Make Combat More Exciting! (Ep.

[@VosperCDN]

Little known fact - this video was about as long as one players turn when they can't decide what their character wants to do.

[@mattnoel2447]

That drives me nuts. When it's at it's worst I go for a 5 second countdown approach or they lose their turn.

[@gustavusaldophus5524]

Funnily enough, his initiative solution would fix the problem you're talking about

[@willcherry9029]

Put a timer on the table 10 seconds. And if they can't get it out they lose their turn.we also roll damage dice with our attack die.

[@CausticCatastrophe]

hahaha

[@Dertro]

What's worse is when you start implementing a hard timer on players turn they act like you're being unfair.

[@itzybitzyspyder]

You inadvertently helped me with my pitch to my players to switch to Shadowdark. Thank you.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Cool.

[@elizabethdefazio6065]

As someone that’s played with this style of combat, I can say that it’s entertaining, fun and fast-paced. Doesn’t get better than that

[@richardhealy]

Fair points all. Bonus points for casting shade at The Last Jedi, unexpected and still 100% deserved.

[@billbrown4026]

George Romero, the father of the zombie threat said it best. "The only way a zombie movie works is if you believe the zombies can win."

[@radelc]

I like angry gms advice to briefly recap what the stakes and options are as you move to the next person in initiative. Makes combat much more narrative and cinematic.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Very good. Shoulda said that.

[@gommechops]

Do yo have a link for that?

[@francoisdumont4105]

The scene of Marion's bar in Raiders of the Lost Ark comes to mind.

[@matthewmcfadden6332]

1. I love all your insight even if I don't plan on using it, I still used it as food.for thought. 2. All the love you give to various systems! It pumps me the fuck up when creators support creators! Thanks PDM, have a good weekend, stay healthy.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

You too, Matthew!

[@ArvelDreth]

Whenever people like you and I talk about realism, Professor Dungeon Master, what we really mean is internal consistency and authenticity. That's what fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings have in them that makes them believable despite having fantasy creatures and magic in them. It's incredibly silly whenever we talk about adding realism and people act like fantasy settings should just have an "anything goes" approach and use that to defend sloppy writing.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Internal consistency. Have to remember that.

[@bryancoleman428]

I have been DM’ing now for about a year. I tried playing back in the early 70’s and loved the game but had trouble finding friends who could get into it. I got 2 of my kids playing and then my Father joined, and then my brother and 2 of his kids joined us. The game has brought us tons of family fun and has provided hours of quality time away from the PS4’s. I just wanted to say how much I love your channel. Getting back into the game with 5e has been amazing and channels like yours help me provide fun for the family that I never thought I could. We are running CoS and I have made the campaign my own with added encounters and changes to make it more fun for some younger kids and inexperienced players. I take away ideas every time I watch one of your videos. Thank you thank you thank you.

[@jesperpetersen6105]

I really dislike the "It's fantasy so realism have no place here" argument. When I call for realism in games I call for the game to be belivable. It is not to remove the fantastical elements, it is to make the fantastical parts more believable, so that it make sence and in extention makes the story make more sence.

[@wishpunk9188]

The problem is in the extremes. Some players ask for too much realism which bogs a game down. Too little amd you can't suspend beleif. Too much and everyone is checking their phones instead.

[@ohnoitisnt666]

The trick is that a fantasy world must obey its own rules for realism and not have our worlds realism imposed upon it. It has to make sense based on its own rules of reality. That is what makes it believable.

[@Capt.Thunder]

Verisimilitude is the more appropriate word, rather than realism.

[@thodan467]

then call it believable, which means very different things depending on the game you´re running

[@thodan467]

@@ohnoitisnt666 rules of nature,

[@saunderl]

I think that the idea that each combat round lasting only 6 seconds gets lost fairly quickly from everyone's mind. I find a quick reminder at the beginning of each fight really helpful. It sets the tone and pace of the fight.

[@sarahcb3142]

I lower the enemies hp while increasing the damage they do. This way the players can take them down in fewer rounds and the danger from the bad guy feels even scarier. He did HOW much damage?! This way the amount of damage the bad guy deals is cumulatively the same but they are way more terrifying and suddenly getting them down feels a lot more urgent.

