Combat rocks in a roleplaying game.
The beautiful art of combat and the ultimate test of a hero’s wit, the warrior bring the sword down on the enemy. Yes, we have descriptive boxes detailing stories, exotic locations, detailed cultures to explore, and plots to unravel with people to save. But in the end, we play the game to roll the dice and win. Beat the bad guy and take his stuff.
You may go into lots of details on story, plot, character development, exciting locations, and schemes galore, but in the end they are window dressing for a chance to roll the dice and split open the enemy.
Seriously, when you think of Conan, why would you want to be him? You want to travel across Hyperboria to the lands of Stygia, find the sorcerer Thoth-Amon, and
kick his ass . You will have interesting
encounters in strange lands but in the end
you will conquer the opposition and
depart a rich man (with girl no less – this is Conan after all).
Or how about Lord of the Rings? The battle of Helms Deep was awesome - A
mass combat in a refuge in an impenetrable fortress
against all odds. The Lidless Eye is on the march and you are ready to
hand him his first defeat. What is their not to love about that?
Bring on the dice and let the orcs fall to the dirt.
The dice, and combat by extension, is the means of victory. D&D is the game you want to win, and defeating the enemy is the way to do that! We all have the “Hack-n-Slash” player in us that wants to roll the dice and crush our enemies.
Today it may be a Wizard in Eberron and tomorrow it may be a demon in the Forgotten Realms, but the means of victory is a constant, binding glue that holds the game we love together. Juicing up a character and crushing our enemies binds us to the game we love.
Long live combat!
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