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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rechan" data-source="post: 5115170" data-attributes="member: 54846">As far as avoiding/reducing grind, there are lots of mechanical methods out there (the popular - reduce HP, increase damage) method. However, I'd like to make some non-mechanical, more structural suggestions.1) The Unpredictable Happens. Stalker0 touches on this with some suggestions (hold onto your lurkers until after a few rounds, send your monsters in in waves), but that's more an example of the premise:At some point, the encounter must be different from what it was at the beginning. Something new needs to happen that effects the battle.I once did this by an Earth spirit the PCs were battling; at the 0 initiative, either a wall 5 would appear on the battlefield, or a close burst 2 pit would appear, that lasted the entire encounter. It meant that the terrain was constantly shifting. Other examples are the ceiling collapsing, creating a blocked area and difficult terrain. The room/building is on fire, and so the PCs must deal with increasing smoke/damaging terrain that moves towards them. 2) Objectives. The DMG2 talks about this, but they're <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/241614-creative-combat-objectives-other-than-kill-em-all.html" target="_blank">offered in more depth here</a>. Basically, encounters where there's more going on than beating the snot out of the opposing team. Now, the trick here is to iron out the rules of accomplishing the objective in the first place (when I try to make objectives, the rules of the mini-game get in the way). ... OK I lied. I do have one bit of mechanical advice:Hazards. A hazard increases the Xp budget of the fight, but doesn't put another bag of hit points the PCs have to hit. It just Does Damage. And, it might have the potential to Do Damage to monsters as well as PCs. So it's a damage effect in a can. Part of the encounter - for the players - can even involve pushing the opposition INTO the hazard, offering something beyond their powers to do.</blockquote>

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