I have talked before about victory conditions or combat objective style fights. Here is a good list that I like to refer to when building these fights. It was compiled by Halivar at EnWorld in this Thread.
It takes some practice for your players to get good at recognizing these situations and seeing a way to clear the board without slaughtering every thing in sight. As always be sure to let your players know that this is an option in your campaign, and make sure that is the type of campaign they want to play in.
Use these sparingly and let the players' actions decide how oft they want this type of combat. In my campaign, this is something I throw at my players about twice a level or about 2 out
of 7 combat encounters. The option is always on the table for a clever
player, but only those few encounters are structured that way.
Scenario: Breakout
Objective:
The party is encircled by a horde of enemies. To escape, they must
reach an objective (an exit, a door, a magic portal) on the battle mat.
Setup:
The party begins in the middle of the mat. Depending on the setting
there may be obstacles (buildings, trees, rocks) and rough terrain. The
encounter begins with the players surrounded by 40-50 minions of
comparable level to the party. There are minions between the party and
the objective.
In Play: Minions slain by the party return to
their initial entry point at the beginning of the next round. Minions
will keep coming until the party is either dead or has escaped.
Ancillary Skill Checks:
Terrain and obstacles should force Acrobatics (moderate) checks if
double-moving. Otherwise players must make Athletics checks (easy) to
overcome said obstacles.
Scenario: VIP Escort
Objective:
The party must ensure that a helpless VIP (a merchant, a courier, an
injured nobleman) reaches an objective on the other side of the battle
mat.
Setup: The party begins surrounding the VIP on the
opposite side of the battle mat from the objective. The mat should be
covered in obstacles and cover for assassins to hide in (a town with
streets and alleys is perfect for this). The encounter starts with 10
lurker minions and a non-minion leader (controller or artillery) hidden
among the obstacles. The VIP has artillery monster stats, but with no
attacks. Unlike monsters, the VIP obeys PC rules for death and dying, so
if he falls he can be revived.
In Play: The VIP only moves 5
squares and cannot double-move (he is either injured or encumbered). If
attacked, he will stop and cower, and will not move until intimidated
to move forward. Slain assassin minions and ringleaders return to new
starting points when slain, and will not stop until either the VIP is
dead, or the VIP escapes. Assassins will try to avoid the PC's as must
as possible to get straight at the VIP.
Ancillary Skill Checks:
When the VIP cowers, the PC's must make an Intimidate check (easy) to
get him moving forward again. Perception checks (against monster stealth
rolls) determine if the PC's get early warning of attack. Players can
identify likely ambush areas with a hard check in the appropriate skill
(Streetwise in the city, Nature in the woods, Dungeoneering in a
dungeon).
Scenario: Last Stand
Objective: The
players must hold a defensive position (a building, a palisade, a
section of castle wall) against a horde of enemy minions for 10 rounds
(until activation of a super-weapon, until extraction, until a group of
refugees has time to escape).
Setup: The party begins inside
the defensive position, with 20-25 enemy minions at the edge of the map.
At the front is a non-minion ringleader (controller or artillery). The
defensive position should be such that party members are (or can be) in
an elevated position and have cover bonuses.
In Play: The
ringleader will lead the minions only as far as just outside a move away
from the defenders, from which position he will spur on the minions. If
the ringleader dies, all minions are demoralized, and may only take
standard actions on their turn until a new ringleader shows up. At the
end of the enemies' turn, fallen enemies (including the ringleader) are
replaced at the edge of the map.
Ancillary Skill Checks:
Athletics checks are useful if minions are scaling defenses with
ladders. A hard check will push ladders off the walls and stun the
climbing minions for a turn.
Scenario: King of the Hill
Objective:
Last Stand with a twist: players must first assault the defensive
position and wrest control of it from enemies before they defend it.
Setup:
The party begins at the edge of the map. The defensive position is
occupied by 5-7 non-minion enemies, which are not yet aware of the PC's
presence.
In Play: At the first sign of attack, the defenders
call out for backup (thus setting the stage for the Last Stand portion
of the encounter). Other than that, this is a pretty straight-forward
combat encounter. If players elect to damage the defenses during the
course of the assault, the difficulty of the second part of the
encounter will increase.
