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<blockquote data-quote="Bawylie" data-source="post: 7106346" data-attributes="member: 6776133">I like when artillery characters move out and snipe. They're supposed to. It's good. And it works very well when you have a decent frontline tank with robust support and a skirmisher looking for openings. I enjoy a lot of tactical play. And that setup there is plan A for a whole lot of groups who design characters and party together, and who view combats as a coordinated effort toward a shared goal. (Which of course it is. And you CAN win and you CAN lose). So when I design encounters and encounter spaces (or run them from published materials) I tend to look for a way to push the players off plan A and into plan B. Not further than that though. Too much according to plan feels too &quot;by-the-numbers,&quot; while too much chaos feels like decisions don't matter. So there is a sweet spot. Anyway, if that's their plan A, then a little cover, corners, and concealment will help push them off their preferred tactics. And an occasional enemy skirmisher or artillery wrecking their support or the PC artillery will be pretty good.&nbsp; Often all we're talking about is the occasional fireball or sneak attack. Sometimes a snare trap catching your artillery and dangling them upside down while a brute wig a cleaver approaches can be a nice &quot;oh crud&quot; moment too. Thing is, as players, they can come up with one good idea each, any time. Whereas as DM, you can only come up with one in any moment. Therefore pre-load the scene with one or two good ideas before they show up. It doesn't have to be a lot of work, either. Me? I like kill boxes. That's my trick. -Brad</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Bawylie, post: 7106346, member: 6776133"] I like when artillery characters move out and snipe. They're supposed to. It's good. And it works very well when you have a decent frontline tank with robust support and a skirmisher looking for openings. I enjoy a lot of tactical play. And that setup there is plan A for a whole lot of groups who design characters and party together, and who view combats as a coordinated effort toward a shared goal. (Which of course it is. And you CAN win and you CAN lose). So when I design encounters and encounter spaces (or run them from published materials) I tend to look for a way to push the players off plan A and into plan B. Not further than that though. Too much according to plan feels too "by-the-numbers," while too much chaos feels like decisions don't matter. So there is a sweet spot. Anyway, if that's their plan A, then a little cover, corners, and concealment will help push them off their preferred tactics. And an occasional enemy skirmisher or artillery wrecking their support or the PC artillery will be pretty good. Often all we're talking about is the occasional fireball or sneak attack. Sometimes a snare trap catching your artillery and dangling them upside down while a brute wig a cleaver approaches can be a nice "oh crud" moment too. Thing is, as players, they can come up with one good idea each, any time. Whereas as DM, you can only come up with one in any moment. Therefore pre-load the scene with one or two good ideas before they show up. It doesn't have to be a lot of work, either. Me? I like kill boxes. That's my trick. -Brad [/QUOTE]

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