Impactful Battle Environments

[Ravilah]

What are some of the best battle-environments you have experienced? I mean ones where the setting had a big impact on movement and combat, as well as providing memorable game play.

I dunno; the "battle on a bridge above a river of fiery nougat" scenario has gotten really old.

-R

 

[PureGoldx58]

A Bridge made of light, really funny when it is turned off halfway through the battle.

 

[Dandu]

Fencing to the death on office swivel chairs.

 

[Argyle King]

I once created an encounter in a cube shaped room. All of the dimensions were perfect - floor, ceiling, and walls were shaped the same. Several levers were also in the room; two attached to each surface. Some levers sprang traps; some rotated pieces of the room. I based the idea of the room on a rubik's cube.


oh... I forgot to mention that the levers did not necessarily move the same surface they were attached to. It was rather interesting when one of the PCs was climbing a ladder; another pulled a lever, and the PC on the ladder found himself hanging upside down. The door to get out of the room was on the ceiling.

 

[Jon_Dahl]

My all-time favourite was an abandoned siege tower. It was left behind by orcs who had fumbled while moving it around - it got stuck in a mud.

Players had to climb all the way to the top-floor of the siege-engine, because there were lot of treasures there (so burning it down was a bit poor option). I don't know why, but I liked it a lot. Idea of using siege-engine as a makeshift dungeon was intriguing and the execution was very satisfactory as well.

 

[Gilladian]

A bell tower. The PCs had to climb the rickety stairs up the inside of the tower while battling a bad guy on the floor, flying creatures as they climbed, and the bells being dropped on them from above. And the multi-level roof and rafters and such at the top was great. I still have the platform I made to represent the levels, and have found ways to re-use it. But none as interesting as that first fight.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

A metal maze on the Plane of Acheron.

In a campaign I was running, a player died and became a petitioner on this Lawful Neutral plane. He and I met to do a mini quest where he participaded in the endless skermishes and wars on this plane, gaining leves as a petitioner to justify rebuilding his character when he was Ressurected.

 

[krupintupple]

A semi-flooded abandoned quarry near a dwarven burial tomb in the early spring. They were a fairly low level, so having to make all of those climb, balance, reflex, and potentially, swim checks while on slippery stone, mud and ice made for a really interesting game, especially as they were sniped at by goblins. The goblin shaman had used some of his unholy mojo to cause dwarven zombies to rise from the muck, making it super extra fun. I was going to throw in a small water elemental or three, but felt that a little cruel, since they could just wait until a treasure-laiden PC fell into the water, and then just drown them fairly easily.