One Clever Thing (in Every Encounter)

[TarionzCousin]

Slightly more prosaic versions of "splitting the party" - I like designing 4e combat encounters with lots of space (both horizontal and vertical), and then making the players as a group have to operate across the whole of that space, therefore requiring different PCs to be in different places doing different things.

When running 4E, I found myself making the combat terrain/scene more elaborate than previously with 3E; it seemed to me that 4E encouraged more complex combat scenes.

I'm trying to bring that same impulse to Pathfinder.

 

[Razjah]

I have found "aura" style zones to be good in D&D games. Something like an altar to a death god that causes wounds inflected by people within it's dark glow to bleed excessively. Or the ability to knock over a giant cauldron of boiling (thing) to damage the enemy while turning a small area into unsure footing.

Crowds and marketplaces can be great too. Stall, low walls, and crowds block line of site. Roofs can be climbed on for vantage points. This works well for a chase style fight. Something like the sheriff with a pistol (or two) hunting the assassin with a handful of daggers. Constantly vying for an advantage to attack without exposing themselves.

Another good one is to change the way the players view the fight. Fight while climbing a cliff face, enemies riding wyverns or under their own flight.


Giving PCs split objectives can work well to make fights more interesting. Evil wizard is attacking the crew of a ship while his kraken minion is trying to rip the masts down. PCs can attack the kraken but leave the crew and patron vulnerable to the wizard or fight the wizard and hope the kraken doesn't destroy the ship. Doing both will likely cause everyone to be injured or killed.


Choke points! Have enemies set up a shield wall with spears and archers behind them. PCs need to break through, but the choke point is very well defended.

 

[Evilhalfling]

Fighting on top or inside a monster.
I ran one fight on a pile of bones at the bottom of a chasm. 3-4 Skeletons would reassemble every time they were killed out of the pile, as the PCs searched for a armored dwarf corpse in among the orc bodies. When the PCs killed enough skeletons to bloody the creature, it revealed that the entire pile they had been climbing on and digging through was alive. It would shake (knockdown and damage the entire party) or create waves of bones to bury 1 person.

I haven't yet shrunk the PCs down, or had them fight inside a bigger critter but I have wanted to for some time.

I did a waist high, freezing fog in a temple, where PCs could balance on (stone) pews or climb up on the alter. They were blasted by an undead preacher and grappled by the (hidden) skeletal congregation.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Fighting on top or inside a monster.

I've been saving this for when the PC's get at least a couple more levels. They will be level 3 at the start of the next session.

Paizo's RPG superstar module "Clash of the Kingslayers" does something like this, as does a Dungeon magazine module wherein the PC's are inside an evil tree.

Terrain is a great way to mix things up--and to give PC's a chance to shine if they can "outsmart" it.

In my next session, there will be an archer in the rafters 25 feet up. There is one obvious means of access thereto: a rope hanging quite near the archer. However, after ten feet, it is oiled and quite slippery (DC20, which is quite high for 3rd level PC's without any ranks in Climb).

I am curious to see whether my group of very intelligent players try the obvious way up before attempting their own grappling hook/rope method.

 

[Razjah]

How about a hall of mirrors for a combat? Or portals! Imagine a large room with six pillars supporting a vaulted ceiling and a mezzanine. There are portals scattered all over the room and on the mezzanine. Attacks and line of sight continue through the portals. Ranged characters need to move a lot of be safe and the melee combatants can chase enemies/monsters in crazy paths. Suddenly veering right to jump through a portal may allow you to tackle the enemy wizard 50' ahead and stop his spell aimed at the rogue on the mezzanine. You could even have the portal destinations change every 3 rounds. (Pick them ahead of time, so much easier) and just number them on a map/battlemat.

 

[TarionzCousin]

One clever thing I've used multiple times is the telepathic sword trapped inside a circle of protection. Of course, it's really a demon/devil polymorphed as a magic sword. It will speak with the characters mentally and try to convince them to free it.

Note: it is rather difficult to use Sense Motive on a sword.