Crazy Jerome
First Post
I mean specifically in comparison to real life tactics, which is the context I was responding to. Specifically, heavy focus fire in a game is bad not because the players are doing it, but rather that they need little thought or risk to gain its advantages. Typically, the means put into game models (including all versions of D&D), are insufficient to that purpose and/or not what people think they are.
For example, area attacks are not a general purpose focus-fire stopper. What they do, when reasonably present and/or powerful enough to be a deterrent, is serve as an anti-massing of people technique. Anti-massing is only stopping focus fire when your focus fire is mostly melee attacks.
As another example, there is NO plausible situation, looking at the reality of what is being simulated in game, where say, 3 low/mid-level, melee fighter types against three roughly equal orcs, would have the three fighters concentrate on one orc or vice versa. Yet the mechanics heavily bias people towards doing so. I'll fully grant that D&D makes this a desired approach is mostly because of the nature of hit points and thus difficult to work around--and even has some advantages in making combat go a bit faster. But nonetheless, it is present, and not particularly "tactical" but rote formula. That the rogue and wizard can sit back and shoot stuff in the pile when the three fighters take on five orcs just makes it that much worse, while clouding the issue a bit.
Opportunity attacks do help a bit, especially when both sides use the threat of them intelligently to restrict movement. Making is nifty in its niche, too.
Whatever works or doesn't work in this regard, invoking "morale rules" as way to help is like invoking Tuesday night bowling to help with teen pregnancy. There may be some tenuous links between the two, and even ways to twist the one to affect the other, but no doubt there are better avenues to explore.
For example, area attacks are not a general purpose focus-fire stopper. What they do, when reasonably present and/or powerful enough to be a deterrent, is serve as an anti-massing of people technique. Anti-massing is only stopping focus fire when your focus fire is mostly melee attacks.
As another example, there is NO plausible situation, looking at the reality of what is being simulated in game, where say, 3 low/mid-level, melee fighter types against three roughly equal orcs, would have the three fighters concentrate on one orc or vice versa. Yet the mechanics heavily bias people towards doing so. I'll fully grant that D&D makes this a desired approach is mostly because of the nature of hit points and thus difficult to work around--and even has some advantages in making combat go a bit faster. But nonetheless, it is present, and not particularly "tactical" but rote formula. That the rogue and wizard can sit back and shoot stuff in the pile when the three fighters take on five orcs just makes it that much worse, while clouding the issue a bit.
Opportunity attacks do help a bit, especially when both sides use the threat of them intelligently to restrict movement. Making is nifty in its niche, too.
Whatever works or doesn't work in this regard, invoking "morale rules" as way to help is like invoking Tuesday night bowling to help with teen pregnancy. There may be some tenuous links between the two, and even ways to twist the one to affect the other, but no doubt there are better avenues to explore.