Ancillary Skill Checks: Stealth will be essential, as will be Athletics (for scaling defenses).
Scenario: Capture the Flag
Objective:
The players must capture the enemy “flag” while defending their own.
The encounter ends when one individual (PC or NPC) has both “flags” (two
parts to a powerful relic, the Hand and Eye of Vecna, the Cosmic Key
from the Dolf Lundgren motion picture “Masters of the Universe” and
One-Eyed Willie's sheet music from “Goonies”).
Setup: Both
sides (the players and the enemies) have fortifications on opposite
sides of the battle mat (forts, dives in the slums, open mausoleums in a
graveyard). There can be as many or as few obstacles as the DM desires.
The enemies have 4-5 non-minions defending their flag, and 10 minions
outside. The players have the aid of 5 friendly minions who will obey
the PC's instructions. Whoever is holding a flag is magically,
supernaturally, or psychically aware of where the other flag is. There
is a problem: the flag is bulky and impedes the holder. The flag-bearer
may only take a standard action. To compensate, the players may elect to
give a minion the flag; it's a tactical decision on their own part.
In Play:
The enemies will leave 1 non-minion with the defending minions and the
flag. The other non-minions will take a circuitous route to the PC's
base to steal their flag. At the beginning of each round, replacements
for all NPC's (including friendly minions) arrive at the edge of the
mat.
Ancillary Skill Checks: If any players choose to stay and defend the base, they will need to make Perception rolls against stealthy attackers.
Scenario: Spaced Invaders
Objective:
The players are forming a thin (but porous) line of defense against
single-minded invaders whose only intention is get past them. The
players must stop them. They can be plague-bearing zombies heading
towards town, wounded enemy couriers on a battlefield trying to get a
request for reinforcements out, or cultists of Orcus trying to throw
themselves into a black abyss for some terrible ritual.
Setup: Divide
the mat in half. The players can be anywhere on the side of the mat to
which the invaders are streaming. The players should be made aware that
they will need maximum coverage and mobility.
In Play: There
are 20-30 minions who trickle in at the far end of the mat and move
unswervingly to the other side. Now because they are either wounded,
undead, or encumbered, they only take standard actions. They will prefer
flight to fight, but will stop and fight if directly prevented from
moving forward. At the beginning of each turn, roll a 1d4. This is the
number of enemies that appear that round. For each enemy minion,
randomly roll to see which edge square they start at.
Ancillary Skill Checks: Perhaps allow Perception roles, and allow players to discover, one round ahead of time, where new enemy minions will appear.
Scenario: Whack-A-Mole
Objective:
The players must scramble to different objectives on the map to stop
enemy machinations. The enemy only needs to complete one of their
objectives; the players must stop all of them. Once an enemy objective
is activated, the players are on a time-limit to stop it. This can be
evil cultists setting up idols to enslave a whole town, an enemy
defensive battery trying to set up magical trebuchets to sink a refugee
boat, or goblins in a forest trying to set up bon-fires to burn the
forest down.
Setup: The map is covered in obstacles, and
there are 5 enemy emplacements. Each emplacement is guarded by up to 6
minions, and one non-minion. By random die roll, select one to be
"activating", and inform the players (placed on the far side of the mat)
that they have 5 rounds to stop the completion of the enemy objective.
In Play: Every
3 rounds, randomly activate another emplacement. The urgency factor
will increase dramatically, and the party may decide they need to split
up.
Ancillary Skill Checks: Allow perception or insight
checks to allow players to predict which emplacement will activate next.
Place obstacles that require the use of Athletics or Acrobatics checks
to overcome.
Scenario: Assassination
Objective:
The opposite of VIP Escort. In this scenario, the enemy is trying to
protect the party's target, and get him to a safe area. The party's job
is to stop him from getting there. This can be a murderous crime lord
moving from one safe house to another, a deposed tyrant fleeing to
escape to his waiting army, or a courier rushing to give the
uber-archvillain the pass-phrase to the Book of Vile Darkness.
Setup: The enemy has dispatched three
parties. One has the real VIP, and the others are escorting a minion
look-alike. The VIP has artillery monster stats (but no attacks). Like
in the VIP Escort scenario, the VIP will cower when attacked. Each VIP
is surrounded by 4 non-minions. In addition, there are at least 10
minion patrolling the board.
