D&D 5E My most basic advice for DMs who want more interesting & dynamic combat

[el-remmen]

I see a similar dynamic with creative movement: I want to swing on the chandelier to get at the enemy. If I succeed on an acrobatics check, I do so and am standing next to the enemy; if I fail I'm flat on my face in front of the enemy and lose my attack.

Or, I could just walk up to the enemy and attack with the same bonus to hit.

Then the dm wonders why players never do anything creative.

But why is the character wanting to swing on the chandelier? Is it just to look cool, or is it because they are on one gallery and leaping on the chandelier to swing over to the other to back up your ally against a nasty opponent is faster than climbing down and back up the other side and thus worth a risk?

 

[jmartkdr2]

But why is the character wanting to swing on the chandelier? Is it just to look cool, or is it because they are on one gallery and leaping on the chandelier to swing over to the other to back up your ally against a nasty opponent is faster than climbing down and back up the other side and thus worth a risk?

Look cool, keep the game interesting, not just say "I move here and attack" for the Nth turn in a row.

Although getting some kind of small bonus for the surprise entrance also makes some sense.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

My most basic advice for DMs who want more interesting & dynamic combat is to play 4e...

 

[el-remmen]

My most basic advice for DMs who want more interesting & dynamic combat is to play 4e...

I know some folks feel that way but 4E just didn't jibe for me. I have been able to run interesting and dynamic combat in every other edition though.

 

[el-remmen]

Look cool, keep the game interesting, not just say "I move here and attack" for the Nth turn in a row.

Although getting some kind of small bonus for the surprise entrance also makes some sense.

That's cool, but that's not how I run my games or what me and my group are used to. The stakes of trying the risky thing out of desperation or clever strategy is the fun/suspense part - as is working around the obstacle that arises if you fail.

 

[Brotton Goodfellow]

If combat is too static, my advice would be to get rid of OA’s entirely and let everyone move around without worry. Getting rid of the grid and moving to zone based encounters also frees up the flow of combat as it allows characters and monsters to move through and interact with the environment more easily.

 

[pogre]

I've added elevation to a lot of my combats of late.

 

[AOieiosle]

I would suggest looking at the FATE RPG for the idea of "compelling" and "invoking" situational aspects in combat. Stop using feet/yards for movement if you want more "cinematic" combat. No one counts how many feet they move in movies!

I think a lot of the frustration comes from the division between "Combat" and "Skill Checks." They should not be mechanically separate.

With the width and breadth of imagination and creativity, it's staggering how many people play RPG combat like a video game or a board game. Move/Attack/I'm-done-your-turn-now. You can literally do anything! I assume it's why most of us got into playing tabletop roleplaying games.

 

[el-remmen]

Look no offense, but I find it kind of strange that people suggest playing a different game/edition in a forum about D&D in a thread labeled about a specific edition.

 

[LordEntrails]

Even more simple and for me a much greater impact tan opportunity attacks, re-roll initiative every turn. Randomness/chaos this adds to combat is awesome. PCs never know if they are going to get to attack twice before the BBEG, or if the BBEG will get to go again before they can. If you let it impact spell durations as well the chaos is even more significant.

Interesting combats, imo, are about variability, and for me, the easiest way to do this is to re-roll init each turn.