The systems used in roleplaying games to resolve conflict through violent means, often to the death of one or more characters. Combat often involves several subsystems that determine whether harm is inflicted (to-hit) and the extent of that harm (damage).
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10answers
1k views
Is it fair to press the players for decisions during combat?
My group tends to over-analyse during combat, which slows everything down.
I press upon my players to make their decision and roll the dice quickly. My players are all experienced in the system and I ...
36
votes
13answers
757 views
How to communicate to the players that an encounter can be solved also through diplomacy?
When you play D&D, you are not supposed to chat with the enemy during encounters. The system is made for fighting. However, in some circumstances, it would be nice to make the players conscious ...
34
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15answers
1k views
Narrative Combat versus Use of Miniatures
When I first started playing D&D, my DM did not use battlemaps or miniatures to describe combat. Everything was described to us, and questions to the DM were part and parcel of the experience, ...
33
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3answers
349 views
Shame him into not shooting: multiple stress tracks in a single conflict
If you insult the hitman enough, will he stop shooting at you? It doesn't seem likely, but that brings into play a question about whether some stress tracks are "more important" than others: If you ...
29
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5answers
2k views
Why is attacking from higher ground an advantage?
I just don't understand how attacking someone from higher ground is an advantage in melee combat. I always think of two examples where I can't see this to be an advantage.
Example 1: A kung-fu fight ...
27
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8answers
3k views
Combat rules for large battles
In the later chapters of a future campaign I'm thinking of having a section where the players take charge of parts of an army and fight a larger battle. I don't want to hand-wave the strategy, I want ...
26
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20answers
3k views
Beyond hit points: injury in D&D
I'm interested in adding a touch of realism to combat in D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder. Hit points are a very simple way of measuring injury and stamina, that contributes to the "hit things first, ask ...
26
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7answers
739 views
Fighting boredom in combat as a player
Sometimes (as a player) I get bored during combat. At times I feel like all my turns are the same (especially when playing lower level characters) and when that is combined with no combat progress ...
26
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15answers
1k views
Speeding Up Combat
I'm looking for ways to speed up the combat in my D&D 3.5 game. It seems that turns - both player and non-player - simply take too long. I have thought about giving everyone a 30 second timer, but ...
21
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1answer
737 views
How does attacking someone work?
OK, I keep going around in circles. In Dresden Files RPG, how do you work out punching someone vs using a knife/sword/weapon vs using a gun?
20
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7answers
556 views
How do I make and use tactically interesting terrain?
I'm running 4e but I think this applies everywhere.
I want to use terrain more often in my fights. My best fights are the ones that revolve around interesting terrain. The problem is that I don't ...
19
votes
2answers
679 views
How do I use minions effectively?
I'm a newbie DM. It seems that minions in an encounter benefit the PCs more than they benefit me:
The Barbarian can kill them for free THP and a Swift Charge (I thought they were supposed to slow ...
18
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3answers
467 views
18
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11answers
2k views
What is a good combat tracker for D&D 4th Edition?
As my players go up levels there are more and more variables in combat. I need help. What solutions exist out there and what makes them good?
18
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3answers
511 views
Can a Gelatinous Cube be knocked prone?
Actually, this is a more general form of the question. Can something that cannot be tripped still be knocked prone from an effect which causes it?
So, in the Gelatinous Cube Stat block, we have:
...
18
votes
2answers
741 views
Can an unconscious character use a healing surge?
Can an unconscious character use an action (like second wind or a healing power) to spend a healing surge?
Can an unconscious character spend a healing surge due to some external effect?
17
votes
11answers
732 views
Encouraging out-of-the-box thinking in combat encounters
I'm a GM currently running D&D 3.5.
I try to think of situations that present the players with a number of possible solutions.
The players, however, always resort to the same pattern of killing ...
17
votes
6answers
1k views
In D&D 4th Edition, how numerically close should party member levels be? What happens if they aren't?
I've read a lot here (and in the official books) about balanced parties in Dungeons and Dragon's 4th edition. Parties should contain at least one each of four specific roles, a distribution of skills ...
