I'm a bad combat DM

[clark411]

I tend to plot out game chapters like Unit plans, game sessions like Lesson plans, and encounters like various activities. This means that there's a big point, with steps getting to that point, and lots of ways that go on to show it that the players partake in. Saying this is basically a setup for this statement: If your combats have a point or a goal, you have a gauge for success. If your combats do not have any point but sucking resources, being another minute on the xp treadmill etc, they can't go well.

Next time you plan a combat, give it a point. Have your players save someone while a cowardly authority figure runs if you want to make the Chaotic kiddles in your group go HUZZAH!

Alternatively, have some knight in shining armor come aid the group for the Lawfuls go get a smile.

Or forget about alignments- place planned themes in randomly rolled encounters, and have these themes be based around the interests of the players and their characters, or the themes of your campaign (and by that i don't just mean Lotsa Undead for Everyone!)

After you place this focus down in a combat, after it see how the player/s you were aiming for react. See how the conversation goes after it. If its "ho hum another day in the neighborhood" then back to the drawing board.


Of course, if you are just dealing with having 6-9 players and it dragging out, make an initiative list that reads 30-0 and have players put their character names on sliced up sticky ends of post it notes for rapid record keeping. Enforce the 6 second rule, or state "Man I have to leave in 10 minutes." everytime combat gets sluggish.

Use environments that have impact- ie, fighting in a burning tavern, on slippery stones above a waterfall. Introduce recurring villains who always seem to have the advantage and the players actually Want to fight. Have fights mean something- the guy you save today says thanks tomorrow, or the guy whose son ya killed is now after you, and he's backed by the town guard.

 

[KnowTheToe]

There are some excellent suggestions here.

Be organized

Keep things simple (make sure you understand the abilities of monsters/ baddies)

Assume character actions are going to work. This encourages more RPing in combat and less straight die rolling. Example: PC wants to roll a barrel into someone, Touch attack with a -4 (improvised weapon). Strength or Dex check DC 10 + PC str modifier + something if the barrel is full, rolling down hill etc. Failure results in being knocked down with some small damage assoc with it.

On the same note, if PCs are in a cellar and you did not mention there is a barrel, but they look for one, let there be one. It is a reasonable assumption there would be a barrel in a cellar.

You can get your players to start trying different menuvers by having their opponents start using them against the PCs.

 

[Voadam]

Have combat turns go quickly.

Declare that they must declare their action within six seconds of you saying "what do you do?" or they are holding/delaying their action.

Take as much time as needed to resolve actions but make them decide what to do quickly (no taking 30 seconds to map out squares for spell placement before deciding to cast the spell). If they take too much time then declare they are evaluating the combat and move on.

This will reduce the time between their actions and give them an incentive to think of what they will do before the initiative gets to them. This is also an incentive to pay attention as things happen.

Don't get into rules debates in combat, if challenged on a rule either look it up quickly or if that takes too much time, declare "this is how I'm ruling right now, we can debate this after the combat/game if necessary."

 

[NewJeffCT]

And, when declaring actions for the round, make sure the PCs move/think/declare fairly quickly or they are "holding" that round or readying an action for next round. If it is a big, life or death situation, give them a bit more time. Or, if the PC is playing a very high INT character, give them a bit more time as well.

But, the players should have plenty of time to think of what they are doing next while the rest of the group, any NPCs and the bad guys are acting on their initiative. If somebody is stumbling about, looking for clues, trying to think of what their PC is going to do next, it holds up the combat and disrupts the flow.

 

[reapersaurus]

FlySpech and RangerWickett have some good advice.

Read their posts again.

Almost anyone can describe hits, instead of just saying "You rolled a 16? Hit." - it takes real skill to make a combat memorable.
The locale, the unique tactics, etc make for a good combat.

Not just laying out the baddies and then it becoming a dice-fest.

 

[Bloodstone Mage]

There are some great suggestions here.

My advice would to be more descriptive, using adjectives and such. I like the 'think of it as a movie' approach and from now on, I'll probably start describing more like that.

* Get some note cards, and write the names and a few key stats for each of the PCs on these cards. Whenever you have a major NPC, write their stats on a card too. When the group rolls for initiative, put the cards in the proper order. Matt takes his turn, so you put his card from the top to the bottom, and you see it's Captain Dramatic's turn. Captain D goes, and you put his card on the bottom. If you make sure to include AC, saves, and hps on this card, it makes it easy for you to keep track of whose turn it is while also avoiding the need to ask your PCs whether a 25 hits, and so on.

This is a great idea. A recommendation I'd give would be to look at the Game Mechanic's Initiative Cards.

 

[HeavyG]

* Get some note cards, and write the names and a few key stats for each of the PCs on these cards. Whenever you have a major NPC, write their stats on a card too. When the group rolls for initiative, put the cards in the proper order. Matt takes his turn, so you put his card from the top to the bottom, and you see it's Captain Dramatic's turn. Captain D goes, and you put his card on the bottom. If you make sure to include AC, saves, and hps on this card, it makes it easy for you to keep track of whose turn it is while also avoiding the need to ask your PCs whether a 25 hits, and so on.

Initiative cards are great.

When DMing RttToEE, I photocopied and glued to index cards the stat blocks for all monsters in the module. This worked great as whenever it was a monster's time to act, I had all the relevant stats right there.