In Play: Slain minions are
replaced at the end of the enemies' turn at the edge of the mat. As in
the VIP Escort scenario, the VIP is hindered and can only make a
standard action each round, and moves 5 squares.
Ancillary Skills:
Insight and Perception are the key skills here for noticing
doppelgangers. A hard check will spot the deception before engagement.
Other victory condition advice can be found at:
http://at-will.omnivangelist.net/?s=victory
http://critical-hits.com/2011/04/11/critical-hits-podcast-27-the-out/
http://slyflourish.com/three_examples_for_ending_a_battle_early.html
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Pillar 1 - The Intangibles of Playing a Role
On a 4E blog the term Role can invoke images of the core four. Striker, Defender, Controller and Leader but those aren't what I mean here. Today I am talking about walking a league in another's shoes. Part of D&D is putting on another persona, this is the Role-playing part of the game. A lot of talk has gone into the three pillars of D&D recently. For anyone who has missed out I refer to Combat, Exploration and Role-playing. I will review a few of my tips for creating an effective fun persona.
Tip #1 - Pick a Persona that Keeps It Friendly
It's easy to latch onto a concept and take it to far. Conflict is part of the dramatic tension necessary to any campaign. Embrace it but be aware there is always the risk of the character's persona's clashing. In order for a party and a table to successfully co-exist eliminate the paraphrasing of the statement "but that's what my character would do." Both sides of any inter-party conflict should be able to logically reach a compromise without bloodshed. Finding this win-win or agreeing to a win-lose type negotiation needs to be built into your character from the get go.
For example during the drafting phase for a Cleric of Melora be thinking about how your character would respond to a debate with a Cleric of Erathis. Melora abhors the destruction of woods for the sake of progress. On the other hand the Cleric of Erathis despises the lack of building materials due to the elven priests unwillingness to see civilization grow. How would your PC handle this debate? How would the rest of the party handle the debate? You could very quickly be at odds with your dwarf, mage, and fighter companions but might have the elven ranger on your side. Working this out without drawing steel is the mark of a good role player.
Tip #2 - Keep it Fresh
A lot of players tend to play the same character over and over. It's comfortable they know what to do in any situation. It also grows dull for the player. A DM can usually tell when the player is phoning in the role-play. To keep it fresh I suggest looking at trying something new, and stretching your legs in a new pair of shoes. This can be really tough, change oft is. Are you a timid person? Try being loud and boisterous. This can back fire on you though. It is hard to keep up a persona that is maligned with your own. I found it simpler to start with a part of my own personality I rarely used.
One of the reasons I love dwarves is their grumpiness. This was one of my first experiences role-playing. I took that old man "keep off the lawn", cynic from my own personality and amplified it. I took out my sense of humor and rolled up a dumb human bard. The jack-of-all trades would accidentally do fantastic things in prescient nod to Cpt Jack Sparrow. (Mind you this 20 years ago) The next time I rolled up a dwarf I changed it up and played a devout Cleric of Erathis. He personally hated elves (damn tree huggers), but he was very generous with money and compassionate to the sick and poor.
Tip #3 - KISS (Keep It So Simple)
Focus on the little things that really make your character stand out. A dwarf that strokes his beard when he is nervous. A barbarian that always sharpens his axe when folks are talking. A wizard who sits and smokes his pipe when pondering a bit of lore he needs to roll for. A halfling that stubs his toe every time he fails a stealth check. A paladin that salutes his enemies before engaging in combat. A thief that twirls a coin when he's bored. These are really pretty cliche things but find something your character would do and always do it. When the rest of the party catches on they will interact with it. That is a role-playing moment.
Be prepared to make the wrong choice. Our characters are a reflection of us amplified. The first instinct is to make them be perfect and always make the right choice. Sometimes a good role-playing scenario is making a bad call because that would be the information your character would have. Don't always listen at the door. Don't always keep the party together. Sometimes giving the NPC the last potion when you know there is one more encounter is the right thing to do.
Tip #4 - Setec Astronomy*
If you are dropping clues and expecting your party to get it. Give it up. If it is worth doing it is worth letting them in on it early. If there is one thing my years as a DM has taught me, it's that secrets and big reveals are anti-climatic. Hold your cards for a session maybe three and then play them. If you don't the players will have long ago forgot about your clues when the time the big reveal rolls around. By that time you have lost their interest and possibly created a frustrating untrustworthy ally for them to try to interact with.
