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<blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 4589848" data-attributes="member: 386">Some of the decisions I make as DM contribute to the lack of grind in my game.1. I tend to have NPCs bunch up for protection until they see the amount of area attacks the PCs have.&nbsp; I don't know how often I do it, but I know the PCs unload a lot of area attacks.&nbsp; I think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.2. I will have monsters who are marked by the Fighter shift away, getting attacked.&nbsp; I figure that the monster doesn't know about that ability and that it's a lame ability to have if it never gets used.3. I don't avoid damage.&nbsp; I want to deal as much damage as quickly as possible, so I'll have my bad guys run into things like the Armour of Agythys and smash the Warlock for a couple of rounds until the damage adds up.&nbsp; 4. I like it when the players try out neat tricks so I try to reward them.5. My first priority in combat is to have the rounds go by fast.&nbsp; I won't stop to think what the monster's plans are going to be, I just do whatever seems best at the time.&nbsp; I could stop and think, but that would slow things down and I don't want that.My basic thought on combat is that most fights are there to drain healing surges.&nbsp; In any encounter the monsters are going to lose, but through attrition I might be able to kill them later on.&nbsp; I like this, it raises tension throughout the session as the PCs get into trouble, then have a nailbiting combat, then try to get back to safety again.The PCs in my game all have decent builds so that helps, and the players are pretty good (at least better than me!) tactically.For people who have combats that grind, what things do you do differently or the same as I do?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="LostSoul, post: 4589848, member: 386"] Some of the decisions I make as DM contribute to the [i]lack[/i] of grind in my game. 1. I tend to have NPCs bunch up for protection until they see the amount of area attacks the PCs have. I don't know how often I do it, but I know the PCs unload a lot of area attacks. I think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. 2. I will have monsters who are marked by the Fighter shift away, getting attacked. I figure that the monster doesn't know about that ability and that it's a lame ability to have if it never gets used. 3. I don't avoid damage. I want to deal as much damage as quickly as possible, so I'll have my bad guys run into things like the Armour of Agythys and smash the Warlock for a couple of rounds until the damage adds up. 4. I like it when the players try out neat tricks so I try to reward them. 5. My first priority in combat is to have the rounds go by fast. I won't stop to think what the monster's plans are going to be, I just do whatever seems best at the time. I could stop and think, but that would slow things down and I don't want that. My basic thought on combat is that most fights are there to drain healing surges. In any encounter the monsters are going to lose, but through attrition I might be able to kill them later on. I like this, it raises tension throughout the session as the PCs get into trouble, then have a nailbiting combat, then try to get back to safety again. The PCs in my game all have decent builds so that helps, and the players are pretty good (at least better than me!) tactically. For people who have combats that grind, what things do you do differently or the same as I do? [/QUOTE]

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