17
votes
6answers
710 views
Realistic modern day combat system to model real life ambush
I came across a video (helmet camera) of an Taliban force ambushing US infantry troops in Afghanistan. This is a link to the video of ambush: Combat in the First Person, Spc.Michael Gannon guides us ...
17
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4answers
741 views
How do you plan Savage Worlds combats based on PC ability?
Last night I ran my first Savage Worlds combat, to try to get a feel for the system. The combatants were two sword-wielding fighting men against three orcs (extras) and their chieftain (a wild card). ...
17
votes
4answers
689 views
How can acrobatics be used to move through an enemy occupied square?
According to the AcrobaticsDDI skill you can use an Acrobatic Stunt to "somersault over an opponent", amongst other things . It gives a base DC of 15, and "the DM sets the DC based on the complexity ...
16
votes
10answers
492 views
Without a map or miniatures, how to best determine line-of-sight, etc?
I think the title says it all. Let's say you're mastering a game without the benefit of miniatures, maps, or any kind of physical representation of the environment. How would you keep track of details ...
15
votes
5answers
293 views
How do you alter the difficulty of a challenge/fight in the middle of it?
I've run a bunch of times with players that took very diverse characters. I made them use their own rolls (which often ended up giving them awesome stats for some reason).
Eventually I had to ...
15
votes
4answers
645 views
How to reduce Whiff & Ping
In Savage World there is a problem of Whiff (I miss) and Ping (I hit but bounce off the armour).
We have had several long combat encounters where the PC and NPC have basically done almost nothing for ...
15
votes
5answers
412 views
Alternatives to inapplicable critical-hit table results?
In a recent session of ours, one of the players scored a critical hit on a very scary wolf. The random critical-hit bonus rolled was "disarm opponent." Our GM was kind and clever enough to announce ...
15
votes
5answers
2k views
How can I create an introductory D&D encounter intended for teaching the rules?
For my next D&D campaign, I want to introduce the players to the ruleset by having them play through a sample combat encounter. All of them have prior RPG experience, but they haven't played any ...
15
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4answers
458 views
How can I make combat more challenging without making it too frustrating?
My fellow DMs and I have come across a problem. It feels like the party has been doing a good job of dispatching our monsters with relative ease. We are not upset about this part, our party has done ...
15
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1answer
1k views
Firing into close combat in Pathfinder
If I am using a bow against an enemy who is in melee combat with an ally of mine, I get a -4 on my attack roll, unless I have the precise shot feat. (See page 184 in the Core Rules.
Do I suffer the ...
15
votes
1answer
194 views
Can a creature immune to Immobilized walk away from a creature grabbing it?
Grabbed:
While a creature is grabbed, it is immobilized. Maintaining this condition on the creature occupies whatever appendage, object, or effect the grabber used to initiate the grab. This ...
15
votes
3answers
226 views
How to manage incomparable movement speeds in combat?
I'm playing a Shadow character in a campaign which is running for 2 year.
Our party has reached a great amount gnosi (27), and we are all level 13.
The main features of my character is agility and ...
15
votes
3answers
4k views
In Pathfinder, how does Stealth work with Sneak Attack?
So, in Pathfinder, it seems that being able to use stealth in order to gain sneak attacks only works in the surprise round, with the rules as written.
So, imagine a scenario where we have a sniper ...
14
votes
4answers
329 views
When to use scarce resources in combat?
How does one choose when to use scarce resources (e.g. powers you can only use once per day or encounter) in combat? I am particularly concerned with D&D, but I believe the concept carries over ...
14
votes
1answer
1k views
What can I do in one round?
I'm still little confused about actions in Pathfinder. There are standard actions, move actions, full round actions, free actions, etc. I need to know which combinations of these actions I can use in ...
14
votes
6answers
10k views
How do I make a gunslinger with a decent damage progression?
I am considering playing a Gunslinger when next we play Pathfinder (I am currently GMing a game, and we'll be switching off afterwards), and thumbing through the Ultimate Combat Playtest v. 2, and I'm ...
