DMs, do you use the different combat options?

In the campaign I play in my character utilizes the different combat techniques available to him (Aid Another, Bull Rush, Trip, etc) but the other character's, even the ones capable don't employ them.

I'm DMing this group on the weekend and was wondering if other DMs employed them?

Also, if you do employ them, do they drastically change the difficulty of an encounter?

Sure, sometimes. My bad guys tend to be geared towards a single "special attack", or to not bother with them at all. E.g.: bugbear slavers with XWP: Whip, Expertise & Improved Trip. They have a reason to be good with whips -- they're slavers.

-- N

Heck, I barely use them with PCs.

I find the combat system, as presented, far more complicated than it needs to be.

Aid another gets used lots in my game. But I don't really see that as a big thing.

The last session, I used Improved Trip to knock over the hapless mage who was trying to get away from a chain golem's whirlwind attack. He went down to about -8 hit points as a result. He should have just d-doored.

In general, though, I dislike the special attacks (trip, grapple, sunder, disarm). They strike me as basically ways to subvert the hit point mechanic, especially in how they usually get trotted out as ways to deal with nasty opponents. Wizard giving you trouble? Grapple him. Archer shooting you to bits? Sunder the bow, etc. It goes the other way too: lots of melee-brute monsters have improved grab, which is a great way to nerf or neutralise the great majority of the fighters out there (those who haven't sunk all their feats and specials into using a light weapon).

Yeah, Aid Another really doesn't strike me as an advanced technique. It's pretty much been standard SOP as long as we've been playing 3E.

Likewise, Grapple is a staple of our game. Happens every second session, at least. Not always used against the Wizards, either.

Probably the most amusing grapple was one of the first we had. For some reason (not sure if I ever knew why), the half-dragon/dwarven Sorcerer decided it'd be a great idea to grapple the gargoyle. Somehow, he survived, but it took a lot of Aid Another actions from the rest of the party.

The others see periodic use, but it seems like they come in spurts.

Yeah, Aid Another really doesn't strike me as an advanced technique. It's pretty much been standard SOP as long as we've been playing 3E.

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Whilst I don't consider them advanced techniques, they do raise the interest and difficulty of a combat. I do wonder however if the PCs will get owned by a group of NPCs that employ such techniques to artifically raise their ACs or Attack Bonuses, sunder weapons or trip fighters to get to the spellcasters. Especially if the PCs don't employ such tactics.

hong said:

Wizard giving you trouble? Grapple him.

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This has been SOP since early 2E. Can't gesture if your arms are being grabbed. 3E at least makes these rules more reasonable, though still not perfect.

Yes, but not nearly as much as I should.

While I like the idea of subverting the hit point mechanic, I don't find the special maneuvers very effective for most NPCs, except monsters who get them for free (eg worgs' improved trip - IMO should be called 'knockdown' BTW). They don't do a very good job of subverting hit points, anyway - even when you finally Pin somebody you still can't CDG them!

Personally I like bullrushing pcs off of 4-storey towers or bullrushing them into pits of hellfire. Sundering a PC's +3 weapon is also fun, as can be disarming people. The new winner with 3.5 is trip.