[@sarainy9775]

This is a great way to only change the DM facing rules - remove the Con modifier to NPC Hit Points, and then increase their damage die size by 2 (I use Pathfinders dice steps; 1, 1d2, 1d3, 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 2d6, 2d8, 3d6, 3d8, 4d6, 4d8, 6d6, 6d8, 8d6, 8d8, 12d6, 12d8, 16d6). Player HP and rules don't change.

[@sarahcb3142]

@@sarainy9775 Interesting. I am unfamiliar with the Pathfinder dice steps you mentioned. Does that mean you would increase the damage a creature would normally deal from 1d4+4 to 1d8+4? Or would you change the +4 as well to reflect the increase in damage die?

[@sarainy9775]

Sarah CB just the dice steps. You’re looking for about a 1/3 increase in damage.

[@justinsumner4964]

I do the same thing, it also makes healer classes feel more impactful during combat as opposed to being a battery for HP post combat.

[@allenyates3469]

Not wearing armor? If they hit you then you are down. Wearing armor? If they hit you, you aren't necessarily down. Bags of hit points are yawnsville.

[@dylanh.8029]

Keep up the good work, Professor DM!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks!

[@ronsmith3905]

PDM, I feel like I truly went to Dungeon University today. This video is D&D GOLD. This is why I subscribe. Thanks again so much for these videos. I don't think you are going to need your plus one vest of protection today. I think everyone can benefit from this advise. Take care and stay safe. Cheers!!

[@stephenclements6158]

I've taken a lot of your simplification ideas, worked on them, and implemented them in my games, and boy howdy do they make the game go so much easier. Combat rounds fly by with the "everybody goes/fog of war" approach, but I can still call for a roll-off if two actors' actions conflict. Keeping unneeded skill checks out of the way makes sure that nothing important gets left out of the story. Keep it coming.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks, Stephen. That means a lot to me. I like making videos, but the point is to make games more fun. This inspires me to keep going.

[@VMSelvaggio]

Hey Professor! Based on the recommendations of your other videos (or your bookshelf) I ordered myself a copy of XDM, 5e Hardcore Mode, and Five Torches Deep! Thank you for all your inspiring videos!

[@cactusthingwithfood48]

So nice to see such a chill KZbinr

[@Twotoedfarm]

Your comments on the use of the force were so spot on

[@Volvandese]

I've been looking a lot at how to pump up combat in my game, and this provided good food for thought.

[@kylegreene1356]

Man you're just the absolute best. My players have NO idea how much they owe you.

[@kusodm2347]

As a side-effect of wanting to give rooms in my dungeons more color and pop, the demon god who makes dungeons for people to explore and die in gives off this impression of having a passion for interior decorating and large oriental rugs.

[@pascalconstantin8460]

I am not looking your video for a long time. I have myself a huge experience in D&D (more than 40 years). But I want to say that you are really excellent. Thanks a lot.

[@tankatim13]

Fighting a bear in a forest. Best remembered fight in our group. Not a dragon but just a bear at low levels

[@alexsala1416]

Your videos have really made me look at all my old-school modules in a totally new light! Kudos.

[@therealsokratis]

Awesome points! Best part is that it's a buffet of options - no two groups are the same so it's ok to pick and choose what works!

[@Xion_Toshiro]

Finally! A D&D Video that helps with Combat; rather than villainizing it.

[@SadoMasichisticboy]

Since watching your channel you have given so many great ideas! I can't wait to talk to my players about not using initiative and you have given me so many tips for making a better game and narrative. I appreciate the time you take to make these videos

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I appreciate the time you spend watching and commenting!

[@alienspaceshaman]

I'm running Curse of Strahd, my players are probably gonna have a fight with vampires in the church soon, I'm gonna start it on fire, fill it full of screaming villagers and there will be an important key they need which will be dropped on the floor during the scramble which they must look for during the fray. Thanks for the vids, alsways good advice!

[@everthingtotal8798]

Excellent video! I love the point that, "battles are a cluster fudge; you may wildly stab someone who is being fried by the wizard's spell at the same time. You didn't waste your move--you survived a round!" That really conveys a desperate situation. Also, having so much more to lose with the child prisoners, is blazing with game potential! I AM going to steal these! The new UDT looks really good; I recently made an 8" floor like that for a rounded tower room. A grid would ruin the look of it; gridless is so easy!

