battle tactics

[Gilrion]

Well, firstly, our ranger doesn't really use his whole sneak attack thing much at all. He stays back and fires arrows initially. Which I guess, can put out the damage, but he can be doing more with sneak attack.

Sneak attack is the only option in which the damage output from TWF is clearly better than two-handed. The ranger should use that to his advantage. From a tactical POV, the arrows are quite good; but once the enemy hits your lines he should drop the bow and go for the extra SA damage.
In general, it is a good idea to hit before enemies are close to you. My Ranger (whose background includes being an ex-military type) would much like his group to do this. But nooooo, the barbarian charges the full 200 feet between himself and the enemy, taking several rounds, then ends up taking a beating. Granted, the character is a true and well-played barbarian, but this only leads to my ranger whipping out his swords and charging sighing: "Every man for himself..."

The monk is now down, so i'm hoping that we get a fighter in, thats what i'll be kinda hinting. We need some front up attacking.

You could try to get a fighter hireling or even cohort (is anyone thinking of taking Leadership?). The Monk can be a good character, but I agree that you need frontline power. A tank will serve you well.

AS the druid, I unfortunately don't have a much useful animal companion. Until I get back into the forest. But yes, I normally have my wolf, doing some sort of flanking, and tripping, to assist the fighters.

Careful, the wolf is ok for now, but later on he will likely die, especially since he uses such an effective combat maneuver. Maybe upgrade the animal (he can be advanced, like an extra couple of hit dice, I think he'll even grow to Large) or try a Dire Wolf (6HD if I'm not mistaken) which is already quite potent. A viper up your arm is also not bad for defense, but it may not fit your character.

The cleric and I are noramlly stuck on the front lines, unfortuneately that means, I"m forced to put on Healing spells, weaking my potential somewhat.

The cleric (with his spontaneous cure casting) should be the main healer. As a druid you have lots of good spells of 1st and 2nd level. Never travel without Goodberry. Use Flame Blade in combat (wonderful spell, works great until you get Wildshape to do combat). Check out your spell list, there is some other neat stuff in there. Memorize a couple of CLWs at least, but IMHO the main healing should go for the cleric. Maybe one of you could get Brew Potion or Craft Wand (or one each) to help in this department?

The Sorcerer stays back and pummels with magic magic missle.

A level 3 sorcerer has few other options, so this is fine for now. He should be careful which spells he picks later on, though, whatever it is he'll be stuck with it.

I guess, our group, tends to just, melee hit, or just attack. We tend not to do a lot of Trip, disarm, etc. And we don't really take advantage of then the opponent has lost his AoO, to do stuff we wouldn't normally do, becauce of AoO.

Do you Think characters would discuss in character, bout how they should be co-operating in battle?

I think the characters would discuss this IC. They want to live, right?
About moves like trip, disarm, etc, they are not always most advantageous. Trip, for instance, always provoked an AoO (even with the feat). The Monk should use it if he is raised when he reaches the level, however. Most of these moves are for Fighters, though, and you don't have one. Takes a lot of feats to get them, and that0s the Fighter's turf.

 

[Fade]

Trip never provokes an AoO. They just get a chance to trip back.

From the SRD
Trip an opponent [Varies] [AoO: No]

A combatant can try to trip an opponent as a melee attack. A combatant can only trip an opponent who is one size category larger than a combatant, the same size, or smaller.

 

[Gilrion]

Trip never provokes an AoO. They just get a chance to trip back.

Oops! My mistake. You're absolutely right, of course. I just remembered trip had a downside to it, even if you had the feat.

 

[Old One]

Ex-Military Mind on the Case...

This might ramble a bit, so please bear with me...

It sounds like the monk is not coming back and a fighter-type might be in the offing. It would also help immensely to know what spells and what type of familiar the sorcerer has.

As others have mentioned, this group is NOT built for melee combat. It does, however, have excellent potential as a recon/running combat squad. The key for this group is not to go toe-to-toe with the enemy unless you absolutely have to...use ambush, missile fire and tactical withdrawals to fight battles on your terms, not the enemy's.

A couple of things to consider:

(1) Scouting/Recon: The first rule about dealing with an ambush is never to get caught in one! With the Ranger/Rogue, the sorcerer's familiar (particularly if it can fly) and the Druid's animal companion(s), you should be able to do a great job of scouting. If you detect an ambush, try to spring it with one or two party members and draw the attackers back to the rest of the party.

If you do get caught in an ambush, the best tactic (9 times out of 10) is for everyone to charge directly at one flank, seek to break out of the ambush, then turn the tables on your attackers.

