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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BookTenTiger" data-source="post: 8685747" data-attributes="member: 6685541">I've been trying to make my combats more exciting without a ton more pre-planning. I don't always know if an encounter is going to be combat, social, or exploration, so I find that trying to prep dynamic combats never works out for me. Often I put a lot of work into thinking up urgent stakes, a dynamic battlefield, and strategic enemies... and then the players decide to negotiate or sneak by!So to make my combats more exciting and dynamic in the moment, I've been using this little rule of thumb:Enemies only attack when they have advantage.Okay, first off, that's a very soft "only." Sometimes it makes sense for an enemy to attack even if they don't have advantage, such as a big snake that grapples on a successful hit.But in general, if an enemy doesn't have advantage, I have them do something else. Often this is an effort to get advantage on their next attack, or an ally's attack. Maybe they knock a character prone. Maybe they disengage and run. Maybe they douse the lights. Maybe they improvise!Since I started following this guideline, combat has been a lot more fun. I don't have to plan out dynamic combats in advance, because I know my enemies are going to be moving around the battlefield, doing crazy things like knocking over columns or setting things on fire. I can't say combat has been more deadly (it definitely hasn't been), but it's been more exciting!...Do you have any quick tips to use during a combat (not during prep!) that keeps the fight exciting and fun?</blockquote>

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