[@Dabeef64]

as a young DM ( a looong time ago) a cartoon that always stuck with me was from the dragon magazine. These adventurers standing around a box that had slits to fit a sword through & I believe it was a minotaur inside & it said something like" insert for 700 x.p." on the box & of course some punch line I don't remember. That has always stuck with me. I think everyone has to keep this in mind, whatever system you choose to use for combat, creatures are not just waiting there to die at the hands of your brave party. A DM must think like "what would I do if I was this monster to survive?" One of my toughest "homegrown" adventures I made many years ago, three separate groups of all-around 4th-5th level failed and ran away,. these hardy adventures were facing...1/2 H.D. goblins in their lair.

[@ForeverYoungKickboxer]

I clearly remember that picture!!

[@patdossenko1820]

i rember that also thanks for the memory lane.

[@reddnacpil4420]

most people just want a generic mmo rpg experience. they dont stop and think that all of those rpg video games are just simulations of table top rpg. they dont want to spend energy imagining anything. just numbers

[@josephgarcia9076]

Oh my God I love your content it's very inspiring especially for dming with youngsters who don't have much experience with d&d

[@thiagocg2660]

Excellent work, Professor. About HP, something that I tried and - up to now - worked with more experienced players (that usually are more resistant to a Low HP house rule) is to double the damage to everything. That also counts to the monsters, of course

[@mithren86]

Yeah this would be interesting to see.

[@gabrielgutierrez1419]

I've been waiting for this video, thanks professor Dungeonmaster.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

My pleasure!

[@craigstueber8073]

I have used so many of your tips over the years, and they have really upped my games. I have been using the timer since you first brought that up back in one of your campaign videos. It really does make the fights more epic. Just last game I had my players have to save the rogue who was going to be hung for breaking into houses, where they had 3 turns to do so (very Robin Hood how they did it, loved it). Then they had to get out of the area, (we are playing in Eberron currently and they were in Sharn) so they ended up cutting him free then diving off the bridges with feather fall tokens landing on an airship below and racing away. It was just amazing. THANK YOU SO MUCH from Me"The DM" and my players.

[@gawby]

Yup, shout out to Hankerin. Some of the best encounters I've ever run.

[@Xion_Toshiro]

One method of making Combat interesting and intense that I use is to get inside the mindset of the NPCs - and have them "actively move and seek out" the Player Characters; on their turns, creating tension by acting out the NPCs - and saying: "Goblin A is sniffing around trying to find you. Goblin B knows you're there, hiding around the corner, and is creeping toward you. Goblin C is drawing an arrow; attempting to get a shot on you. Goblin D is alerting the others. Goblin E is now beginning to charge at you, Sword drawn. Now... what do *you* do?"

[@shaddonon]

9:16 i get such a kick out of PDM’s mannerisms whenever he mentions the clips! no matter which vid, if initiative comes up, there’s a good chance he’ll mention the “clips”, and if he mentions the clips there’ll be at least a *hint* of disdain (or disbelief, or astonishment, or shellshock) in PDM’s voice when he says “clips”. It paints quite the picture of the ill-fated session where some poor fool introduced PDM to that system. Anyway just wanted to share, it makes me smile every time I revisit one of these vids, hopefully you can’t “unhear” it now either! :)

[@luke_skywhopper]

I want to watch you DM as you describe in your videos. I can follow what you say, but seeing it in action will truly reveal this way of playing. I'm interested in trying it myself!

[@bugslayerprime7674]

"In Star Wars, the force can be used to move objects, but it can't be used to fly through outer space or heal people." Shots fired!!! XD

[@tomdulski3729]

That Orc Boss looks amazing on camera.

