You finish dispatching the last of the orcs. That was a tough fight, time for a rest. The party settles down, puts the kettle on and has a breather before delving further into the dungeon. After everyone feels more prepared the next door is opened. The three ogres charge to attack. If only they’d listened to the screams from the room, they might have been able to save their orcish friends.

Sometimes monsters are just plain dim. They don’t think, they don’t react, they don’t plan, often they don’t even leave their rooms. Wouldn’t it be more interesting if they did?

We at Escapism Foundry like our monsters smart. Six orcs in a room is boring. Six orcs in a room that raise the alarm are interesting. Kobolds that lay siege to a town are boring. Kobolds that use giant stag beetles to mount catapults that fire flaming dung are interesting. Smart monsters are more fun.

Intelligent monsters are more challenging. If you are trying to break into an old castle you’re going to need to be subtle. Alert too many guards to your presence and you’ll have the entire garrison down upon you. Intelligent monsters require an intelligent response.

It can be difficult for DM's to run their monsters as intelligent. It requires either a lot of on the spot thinking or a lot of preparation. Most published scenarios do not include many options for how the monsters will react to different actions. It would be impossible to list every tactic the players might attempt. DM's also don’t want their adventures to be so difficult that the players have no chance to succeed. Intelligent monsters are not easy to run.

We have found, however, that intelligent monsters can be incorporated into traditional adventures in a way that is convenient for the DM. Our adventures often contain ways for the monsters to raise the alarm and gain assistance from their friends. Usually the players will be given a chance to notice this before the monsters have succeeded. It’s up to them to prevent the monsters getting help.

Other times the monsters will chose to not get help. Some are overconfident and don’t think they need any help. Others are afraid of the other inhabitants of the dungeon. Monsters with feelings are easier to believe and more fun to fight.

In the same way, some villains do not want to fight the party. Some times they want to protect their own worthless hides. If they hear the party are clearing out the dungeon they may choose to live to fight another day. This can put a time limit on the player’s actions, putting pressure on an already tense encounter.

Escapism Foundry provide adventures that contain monsters that think and behave intelligently. We present this information in a way that is convenient for the DM and that does not get in the way of the adventure itself.

At Escapism Foundry we like our monsters like we like our players. Intelligent.