Ideas for 3-D Combat

[lucky7]

Am going to be running a campaign under the sea, and wanted to know of the implications of 3-D combat beforehand.

[Brotato]

I don't have a super lot to contribute, I can just say that based on my experience as a GM and player in campaigns high enough that flying is routine, the Z axis adds an exponential level of headache to a battlemap. I've come up with a few ways to try and track it, but they've all got flaws.

[Lincoln Hills]

One notion is to replace your usual minis with d6s - higher sides would be better, but most gamers have more d6s than any others. Turn the 4 side uppermost for every PC and adversary. When a creature dives 5' (or 'charges' from below) turn the 5 uppermost, and when a creature rises 5' (or dives from above) turn the 3 uppermost. This lets you emulate a 30' high zone, and the d6s can stack easily if two combatants happen to be directly below or above each other.

Superior numbers have a greater edge than they ordinarily provide (a Medium character can, in theory, be surrounded by 26 enemies and trisdeska-flanked.) It's much harder to maintain an effective 'front line' to shield your wizards and such. Remember, too, that if your character's swim speed is effectively 5', the combat rules state that that 5' of movement is a move, not a free 5-foot step - attacks of opportunity can apply. (There are low-level spells in the APG that provide swim speed, and they're highly recommended: even a swim speed of 10 is better than relying on the unassisted Swim skill.)

There are resources worth consulting on the other details of underwater exploration and adventure: I recommend 3.5's Stormwrack, which is one of the only 3.5 books I've kept right on using since Pathfinder came along.

[Bill Kirsch]

Agreed. Stormwrack was an excellent book and a must have for any underwater adventuring.

[Gnomezrule]

I have been thinking of attempting to rig something up either with bases on the end of collapsible antenna. Or with a some sort of small crane.