14
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4answers
2k views
Can I use a full attack and natural attacks in the same round?
I'm playing a 7th level monk variant in D&D 3.5e and I'm a werewolf. The variant has a 1 for 1 BAB. (level 1 = BAB+1) If I'm in hybrid form, Can I make my 2 standard attacks followed by 2 claws ...
14
votes
3answers
319 views
How do you keep players involved between their turns?
I've been running D&D Encounters for the last several seasons. One of the areas I would like to improve is keeping players involved and interacting with the scene when it's not their turn. When ...
14
votes
4answers
824 views
Can you ready a charge?
In 3rd edition, you could ready a partial charge. From the PHB, p134:
Only partial actions can be readied. To do
so, specify the partial action you will take and the conditions under
which you ...
13
votes
8answers
571 views
When should the DM hide a PC's hit points?
In any game with hit points (I'm thinking D&D, but any will do), is there ever a situation where the DM ought to keep track of a player character's hit points, and not reveal it to the player?
...
13
votes
3answers
539 views
How do you administer combat without an Initiative system?
So in Dungeon World, there doesn't seem to be any stat for initiative or any structure to the sequence of moves that people can make. Is the game intended to be simply played "round robin", or do ...
13
votes
2answers
248 views
Squad formations
I've just watched episode 1-2 of Terranova, and there is a scene in which a military squad goes to the rescue of some teenagers who are surrounded by dinosaurs in a jungle. When the squad arrives, ...
13
votes
5answers
672 views
Downtuning lethality in Savage Worlds
My groups go-to system is Savage Worlds, and it works pretty well for our needs. But the system uses exploding dice, and that means that sometimes a casual encounter that should be a cakewalk for the ...
13
votes
2answers
304 views
How can I efficiently manage Ship to Ship Tactical Combat and Boarding?
I'm planning a campaign that will involve a fair amount of ship to ship combat and boarding. My group is accustomed to using a square grid battle mat, and I'm concerned about the mechanics of the ...
13
votes
5answers
564 views
How does disarming a monster affect its statistics?
The disarm maneuver has almost totally disappeared from D&D 4th edition. However, at least one Fighter power - Exorcism of Steel - allows it.
Exorcism of Steel - Fighter Attack 17
You make a ...
13
votes
4answers
325 views
Readying an action before combat
Suppose the party suspects that combat is imminent, and some of the PCs ready actions (attack nearest hostile creature, attack first thing that moves). Then combat erupts. Some of the PCs are ...
13
votes
6answers
198 views
Clocking the round. Tools?
Chess players use a special clock to keep timings of each move within a reasonable amount, or they lose. During fighting session, I'd like to introduce a similar technique to prevent excessive ...
13
votes
2answers
459 views
Does making an opportunity attack with a ranged weapon provoke an opportunity attack?
If I make an opportunity attack with a ranged weapon (e.g., a crossbow) against an adjacent enemy, does it provoke an opportunity attack as well?
13
votes
2answers
638 views
Is there a penalty for holding a two handed weapon in offhand while throwing a weapon?
I have a fighter (warforged weaponmaster, level 6). He wields a Mordenkrad (2-handed hammer, brutal 1). He has a "Dwarven Thrower" Throwing Hammer (1-handed throwing weapon) sheathed at his belt.
...
13
votes
2answers
278 views
What counts as a critical on defense?
In GURPS Campaigns p381, it states that a critical success on defense causes the attacker to suffer a "critical miss."
Does a critical hit on defense count as a roll of 3 or 4? If my parry is 15, ...
12
votes
8answers
362 views
How do I use the same type of creature as characters level up without using more of them?
Is there a good formula/strategy for making monsters harder as characters level up without just throwing more of them? My kids, for example, love Kobolds but I just don't want combats of 30 of them.
12
votes
7answers
894 views
Vast and expanded realistic combat system
I am searching for a combat & damage system for an ad hoc RPG system set in Victoria era, more or less (though this part is completely unimportant). Are there any system that would bring me close ...
