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I consider myself a kind of boring battlefield GM, I sometimes use cover, move large enemies to THEIR threat range and not just get face to face with the PCs. I feel I am missing a lot in the "cunning" enemy department.
I get that a bunch of low intellect low level gibberlings may just run up and attack, but what about when drow attack? Or a dragon? How do cunning enemies make use of the battlemat?
So I was looking for a youtube video of good to advanced battlemat tactics and there doesn't seem to be one.
I would like to see a video of a GM using some battlefield mastery tactics that can really put the players on their heels.
So if anyone has a link to this type of thing, or can make one, I can offer you cookies. Well, virtual cookies, zero calories...
Written table tactics are good too, but I can't give you cookies for those.
Youtube?
You might find better advice looking for text descriptions of tactics. Try Google.
you are not likely to find visual representations. For example, I use grid paper and a pencil, which takes time to change every turn, but can be supremely detailed.
In any case, intimate knowledge of the rules will serve you better. You'll begin to understand more what you can, and cannot do.
For example, your Drow: Use cover, use the sniping action (-20 on hide checks, but viable in complete darkness.)
Use a "barrier" of rough terrain between the party and your NPC antagonists. This slows down the PC's, makes them think more about tactical movement. (after they kill enough, i consider the slain foes on the floor rough terrain)
Use solid barrier, or "barriers" that require skill checks/spells to pass. (chasm, river, walls, canyons, etc.)
Use high and low terrain. Did you know you get bonuses for attacking from the high ground? (+1).
It's the little things that make a "dynamic" battle...
For me this is an interesting thread. I cannot help with a video, I can suggest that if you find text descriptions and have the time layout the map and figs and war game them to get a feel for how they play out.
Another way to improve your tactics is to look at the real world principals of war used by armed services world wide. The USA recognizes 9 and they all apply to combat tactics in the PFRPG world.
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- Have someone "direct" the fight and give signals to all participants. A.k.a. an officer.
- Put speed on your flanks, and strength in the centre.
- Feigning a retreat to lure an attacker into an ambush is a classic that will still work in a thousand years' time.
- Don't send your reserves to whoever of your men is losing; send them to who's winning.
- You do have reserves, right?
- Rotate. If someone took a few nasty hits, have that warrior fall back a bit while another takes his place. That way, you can keep your healers safe too.
- Always surround the enemy, but never surround them completely. You want to control which way they flee, not have them fight to the death.
- Use force multipliers. Like a Bard.
- Know why you're fighting, and stop fighting when you'll not get your goals met anyway.
Use a "barrier" of rough terrain between the party and your NPC antagonists. This slows down the PC's, makes them think more about tactical movement. (after they kill enough, i consider the slain foes on the floor rough terrain)
Use solid barrier, or "barriers" that require skill checks/spells to pass. (chasm, river, walls, canyons, etc.)
These are great tips. Difficult terrain can be your friend. Stealth can as well.
Using these things above, if you know the party is going to run into a group who can plan for them a bit (advanced knowledge the party is coming or saw them from a long way off), you can set a line with fallen logs, pits, etc and have ranged attackers behind it. You can then attempt to hide melee attackers a good distance in front of them somewhere (treelines, behind rubble/ruins, in pits by the side of the road/path). When they try to close with the ranged and deal with the difficult terrain, have the hidden melee people pop out from behind in a pincer attack.
If the party notices the ambushing melee people first, then they still have a mess with dealing with them and protected ranged attackers firing in. Even if the ranged don't hit a ton, you can scare PCs good with it.
A nice recommendation I heard a long time ago is go walking through a park or playground. Think of all the ways something could surprise you there. Then you can set things like that up in your game.
If you are concerned about static battle fields, Have moving bits scroll across. Rolling logs or boulders, fighting on a log jam, swinging pendulums, Retracting bridges, moving stairs like in Harry Potter, have lava or other toxic slow moving substance slowly moving across the room.
Have the room tilt, cliff face give way....
I know it is a different game, and I have not really looked either, but have you been able to find anything for tabletop war games like Warhammer? This seems like a good source for battle strategies and tactics.
One thing I've had a bad habit of is not using situation bonuses as well as I could. For an example of things I could do, that I often forget: A prone crossbowman behind a stump has a rather large bonus to his stealth. He also has a +4 AC vs ranged attacks, and depending on angle could have significant cover. Its possible to achieve +8 AC. After he fires off his shot, he can then stand up on the stump and get a +1 to hit in melee. Or he could duck back down and reload in relative safety depending on distance.
It is a free action to drop prone. It is a move to stand up. Cycle these for some fun ranged combat. Until the PCs learn how to make use of cover themselves, or use the held action, it can be very scary.
Once they learn how to use cover, have the enemies on "overwatch" Shooting anything that moves out of cover. (held action)
Using fog effects and tracking them makes for interesting combats, especially with enemies with spring attack or ride by attack.
Invisibility doesn't just work on creatures. Make obstacles invisible, have PCs waste turns going around them after they try to go through. An invisible rolling bolder is a mean thing to send at the party.
Remember the illusion rules. Some illusions still block LoS even when its a known illusion. Just because you know the wall is an illusion doesn't mean you can see through it. Blocked sight is concealment.
Remember the light rules. Many PCS don't use high level light spells, so higher level darkness effects can effectively blind a party, even ones with low light/darkvision.
AoE spells actually damage the terrain (if you want to or not, PCs often forget this, had one fire off a fireball in a library). A fireballs causes damage to unattended objects and many objects don't have the hp to take a blast. Blow up the PCs cover. Blow up their wagon, blast away walls (depending on type of course, stone walls are unlikely to be damaged much), drop the floor.
Remember the 3rd dimension. Not just making use of the lack of looking up, have enemies come from below.
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Things I need to take away from this thread/learn about:
Proper use of Cover/dropping Prone.
The Sniping action can be useful in complete darkness.
Use rough/odd terrain and elevations.
Put the right baddie in the right place, Str/Con in the center, Dex/High movement on the flanks.
Feign retreat.
Focus fire.
Have injured baddies fall back to heal or range attack.
Use group buffs/AoE Debuffs.
Use traps.
Attempt properly set up ambushes. Group of melee with range support a ways back.
Use baddies movement types, Climb/Burrow/Fly.
Use of baddies Darkvision, use darkness to its advantage.
Also look into how to keep my baddies from provoking Attacks of Opportunity, and how to try and force the party to provoke AoO.
I use the Step Up feat on some mobs, and I move Giants back a few steps to force the PCs to close and provoke AoO through the giants reach.