Live to Tell the Tale: Combat Tactics for Player Characters

by Keith Ammann

Overview

From the author of The Monsters Know What They’re Doing comes an introduction to combat tactics for Dungeons & Dragons players.

In his first book, The Monsters Know What They’re Doing (based on his popular blog), Keith Ammann unleashed upon the D&D world a wave of clever, highly evolved monster tactics. Now it’s only fair that he gives players the tools they need to fight back...and prevail!

An introduction to combat tactics for fifth-edition Dungeons & Dragons players, Live to Tell the Tale evens the score. It examines the fundamentals of D&D battles: combat roles, party composition, attacking combos, advantage and disadvantage, Stealth and Perception, and more...including the ever-important consideration of how to run away!

Don’t worry about creating a mathematically perfect character from square one. Survival isn’t about stats—it’s about behavior! With four turn-by-turn, roll-by-roll, blow-by-blow sample battles, Live to Tell the Tale breaks down how to make the best choices for your cherished characters so that they can survive their adventures, retire upon their accumulated riches, and tell stories about the old days that nobody will ever believe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982122690
Publisher:	Gallery / Saga Press
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Series:	The Monsters Know What They're Doing , #2
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	68,799
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Keith Ammann has been a Dungeons & Dragons player and DM for more than thirty years. He has been writing his fifth edition D&D-focused blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing since 2016. He lives in Chicago.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Part 1 Character Creation and Combat Roles 1

Understanding Ability Scores 1

Understanding Ability Contours 4

Classes and Roles 7

Race Doesn't Matter (Much) 13

Identifying Combat Role: Examples 16

Feats and Roles 20

Part 2 Tactics in Action 25

Understanding Tactical Combinations 25

Understanding Action Economy 26

Understanding Opportunity Attacks 28

Understanding Advantage and Disadvantage 30

Understanding Conditions 35

Part 3 Playing Your Position 43

Party Composition and Positioning 43

Wait for It: The Ready Action 46

Sneaking: The Hide and Search Actions 48

"Plan B": The Dodge, Dash, and Disengage Actions 53

Managing Resources between Rests 56

Spells and Slots 60

Class Tactics 63

Feats and Choices 104

Mounted Combat 109

Part 4 Tactics in Practice 115

A Level 1 Party 116

A Level 5 Party 139

A Level 9 Party 159

A Level 15 Party 184

Acknowledgments 221

Reference Tables

Combat Role Reference 22

Advantage and Disadvantage Reference 34

Conditions and Combinations Reference 41

Retreat Actions Reference 55

Class Resource Reference 59

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Monsters Know What They're Doing

“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, award-winning actor/producer, author of Evolution, founder/creative director of Death Saves streetwear, and consultant/contributor to Dungeons & Dragons

“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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than sixty-five books, including the Drizzt novels The Crystal Shard, Timeless, and Boundless

“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

“I have to send this book to my DM!” —Hugo award finalist Max Gladstone, author of This is How You Lose the Time War

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

“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 Iron

"Is a conniving creature with a rational sense of self-preservation really going to take one last swipe at the fighter while on death’s door, or would it run away to fight another day? Depending on the monster, this book has the answer." —SYFY Wire

“One of the most interesting, thoughtful, smart RPG sourcebooks I've ever read. . . . The Monsters Know What They're Doing is a hoot just to read, and transported me back to my days of poring over the Monster Manual and the Fiend Folio."—Cory Doctorow, co-editor of boingboing.net and New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother and Homeland

“As a dungeon master, I am overcome with the sheer usefulness of Keith Ammann’s The Monsters Know What They’re Doing. This book is brilliant. It’s completely rewriting the way I think about encounters, and making me want to sick a pack of goblins on my players straight away. Highly recommended for any DM of any level of experience. And I fear it will become required reading when Live to Tell the Tale comes out this summer and our players all get smarter with their tactics too!” —Lou Anders, Hugo award winning author of Once Upon a Unicorn, Star Wars: Pirate’s Price, and the Thrones & Bones trilogy

“This book is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for any D&D DM, whether you’re running monsters straight from the book or not. This should sit prominently on every game shelf and should be pulled out for every session.” –Dice Monkey

From the Publisher