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Combat help, I need to be more tactical
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<blockquote data-quote="Magesmiley" data-source="post: 2870071" data-attributes="member: 26292"><p>Speaking as a Power Gaming Player and a DM, a big thing to do is to vary the combats. Don't use the same trick repeatedly. Try different things out to see what works well. And make sure you do try some unusual tactics in some of the combats. This gives the players some variety and also lets you see what works well and what doesn't.</p><p></p><p>Make an encounter where the key difficulty revolves around dealing with a nasty grappler. Or maybe a flying/hard-to-reach sniper. Another opponent could be using improved invisibility to sneak attack everyone, or even just to disrupt spellcasters when they're about to dish out some hurt. Try a large creature with a spiked chain and some area control feats (such as improved trip and large and in charge). How about an unarmed opponent who specializes in disarming and tossing the seized weapons to its allies. Let them face something that really is too tough for them, but which has an easy out if they think of it (a large dinosaur which the ranger can convince to leave via animal empathy would be a good example). How about an ambush with a battlefield specially prepared to make life difficult. Try out some undead who have been bolstered by an evil cleric. A few bags of caltrops liberally scattered around a battlefield are another easy way to control the area (you'd be surprised at how carefully many players avoid even minor battlefield dangers). Look for some monsters with interesting abilities - your power gamer is not likely to know all the monsters inside and out. Try using a variation of a common monster whose abilities are slightly different (a half red-dragon troll might be a good example - its a troll that is immune to fire). How about combining a trap with an encounter with enemies - have the enemies wait until the trap is sprung, then hit the players while they are down. An encounter which divides the battle into two areas with two different sets of opponents is another nice challenge - players can't use all of their typical tactics when half of the group in a separate battle.</p><p></p><p>Make sure that not all of your encounters are combat based. Encounters where there are non-combat obstacles to overcome can be just as interesting. An unstable bridge across a gorge, or a trapped idol with a very tempting treasure are a couple of the more common ones of this variety. </p><p></p><p>As far as your cleric's AC, 27 AC isn't as high as it might seem at level 6 - I've played character which have had higher ones. One big thing to realize about dealing with high ACs is to understand that the critical factor is the roll required to hit the character and that the last 5 points or so gives the greatest benefit - the difference in raising a needed hit roll from 15 to 20 is much more potent than raising it from 10 to 15. Likewise reducing a hit roll needed from 20 to 15 is more effective than reducing one from 10 to 5. Judging by the class selection, the cleric is the only one whose AC is so high. </p><p></p><p>Play monsters intelligently. If they see a tin can who is not doing a lot of damage to them, but they are being beaten up by more lightly armored opponents, beat up the more lightly armored characters. In many cases it is easier to render a high AC character ineffective in a combat by controlling their movement. If the tin can is obnoxious, shove him (via bull rush) into a hidden pit trap. The let him figure out how to get out while another enemy tosses a couple of flasks of alchemist's fire in the pit. Heck, you could even use a slope and a grease spell instead of a bull-rusher. Fairly low-level opposition, but highly effective against a high AC character.</p><p></p><p>You might consider adding a minor enemy or two whose primary job is just to raise all of the enemy's attacks. The bard mentioned with the archers is an excellent example. However, tacking in a minor spellcaster whose primary job is to just buff another enemy or three can be very effective. A relatively low-level caster can be effective by using combinations of buff spells even when there is a significant disparity between its level and the party's. Moving that hit roll from 20 down to 16 by using a couple of 1st and 2nd level spells which stack can have an incredible effect on the battle.</p><p></p><p>A moderate weakness I see here is that there is going to be a lack of depth in the arcane spellcasting area. A sorcerer character simply doesn't have the breadth of spells available that a wizard does. There are a number of situations that can be presented which certain spells make fairly easy and where a lack of depth in spell selection can make difficult. The focus on heavy damage spells is liable to compound this. The most effective spells aren't always those that dish out massive hurt to the enemy.</p><p></p><p>Consider using a master villain from the shadows whose minions the players are facing. The master villain can learn from the success/failure of his other minions and instruct his later minions to plan accordingly. Likewise, by the time the players face the master, he should know a lot about them, and have counter tactics prepared against their most likely tactics.