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Oh, Man, Do I Need Some DM Tips. . .
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<blockquote data-quote="Shiroiken" data-source="post: 7037113" data-attributes="member: 6775477"><p>Some of the mechanics are going to affect how dynamic a combat can be, even if it's less than the value of terrain. 3E was actually the worst for it, because it generally assumed miniatures and there were advantages to getting into a particular position and staying there (flanking and attacks of opportunity). 4E also generally assumed miniatures, but the mechanics generated a more dynamic combat (due to various forced movement and several movement powers). AD&D could be better for dynamic combat, depending on if you used miniatures or Theater of the Mind, because Theater of the Mind allowed for the most dynamic combats of all. 5E fits somewhere in the middle of all that, since positioning still matters even in TotM, but lacks 4E's constant movement that generated very dynamic combats.</p><p></p><p>Good use of terrain can make even a 3E combat fairly dynamic, but you should always consider the cost/benefit ratio. If it takes you a long time to make dynamic fights with terrain (which was often true in 3E), you should probably limit it to important combats. Adding one or two terrain features should take almost no time at all, but add some flavor to the combat, even if it doesn't make it very dynamic. Otherwise the combat sucks, as a DM of mine found out when every combat he ran was on a featureless grid (because he didn't think terrain should matter). Something else that can affect this is running a per-published adventure, as the OP is doing with RotRL, where combat locations are often already made (and designed for the style of the original edition).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shiroiken, post: 7037113, member: 6775477"] Some of the mechanics are going to affect how dynamic a combat can be, even if it's less than the value of terrain. 3E was actually the worst for it, because it generally assumed miniatures and there were advantages to getting into a particular position and staying there (flanking and attacks of opportunity). 4E also generally assumed miniatures, but the mechanics generated a more dynamic combat (due to various forced movement and several movement powers). AD&D could be better for dynamic combat, depending on if you used miniatures or Theater of the Mind, because Theater of the Mind allowed for the most dynamic combats of all. 5E fits somewhere in the middle of all that, since positioning still matters even in TotM, but lacks 4E's constant movement that generated very dynamic combats. Good use of terrain can make even a 3E combat fairly dynamic, but you should always consider the cost/benefit ratio. If it takes you a long time to make dynamic fights with terrain (which was often true in 3E), you should probably limit it to important combats. Adding one or two terrain features should take almost no time at all, but add some flavor to the combat, even if it doesn't make it very dynamic. Otherwise the combat sucks, as a DM of mine found out when every combat he ran was on a featureless grid (because he didn't think terrain should matter). Something else that can affect this is running a per-published adventure, as the OP is doing with RotRL, where combat locations are often already made (and designed for the style of the original edition). [/QUOTE]
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