Like Dragon Like Son - Episodes Tagged with “Combat”

Rock The Clock Mechanic: Going Beyond The Timer

Jay and Jack Oatway — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0800

Using a clock or counter system can dramatically overhaul how encounters play out. They can introduce a puzzle-like complexity, and increase the number of ways to win besides just doing damage. And they can add a dynamism to the active evolving world of your campaign setting. If you need some help getting clocks working in your game, now's the time!

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Don't Let Combat Become a Boring Math Problem

Jay and Jack Oatway — Sat, 21 May 2022 18:00:00 +0800

We look at a number of ways to spice up your combat, from streamlining play so players get to act more frequently, to adding just the right type of crunchy table rules to provide extra excitement. Join us as we discuss the best ways to strike a balance between speeding up combat rounds, and making it still feel meaningful and carefully considered.

How To Bring a Campaign to Its End

Jay and Jack Oatway — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 09:00:00 +0800

If you are really lucky, maybe you will get a chance to play a long campaign with the same group of players over months, maybe even years. Through countless adventures, the PCs have become seasoned heroes, and now they must face one last challenge: how to say goodbye. This week we look at what needs to happen before the final curtain falls on your campaign.

Be the Support Hero Your Party Needs

Jay and Jack Oatway — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:00:00 +0800

While many players try to optimize their damage output, we find ourselves asking: How do we optimize our support output? It's not as glamorous to take the help action, or dodge action on your turn -- but if done well, and combined with a few object interactions, you might soon find yourself significantly boosting the damage output of everyone else at the table.

Join us as we look at how to play the best support character ever.

How To Make Boss Fights Properly Tough

Jay and Jack Oatway — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 14:00:00 +0800

Are your players chewing up and spitting out your tough monsters? Does a deadly level CR seem like a walk in the park? Are you regretting letting everyone have magic items? Fear not, we are here to help you fix that. We look at ways to go beyond simply turning your big boss into a big bag of hit points -- and instead turn it into a fight that makes everyone feel like a hero.

From peppering PCs with a monster's legendary actions to triggering a PCs internal conflict with a monster's knowledge of what they truly desire, there are plenty of ways to level the playing field for the bad guy -- while creating new opportunities for players to rise to the challenge. Join us as we discuss some of our favourite ways to put the fight back into Boss Fights.

Finding the Right Balance for Combat Encounters

Jay and Jack Oatway — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 14:00:00 +0800

This week we look at how to make build a combat encounter that is both challenging, and fun -- deadly, yet winnable. We discuss all the different factors at play, from multi-monster battles to Boss fights. If you want something that is scary, something where the players feel the heat -- while also providing them opportunities to shine -- we've got ideas to help you create a truly "balanced" encounter.

Yet, even with balance, death does happen. And it can be great for the story. We talk a bit about what to do if the fight takes an unexpected twist.

Links:

The Book of Hordes — The mechanics and monsters presented in this book are meant for use by DMs who wish to introduce larger-scale, grand battles, without the hassle of tracking a score of hit points and turns. Running monsters as hordes allows for faster, more simple turns, without the micro-managing required for fighting a large group of individual monsters. This simplifies the combat two-fold. First, DMs have less things to track, and can focus their attention on the storytelling and world-building. Second, the players no longer have to micro-manage enemy targeting, and are presented with a dynamic and interesting foe, all while not being entirely overwhelmed through sheer numbers in action economy.

P.A.N.D.A. PVP

Jay and Jack Oatway — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0800

Have you ever wanted to run a battle against your friends at the table? Do you feel the pvp in dnd kinda sucks? This week, we take a look at how to make P.V.P. (Player versus Player) combat actually fun, by following a core set of rules we refer to as P.A.N.D.A.!

Welcome to the DM's Workshop (Part 1)

Jay and Jack Oatway — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 09:00:00 +0800

This week, we enter the DM's workshop, a place where variant rules and game-changing tips are brought to discussion, all following what's written in the Dungeon Master's Guide. So join us, as we take a leap into this world of combat variants and gritty realism.