D&D 5E Looking for advice on combat DnD 5e as a DM

[Prakriti]

encounters that are supposed to be short end up ta remarkably long;

Drill your players to play fast. D&D combat should be speed-chess, not a friendly game in the park. PCs don't have the luxury of time. Strategizing is not an option. PCs don't have a top-down view of the battle-field. They see the threat before them, and they ATTACK! Get your players to think in this way, and always keep up the pressure. Either a player declares an action within 6 seconds, or they lose their turn.

 

[Shiroiken]

First post so I apologize if i put it in the wrong place or something like that.

First of all, Welcome! Never fear, because the moderators will simply move your thread if you somehow put it in the wrong place. Doesn't look like that's the case here though

I've been DMing for 5e for about a year now but as its my first DnD experience i still feel like a newbie DM.

The only cure for that is time and confidence. You've already got a year under your belt, and your player's haven't revolted yet, so you're probably doing pretty well.

One issue I've been having is combat always seem to function poorly. encounters that are supposed to be short end up ta remarkably long; whats really frustrating about this is we still dont have many rounds of combat. it seems to take us almost an hour to get throughjust 3 or 4 rounds of combat. So far i havent been able to diagnose the problem and im wondering if any experienced DM's have tips on running combat that might solve this issue.

Happy to help, but I'm wondering how much of this issue is from you, and how much is from your players? I've found delays are far more common the player's side of things than the DMs, and that's also easier to fix. I'll help you with your DM issues though, and if you find your players are having issues as well, we can help there too. ENWorld is always full of helpful advice for new DMs.

Some other issues iv been having specificly with combat encounters:

• Keeping track of spell effects both from PC's and NPCs (stuff like darkness or entagling roots)
• Making descisions for the enemies. Alot of the time i have trouble figureing out what the mobs would do.
• Keeping the combat going: often when dealing with a number of mobs i feel like all my rolling and actions slow down the action
  • Casting spells: iv been loth to use spellcasting enemies because I feel like ill have to slow down combat to look up the spells. this is even when i have them written down ahead of time because i just dont have the memry to remember what all the spells do so if an NPC has 5or6 spells i need to read all of them which can take a while

Tracking can be tricky, but solutions depend of your style of play. If you use minis, it's usually easier to draw the effected area or use markings of some kind (I like the string idea someone suggested). I've seen spell effect cut outs (from either 3E or Pathfinder, I don't remember which) that are very useful, because you can just place them on the board. They might be tricky to find nowadays, but Ebay and Amazon are amazing things. If you use Theater of the Mind, it's actually a lot easier if you have an erasable board or other method of writing things down. All you have to do is describe who's effected by it, and then leave it at that. If you think someone would need to move into the area, tell them when they declare their action (so they can change it if they want to).

Making monster decisions shouldn't be too hard. You should know the motivation of the monster before the adventure begins, and you should just run with that. Most monsters aren't going to be tactically minded (unless they have a high Int), so you can often just have them attack the closest PC. If you have an enemy that's been hit by more than 1 PC, I usually have them attack whoever just did the most damage. If a PC is particularly dangerous, such as a spellcaster, you might have them move past the other PCs (if possible) to get to the caster. Highly intelligent or tactical monsters should be somewhat rare in most games, so you could have a big battle with one every now and then, without it being too much of a drag on the game as a whole.

Time to resolve NPCs and monsters is sometimes problematic, depending on how you run your game. If you design your own adventures, I'd suggest using a mix of weak and strong monsters, so that you don't have too many creatures to run. Sometimes a big mob can be a nice change of pace, just like a single legendary creature (once your group is strong enough), but most combats shouldn't have more than a 3:2 or 2:1 ratio of enemies to PCs. If you have a high number of PCs (more than 7), you should probably consider splitting the group into two separate games.

Spellcasters are tricky as a DM. I'd suggest a lot of prep work before using one. Spell cards or some other cheat sheet for the spells are a good idea (unless you already know them). A pre-plan strategy is also advised (such as casting an AoE on the first round to catch as many PCs as possible, or casting a buff spell on allies). Another simple thing is to only worry about combat and combat utility spells (figure these should be about 1/2 to 3/4 of their available spells), and just ignore the rest. You might want to avoid or limit Concentration spells at first, because you may forget and overpower the caster by mistake.

Sorry for the long post, thanx in advanced

Never be afraid of a long post when seeking advice. The more we know, the better advice we can give.

Best of luck!

 

[ArwensDaughter]

A couple of tools I've found helpful as a new DM who struggles with details:

Mithgarthr Entertainment's pay what you want encounter worksheets:
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/133258/ME501--Encounter-Worksheets?filters=0_0_44827_0_0

combines initiative tracking with monster summaries on one page. The monster summaries requires some prep time ahead, but it sure helps dealing with the combat encounter when the time comes.

