What are your party's combat tactics?

What kind of combat tactics does your party use? I'm curious to learn more about different techniques, ones I haven't experienced before. DMs, this goes for you, too.

How do you set up flanking? What spell/combat combinations are most effective? When do you retreat? Do you have any special dirty tricks? How do you take advantage of your party's unique matrix of traits & abilities?

Well, the party in my current campaign has yet to come together into one group.

For my old Planescape campaign, it worked roughly like this:

Sorceror, enchantress and cleric buff everyone with loads of spells. The rogue, who had a few levels of wizard, would buff himself with a few minor spells like spiderclimb and invisibility.

During combat, the bariaur fighter/Champion of Va'asha and the half-drgaon fighter/paladin would take the front line, simply charging itno whatever stood in their way and chewing through it, using potions of fly if that became a necessary tactic, or pulling back to defend the casters if necessary.

The drow rogue/wizard would make a wide flanking move, and hit at any behind-line spellcasters or sneak attack to help the front-line tanks.

The aasimar cleric might stay back a bit at first for use of spells such as flamestrike and destruction, then pitch in alongside the tanks into the front line.

The tiefling sorceror and enchantress would stay back initially, casting spells. Then the sorceror would usually start using fly to get into whatever seemed a tactically advantageous position, while the enchantress would dimension door into a strategic position to unleash her closer-ranged attacks. During the point where she had a green slaad who was dedicated to guarding her, he'd hold off melee attackers - but then the game hiot the kind of point where he'd get chewed on promptly and eventually they gave up continually resurrecting him and let him rest in peace .

This is a rather easy thing to reply to. The party that I currently play in DOESNT concern itself with party tactics at all. Therefore, the Return to the Temple of EE is really, really wasting the group.

The Party I DM for concerns itself with tactics to a degree. The Clerics prepare buffing up spells, the Wizards prepare their Tac-Nukes, and the Fighters go in Swinging hoping the clerics stay close enough behind to heal them IF the monster survives the first 2 rounds. They regard themselves as complete and total Individuals rather than a Fighting Unit, so they really don't sit down and talk about how to do things, they just either fall into place or they don't.

Anytime they were presented with an opponent who used tactics and knowledge to his/her advantage, they get seriously stomped.

I guess they will have to improve if they want to live much longer.

I'll post strategies I've used as a DM when I have more time.

shadowthorn said:

What kind of combat tactics does your party use? I'm curious to learn more about different techniques, ones I haven't experienced before. DMs, this goes for you, too.

Click to expand...

Kill things. Quickly.

I'm not kidding. Most of the time that is about as in depth as our plans get.

We have:

(1) Red Arrow. A human fighter/rogue/ranger/OoBI (my character).

(2) Zyanna. A half-elven ranger/fighter/lasher.

(3) Dredisn. A human cleric (a pacifist who refuses to kill stuff, but doesn't mind if we do).

(4) Burslem. A human rogue-scholar/fighter (the rogue-scholar gives up uncanny dodge, sneak attack and evasion for bardic lore and knowledge related bonuses)

(5) Riona. A human witch (from the DMG).

(6) Averly. A halfling rogue/sorcerer.

(7) Kyriel. A human wizard.

Usually we try to inflict as much damage as quickly as possible, and between Red Arrow and Zyanna we can deal a lot very speedily. Dresdin usually casts a bunch of support spells (prayer, bless and so on), while Averly tries to flank anyone who gets past Red and Zyanna and keep them off of Kyriel. Averly also makes good use of her color sprays to delay groups of opponents. Burslem has a magical lamp that allows him to make fire based attacks, and he usually fries a bunch of people quickly. He is also our daredevil, and he usually jumps through the enemy to assist someone who has gotten cut off from the group or overwhelmed.

Kyriel is a wrecking machine, usually with a pile of high damage spells, but always with a couple of Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace spells available to buff up the front line guys. Riona has severe limitations as a witch, but she alo carries around a falchoin. I'm not sure if her getting into melee is a benefit or bane though, since she wears no armor and had a lousy attack bonus.

But the short version is that we try to inflict damage quickly hopefully before our opponents can strike back much.

Actually, our D&D group has been embracing a new philosophy over the past three months - it's called, "Kill all witnesses."

Our Faerun Group of adventurers was arrested in Tantras on charges of a Thayvian wizard that we pre-meditated the murder of a Red Wizard Diplomat to the city of Westgate. (It was true, but we considered it quite unfortunate). This was because of one witness we left alive, who claimed she was a mentally dominated captive of said wizard (and our deivination magics backed this up). Our party paladins,who were not in on the murder, even gave her a letter of recommendation to the Westgate hostelry of the god Torm. However, she wasn't good, and as a result, we were arrested for murder, and the Paladins were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for being accomplices. Oooh, you should have seen the looks they gave us!

