Relating to how combat is planned and played out in a game, in individual encounters or in larger group situations. This encompasses tactical concepts directly tied to game mechanics, as well as more abstract discussions.
22
votes
5answers
3k views
What are the ramifications of replacing a square based combat grid with a hex based one?
I have a personal preference for hexes over squares - the latter present some problems in terms of diagonal movement, and aliasing for certain area effects, that are just handled better with hexes.
...
20
votes
5answers
3k views
A PC dies every session - bad tactics or the normal outcome of adventuring?
In the campaign I'm currently playing in we have had a lot of character deaths occurring recently, almost (if not every) session. The party are 13th–14th level and are taking on significant ...
20
votes
7answers
563 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
722 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 ...
15
votes
6answers
420 views
What would clever creatures do to protect their lair?
(This question is for fantasy worlds like in D&D and other such games.)
Usually, as the adventuring party goes up in ability, they end up facing stronger and more powerful characters. Let's say ...
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
3answers
467 views
Do marks go away when one of the parties is dead or incapacitated?
While DMing for DnD Encounters, I had an interesting rules concern come up, that I can't see handled in the rules specifically. We always assumed that when a character or monster goes unconscious via ...
12
votes
5answers
359 views
What are some good sources for combat tactics for a GM to use?
My players are extremely strategic, and they're consistently (and too easily) defeating groups of enemies that I intended to present a real challenge. Probably for the same reason that I suck at ...
11
votes
4answers
254 views
How do I signal that alternate tactical end states are possible?
Question inspired by "Redefining Combat" on Clan of the Gray Wolf:
It provides an excellent list inspired by army manuals of alternate tactical goals for a scenario:
Here are some tactical tasks ...
11
votes
4answers
363 views
Would flying monsters ever land during combat?
Spooney asked this question in one of his podcasts, and I've started wondering about it myself.
In a D&D 4.0 encounter, why would an at least moderately intelligent creature (including, but not ...
10
votes
3answers
375 views
When is a shield wall a viable tactic?
I have often seen 3-4 people try to form a small shield wall but it falls apart. From this I would have to guess that this is not a viable tactic, at least not with those numbers of people involved.
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8
votes
5answers
1k views
Standard monster tactics for 4E D&D combat
In a similar vein to a question on tactics sources, I'm interested in knowing what are common tactics for monsters to use. The DMB and the MV mention monster groups, which are very useful, but I want ...
8
votes
4answers
209 views
How do I get players to assign alternate tactical goals?
Based on my prior question on signalling alternate end states and Redefining Combat, how do I present PCs with the ability to assign their own tactical goals beyond "clear" to a hostile environment ...
7
votes
6answers
648 views
Combat system that is less abstract than hit points yet is not more lethal
I have a campaign based on battles with miniatures in mind, with my players controlling the standard "heroes". It should be possible for the players to keep their characters alive through the ...
7
votes
1answer
255 views
What can a player do to force down a flying creature?
Dakeyras' answer in this thread got me thinking about how a player would/could counter an enemy that used hovering flight to its full advantage.
What specific items/powers/etc. can a character use to ...
5
votes
5answers
883 views
What's a good defense against silence?
Well, a dungeon master keeps throwing characters who can silence spells at me. It's a pain in the butt when trying to fight as a group, as most of my friends and I are casters. We're dealing with ...
5
votes
2answers
602 views
Reliable ways of generating cover/concealment at range
Are there any magical items that can be used in order to reliably generate concealment at range, but do not impair/effect the user? Take the case of, say, an archer-archetype character. They may ...
4
votes
6answers
265 views
Effective use of many close combat characters?
In systems with a square grid, it seems that melee/close combat characters are limited by their numbers. In one of my games we currently have more than five melee characters, and are now being ...
3
votes
3answers
247 views
Tactics for Battle of Albridge
I'm currently thinking about the Battle of Albridge in my Reavers of Harkenwold campaign.
One of my players stated he wanted to have a big battle with the Rebellion troops against the Iron Circle. I ...
2
votes
1answer
82 views
How do I get as many enemies as possible to attack me in 1 round from a distance?
On my ranged rogue I have the Daring Gamble utility power, which, once activated, gives me CA for the rest of the encounter on any enemies that attack me before the start of my next turn.
How can I ...
