{"title":"Keith Ammann","description":"Keith Ammann is the award-winning creator of the blog The Monsters Know What They're Doing and author of a series of books by the same name, including the recent Making Enemies: Monster Design Inspiration for Tabletop Roleplaying Games and How to Defend Your Lair. He's been a roleplaying gamer and game master for more than thirty-five years. He likes to play outwardly abrasive helpers, out-of-their-element helpers, and genuinely nice, helpful helpers. Mostly, though, he plays non-player characters. And monsters.","products":[{"product_id":"the-monsters-know-what-theyre-doing-combat-tactics-for-dungeon-masters-hardcover","title":"The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe \"must-have\" (R.A. Salvatore, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author) \u003ci\u003eThe Monsters Know What They're Doing \u003c\/i\u003efrom the creator of the popular blog of the same name--an essential strategy guide for all \u003ci\u003eDungeons \u0026amp; Dragons\u003c\/i\u003e Dungeon Masters!\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the course of a \u003ci\u003eDungeons \u0026amp; Dragons\u003c\/i\u003e game, a Dungeon Master has to make one decision after another in response to player behavior--and the better the players, the more unpredictable their behavior! It's easy for even an experienced DM to get bogged down in on-the-spot decision-making or to let combat devolve into a boring slugfest, with enemies running directly at the player characters and biting, bashing, and slashing away. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Monsters Know What They're Doing\u003c\/i\u003e, Keith Ammann lightens the DM's burden by helping you understand your monsters' abilities and develop battle plans before your D\u0026amp;D game session begins. Just as soldiers don't whip out their field manuals for the first time when they're already under fire, a DM shouldn't wait until the player charaters have just encountered a dozen bullywugs to figure out how they advance, fight, and retreat. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Easy to read and apply, \u003ci\u003eThe Monsters Know What They're Doing \u003c\/i\u003eis essential reading for every DM.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51346859753695,"sku":"9781982122669","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/5hc1NErCYj9781982122669.webp?v=1788803470"},{"product_id":"making-enemies-monster-design-inspiration-for-tabletop-roleplaying-games-hardcover","title":"Making Enemies: Monster Design Inspiration for Tabletop Roleplaying Games - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the acclaimed author of the \"must-have\" (R.A. Salvatore, #1\u003ci\u003e New York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author) The Monsters Know What They're Doing series, an indispensable and easy-to-follow new handbook for creating original enemies in tabletop role-playing games.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Monsters Know What They're Doing\u003c\/i\u003e, the essential tactics guide for Dungeon Masters, and its sequel, \u003ci\u003eMOAR! Monsters Know What They're Doing\u003c\/i\u003e, Keith Ammann reverse-engineered hundreds of fifth edition Dungeons \u0026amp; Dragons monsters to help DMs prepare battle plans for combat encounters before their game sessions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNow, in \u003ci\u003eMaking Enemies\u003c\/i\u003e, he explores everything that goes into creating monsters from the ground up: size, number, and level of challenge; monster habitats; monster motivations; monsters as metaphors; monsters and magic; the monstrous anatomy possessed by real-world organisms; and how to customize monsters for your own tabletop roleplaying game adventuring party to confront. No longer limited to one game system, \u003ci\u003eMaking Enemies \u003c\/i\u003eshows you how to build out your creations not just for D\u0026amp;D 5E but also for Pathfinder 2E, Shadowdark, the Cypher System, and Call of Cthulhu 7E. Including interviews with some of the most brilliant names in RPG and creature design, \u003ci\u003eMaking Enemies\u003c\/i\u003e gives you the tools to surprise and delight your players--and terrify their characters--again and again.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51349890007263,"sku":"9781668093344","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/MjnUPEP9ti9781668093344.webp?v=1788868274"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/keith-ammann.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}