The Remonstering Is Nigh

Keith Ammann

Keith Ammann

— 6 min read
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The Remonstering Is Nigh

December 2023. That’s when I first informed my editor that the release of a new Monster Manual was going to necessitate a revised and expanded edition of The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters.

February 2025. That’s when the new Monster Manual finally arrived in stores, I bought a copy, and my speedrun began. Or, at least, what I’d intended to be a speedrun.

April 2025. That’s when my agent began talking terms with my publisher.

July 2025. That’s when I finally finished writing the manuscript, a month after I’d planned to have it done. (My spouse maintains that finishing a book in five months is not an inconsequential feat. But I’d believed I could do it in four.)

August 2025. That’s when my agent and my publisher settled on agreeable terms.

October 2025. That’s when my publisher got around to sending me a contract to sign, and I was able to share the finished manuscript with my editor.

November 2025. That’s when I was informed that putting new art on the cover would mean pushing the release date back to fall 2026 rather than releasing it in time for Gen Con, as I’d been aiming for all along.

March 2026. That’s when I found out that my original dreams of a Gen Con release would have been quashed anyway, since the Authors’ Alley had no tables available for new exhibitors.

April 2026. That’s when the production process briefly ground to a halt as the publisher insisted on a title change to please Amazon, and after many rounds of hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing frustration, four-fifths of the way through a video call, I suddenly recalled something Lou Anders had said in a conversation on Discord, and “Remonstered!” entered the dialogue.

And now we’re here, with release just one month away, and what a long, rough trip it’s been … but one with the end at last in sight. I’m told that finished copies are rolling off the presses at this very moment. They’ll be in my hands soon, and yours not long after that.

Huzzah! [weakly raises a glass]

What Makes Remonstered! Different?

Aside from being updated to include all the newly added creatures in the 2025 Monster Manual and account for all the changes to modified ones, Remonstered! The Monsters Know What They’re Doing includes brand-new tips for each entry, divided into four categories:

  • Modifications: Changes I recommend making to add more character, consistency or choice to a monster’s stat block.
  • Prepare the Ground: Reminders of what a monster needs out of an encounter to be at its best.
  • We Make a Good Team: Suggested ally combinations—monsters that share the same habitat, pursue similar goals, are compatible thematically and/or have complementary abilities.
  • Shenanigans: Loopholes, dirty tricks, wild consequences and alarming implications that can take combat in unexpected and entertaining directions.

I’ve also included some of the sidebar content from MOAR! Monsters Know What They’re Doing—on darkness, combining monsters, and running enemies who are more intelligent than you are—that I think deserved to be seen by more readers, and I’ve added some new sidebars along similar lines, including one on something that’s long been a bee in my bonnet: mage lasers.

Finally, if you’re ever at a loss for a riddle in a sphinx encounter (really, there are only so many times you can use “four legs at dawn, two legs at midday and three legs at twilight”), I’ve tossed in a dozen original riddles of my own. (Yes, I include the answers, too.)

(Rot13’d answer: PBSSRR)

Start Spreading the News

Here’s a little more behind-the-scenes scuttlebutt: Back when I was only known from the blog, if at all, I was able to drum up almost 500 preorders for the original The Monsters Know. The follow-up, Live to Tell the Tale: Combat Tactics for Player Characters, had more than 900 preorders. More than 1,500 readers preordered MOAR! Monsters Know What They’re Doing, the conceptual sequel to The Monsters Know. Nearly 1,200 preordered How to Defend Your Lair.

Then Elon Musk bought Twitter, and I defected to Mastodon … along with approximately 0 percent of the tabletop roleplaying game community. And Wizards of the Coast precipitated the OGL debacle, and inflation slammed into the world economy. By the time Making Enemies came along last October, I’d built up a following on Bluesky two-thirds as large as the one I’d left behind on Twitter, enough to generate … about 300 preorders.

I honestly don’t know how many of the DMs who bought The Monsters Know have any idea that a revised and expanded edition has been in the works, or that it’s almost here. I do know that, as I write this, it stands at slightly more than 200 preorders, with four weeks to go.

More than any other metric, publishers these days look at first-week sales to decide whether an author is worthy of their continued support—and preorders count toward first-week sales. Bookstores also use preorders to decide how many copies to stock going forward: More early momentum predicts more momentum after the buzz wears off.

So I have a favor to ask of you: Spread the word. Make sure your fellow DMs know there’s a revised and expanded edition of The Monsters Know for 5.5E on the way. Encourage them to preorder. Share the purchasing links. Let’s try to generate three or four more preorders for each copy that’s been preordered already. (And while we’re at it, remind them that Making Enemies just won a Gold ENNIE Award for Best Writing!)

Upcoming Appearances

What’s even better than a hot-off-the-presses copy of Remonstered! The Monsters Know What They’re Doing? One with my signature scrawled across it! Here are some of the opportunities you’ll have in the coming months to score such a treasure:

Oct. 6: Launch day reading/signing at the Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

Oct. 15–18: Five panels and three signing sessions at Gamehole Con, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wis. Catch me at Hall A, table A6, from 4 to 6 PM Thursday, 1 to 6 PM Friday and 2 to 6 PM Saturday, or at one of the following panels:

Oct. 25: Reading/signing at Goblin Market, 2868 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

Dec. 4–6: Signing at PAX Unplugged, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia. Catch me from 3 to 6 PM Friday and 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Sunday in the Expo Hall autographing area. In addition to these signing events, my books will be available for sale at the Adams Media booth, and I may be participating in one or more panels as well—further news on that as I receive it.

Jan. 21–24, 2027: I plan to be at ConFusion, Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel, Novi, Mich. Further details to come.

Jan. 28–31, 2027: I plan to be at Capricon, Marriott Chicago O’Hare, Chicago. Further details to come.

Fingers crossed, I may also be making appearances at Emerald City Comic Con and C2E2 in 2027, depending on whether my Writers’ Block applications are approved. Wish me luck! (I applied for a booth at Gary Con, but I’ve been notified that I’m waitlisted, so I’m not optimistic about that one.)

I will not be at New York Comic Con this Oct. 8–11, but my publisher will, so if you’re there, cruise on by booth 3425.

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