Spell Cheat Sheets:

http://www.dmsguild.com/product/175969/DD-5e-Magic-Spell-Cheat-Sheets from Johnny Tek

$4.99 and well worth it in my opinion, especially the included combat chart. Breaks down spells in a variety of ways, including by class and level. One line per spell with all the info you need in combat. You can even copy and paste into a separate document to create custom sheets. I print out the appropriate pages for my player's characters and have made custom sheets for various purposes (an arcane trickster PC, a magical doss lute, etc). For NPCs you could either create custom sheets using copy and paste, or print out the relevant pages for each NPC and highlight the spells the have prepared/know/might use.

 

[Imaculata]

When I decide on the tactics of my monsters, I follow the following basic rules:

Basic undead are usually stupid, especially the mindless kind such as zombies and skeletons. They attack what ever is nearest to them. Zombies have the benefit of having both sight and hearing. Skeletons act only on what they can actually see. They are dumb, and will walk straight into a trap. They fight till the death.

Human opponents value their own life. They will retreat if their numbers or health are reduced too much, or surrender if escape seems impossible. They will also focus on either the biggest threat, or the weakest link in the party. I basically run them, as a player would play their character. Human opponents will focus on the healer, if that is what I want them to do. Or they'll go after the squishy spell caster first. They'll also be clever about their choice of spells, and pick a spell that is most effective against the biggest threat that they see. Human opponents can also use formations, and understand the difference between a front and a back line. It is important for all human opponents to have clear motivations.

Orcs can be as intelligent as humans, but I usually play them a bit more stupid. Their evil gets the better of them, and they don't want to be seen as cowards by other orcs. If they have a leader, they could be very well organized. But as soon as that leader dies, it could all fall apart. They are also prone to turning on each other, unless there is something or someone to keep them in line.

Kobolds are cowards. They can be very well organized, but their sense of self preservation usually gets the better of them. They can fight in formations, and use traps and strategy. But they are more likely to flee, than to fight to the death.

Animals also have a sense of self preservation. They flee if they are dying, but they obviously don't surrender. They attack what ever is close, or seems like the biggest threat, or what ever does the most damage to them. They don't understand the value of focusing on a single target, and a PC can easily lose aggro, if another PC attacks the same creature. They are also often afraid of fire.

Demons and intelligent undead will use devious tactics and trickery, if possible. They will pick on whoever is the weakest link, and make sure to prioritize the target that seems to be at the lowest health. They will lie, they will deceive, and they can be downright cruel and devious in their tactics. They are not above fleeing, but probably would not surrender.

Automatons follow a basic protocol. They usually have very specific instructions, and follow those to the letter. If their job is to guard an entrance, they will guard that entrance, and only that entrance. They may not give pursuit when a PC flees outside their intended patrol area, and return to their original position. They usually have no intelligence, and they don't retreat or surrender.

Ghosts can be as intelligent as they were in life, but their motivations as ghosts are different. They no longer value their life, since they are dead, and don't retreat or surrender. But they may haunt only a limited area, and attack only those that anger them. Motivation for ghosts is very important.

Dragons are extremely intelligent, and can be merciless in their tactics. They will stay in the air if possible, or if they are inside their lair, they will leave the lair first, and then take to the sky. They will pursue the players, and burn everything to the ground where they attempt to hide. If the players flee to a town, the dragon burns down the town. They may retreat if wounded, but they won't forget, and they will be back. Especially if some of their treasure was stolen.

 

[SwivSnapshot]

One issue I've been having is combat always seem to function poorly. encounters that are supposed to be short end up ta remarkably long; whats really frustrating about this is we still dont have many rounds of combat. it seems to take us almost an hour to get throughjust 3 or 4 rounds of combat. So far i havent been able to diagnose the problem and im wondering if any experienced DM's have tips on running combat that might solve this issue.

Running combat is a balance of keeping the game moving while allowing the players to have fun and those aren't always compatible.

To point out the obvious, the more players you have, the longer a round of combat takes. Partly because of the number of players, but also because what Player 1 does can affect what Player 6 does by adding and removing potential actions (a push that takes an enemy out of range or a spell effect that makes subsequent players take different actions then they had planned). If you can't limit the number of players you have, have them appoint a team leader who is responsible for keeping them moving so you can focus on what to do with the bad guys when it's their turn.

More obvious stuff- the bigger the mob, the longer it takes to resolve it actions(s). I'm running Curse of Strahd now and one of the wandering monsters is 3d6 of wolves- 18 potential attacks that I have to plan and makes rolls for. I haven't rolled that one yet, but I am thinking about taking it off of the list or changing to 1d6 for the sake of improving play ability.

Keeping track of spell effects both from PC's and NPCs (stuff like darkness or entagling roots)

Make the PC's responsible for staying on top of their imposed effects and conditions. If they don't tell what happens, too bad for them.

.

Making descisions for the enemies. Alot of the time i have trouble figureing out what the mobs would do.

Pre-plan when you can. A lot of monsters have abilities that are situation specific. If the mob isn't a wandering monster you can eliminate some of the what they can/will do in combat based on where the players encounters the mob. This way you don't have to remember or re-read every monster description to decide what to do.

