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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Himbo_Jones" data-source="post: 9582938" data-attributes="member: 7049217">I saw a video this morning where a dungeon master put forth a scenario wherein his players were ambushed right as they grabbed this important artifact (a macguffin for their broader campaign). But rather than have the enemies try and kill the players outright, he made their goal to simply steal the artifact. This led to him creating very basic and straightforward "hot-potato" rules that allowed for players to throw the artifact to one another on a bonus action (this was D&D5e) and for the receiving player to catch it using their reaction.Overall, this led to a really engaging and dynamic fight where the PCs were sort of incentivized to stay far apart to throw the object to one another, and were using their reactions to catch it so they had to be careful about their action economy. Enemies would also run around like mad, trying to knock the characters over, trip them up, steal the item, or using spells like command to get the tanker character to drop the artifact. If at any point the player thought to put this in a bag of holding, then the bag became the new thing to steal.This, obviously, got me thinking about combat scenarios where there is a little something extra layered on top to make it more interesting. Maybe the goal is still combat, but there is an extra twist that forces the PCs to reposition often, changes the battlefield around them, or introduces hazards that can be used by either party with a few simple additional rules.So, I figured I'd start a running list. If you guys have any ideas or have experienced any combat scenarios that made things interesting/dynamic/different/just plain fun, let me know and I'll add them to a greater list below so that other GMs can snag them as needed![HR][/HR]Battlefield Hazards<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fighting occurs next to or over top of a deep body of water (like a river, a bay, or a murky sewer channel) and there is something lurking in the water. Anyone, enemies or PCs, who is thrown in is attacked/killed/eaten by the creature.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Everyone is in a tall chamber when battle breaks out. The chamber is filling up with something (water, sand, acid, etc.), forcing combatants to constantly seek higher ground while simultaneously trying to throw others into the steadily rising tide.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There is a swinging pendulum (or multiple swinging pendulums) in the room (perhaps over a bridge). The pendulum passes by on certain initiative counts and anyone standing in the path of the pendulum takes damage and/or is knocked over.</li> </ul>Alternate Goals<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hot Potato: PCs must try and keep something away from the enemies that are trying to steal it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hands on the Wheel: PCs must balance fighting off enemies while keeping their vessel (a ship, an out of control wagon, etc.) from running off course and killing them all.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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