Tip #5 - Ends of the Spectrum in Pairs
The best types of role-playing characters (IMHO) are the ones that either are iconic to the point they become cliche or characters that break the mold in unexpected and fantastic ways. When these two anti-archetypes coalesce and function together, it is true RP gold.
An untrustworthy halfling thief and his chaotic good barbarian companion. A feeble dragonborn fire hurler and his grumpy, singe-bearded dwarf fighter companion. A chaotic good githyanki bard and her snarling chaotic evil bugbear fighter on a leash.
Tip #6 - Role-playing Evil is Hard
A lot of folks think playing the evil or unaligned character is easy. It can be liberating to go against societies grain. In a heroic campaign playing the Evil PC is a lot of work. The other party members won't trust you. It doesn't take much for a DM to, even accidentally, make you the center of suspicion and anger. Even closet Evil PC's have this problem. When the DM and one player continually step out of the room for a quick chat, pass notes or communicate via Private Messages. The players are clued in something odd is happening. Someone is up to something. The paranoia breeds contempt and resentment. It is hard to be that guy. When your morals and objectives don't align at all you are back up to Tip 1. Bloodshed is the more than likely in game and maybe out of game result.
Equally tough is playing an Evil PC in an all evil campaign. In this scenario the social qualms preventing violence and discord dissipate. The point of playing an evil campaign is to get the upper hand and be able to act on impulse and a bit of sadistic pleasure. The players more likely than not are going to end up poisoning, betraying or slaughtering each other. It takes a really well knit group to survive something like that without any wounded pride or long-term consequences.
Finally, unaligned characters. Most evil characters I have played with have truly been unaligned. They operate within their own moral code and an informal set of ethics. Truly evil acts are hard to portray as a DM and they are harder as a player. Especially when presented with opportunities to do good. Players will oft act on their own desires and forget they are being "Evil". The other hard part about unaligned is that it requires you to establish some internal guidelines for how your character views the world. Good and Evil are things that people have some ideas about, the table may not agree on those ideas, but they have them. Unaligned is a little less clear. Without some forethought a persona will come off as flat or more flip-floppy than a politician. This makes it easy to game the system but very hard to successfully role-play.
These are my six tips to enhance your role-playing. Remember its a game, its meant to be fun. Some of that fun is interacting with your party both in a socially responsible manner and in a way that challenges and expands your experience.
*Is an anagram from the '92 movie Sneakers. Unscrambled it is "Too many secrets".
Tip #1 - Pick a Persona that Keeps It Friendly
It's easy to latch onto a concept and take it to far. Conflict is part of the dramatic tension necessary to any campaign. Embrace it but be aware there is always the risk of the character's persona's clashing. In order for a party and a table to successfully co-exist eliminate the paraphrasing of the statement "but that's what my character would do." Both sides of any inter-party conflict should be able to logically reach a compromise without bloodshed. Finding this win-win or agreeing to a win-lose type negotiation needs to be built into your character from the get go.
For example during the drafting phase for a Cleric of Melora be thinking about how your character would respond to a debate with a Cleric of Erathis. Melora abhors the destruction of woods for the sake of progress. On the other hand the Cleric of Erathis despises the lack of building materials due to the elven priests unwillingness to see civilization grow. How would your PC handle this debate? How would the rest of the party handle the debate? You could very quickly be at odds with your dwarf, mage, and fighter companions but might have the elven ranger on your side. Working this out without drawing steel is the mark of a good role player.
Tip #2 - Keep it Fresh
A lot of players tend to play the same character over and over. It's comfortable they know what to do in any situation. It also grows dull for the player. A DM can usually tell when the player is phoning in the role-play. To keep it fresh I suggest looking at trying something new, and stretching your legs in a new pair of shoes. This can be really tough, change oft is. Are you a timid person? Try being loud and boisterous. This can back fire on you though. It is hard to keep up a persona that is maligned with your own. I found it simpler to start with a part of my own personality I rarely used.
