I have always looked at monsters as being obstacles to overcome during a combat encounter. Whether you kill them or not, there is more to monsters if you think about it. I recently DMed the paragon tier adventure P1: King of the Trollhaunt Warrens and absolutely fell in love with my monsters. The writers of the module is are geniuses and idiots.
They created the warrens, with monster groups and lodgings. I thought this concept very interesting cause I was the one to always play in the adventure and not DM these creatures. Imagine this; Troglodytes living in an organized society, living harmoniously in their little caverns, minding their own business, spending time with their families, until....'The Adventurers' came in and slaughtered them all. This is why I think the writers are idiots. I fell in love with these monsters and it does not help that my imagination created a society from this adventure.
