Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Basic Expert" data-source="post: 9820315" data-attributes="member: 7054049">I don't know of any system that does wargame-esque set-piece encounters really well (in the sense that they are tactically complex, fun to play, and result in an exciting close-fought episode). That's because you're trying to use simulation rules to get a narrative result. You can get the feel of exciting battles in FATE, PbtA or other narrative games, but these usually ditch the tactical complexity for narrative massaging from the GM and players to make things exciting.Shadowdark if very much in the OSR vein, which usually ping-pongs between "Just Try to Avoid as Much Attrition as You Can" Combat to "OMG, Run For Your Lives" Combat if the DM isn't careful. Parties tend to be larger with hirelings and henchmen to absorb losses when things go South.It's pretty much up to the GM to make adjustments on the fly, or have subsystems in place, to emphasize dramatic set-piece encounters. That's because any Challenge Rating system cannot account for the sheer number of variables or potential randomness at play. That includes:*Party composition vs. enemy composition*Current party condition*Ability and willingness of the party to nova*The tactical situation (surprise or position)*Environmental factors (advantageous or disadvantageous conditions)*Additional party assets (magic items, hirelings, favors) or hindrances*Player tactical acumen and skill vs. GM tactical acumen*Hot or cold diceGenerally, if I want a tense, exciting encounter, I stat it on the difficult side but have a list of BREAKS I can give the party if it's going poorly (or BAD BREAKS for easy encounters). Breaks/Bad Breaks are just changes in the environment or tactical situation: a structure or tunnel collapses, cutting off reinforcements, a blow stuns a creature for a round, a monster's weakness is revealed, a vulnerable PC is overlooked or ignored, and so on.I also RP enemies rather than simply use them as wargame pieces (i.e. in the most optimal manner). Enemy troops might waste time dithering before reacting, a big monster might roar and posture for a round, an enemy champion might pose magnificently after scoring a critical.Some GMs might see this as ruining the "purity" of an honest combat, but I see it as the GM's job to determine what happens in an RPG. This isn't a tactical wargame after all. Dull gameplay is a choice.</blockquote>

Verification