Keeping the combat going: often when dealing with a number of mobs i feel like all my rolling and actions slow down the action

See above about mob size and pre-planning, otherwise that the way the game is designed. You can save some rolling time by using the pre-figured damage (1/2 + 1 damage).

Casting spells: iv been loth to use spellcasting enemies because I feel like ill have to slow down combat to look up the spells. this is even when i have them written down ahead of time because i just dont have the memry to remember what all the spells do so if an NPC has 5or6 spells i need to read all of them which can take a while
Sorry for the long post, thanx in advanced

More pre-planning works here also. A lot of the spells available are one that you won't want to use in combat. If you eliminate them before combat occurs, it one less decision you have to make during combat.

My biggest suggestion is read and re-read the the module if you are using one or your campaign notes as frequently as you can. It's like learning a speech, lines for a play or practicing a fumble drill at football practice- the more often you do, the better able you are to react without having to think about it.

Good luck!

 

[robus]

Good advice in this thread. This article is also a great help to people wanting to run fast and exciting combat rounds: http://theangrygm.com/manage-combat-like-a-dolphin/

and as as a new GM I recommend reading his how to GM articles: http://theangrygm.com/category/how-to-gm/how-to-run/

 

[SwivSnapshot]

Good advice in this thread. This article is also a great help to people wanting to run fast and exciting combat rounds: http://theangrygm.com/manage-combat-like-a-dolphin/

and as as a new GM I recommend reading his how to GM articles: http://theangrygm.com/category/how-to-gm/how-to-run/

But don't take the part about "[FONT=&quot]dips$&%s GMs" personally....[/FONT]

 

[Oofta]

There have been some good ideas, I'll just reiterate a couple of things that I use for me.

I roll multiple D20s at once (red and blue) and then apply attacks consistently. If I'm attacking multiple people I'm always consistent on what order (red is nearest mini or farthest on the right to me, blue is next). I always just use the average numbers, rolling only on crits. I also recommend that my players try to do the same. If you need more dice, just do a google search for pound of dice ... you get more dice than you need for cheap.

I create index cards for each character and monster that I use for initiative. I use laminated cards (you can get laminating sheets at staples, etc) where I've typed up the info I need to run a monster. I get 4 cards per piece of paper ... it's kind of a pain but I reuse them so once I type up stats for orcs I just use the same card forever. For characters I just use blank cards.

Use dry erase markers on the laminated index cards to track initiative, or whatever you want. I use a small whiteboard and dry erase markers to track monster HP, etc.

I think about how the monsters are going to fight, and jot down quick notes when I'm planning the mod. Goblins may run when half their number are gone, crazed gnolls may fight to the death, etc.

For spells, I either jot down a quick note - how big is the fireball and how much damage (I use average damage for this too). If it's more complicated, I photocopy the spell or have a picture of the page on my phone handy. I only have a handful of spells per caster, normally 5 or less.

I use minis and a grid, I use the plastic rings from milk jugs/pop bottles to mark conditions.

Those are the main things. I also don't normally spend too much time worrying about detailed rules analysis during combat - save that for after the game.

Whether you like theater of the mind or minis/tokens is personal preference. Personally I have a really hard time with theater of the mind so you may want to try different styles to figure out what works for you and your group.

I've been DMing for a long, long time and I still feel like I can improve so don't get discouraged. If everyone is having fun most of the time you're doing it right.

 

[Rhenny]

Great thread with a lot of awesome advice.

Like others, I like to get the players to focus on narrative instead of counting squares, so when the encounters aren't really complex theater of the mind is best, but even when I use a grid, I try to have players tell me what they want to do and then we move them as quickly as possible (using the grid as a rough guide) for positioning and movement.

Also, I try to create an environment at the table that won't force players into action paralysis. For many players, when they feel that they have to make the most optimal decision every round, they start to calculate too many possibilities in their heads and then they fear making a decision. I talk to the players and remind them that when they are in combat, there is a "fog of war" and they don't need to choose the optimal choice - they need to make a choice that fits with their character's sensibility and the quicker the better. I assure them that the monsters will play by the same rules too. I don't often have monsters optimize their moves (maybe only for incredibly intelligent foes which is rare in most game sessions). Sometimes the monsters act brashly and they do things that may not be optimal, but they do it for other reasons - like they are scared or they are tired or they are underpaid or they underestimate their enemy or they overestimate their enemy, etc.

That said, I will let the party talk about strategy briefly and sometimes even during their decision making as long as it doesn't bog down the game. If it does bog down the game, I remind them to act quicker and try to plan their move ahead of their turn.

Over the past years, I've been running and playing most of my games on Fantasy Grounds online, and I have to say, the combat tracker in that program, and the character sheets that allow players and DM to link to spell descriptions, and the die rolling and auto calculations really help speed up a game.

 

[Tormyr]

Just out of interest, how many PCs do you have, what level are they, and how many enemies do you generally use in an encounter?