Our Flat Earth campaign adventurers have learned the lesson that if you're going to kill someone, THEY DON'T get away. Our sorcerer spent the entire first five rounds of the battle using dimensional anchor on our targets. We learned our lesson.

Most groups I've seen have no organization.

Having been in the military I always end up feeling like court martialling the lot of them after most battles...

I'm slowly starting to have an impact with my current group. But they still all want to be chiefs. I've just finally gotten them to be willing to carry ranged weapons and to try shooting a bit before the enemy fully closes.

However real tactics are still a long ways off.

If you're DMing consider trying clever use of a tower shield, spearman, and bowman. In a narrow hallway it's a deadly combination that will wreak havoc on the PCs trying to break through it.

Also try to engage the enemy at a crossways where you can come at them from multiple sides yet still box them in.

A four way intersection in a dungeon works great for this if you can get men on the sides.

Most PCs are stupid enough to choose the intersection to fight in. A good deal of the rest can be chased into it.

Especially if they're in "Everybody wants to be a star" mode... which 90% of the time players are; having seen way to many action hero movies...

Always keep a few men as far back as you can with bows or crossbows. If they've got feats make precise shot a priority so they can shoot into melees.

My archer PCs usually fights from 40 or more feet behind the rest of the party. Even the fool mages close in more than I do...

If there's no idiot to keep the enemy away from me I fight by shooting and falling back untill or unless I can get a defensable position.

When we're breaking into a facility and we're going through a door I always stand with a shot readied on anything that moves at a daignail axis from the door so that I can see into it as it opens.

If you're planning a dungeon give the NPCs means to raise an alarm. Consider giving them bells, gongs or whatever at any key guard posts. Signal whistles are great too.

Once the alarm is sounded you can pull that intersection routine mentioned above at every intersection for the rest of the dungeon...

Remember to dogpile. Have as many people as possible go after one target until that target is neutralized. Then move to the next target. Players may feel it's unfair when you use it on them. But NPCs should fight to win not to be fair.

Lastly once you do get some good tactics going remember to scale them for the NPCs. NPCs who are not seasoned combatants will not use all of your tactics. They should fight like players do...

I tend to have the 'greens' attack the PCs by order of PC charisma. They go after not the logical targets and not in effective ways. Rather they go after who they have a natural inclination to dislike the most. So the lowest Cha people take the most hits when they fight unseasoned opponants.

We have four people in the group: Barbarian, Monk, Druid, Bard. THe main sytrategy is a front line of the Barbarian and the monk, and then the Bard (with a whip) and the druid (with a longspear) attack from the second ranks and also can cast spells.

That is the most common thing we try. It really depends on what we are going aginst and the current situation.

Our party doesn't really have use party based tactics. In a fight it's all for all.

The barbarian goes running towards the nearest enemy or, depending on if she could attack on that round, she waits and lets them come closer so that the enemies can attack the weaker characters in melee combat.

The cleric is mainly just stays back and hands out healing to anyone in need while the rogue gets too close and use his hand crossbows, or longsword.

The sorceress blast anything and everything with a fireball, even NPC and innocents if it means that she'll hit an enemy though she tries not to hit a PC.

My character, a rogue/fighter new to the party hides and sneaks around waiting for an opportunity to sneak attack or flank then retreats to repeat.

We have an Order of the Bow Initiate (new), a monk/rogue, a druid, the druid's grizzly bear, a rogue sorcerer, and the sorcerer's clerical cohort.

Combat usually involves the monk/rogue and the grizzly on the front lines. The druid usually summons creatures to help in the fight, depending on what we're facing, and otherwise provides tactical support (entangles, spike stones, and the like). The sorcerer gets out of the ways, casts haste on appropriate characters (beginning with herself), and peppers with magic missiles. The cleric hangs back and provides buffing and healing.

The Order of the Bow Initiate is new to the group and has only engaged in a single combat so far. His strategy was to retreat a short distance and then decimate our attackers, leaving us all agape at his killing power. When a gargoyle flew into his face and attacked him, trying to prevent his barrage of doom, he just accepted the inevitable AoO and pumped the poor beastie full of magic arrows. It dropped.

So our tactics aren't great, unless we prepare for a specific battle. But everyone does have a roll, and people are pretty good about taking orders from one another, delaying until another PC gets in position, and the like.

Daniel

Our party mage used to scout ahead for about 60 feet on the account that he had darkvision... 1 round of destrachan havoc later he learned that that might not be such a good idea.

Our fighters usually just fight, wading into battle with their swords in dungeons, or on horses with Lances in the outdoors, or otherwise they just run (when in the mountains and charging with a lance or wading into battle is not an option for example).

The druid is support and fills in that which is needed: more offense required? Flame strike (much to the chagrin of the Elemental Savant: Water) or Ice storm. Combatants required? Wildshape. Healing required etc.

Buffing is the strong point of the group. They anticipate, "read" the clous, and protect and strengthen themselves.

Rav