Advice on tactics

[Ridley's Cohort]

Good advice, folks.

(1) Do not be afraid of making a mistake if that is exactly the kind of mistake your PC would probably make.

(2) A good tactician looks for ways for his PC to be more effective. A great tactician looks for ways to make his comrades more effective first.

(3) Hitting them fast and hard to knock a few opponents out of the fight ASAP is a great idea but a bad habit. The PCs as a party tend to have deeper magical resources to draw upon, so slowing down the combat and/or regrouping tends to be to your advantage. Scrolls of Obscuring Mist, Fog Cloud, Web, Stinking Cloud are worth their weight in platinum when facing a real emergency.

(4) Area control spells such as walls, Web, fog, etc. can accomplish both #2 and #3 very efficiently. Isolating a portion of the enemy for even a single round will allow the rest of the party to operate a peak effectiveness without interference. This is extremely powerful in larger parties.

(5) Great villains always have an escape plan. So should heroes. A potion of Invisiblity and a potion of Fly (when you have the lucre) gives you the option of fleeing to fight another day. A potion or two saved for an emergency is a lot cheaper than the Raise Dead or TPK.

 

[smetzger]

What advice would you give players, new and old, when it came to combat tactics?
What general principles inform your decision-making? (For example, "Stick a fighter in the enemy wizard's face.")
What would you count as basic, intermediate, and advanced tactics?
How would your advice change by general party level: low, medium, high levels?

1) get intel on your enemy.
2) buff appropriately
3) use silence(silence on a coin or stone that the fighter or monk carries, can prove very effective in shutting down the enemy caster) and invisiblity

 

[Zaruthustran]

Here are my top five tips:

1. Pick a combat leader.
When it's time to make a decision during combat, someone has to designated as the sole decision maker. Otherwise, you'll waste valuable time debating the issue.

2. Act together, or die alone.
This is as true in D&D battle as it is in real life. If you're part of a team, and the team decides on a course of action, you've got to fully commit and give it your all. If the leader yells "Charge!" you've got to charge, right now, no questions asked. If the order for retreat is sounded, you've got to ditch. Any hesitation could kill not only you, but also your companions, or even the entire mission.

Corollary to the above is that if you decide to run forward, you should know that you've not only committed yourself but also your companions. The life you lose as a result of rash action may not be your own.

3. Come up with standard operating procedures.
The entire party should plan for common problems. If, say, the party is ambushed by archers on either side of a road everyone should already know how to react. Otherwise, you'll have the fighter turtling behind his shield, the barbarian running into the weeds, the wizard buffing the rogue, the rogue running away, etc. etc.

Here are some common situations for which you should develop SOPs:

• Camping (watches, fire placement, mount placement, sleeper placement, armor worn while sleeping, etc.)
• Entering doors
• Detecting an unaware enemy (party gets a surprise round)
• Encountering an aware enemy (no surprise round)
• Getting ambushed (enemy gets surprise round; try to develop SOP for different common ambush setups)
• Running away (criteria for retreat, communicating the retreat signal, method of travel, rally points)
• Dealing with charmed party members
• Dealing with casters, big monsters, flyers, mounted enemies, swarms, incorporeals, grapplers, and other specific types of creatures

The important thing is not to follow the plan to the letter, but to have a general plan so everyone can count on everyone else reacting in the same basic way.

4. Know when--and how--to run.
Establish criteria for when to throw in the towel during combat. When the cleric goes down? When over half the party has lost over half their hit points? TPK's come from the party not knowing when to run, or when one or two party members run early. The other three tips all mention retreat and moving together but Retreat is worth it's own bullet point.

Everyone also needs to know how to run away. Who covers the retreat? Who tosses the smokestick/Obscuring Mist/Solid Fog/Summoned Monster/Caltrops/other obstacle to pursuit? Who decides when to stop the retreat? How do you cover your tracks/prepare for the arrival of pursuers? Where do you run to, and how do you get there? Once there, what do you do? What if you're separated?

Again, details are nice but not absolutely needed. This plan could be as simple as "Okay, everyone take a good look at this room and remember how to get back to it. If we need to run, we'll run here. Mysto, you cast some sort of spell that'll slow down pursuit. Johan, you stay put until everyone else has run. Birn, you're fastest so when you get here make sure the room is clear and ready an action to bar the door once Johan comes through. If anyone gets tied down blow your whistle, and we'll come for you. Got it? Okay let's go."

5. Equipment.
Even mundane equipment can be a lifesaver. Tindertwigs, sunrods, and smokesticks can instantly remedy a disadvantageous situation. Whistles have terrific range, carry over crowds or battlefields, and can even be used by mute characters, trained animal companions, or familiars--a whistle should hang from every neck (no action needed to "draw" it). Rope has a thousand uses. Some monsters (or their effects) are negated by common materials such as soap, oil, alcohol, or lye. Masterwork tools give a sometimes-crucial +2 to key skills.

Everyone should carry not only a basic kit, but key redundancies. Have the fighter carry a spare spell component pouch and holy symbol. Give the wizard a cold iron dagger. Give the rogue a copy of the wizard's spellbook. Even the dwarf should have a way to create light.

Magic items are needed too, of course. Everyone needs potions of healing, invisibility, and flight (for emergencies). The party should have a stock of critical situational scrolls: remove disease, remove curse, remove blindness, remove paralysis, make whole, waterbreathing, knock, passwall, tongues, see invisibility, stone shape, wizard lock, comprehend languages, detect poison, neutralize poison, gust of wind, lower water, restoration.