One of the reasons I love dwarves is their grumpiness. This was one of my first experiences role-playing. I took that old man "keep off the lawn", cynic from my own personality and amplified it. I took out my sense of humor and rolled up a dumb human bard. The jack-of-all trades would accidentally do fantastic things in prescient nod to Cpt Jack Sparrow. (Mind you this 20 years ago) The next time I rolled up a dwarf I changed it up and played a devout Cleric of Erathis. He personally hated elves (damn tree huggers), but he was very generous with money and compassionate to the sick and poor.
Tip #3 - KISS (Keep It So Simple)
Focus on the little things that really make your character stand out. A dwarf that strokes his beard when he is nervous. A barbarian that always sharpens his axe when folks are talking. A wizard who sits and smokes his pipe when pondering a bit of lore he needs to roll for. A halfling that stubs his toe every time he fails a stealth check. A paladin that salutes his enemies before engaging in combat. A thief that twirls a coin when he's bored. These are really pretty cliche things but find something your character would do and always do it. When the rest of the party catches on they will interact with it. That is a role-playing moment.
Be prepared to make the wrong choice. Our characters are a reflection of us amplified. The first instinct is to make them be perfect and always make the right choice. Sometimes a good role-playing scenario is making a bad call because that would be the information your character would have. Don't always listen at the door. Don't always keep the party together. Sometimes giving the NPC the last potion when you know there is one more encounter is the right thing to do.
Tip #4 - Setec Astronomy*
If you are dropping clues and expecting your party to get it. Give it up. If it is worth doing it is worth letting them in on it early. If there is one thing my years as a DM has taught me, it's that secrets and big reveals are anti-climatic. Hold your cards for a session maybe three and then play them. If you don't the players will have long ago forgot about your clues when the time the big reveal rolls around. By that time you have lost their interest and possibly created a frustrating untrustworthy ally for them to try to interact with.
Tip #5 - Ends of the Spectrum in Pairs
The best types of role-playing characters (IMHO) are the ones that either are iconic to the point they become cliche or characters that break the mold in unexpected and fantastic ways. When these two anti-archetypes coalesce and function together, it is true RP gold.
An untrustworthy halfling thief and his chaotic good barbarian companion. A feeble dragonborn fire hurler and his grumpy, singe-bearded dwarf fighter companion. A chaotic good githyanki bard and her snarling chaotic evil bugbear fighter on a leash.
Tip #6 - Role-playing Evil is Hard
A lot of folks think playing the evil or unaligned character is easy. It can be liberating to go against societies grain. In a heroic campaign playing the Evil PC is a lot of work. The other party members won't trust you. It doesn't take much for a DM to, even accidentally, make you the center of suspicion and anger. Even closet Evil PC's have this problem. When the DM and one player continually step out of the room for a quick chat, pass notes or communicate via Private Messages. The players are clued in something odd is happening. Someone is up to something. The paranoia breeds contempt and resentment. It is hard to be that guy. When your morals and objectives don't align at all you are back up to Tip 1. Bloodshed is the more than likely in game and maybe out of game result.
Equally tough is playing an Evil PC in an all evil campaign. In this scenario the social qualms preventing violence and discord dissipate. The point of playing an evil campaign is to get the upper hand and be able to act on impulse and a bit of sadistic pleasure. The players more likely than not are going to end up poisoning, betraying or slaughtering each other. It takes a really well knit group to survive something like that without any wounded pride or long-term consequences.
Finally, unaligned characters. Most evil characters I have played with have truly been unaligned. They operate within their own moral code and an informal set of ethics. Truly evil acts are hard to portray as a DM and they are harder as a player. Especially when presented with opportunities to do good. Players will oft act on their own desires and forget they are being "Evil". The other hard part about unaligned is that it requires you to establish some internal guidelines for how your character views the world. Good and Evil are things that people have some ideas about, the table may not agree on those ideas, but they have them. Unaligned is a little less clear. Without some forethought a persona will come off as flat or more flip-floppy than a politician. This makes it easy to game the system but very hard to successfully role-play.
These are my six tips to enhance your role-playing. Remember its a game, its meant to be fun. Some of that fun is interacting with your party both in a socially responsible manner and in a way that challenges and expands your experience.
*Is an anagram from the '92 movie Sneakers. Unscrambled it is "Too many secrets".
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