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I just started a campaign last weekend, it's been quite a while since I've DMed a game (at least a year and a half) and I'm feeling rusty.
Can I get some tips/pointers on some good combat tactics to run?
Possibly some tips/pointers for good/challenging encounters?
There are only a few REALLY noteworthy houserules we're using, which might influence tactics strategies:
2. You only provoke AoOs on Combat Maneuvers if they fail.
3. AoOs are less deadly (Unarmed Strike or Combat Maneuvers only - and these things don't provoke when done as a AoO, no full-blown AoO weapon attacks), BUT everyone and their mother has Combat Reflexes.
Can other GMs give some examples of any notably fun/challenging encounters/tactics you've run in your games?
Also interested in cool/fun environments/maps for a combat.
DH
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I found this to be pretty useful:
GM's Guide to Creating Challenging Encounters
Be aware that a small horde of relatively low-CR monsters will end up being terrain more than anything else, as they won't actually be able to hit most of the PCs.
I've had kobolds chase the party around in some caves with a hand cart with a ballista mounted on it. Frankly it was not an effective weapon, but it scared the hell out of the party and made them completely change their strategy.
Oh! This is just too good to NOT steal! I see a trio pulling 3 stooges actions!
You're house rule essentially gives pounce to everyone. That's a huge change to the game.
Monster with several natural attacks will benefit greatly from this as they will pretty much always be able to full attack. At the same time your characters will do they same. Be aware that melee characters can throw up huge damage numbers when they're getting full attacks every round. You will probably need to increase the CR of enemies/buff them in order to provide a challenge and avoid using enemies with a single big attack.
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1. Offense will always beat defense in D&D/Pathfinder.
Yep. That's true.
2. Know your power levels of your characters: certain classes or builds are just plain not as powerful or useful as some others. Make sure that everyone gets a little spotlight once an arc.
Ex. My group that I play with is always full of well made and well built characters who will have very few weaknesses. We had two very well made archers and a blaster specialist sorcerer, the last character was a healing and tanking based Paladin. With the Paladin's very poor skills, crappy offense outside of a smiting situation and generally the team almost never getting hurt die to good tactics and powerful builds 90% of the time the Paladin sat around bored.
That was until the giant hoard of undead showed up, then the Paladin got a moment to shine throwing around damaging channel positive energy abilities and offensive and defensive lay on hands.
Share the spotlight.
This one is always solid advice for GMing.
3. Be brutally honest.
As I said, not every build is useful, let people know what they are getting into.
Ex. If you have a well made Healing Oracle, a Fighter who is both a monster on offense and defense, a skillful and well rounded Ranger, and versatile Wizard with good feat selection, you might want to inform the guy who wants to play a low charisma, strength based, Gnome, Bard with a dagger that he might want to rethink a few things.
I do this one. I also advice against the Paladin character in the CN Mercenary party, and Rogues and Monks in pretty much every game (unless I'm really confident that the player knows what he's doing when he builds a character).
4. The most important thing of all though, plan a good story ahead of time.
Get your plot set and monster or NPC cheat sheets ready ahead of time, nobody likes sitting around while you look up a spell or a monster ability. Think your plot out like a TV show, each game is an episode, and each story arc is a season. Progress plot with cliff hangers and reveals in mind
This definitely makes a difference.
GM's Guide to Creating Challenging Encounters
That looks fantastic! I will have to examine it more thoroughly.
Be aware that a small horde of relatively low-CR monsters will end up being terrain more than anything else, as they won't actually be able to hit most of the PCs.
Yeah, in some cases it might be better to use Jason Bulmahn's minion rules instead of low CR NPCs, or use said minion rules to figure out what to do for to-hit bonuses and whatnot.
Your house rules are rather unbalanced.
Battlefield positioning and tactics are less important when everyone can just move around the battlefield and full attack or throwing combat maneuvers around like candy because if built correctly they will only fail on a 1.
Its possible I went too far in the other direction. I've always felt the baseline rules penalize mobility and variety too much, and I have always disliked it. As for the combat maneuvers, I like combat maneuvers, but they come up so rarely. The goal was to make it so making a combat maneuver is a viable alternative to attacking, and not just for combat maneuver specialists, but for everyone. Ideally, there's a bit of movement from most characters every round, and someone attempts a combat maneuver every combat (in a party with no combat maneuver specialists). I thought the mobility would help clear up martial-caster disparity a bit at the higher levels, and I had hoped more combat maneuvers would help martials out with options a bit more as well. I don't really want the scenario where they only fail on a 1, but I also don't want the scenario where "you only trip a guy if your character's schtick is tripping people."
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You're house rule essentially gives pounce to everyone. That's a huge change to the game.
Monster with several natural attacks will benefit greatly from this as they will pretty much always be able to full attack. At the same time your characters will do they same. Be aware that melee characters can throw up huge damage numbers when they're getting full attacks every round. You will probably need to increase the CR of enemies/buff them in order to provide a challenge and avoid using enemies with a single big attack.
Yeah, it means everyone is getting their ideal number of attacks every round.
I was thinking of only giving you half-move if you wanted all your attacks, and full move if you only took half of them. I ended up saying we'd try out full move + full attack when other people said they were using that rule and hadn't had any major issues with it.
It hasn't proven to be a problem yet, but I will make adjustments if it becomes one.
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let's see.. fun/challenging combat scenario with the houserules you use:
how about being attacked in an area of difficult terrain by polearm specialists who are not hindered by the terrain itself... or maybe druids in an area of heavy undergrowth PROTECTED by the polearm specialists!
The druids can cast their distance spells and should the melee types move to attack them, the polearm guys use trips and disarms to keep them at bay. Add in Protection from Arrows from a friendly local Witchdoctor and voila! fun/challenging!
yeah!
Try introducing creatures with different dynamics after the fight is under way. I've found that it throws the players off-balance and increases the fun when they have to rethink strategy.
For example, place the players inside a walled but open top structure, such as a bandit camp with timber walls, fighting off a large group of low challenge enemies. Include terrain features that they can climb and hide behind.
A few rounds into the fight, have a flying creature enter the fray and watch the chaos begin.
I ran an encounter like this recently and it was great. The ranged characters in our group went to great lengths to get on higher ground for advantageous shooting While the melee guys of course grouped up on the ground and eventually put a little too much distance between themselves and their ranged allies.
By the time the flying creature attacked, in this case a wyvern, the ranged PCs were sitting ducks. The excitement level went through the roof as they scrambled to get down from their perches and the melee guys ran over to try and protect them.