(2) Segment the Battlefield: If you are traveling cross-country or expect to fight outdoors, the Druid should never be without a couple of Entangle spells. If the sorcerer has Sleep or Color Spray, that works well also. Have the sorcerer pick up some scrolls of Obscuring Mist and Flaming Sphere.

The idea with all of these spells (and many others) is to use them to divide the enemy into smaller, more easily defeated, groups. Accomplish that by inpacitating a portion of the enemy force, ganging up on the othes and defeat them all in detail.

Example: You are attacked by a goblin band that includes 10 melee warriors and 4 archers. The warriors charge you and the archers sit back and plunk you with arrows. Use Obscuring Mist to seperate the warriors from their fire support, drop a Flaming Sphere or two to protect your flanks and force the warriors to attack you head on.

The same tactics, slightly modified, would work well in a dungeon corridor, where the enemy fire support is usually in the back. Fill the far part of the corridor with Obscuring Mist so archers and spellcasters can't target you, divide the enemy warriors into 2-3 smaller groups with well-placed Flaming Spheres and tackle each small group in turn.

(3) Missile Fire is Your Friend: You aren't any good at melee combat, so why bother? Everyone should have some type of missile weapon. The sorcerer (as an elf) and the ranger/rogue should be using longbows, with the others using crossbows. ALL fire should be directed at one enemy until that enemy drops. Too often, everyone in the party picks a different target, so you end up with many slightly wounded enemies, instead of 1-2 dead ones. Go after enemy leaders and spellcasters first.

(4) The Fighting Withdrawal or Don't Be Afraid to Run!: Since your forte is not melee combat, don't engage in it! When you make contact, immediately begin a fighting withdrawal to spead the enemy out and allow you to pick them off.

If the sorcerer and ranger/rogue are using bows, they can fire each round and still make a regular move. Have the crossbow users fire once, then run backwards (remember, everyone is firing at the same target). The sorcerer and the ranger/rogue fire and move back. The next round, the crossbow users reload and fire, while the bow users fire and move back - bringing the entire group together again. Repeat as neccessary.

Meanwhile, if terrain permits, the Druid can be segmenting the battlefield with Entangle spells or helping with fire support.

(5) Spread the Healing Around: Either the druid or the cleric should take Brew Potion or Craft Wonderous Item as soon as possible, then load up on CLW potions or create a Wand of CLW. Since that may take a couple of levels, try to pick up a bunch of potions or a wand in the interim, to free up the cleric to cast combat spells instead of focusing on healing.

(6) The Rally Point and the Battle Buddy: If you know that you are going into combat (assaulting an enemy stonghold, for instance), then you should have a pre-determined "rally point" that everyone breaks away and hauls @$$ to if things go bad. Have a code word that you use when your position is becoming untenable...when that code word is uttered, everyone breaks contact and moves back to the rally point as quickly as possible.

Ideally, the rally point is easily defendable and might even be pre-stocked with a couple of CLW potions, just in case. Caltrops and flaming oil can really help break contact with the enemy.

PCs usually die when they get separated from everyone else. To this end, institute a "battle buddy" or "wingman" system, where everyone in the group is paired up with another PC (you can use animal companions to fill-in). As they say in the movie Top Gun, you never leave your wingman. The "battle buddy" is key to avoiding being flanked and preventing sneak attack damage.

In conclusion, your party is not set-up to directly confront heavily armed and armored opponents. That's fine, just make sure you play to your strengths and not your weaknesses. Stealth, speed, hit-and-run attacks, fighting withdrawals, concealing magic, illusions and good teamwork should be what you concentrate on. Develop 3-5 simple tactics - each with their own code word - and don't let yourself be drawn into a slugging match!

Try it out and have some fun!

~ Old One

 

[Pielorinho]

Old one, as usual, has tremendously good advice.

One more spell you may want to think about as the druid, eversoar, is barkskin. With barkskin on you and a shillelagh in your hand, you can possibly pass for a frontline fighter.

The group I DM for has the most distressing habit of casting about half a dozen buffing spells on a single PC and sending them into battle. It's a tactic very vulnerable to a dispel magic, but when fighting enemies without that spell, it's deadly.

Consider choosing one person to receive the following spells:

Mage Armor (if they don't wear good armor)
Barkskin
Bull's Strength
Endurance
Cat's Grace
Shield of Faith
Magic Weapon (or magic fang, or shillelagh)

This combination will last for awhile, except for the magic weapon part; that PC can soak up a fair amount of damage and dish out even more. Everyone else should still be available for support, of course, but the buffed PC can be the frontline fighter until you get a real frontline fighter.

Daniel