---

I guess the short version of all of the above is, "Be Prepared."

-z

 

[Slife]

I guess the short version of all of the above is, "Be Prepared."

-z

As for equipment, I'd add flour, since there are so many uses. You can wet it to make a paste to stick stuff, use it to find invisible guys, make a cloud of it (which can explode), mark trails/paths (although chalk works just as well if you have it), improvise a trap to blind the next person who opens a door, and, of course, you can eat it.

Hammer + spikes is very useful.

Slings are free and weightless. Everyone should have a few.

If you can, buy a permanent magic trap of an attack cantrip or magic missile. Set it up whenever you sleep. It's password sensitive, so your guys won't be bothered by it, and it'll make it easier to avoid being ambushed.

Once you have cash, get feather tokens. Especially the tree.

For a wizard, the cursed sword-2 isn't too bad (especially if you can get one made of adamantine). You aren't going to be dealing much damage anyway, so the penalty isn't that bad. If the DM ever tries to lock you up, you can carve your way out.

Dust of sneezing and choking is absolutely great as a last-ditch defense. Stun everyone in 20 feet for 5d4 rounds with no save.

 

[Angerland]

a number of small bells can also be used as early warning devices when spread out around your camp or down hallways and around corners when camping in a dungeon. SOP's are nmice BUT when you start to get to the levels at which the enemy may start to scry on you it can be a downfall as they will know how you are going to react in certain situations because that is how you ALWAYS react. Even having a general guidline could be bad.

I am not saying don't have a plan, but be flexible! In addition to the handy potions and scrolls most folks have already mentioned, I like to carry a Bead of force or two. I tend to use them like a hand grenade, either to cover a retreat or to lead in to an attack to take out some of the enemy quickly.They can be a bit pricey if you throw them all the time so use wisely. If you can get your whole party to get one or two each then you can really shut things down in an emergency.

 

[Nail]

First, let's get this out of the way: Scry allows a Will save in 3.5e, and the target has the advantage. And there's Anticipate Teleport as an all-day buff spell. Scry-Buff-Teleport is no longer the "Be all End All" option as it was in 3.0e.




As for Basic Tactics:

#1) When exploring, go slow. There's often little reason to rush into the middle of things to see what pops out at you. Countless published adventure encounters are easily defeated by "going slow" and "covering your angles". See a big empty room? Don't go waltzing down the middle of it. In fact, get ready for an ambush by arranging yourself outside the area, then sending in a highly mobile scout.

#2) Concentrate your fire. As has been mentioned above, don't spread out your attacks unless it's necessary. Have everyone attack one creature at a time until it's dead, so that you remove a source of damage to your party. Modify this tactic with...

#3) Control the battlefield. Spells do this best, but terrain and group arrangement can do this too. Limit enemy line of sight (Obscuring Mist, etc), his ability to move (Entangle, Grease, Web, Wall of Stone, etc), and his ability to take actions (Slow, Confusion, etc.). If you can force the enemy into attacking through a bottleneck (door, hallway, etc), tough encounters can become laughably easy.

#4) Always consider how your actions can make your allies most effective. To be frank, lone heroes out in front die quick. Act as a team, using spell buffs, flanking, and judicious AoO provokations. I gotta say this last point is the most important. You'd be surprised how effective a bit of teamwork is.




A final note: Making the cleric run around healing you, rather than contributing in some other way, is a major missed opportunity.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Stealth, maneuverability and the Powell doctrine.

The Powell Doctrine, also known as the Powell Doctrine of Overwhelming Force, was elaborated by General Colin Powell in the run up to the 1990-1991 Gulf War. It is based in large part on the Weinberger Doctrine, devised by Caspar Weinberger, former Secretary of Defense and Powell's former boss.

The questions posed by the Powell Doctrine, which should be answered affirmatively before military action, are:

1. Is a vital national security interest threatened?
2. Do we have a clear attainable objective?
3. Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed?
4. Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted?
5. Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement?
6. Have the consequences of our action been fully considered?
7. Is the action supported by the American people?
8. Do we have genuine broad international support?

That sure seems like a lot of work to seperate an orc from his pie, but I guess you're just more prudent than me.

 

[Warren Okuma]

Well, that's why if you're a wizard, you should wear leather clothing, carry a sickle, and have a sprig of holly on a thong around you're neck. Now you're a druid, and won't automatically draw fort spells (everyone knows druids have good fort saves) or melee opponents (everyone knows druids can turn into big scary bears).

My NPC's would freak and attack you. It always depends on the campaign.

Or buy a noble's outfit and wear a rapier at your hip. Now you're a deadly duelist or rogue. They won't toss Reflex spells at you, but they will hit you with Will spells.

Better.

Or wear a Disguise Self spell. Now you've got full plate, and those archers won't even bother trying to shoot at you.

Best!

I tell you, after my fighter kept getting hit by Charms and Hold Persons I just had him start wearing a big fat holy symbol (of a god of war) and carrying a few obvious spell component pouches. Solved the problem right away.

Nice!

 

[Warren Okuma]

or anybody with a 1-level dip in Monk (or battledancer)... including a wizard.

Never, never, ever lose a caster level. It hurts agains SR and you never have enough spells.