Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Arc" data-source="post: 2516091" data-attributes="member: 12184">It's not to hard to grasp the basics of &quot;subtract X from this, add X (or X*2) to this.&quot; Much easier than some feats which deal with &quot;in situation X, gain combat option Y and Z.&quot; Power attack and expertise are basic (and logical) extrapolations of the basic combat mechanic, and using them will ease players into the more advanced combat options (Total Defense, various special manouvers).Also, for Sorcerors, assume they are casting everything defensively. A lot of DMs like to catch players with the &quot;You didn't say casting defensively! Hah!&quot; trick. Just ask them to roll the concentration check for every spell that would threaten an AOO. It'll get them in the habit, and introduce the concept as an integral part of the system, rather than making it seem like a tacked on option.Afterthoughts:Consider a &quot;manouver a day&quot; type of combat, especially if you have a few new players in your group. Many modern movies and most anime shows have villians which are seemingly invincible, except for one major weakness or flaw. Have the character(s) fight monsters who depend greatly on their weapons (disarm), are strong but clumsy on their feet (trip), have fights near cliff edges or on catwalks (bull rush), use spellcasters who cast a spell the PC has repeatedly (counterspell), or have monsters with clear elemental weaknesses (various elemental spells or align weapon). Don't be afraid to point out the flaw to the players, and if they ask &quot;Can I do ____&quot; point them to the relevant section of the PHB and explain the manouver in detail. For introducing newbies to higher level campaigns, a jack of all trades fighter with several of the Improved _____ feats or a sorceror with several types of elemental damage spells can give the player a lot of straightforward options that are fairly logical, and also very dramatic. While such a character might not be the most effective on pure damage, the player will feel very rewarded when his/her character defeats foes with logical tactics. This sort of character play, in my mind, is the best way to have players understand a lot of the other strange combat tactics in the game, since they'll be used to the concept of special manouvers to defeat specific foes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Arc, post: 2516091, member: 12184"] It's not to hard to grasp the basics of "subtract X from this, add X (or X*2) to this." Much easier than some feats which deal with "in situation X, gain combat option Y and Z." Power attack and expertise are basic (and logical) extrapolations of the basic combat mechanic, and using them will ease players into the more advanced combat options (Total Defense, various special manouvers). Also, for Sorcerors, assume they are casting everything defensively. A lot of DMs like to catch players with the "You didn't say casting defensively! Hah!" trick. Just ask them to roll the concentration check for every spell that would threaten an AOO. It'll get them in the habit, and introduce the concept as an integral part of the system, rather than making it seem like a tacked on option. Afterthoughts: Consider a "manouver a day" type of combat, especially if you have a few new players in your group. Many modern movies and most anime shows have villians which are seemingly invincible, except for one major weakness or flaw. Have the character(s) fight monsters who depend greatly on their weapons (disarm), are strong but clumsy on their feet (trip), have fights near cliff edges or on catwalks (bull rush), use spellcasters who cast a spell the PC has repeatedly (counterspell), or have monsters with clear elemental weaknesses (various elemental spells or [i]align weapon[/i]). Don't be afraid to point out the flaw to the players, and if they ask "Can I do ____" point them to the relevant section of the PHB and explain the manouver in detail. For introducing newbies to higher level campaigns, a jack of all trades fighter with several of the Improved _____ feats or a sorceror with several types of elemental damage spells can give the player a lot of straightforward options that are fairly logical, and also very dramatic. While such a character might not be the most effective on pure damage, the player will feel very rewarded when his/her character defeats foes with logical tactics. This sort of character play, in my mind, is the best way to have players understand a lot of the other strange combat tactics in the game, since they'll be used to the concept of special manouvers to defeat specific foes. [/QUOTE]

Verification