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Roll to Target

by Mike on 1 June 2026

Roll a die to see which character a monster targets.

I roll to see who monsters target almost all the time. It's my default behavior for a monster. I usually only target specific attacks when it makes clear sense to target a specific character – like a cleric concentrating on a powerful buff or a wizard who banished a monster's demonic ally.

Some GMs bristle at the idea of rolling for targets and that's cool. Not every idea works for every GM's style. I'm a loose GM when it comes to monster tactics. I'm into the evolving story – a story that breaks away from any preconceived notions I have every time I roll the dice. Of course, intelligent monsters may be selective because that's part of their nature and it fits with the story – but if there's any chance an intelligent enemy might select between a couple of different targets, I roll to see the result.

Avoiding Adversarial GMing

I argue rolling to see who a monster targets helps break away from the adversarial GMing that sometimes takes place at the table. If we're being super-tactical on the GM side of the table, our players might stop feeling like we're all sharing a story together and instead think they're competing against us – the GM at the table. Instead, when we’re rolling to see who a monster attacks, we all know we're watching the dice change up the story.

Roll in the Open

I also roll to target attacks in the open – along with attack rolls themselves. Again, when everyone sees the dice results, they know you're not picking on one particular player – unless there's good reason the monster would select one specific target. Sometimes the dice sure do though. A commonly misunderstood reality of randomness is that it often has streaks.

Describe Your Thinking

If you do decide to have a monster select a particular target, describe the monster's line of thinking. "The lich knows you're the one concentrating on that powerful spell so he's definitely going to target you." With such vocalized decisions, players understand why their character might be the target of a villains' wrath.

A Simple Idea with a Powerful Shift

Rolling to see who a monster attacks doesn't feel like a huge change in the game, but it can have a big effect. It moves the game away from feeling like a tactical chess match and lets you enjoy the story as it unfolds just as much as the players.

Give it a try.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patrons. Here are last week's questions and answers.

Talk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Last week I also posted a couple of YouTube videos: Dreadful Blessings Deep Dive – Help Boss Monsters in 5e Meet Their Intent and Ceruleus the Clockwork Dragon – Dragon Empire Prep Session 67.

RPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as RPG tips. Here are this week's tips:

Give players time to wind things down after a big climactic moment in a campaign.
Aim for four players at the table.
Try different RPGs. Convince your players by offering only a handful of sessions.
Write down encounter benchmarks and improvised monster stats so you can improvise both monsters and encounters during the game.
Narrate quickly and get to the characters’ decisions and actions fast.
Every new region has its own internal politics into which the characters can get tied.
Intelligent magic items make fantastic tag along NPCs.

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