Help for a non-tactically minded GM?

[Theo R Cwithin]

Does anyone know of a resource that might help me learn basic tactics within the 3e system?

I'm not much of a tactician, so my combats tend to be fairly straight-forward and uninnovative. Monster descriptions usually provided a hint or two how to run them, but are there any resources out there that describe tactics generally, or else per feat, per spell, for parties, for monsters or whatever? Even something really basic aimed at either players or DMs would be helpful to me.

I appreciate any pointers. Thanks!

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Erm. Like most I absorb these by observing my tactically superior players or by posting about stuff on message boards! That said, try the Wizards Archives here. You might try reading through D&D Fight Club, Elite Opponents, Rules of the Game, and especially Tactics and Tips!

Then come back and describe a typical session along with what players, levels and interesting things they can do and folks will give you some interesting ideas to work with!

 

[Jeff Wilder]

If you have a tactically savvy player you trust, ask him or her for advice. Yes, even in mid-combat.

This might have an additional benefit over and above you providing more exciting combat and learning the tactical ins-and-outs ... it may reinforce that you, as DM, are there to tell a story, not compete with the players. How can it possibility be "you versus them," when you're asking them for advice?

When we get into combat in my game there's definitely an adversary thing going on between the DM and the players. It's not negative, or at most only very mildly so. It's about like a casual game of chess. But there's still a competitive undercurrent that I really don't care for. So even though I'm tactically decent as a DM, and significantly above average as a player, I wish I'd early on established some means of defusing the competitive vibe. Asking my players (or my DMs) for advice seems like it might have worked.

 

[cdrcjsn]

Yeah, asking the players for advice, even during combat, might work.

Also, I've found that a lot of times, just concentrating fire on one player that doesn't have an unbeatable AC helps put the PCs on the defensive.

And there's something to be said for being exposed to different playstyles and more experienced players. I play in the RPGA and I've probably played with well over 1000 different players over the past decade (yeah, I game a lot). I've learned a LOT of tactic just by being exposed to them at the game table, from both sides of the DM screen.

 

[Runestar]

Some handy links for CO work - Wizards Community

Scroll down and search for the section on tactics and theory. Hope you can find something to your satisfaction.

Generally, I would try not to rely on too complex tactics as that would be too easy to disrupt (for example, if you had some elaborate setup involving 3 monsters, it can go awry if the party wins initiative and takes out one in the 1st round.

 

[aboyd]

For me, I'm pretty bad at combat tactics as well. I finally found there are just 5 things that help me to do much better:

1. Actually read the monster notes in each module. My habit (for the first year I got back into DMing) was to skim the stat block and then initiate combat. Instead, I found that I needed to read the whole monster description, even if it was a monster I assumed I knew. Modules, at least, often offer tactics such as "they won't swarm until the player is separated from the group" or "they unleash a volley of arrows and flee." These things, along with seeing the magic items that are unique to each critter, help to paint a better picture of what they can do in the current situation.
2. Assume monsters want to live. "They fight to the death" is absurd. How often does any creature do that in real life? Death only happens when overwhelming forces leave cornered enemies with no choice but to go down swinging. Once I understood this, it helped me to realize that most NPCs would have something as a token gesture for escape -- a potion of invisibility, the Expeditious Retreat spell, some kind of polymorph spell that allows unusual escape (burrowing, flying, swimming), or even just a back door. Even if the token gesture fails (I can't tell you how bummed I was to see my players use the Scent feat to track down an invisible enemy), players will often mistake "he's getting away" for "he was tough and/or tactically adept."
3. Remember that encounters are interconnected. Sometimes the bad guy that got away tells all his friends. Sometimes even when no enemy gets out alive, combat is loud enough to alert... pretty much everyone. And then there is a reckoning. It isn't always that the players get a surprise round. Ambushes & makeshift traps can be something of a surprising consequence. Enemies with that advantage can come off as especially dangerous, even if the rest of combat is ordinary.
4. Start using copies of my own PCs. I didn't think about this at first, but every character that is discarded by players, and every character I ever used when I was a player, has more time and consideration given to it than a dozen generated NPCs. These player character sheets are usually optimized for something cool, even if the player has never been a min/maxer. Pitting players against other players -- even if those enemy players are now just NPCs -- is very dangerous, because you're talking about characters that are intended to typically win combat. What happens when 2 characters of equal ability fight each other? It's tense.
5. Use feats, spells, and special abilities first. This is the real-world equivalent of puffing up and using a show of force to scare off enemies. Besides, in mid-combat, you may forget all the subtle features of a creature. So make that first round or two scripted a little bit, in the sense that you pre-determine what the first/second attack will be. Don't "wing it" until you get things humming along. For example, if the enemy is a spider, get that spider climbing walls so that only ranged combat hits. Or if the enemy is a vargouille, don't engage until the shriek attack has been made. I typically put a mini post-it note next to each monster's stat block, with the 1st/2nd attacks noted.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Thanks for all the advice!

I agree that watching (or, better, interacting with and asking) the players is the best way to learn. Unfortunately, my opportunities for play tend to be few and far between, so I don't get a lot of practice.

One thing I have found is that simply thinking through a beastie's rationale for fighting (or not) does make combat decisions easier at the top level (eg, fight to protect young or flee? fight with panache or straightforwardly like a zombie? fight to gain specific goal (take out the spellcaster, then fall back)? etc.). Descriptions of monsters and module encounters are sometimes quite good for this sort of thing.

My hang ups are more to do with the actual mechanics of the combat: when Feats X and Y are available, and spell Q is active, then Tactic Z is particularly logical or effective). I'll take the advice given here and look at character optimization boards; I've never really perused those!

Again, thanks for the suggestions.

 

[azhrei_fje]

When I'm running an intelligent NPC/monster, at the beginning of the turn I will often ask my players about their PCs: "So tell me again what you're wearing?" or "You just tumbled through that area, right? How good are you at that?" This gives the players ideas that the NPCs are gauging them.

After a recent encounter, an NPC cleric was being paid to heal a PC and the cleric had questions in return. I was pleased when one player said, "He targeted Will-save spells against armored PCs and Fort-save spells against those who were unarmored -- he knew what he was doing." (Because I asked about what a PC was wearing, then targeted that PC with a ghoul touch via spectral hand.)

 

[Mark1733]

Is anyone out there afraid of being too aggressive or good with monsters and killing off the party? I am always afraid of that and tend to be too easy. Then afterwards, I see that they spent hardly anything in the way magic consumables, etc. However, I once ended my one campaign with a TPK

Is this something to really worry about? How do you know when to "pull punches?"

 

[Runestar]

I think it may be easier to start off with a hard monster, then have it hold back if you think the PCs are having a hard time with it, than start out with a weaker monster, only to start increasing its stats on the fly when you realize that it is not challenging the PCs sufficiently.

After some time gaming with your players, you should have a fairly good idea of what their party is capable of, their strengths and weaknesses, and be able to design your future encounters to take advantage of these factors.

Also, you can play around with a monster's feats or give it extra gear (MIC is a great source, since it contains several cheap items that offer limited uses, less important in the hands of an npc facing the party just for a few rounds) if you want to alter its strategy.