Favorite combat tactics? (2nd attempt)

[blargney the second]

Having an NPC cast Animate Object on a door the PCs are about to enter is *really* funny.

 

[Moonstone Spider]

The "Mount" spell does not have any specifications that the mount must be summoned on the ground.

Imagine, if you will, the effects of 1500 pounds of horseflesh materializing ten feet above the enemy's head. . .

Others:

Enemy in an annoying formation? Try the use-rope skill in conjunction with a horse and a grappling hook.

Instead of a mere sneak attack, have the rogue Pickpocket the mage of his spell component pouch. Maybe the Sneak attack will kill him, but without a specific feat he won't be casting any spells at all without that pouch and that's pretty much as disabling.

More Strategic than Tactical, but Ring of Sustenance + Necklace of Adaptation makes a character immune to pretty much all hostile environments likely to be found on the material plane. Add in a pricey ring of Elements and you can go practically anywhere in the multiverse without worrying about the weather killing you.

All characters take Blind Fight and everybody brings a big pocketful of smokesticks. Your penalties are minimal, most of theirs are horrible and annoying racial vision powers won't get in the way like they would against, say, mere darkness.

 

[Hussar]

Obviously, a door can provide a way to pick off players who try to enter one at a time. This is best accomplished by readied actions taken by combatants who cannot be seen or attacked from the other side of the door. Given a large enough room, you could have 20 or more attackers with ranged weapons with readied actions to shoot the next person who passes through a doorway. You can also put some heavily armoured, high HP thugs near the door do keep people who enter the door from getting very far inside the room.

Italics mine.

This actually doesn't work. You cannot ready an action, as per the rules, until combat has begun. You might be able to argue for a surprise round, if everyone was ready at the door, but, not a readied action. Otherwise, I would simply have the party ready actions at the door and automatically win first initiative at every door.

The players could ready actions for when the door opens, which is before anyone on the other side sees people.

This cannot be done by RAW.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I forgot the other favourite combat tactic (albeit I've never actually had the heart to use this) - the collossal mimic, disguised as an inn.

That's not a mimic, it's a house hunter...and they come in villages.

Actually, I believe the original Appalachian legend calls them "gardinels". Not a shapeshifting mimic, but a plant/fungus more akin to a pitcher plant. You walk in the door of the "house", the "floor" drops out from under you, and you're in a slippery-walled pit full of acid. Luminescent patches in the "windows" and inside the door give the illusion of occupancy at night.

C'mon! According to RPG/KoDT legend, such a critter should be called a Gazebo!

 

[Bagpuss]

A favourite tactic that Duergar used against my players was a like of crossbow men, and infront of them Duergar armed with longspears set verse charge. The front rank having used their invisibilty for the day.

So the players charge the crossbow men and suffer a readied attack and an AoO.

 

[ceratitis]

A favourite tactic that Duergar used against my players was a like of crossbow men, and infront of them Duergar armed with longspears set verse charge. The front rank having used their invisibilty for the day.

So the players charge the crossbow men and suffer a readied attack and an AoO.

oooooh thats a crual one, swipe
Z

 

[shilsen]

A favourite tactic that Duergar used against my players was a like of crossbow men, and infront of them Duergar armed with longspears set verse charge. The front rank having used their invisibilty for the day.

So the players charge the crossbow men and suffer a readied attack and an AoO.

You forgot to mention the pit trap in front of the pikemen. The only thing better than being stuck with longspears by invisible enemies is when they do it and the ground then opens up beneath your feet and drops you on a bed of spikes.

I haven't used that combo before, but I did have a goblin lair where the one entrance had a crude barricade of rocks with one path leading through it. The PCs charged the barricade and the first one to reach it who wasn't actually on the path had a hidden pit trap open up beneath him. What really cheesed him off, however, was when the goblins behind the barricade then shoved half of the rocks in it down on top of him

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If you're going down that route, how about a tribe of kobolds using Archimedes' legendary Death Ray to control a mountain pass?

For those who don't know, Archimedes' Death Ray was supposed to be a large array of mirrors used to focus the rays of the sun on a point, thus igniting fires. While shown to be possible, its unlikely to have ever worked in battle since its efficacy demands near perfect conditions...though it could still be used to blind people or signal.

However, in a fantasy world...

 

[Chimera]

One of my favourite tricks at the moment is playing with Benign Transposition (I think that's what it's called) - the Spell compendium spell that lets you swap 2 characters round.

There's a lot of ways of using this. The raging barbarian who's just charged into combat, for example, and who has just lost 4 AC for a big hit gets swapped to saftey with the tank who's yet to act, who then gets a full attack on his action.

Party attacking Gnoll Village. BBEG and his druid minions getting away with bunch of elf bodies to complete a dark ritual. My Wizard runs over, drops a nice fireball on them, killing all of the minions (rolled so well that they were dead even if they made their saves).

Five nearby Gnoll warriors run over to kill my Wizard. Our Scout and Rogue take down two of them with missile fire. My Wizard 5' steps back from remaining three and Benign Transpositions with the Huge sized, telephone pole swinging Psychic Warrior.

Oops. Bad day to be a Gnoll.


Not used, but considered: My Wizard, being LN, has no problem getting through an area that damages Good creatures, which means the entire rest of the party. He walks across, then BTs someone over. Repeat process.
The same could be done in cases requiring flight, spiderclimbing or any other 'special' means of crossing an obstruction that only the Wizard finds himself capable of doing.


My Monk/Rogue with Slippers of Spider Climb. Yeah, that's him crossing the ceiling or moving along the wall. The trap was on the floor? Oh well, better luck next time.

Better yet, crossing the ceiling toward the BBEG after quaffing a Potion of Invisibility.

We've had two of them so far asking where the fifth member of the party is when I'm doing something like that. In one case, I was already behind her.

Spider-climbing Invisible (or not) Monk/Rogue using what has become nicknamed "Monk Crack". AKA, a Necklace of Fireballs. Sometimes just running around using it.


Fighting along the top of a cliff. The Psion creates a strong construct and has it attempt to grapple the enemy Cleric, then walk off the cliff. Would have been great if the player hadn't rolled so poorly and the GM so well. Same tactic could be used as per the Zombie Pool.

 

[Hussar]

THought of another one.

Actually let your rogue scout. That means that you don't follow 50 feet behind him, you follow 300 feet behind him. Or better yet, you wait fifteen minutes for him to return and tell you what's ahead. Otherwise, tell him not to bother putting ranks in hide and move silently since your paladin in full plate is going to turn him into bait.