects how they do it. A halfling forced to steal an artifact or have his family killed is going to have a different fighting style than a human warlock bent on world domination. Always know the back story of why your villains and creatures are doing what they do even if the motives will never be revealed to your players.
5.Understand their tactics. This is where you need to have at least a little knowledge about how animals hunt and military strategy. You don’t have to be an expert but having some knowledge will help you out. Watch some documentaries on predatory animals. Knowing that a wolf and a shark hunt in different ways will help you to bring life to your creatures by making your encounters more fleshed out. Watch some history documentaries, how was the Huns’ fighting style different from the Romans or the Celts? By looking into these real world examples you can make your villains more three dimensional and realistic. Have different villains or creatures use these different tactics and you will create memorable encounters.
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