Creative combat objectives (other than "kill 'em all")

[Nebulous]

Good stuff here. I think i'll use one of these for an aboleth encounter i'm working on with dozens of minions.

The aboleth itself is in a state of metamorphosis, immobile and vulnerable (not completely), and its main defense is the mob of minions. Maybe "Last Stand" would work well here.

 

[Rackhir]

There was a classic Star Fleet Battles scenario called "Surprise Reversed" where a fleet that was being prepared for a surprise attack got jumped by a lone ship, while most of the ships were "inactive" IE. not ready for combat, with minimal defenses. So each round there was the tension between sticking around to inflict damage and fleeing before too many activated and it got overwhelmed.

D&D doesn't have the same "systems" mechanics that SFB, being concerned with ships (which obviously have lots of individual systems) does. But I can seem PCs attacking an enemy force where lots of them are asleep and thus unarmored and unarmed. Or perhaps PCs being attacked before they've finished memorizing spells for the day (not sure if that works in 4e though).

Could also be easy for one side to stick around too long and get wiped out. Since the scenario is built around a vastly superior foe who is handicapped by being unprepared.

 

[Ycore Rixle]

Any suggestions how to increase the difficulty of these situations?

For the Last Stand scenario, what if the area where the PCs are standing starts to collapse? The cavern begins to crumble, the fort's walls weaken and the parapets drop, the bridge supports fray and it threatens to dangle, etc.

 

[Halivar]

For the Last Stand scenario, what if the area where the PCs are standing starts to collapse? The cavern begins to crumble, the fort's walls weaken and the parapets drop, the bridge supports fray and it threatens to dangle, etc.

You're a rat-bastard. I like it!

 

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Very cool stuff. These remind me a lot of Advanced Squad Leader scenarios, by Avalon Hill--as well as different missions for Realms of Chaos, by Games Workshop from way back in the day.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[timbannock]

This has some awesome scenario's, but what about settings?

My suggestions:

- Aboard a ship, during a storm (waves crashing in, slippery boards as well as the potential for "heroic" use of the terrain)

- Aboard a ship, in the middle of a ship-to-ship combat. Cannons firing, parts of the terrain exploding, the ship rocking from hits. Sails and masts falling down.

- Aboard two ships, during a boarding action. Two ships locked might mean both a scenario (get rid of the hooks/grapplers that hold the ships together) and interesting terrain with multiple levels of action.

- Inside some kind of machine. Giant cogs moving, levers swinging out, every flat surface is a cog that spins. Add scenario: Either damage the machine (making it more dangerous every time you score a successful hit) or protect the machine (once again, becoming more and more dangerous).

- On a collapsing bridge. Parts will fall off and once a hole appears, it generally widens, quickly. Perhaps the characters must make it over, or perhaps they must ensure it collapses completely, cutting off their enemies.

- Near a dangerous something. Perhaps it is a Snatcher in the lake right by the gates, or a living cave that eats people. Whatever it is, the PCs must complete their mission/combat while avoiding certain areas (and perhaps pushing enemies into these?)

- On icefloes, or stone floes in a lava river, or solidified ectoplasm in the Astral Sea.

One of my favorites was from Pathfinder #2, the Skinsaw Murders:

PCs go into an abandoned clocktower. They go up some dilapidated stairs, and the badguys lurking above start severing the ropes that hold the bells in the tower up there. Bells start crashing through the already unsteady stairs, creating gaps, potentially crushing PCs or forcing them to dodge and possibly fall.

Absolutely nasty.

 

[Rel]

This thread is replete with awesomeness. Subscribed!

I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm modifying the "Milestones" rule in my upcoming campaign so that the PC's get them for tangible accomplishments rather than simply every two encounters. Many of these scenario objectives are exactly the kinds of things I've been thinking of.

Excellent stuff!

 

[Rechan]

One of my favorites was from Pathfinder #2, the Skinsaw Murders:

PCs go into an abandoned clocktower. They go up some dilapidated stairs, and the badguys lurking above start severing the ropes that hold the bells in the tower up there. Bells start crashing through the already unsteady stairs, creating gaps, potentially crushing PCs or forcing them to dodge and possibly fall.

Absolutely nasty.

In one of the recent PF modules (Children of the Void), the PCs are under siege in a listing lighthouse when the lighthouse breaks from its foundation and starts to roll down the cliff. So the sequence commences of them just trying to nto be bounced around inside of it, along with the monsters inside.

 

[WampusCat43]

I've 'subjected' my players to numerous 'Chutes and Ladders' situations, where they had to climb/descend a winding path to an objective, all the while carrying an unconscious NPC, dodging enemy fire/aerial assaults, deciding whether to run or fight, etc. I like creating a 'game within the game'.

One of the very first Traveller scenarios I ran (err...30 years ago) consisted of the PCs having to escape a robot factory gone bad. They snaked their way up the hillside to the landing pad, ducking from landslides created by enemy fire, trying to outrun the pursuing robots, and so on.

They survived to get their shuttle back to the Leviathan, only to find out that, while they were screwing around in the factory, the robots had loaded 100 of their kind into the cargo bay of the shuttle ("Your controls feel a little...mushy").

 

[The Little Raven]

I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm modifying the "Milestones" rule in my upcoming campaign so that the PC's get them for tangible accomplishments rather than simply every two encounters. Many of these scenario objectives are exactly the kinds of things I've been thinking of.

I began doing the same thing in my last session. I had set up a Skill Challenge as an encounter, requiring the players to cross the Tser Falls to get to Castle Ravenloft. Well, things didn't go quite as planned, and there was an awesome scene where one of the players went over the falls, but was saved by being tied to one of the others, and with a series of perfect Athletics rolls, he swung himself back up and punted off a vampire that was threatening his allies in the middle of the bridge. The tension and excitement in the room was palpable, and I gave everyone a milestone with a comment that any event that makes me go "Damn that's cool" will automatically earn a milestone for the party. It really helps push my players to take risks on all kinds of things.