</p><p></p><p>Hope this helps.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Magesmiley, post: 2870071, member: 26292"] Speaking as a Power Gaming Player and a DM, a big thing to do is to vary the combats. Don't use the same trick repeatedly. Try different things out to see what works well. And make sure you do try some unusual tactics in some of the combats. This gives the players some variety and also lets you see what works well and what doesn't. Make an encounter where the key difficulty revolves around dealing with a nasty grappler. Or maybe a flying/hard-to-reach sniper. Another opponent could be using improved invisibility to sneak attack everyone, or even just to disrupt spellcasters when they're about to dish out some hurt. Try a large creature with a spiked chain and some area control feats (such as improved trip and large and in charge). How about an unarmed opponent who specializes in disarming and tossing the seized weapons to its allies. Let them face something that really is too tough for them, but which has an easy out if they think of it (a large dinosaur which the ranger can convince to leave via animal empathy would be a good example). How about an ambush with a battlefield specially prepared to make life difficult. Try out some undead who have been bolstered by an evil cleric. A few bags of caltrops liberally scattered around a battlefield are another easy way to control the area (you'd be surprised at how carefully many players avoid even minor battlefield dangers). Look for some monsters with interesting abilities - your power gamer is not likely to know all the monsters inside and out. Try using a variation of a common monster whose abilities are slightly different (a half red-dragon troll might be a good example - its a troll that is immune to fire). How about combining a trap with an encounter with enemies - have the enemies wait until the trap is sprung, then hit the players while they are down. An encounter which divides the battle into two areas with two different sets of opponents is another nice challenge - players can't use all of their typical tactics when half of the group in a separate battle. Make sure that not all of your encounters are combat based. Encounters where there are non-combat obstacles to overcome can be just as interesting. An unstable bridge across a gorge, or a trapped idol with a very tempting treasure are a couple of the more common ones of this variety. As far as your cleric's AC, 27 AC isn't as high as it might seem at level 6 - I've played character which have had higher ones. One big thing to realize about dealing with high ACs is to understand that the critical factor is the roll required to hit the character and that the last 5 points or so gives the greatest benefit - the difference in raising a needed hit roll from 15 to 20 is much more potent than raising it from 10 to 15. Likewise reducing a hit roll needed from 20 to 15 is more effective than reducing one from 10 to 5. Judging by the class selection, the cleric is the only one whose AC is so high. Play monsters intelligently. If they see a tin can who is not doing a lot of damage to them, but they are being beaten up by more lightly armored opponents, beat up the more lightly armored characters. In many cases it is easier to render a high AC character ineffective in a combat by controlling their movement. If the tin can is obnoxious, shove him (via bull rush) into a hidden pit trap. The let him figure out how to get out while another enemy tosses a couple of flasks of alchemist's fire in the pit. Heck, you could even use a slope and a grease spell instead of a bull-rusher. Fairly low-level opposition, but highly effective against a high AC character. You might consider adding a minor enemy or two whose primary job is just to raise all of the enemy's attacks. The bard mentioned with the archers is an excellent example. However, tacking in a minor spellcaster whose primary job is to just buff another enemy or three can be very effective. A relatively low-level caster can be effective by using combinations of buff spells even when there is a significant disparity between its level and the party's. Moving that hit roll from 20 down to 16 by using a couple of 1st and 2nd level spells which stack can have an incredible effect on the battle. A moderate weakness I see here is that there is going to be a lack of depth in the arcane spellcasting area. A sorcerer character simply doesn't have the breadth of spells available that a wizard does. There are a number of situations that can be presented which certain spells make fairly easy and where a lack of depth in spell selection can make difficult. The focus on heavy damage spells is liable to compound this. The most effective spells aren't always those that dish out massive hurt to the enemy. Consider using a master villain from the shadows whose minions the players are facing. The master villain can learn from the success/failure of his other minions and instruct his later minions to plan accordingly. Likewise, by the time the players face the master, he should know a lot about them, and have counter tactics prepared against their most likely tactics. Hope this helps. [/QUOTE]
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