Live to Tell the Tale: Combat Tactics for Player Characters (The Monsters Know What They’re Doing)

started a new campaign tonight, and session 1 could have easily been a bloodbath.i used tactics suggested in the last part of this book to foil an ambush that looked similar to one exampled in the chapter about tactics in action... and was able to scout out and counter-ambush + gain some praise from the DM and the party for quick thinking and tactical play.highly recommend. the first part of the book is very beginner-friendly (for better or worse... it's a tiny bit dry), but it eventually ramps up into high level thinking and is a must-read for people looking for a more immersive and tactical experience... or for players who enjoy deadly encounters and dangerous campaigns. it elevates the realism of combat, which is an A+ in my book.

At just over 200 pages, this is a much breezer read than the previous books 500+ pages. Experiences players will roll their eyes at some of the obvious tactics presented, but there is still some nuggets to be found. For instance, it spends most of its time focusing on class roles in combat and how to focus those roles in the choices you make as you level.What this book is not is a book on min-maxing your class for uber characters and specializations.Pros: The charts and statistics on Advantage/Disadvantage, usage of special abilities, and feat selection is fantastic. Also, the recommended actions you take in your role is also good.Cons: The book fails to go into any depth in a level by level analysis.Overall, this is a good book for what it is, but it could have been so much more. Mr Ammann's last book went into great depth, covering every angle of monster tactics. This book feels like it could have done more.Regardless, still worth the read and there is still something to be learned for experienced players.

I've enjoyed Keith Ammann's "The Monsters Know What They're Doing" blog and book for many years. This is a clever and fun follow-up from the player's perspective to help balance the tactical astuteness of the monsters if you follow Keith's advice. Good run through the basic builds, decisions, and tactics without being over-complicated or "telling" the player what to do. Additionally, it was refreshing that it was in no way intended to be about min/maxing characters and gaming the system, but rather how to help very normal, average, and roleplayable characters succeed without mind-blowing stats, the best skills, and fifteen magic items. I enjoy Keith's writing style and conversational tone. It makes for a fast read and I'd love to play in a game he'd DM any day. I'm an experienced roleplayer and DM, and still found value and entertainment in the read. Thanks for putting this together.

This was an easy buy. His other book was fantastic and I used it to put my players on the ropes several times to give them that "Indianan Jones" nic of time feeling. Now I recommend they read this book. I also recommend to anyone that is interested in starting d&d and wants a full run down on the game. By the end i not saying youll be a expert but youll understand the game and how to play fully.

This is a useful book for both the experienced and novice D&D player. The author does a good job of breaking down the roles adventurers should have when in combat (though some of the terminology is a little confusing.) Good advice regarding having a ready action, going prone, and what to do when you have advantage/disadvantage. Overall - a quick read with good info.

Keith’s analysis of tactics thru the lens of the rules as written has shown me that I have a lot to learn! It has improved my thought process and upped my game. Pair it with The Monsters Know What They’re Doing and you have a detailed and thoughtful approach to running monsters and players in 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons - I’d argue his approach works for just about any TTRPG as well. Well done and worth the purchase!

This is an excellent book for new players. My players have been struggling with figuring out how to improve their outcomes in combat and when to use which abilities. Optimizing their combat roles has been difficult. This book does an excellent job giving them solid ideas for improving in all of these areas. It was exactly what I was hoping it would be and I bought extra copies to give to my players as gifts.

I like All the reasoning of the monsters and the thought that is put into them.What I don't like is that the monsters and not listed alfabeticaly in the index, for easy browsing!

I've played D&D for about 5 years as a DM and player - I was looking for some resources on how to better my games - and the review from Joe Manganiello on the back pushed me to buy this based on previous works and I'd heard good things about the monster know what they're doing.what a disappointment - some really basic stuff that dates back to the dawn of games like 'people with the most hp should be on the front lines, squishy guys stay at the back' which if you have even a shred of common sense you'll be doing anyway.the first half had some useful information - but most of it you would glean from reading the players hand book.the last part of the book is a waste of time of theory crafting of how xyz character does abc actions if this certain thing occurs.the book is also out dated as you might expect as it features none of the newer content (which to be fair, I can't fault, but there are now better sources all over the web)

The monsters know what theyre doing is superb, fantastic fun. This is probably suited to a newbie to D&D but for any seasoned players this will just feel like teaching grandma to suck eggs.Gave my copy to a newbie who loved it. :)

i bought the book for my daughter she love it thank you.

Great

I really liked "The Monsters know what they are doing" as a collection of short guides for every type of the many monsters in D&D. But this concept doesn't work for the complex character options in "Live to tell the Tale".The first chapters start with some basics like the general combat roles (front line, shock attacker, Skirmisher, marksman), offensive and defensive attributes, action economy, ressource management, some statistical benefits of advantage and disadvantage. The part about spellcasting is very limited. They are classified combat roles are only the "supporter" and the "spellslinger". But there are many more roles or funktions like healer, buffer, debuffer, battlefield controller, summoner or blaster. Later in the book there are three pages about spell slots and upcasting, but there is nothing about chosing spells to prepare, strategies to hold concentration or the role of cantrips for casters.The middle part is probably the weakest. The author presents a summary of the core rules like conditions, feats, basic character guides, but those information can also be found in the Players Handbook. Especially the part on class tactics feels very hollow. The guides point out some speciallities about different subclasses, but don't go into detail. With 12 classes they make 40 pages of the book. There are almost 6 pages about the fighter with long lists about its subclass abilities, but only one page about the fullcaster-summoning-shapechanging-druid. Again - you can get better information by just reading the Players Handbook.Last half of the book contains four examples for battle encounters with a different. Those combats are hard to follow since the players aren't simply named wizard, ranger, rogue, fighter, druid, but Aine, Daria, George, Lennie and Tolmac. And in the following three encounters use fifteen other name-class-combinations. On the gaming table character names a essential, but in a book about combat tactics this is just confusing.For every round of combat it is described, what the characters are doing - a little like in an analysis of a chess game. But too often it isn't explained why the players came to their decision: Why does wizard cast hypnotic pattern - or why has he decided to prepare it in the first place? Why is the bard giving his inspiration to the barbarian but not the fighter (or the cleric or the wizard)? Why is the cleric casting bless on himself, the wizard and the fighter, but not on the barbarian the bard chose? I am sure, that there are reasons, but they are not explained. I have to guess the tactical decisions that I wanted to learn from this book.Sometimes I even think, that the characters play suboptimal. In the second encounter the life domain cleric doesn't make use of his tankness and is just burning through his spell slots because he has failed to take a ranged cantrip, while the battlemaster fighter gives up two of his own attacks, an a superiority die to let the barbarian attack as a reaction, even if the fighter is still buffed by the bless spell.TLTR: Instead of buying this book, read the Players Handbook and google some character guides. But if you are a DM, use the money to buy "The Monsters know what they are doing".