D&D General Game mechanics to keep routine combats interesting?

I once considered bringing 13th Age's Escalation Die into 5e, but that primarily works for PCs (only big baddies benefit from it) and 5e PCs really don't need the help.

I DO frequently make use of a Tension Pool, which I discovered thanks to the FoundryVTT module- basically I roll a d6 at the start of a round to see if Something Happens. Usually that'll be enemy reinforcements where appropriate, but not always.
 

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I once considered bringing 13th Age's Escalation Die into 5e, but that primarily works for PCs (only big baddies benefit from it) and 5e PCs really don't need the help.

I DO frequently make use of a Tension Pool, which I discovered thanks to the FoundryVTT module- basically I roll a d6 at the start of a round to see if Something Happens. Usually that'll be enemy reinforcements where appropriate, but not always.
Index Card RPG has something similar, but smoother, I think. There’s lots of great referee advice in there.
 


My memory is a little fuzzy on this as it has been more than a decade since I reviewed the game, but there is/was a RPG called Chronicles of Ramlar that had an interesting combat mechanic called Momentum. As I recall, every time you scored a successful attack in combat, you gained a boon that carried forward to your next attack and, if that attack was also successful, you gained another boon, and so on. A failed attack (again, IIRC) would deplete Momentum (and associated boons). I think it would be pretty easy to carry this over to D&D.
I think mcdm is doing something similar, but they've stopped updating us at all, so who knows.
 


I have an issue that I feel is making my fights boring and repetitive: it's near impossible to not make "focus fire on the boss" the first, second and only choice of strategy for the PCs. I tried to introduce minions, mooks or even elite enemies...and players just ignored them to focus fire on the boss. They once stood inside wall of fire just to keep sniping the boss until he got too far away. I try to get the boss in an interesting enviroment that can impede the PCs, they'll immediatelly do anything to get the boss OUT of that area so they can focus fire. Only time I managed to get them to vary their tactic was when there were two bosses, one far out of reach, and a single PC had personal quest obiective to accomplish during the fight, that also happenned to help the party. But those aren't things I can pull out every boss fight.
 

I have an issue that I feel is making my fights boring and repetitive: it's near impossible to not make "focus fire on the boss" the first, second and only choice of strategy for the PCs. I tried to introduce minions, mooks or even elite enemies...and players just ignored them to focus fire on the boss. They once stood inside wall of fire just to keep sniping the boss until he got too far away. I try to get the boss in an interesting enviroment that can impede the PCs, they'll immediatelly do anything to get the boss OUT of that area so they can focus fire. Only time I managed to get them to vary their tactic was when there were two bosses, one far out of reach, and a single PC had personal quest obiective to accomplish during the fight, that also happenned to help the party. But those aren't things I can pull out every boss fight.
Well how about this. Give your boss one or more minions armed with Warding Bond. The fight starts with one of them having cast it on the boss previously- the boss gets +1 AC and +1 saves and takes half damage from everything until that minion dies.

Then the next takes over casting the spell and so on. Oh and of course, the minions have a few healing spells. A level 3 caster is a CR 1/2- heck, you could drop 3rd level casting on a higher CR creature without much incident.

You can also make things harder on them, with dodge and Sanctuary, but that might not teach them the lesson you're wanting them to learn, lol. I have an encounter like this planned for my own game, with this guy:

Koth-Tet, Bound Mummy

Medium Undead, Lawful Evil

AC: 11 (natural armor)
HP: 58 (9d8+18)
Speed: 20 ft.

Str: 18 +4
Dex: 8 -1
Con: 19 +4
Int: 7 -2
Wis: 15 +2
Cha: 12 +1

PB: +3
Saves: Wis +5
Skills: Perception +5
Damage Resistances: bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing
Damage Vulnerabilities: fire, radiant
Damage Immunities: necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses: darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 15
Languages: Celestial, Draconic
CR: 5 (1,800 xp)

Tethered: a spectral chain binds Koth-Tet to Cadweth, keeping him from straying more than 10 ft. away. He cannot be forcibly moved farther than this as long as Cadweth is alive. Further, this tether gives Cadweth the benefits of Warding Bond, and Koth-Tet takes half the damage for his unwanted master. If Cadweth is actually killed, Koth-Tet will aid his unwitting savior, then ask for the mercy of death.

Multiattack: the mummy can use Dreadful Glare and make one attack with it's Rotting Fist.

Rotting Fist: +7 to hit, 11 (2d6) bludgeoning damage plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage. The target must make a DC 15 Con save or be cursed with mummy rot. The cursed target cannot regain hit points and their hit point maximum decreases by 14 (4d6) for every 24 hours that elapse. If the curse reduces your maximum to 0, the target dies and they turn to dust. The curse lasts until removed by remove curse or other magic.

Dreadful Glare: targets one creature the mummy can see within 60 feet. The target must make a DC 13 Wis save or be frightened until the end of the mummy's next turn. If the target fails this save by 5 or more, they are also paralyzed for the same duration. Once you succeed on this save you become immune the glare for 24 hours.
 



I've shared this before, an alternate list of objectives for a D&D battle to keep things fresh. I got this years ago from the Internet, so I didn't invent these, just cleaned them up a little. While not mechanics, these can trigger use of mechanics you rarely see, or might get folks to come up with more ideas than "I hit, I miss."

In my last 2 sessions, I DM'd an awesome OSR, total pleasure to run, The Inn of (Lost) Heroes.

We had battles wherein:

(1) the party got in a bar fight and started a fire (which fit perfectly with the story as it triggered an event);
(2) faced an enemy, along with several other bar occupants, that was probably beyond their abilities unless and until they retrieved a McGuffin (all the while having to avoid the other survivors causing trouble, and worrying the near-invincible enemy would come back);
(3) had to retrieve an item from the top of a pile of skulls with eternally renewing undead (I gave them a free grapple attempt for anyone trying to run past them);
(4) fought the enemy again with the McGuffin, while the walls were on fire, and something nasty was trying break down the front door, and with opportunity to convince cowering NPCs to join them;
(5) opportunity in the end for a Team Deathmatch.

Suffice to say, there hasn't been a "boring" combat yet.
 

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