[@NigeltheLucky]

My personal answer to interesting combat is stakes. What is gained during the fight? Does it say anything about your character? What’s at stake? In a combat sequence I’ll do things like add a moral element, like add in an npc who’s not capable of helping and will die if you don’t intervene. Do you let him be a distraction, attempt to persuade him to leave, toss him out of the way?. This character builds. I’ll do shifting battlefield conditions rolling boulders, new enemies, new allies, something breaks, a hurricane sweeps in. I like putting in secondary objectives or alternative objective in a fight. Pcs aren’t there to fight they want to steal something. What do you focus on as a priority killing everything or snatching the thing? If the fight doesn’t have something to it that interesting, like imminent death, a story hook, character building, or flat out exciting cinematic complications (like in the middle of it all the villain darts into a crowd and hides to get a sneak attack, grab the wrong guy and you get shanked) (or a firing squad burst into the room and starts firing at everyone indiscriminately good guy and bad guy alike). If it can’t be any of those things I try to get it over with as quickly as possible

[@imoweenlodestone5447]

What makes combat bad ass is one thing natural environment of the monster, and go from there. Environment & situations, can't believe game masters have not figured this out yet

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

True. Think of the lake of fire in the dragon's lair in Dragonslayer.

[@imoweenlodestone5447]

@Dungeon Craft did that already with my homebrew daemon dragon. His fire is literally white and fluorescent Orange at the tip of the flame. For clarity, my daemons breath weapon is more lethal than. The red dragons, red dragon had to help the players

[@achimsinn7782]

I like working with a grid, but I either make the rooms being pretty small or I add some specific stuff to them to make the fight more interesting. The most boring fights happen on (almost) plain wide large areas where everybody needs like 2 turns to even get to melee distance and then people start circling around retreating and catching back up and everything becomes a boring mess. In a small guard chamber that is just 3 squares wide and 5 squares long, there is just no room for that. People could retreat for one turn, but then they get cornered, Melee characters get to hit something in the first round and ranged characters could still stay at the doorway and shoot in - they just need to be a bit more carefull and pay attention to opponents closing in on them. Or you add something like a narrow bridge over a river and either make the players want to cross it or to defend it. This forces the action to focus on one point of the map, so people don't scather around and everything turns into a game of catch up.

[@RabidHobbit]

I ran a few sessions of 5E before work responsibilities took over, but the way I ran combat was that critical hits meant 1) you add guaranteed max damage for your weapon to your damage roll, and 2) you scored a crit for each multiple of 5 above the DC (so you could score multiple criticals in one attack). We didn't play long enough to see if that was sustainable, but no PCs died yet and I can promise you every encounter that involved battle or a potential fight was intense. I will probably run future games this way because I would rather play a D&D where players prefer to avoid combat rather than entering it. But when they do, man are they going to be awesome battles with a lot at stake.

[@TheRendar]

100% agree I’ve been using your tips for combat since your first video, and love it so much better. I’m all about the fast cinematic combat . Another great video Professor Dungeon Master !

[@stephenegan3612]

That small dig at the Disney Star Wars trilogy was by itself enough for me to give this video a LIKE. 😋 That being said, I would have given this a thumbs up, regardless. Anything that brings up new ideas toward improving combat is always good.

[@marc-anthonysmith6734]

I loved your view on Star Wars and the Force. I totally agree.

[@mrbunnyban]

This was an excellent video. Love all the different scenarios you created to mix it up and create tension

[@yourbusinessvalue]

I love the way you think about DMing. I don't necessarily agree with everything you suggest, but I do see the logic.

[@MarshmallowMadnesss]

I like the segments and want to use the optional rules for casting time. I like the idea that getting struck has a chance to blow a magic user's spell. You, are spot on about time limits making combat more fun. A spreading fire adds the time limits and other risks or obstacles. Having a slug out isn't too much fun even if someone has fantastic miniatures on the table

[@markdowse3572]

As a DM, I LOVE combat!!! I love seeing the Players adapting and dealing with the challenge. The 'enemy' does not have to be a Dragon. (Boring!) Being surprised and surrounded by 10 (or even 20) Orcs will certainly be memorable. XP is minimal. Fun is maximal! 😲🤣

[@michaelhelbobndergaard3748]

If I get my players to fall over themselves to do something, making mistakes because of tension I know we're in a good place. Also the example of the scorpion room shows how every action can have a specific consequence.

[@Scatterneo]

7:10 I've considered using a similar system, wherein players accumulate health traditionally - up to level 5. Every level after that, they only get their CON modifier (to a minimum of 1) more health when they level up. Depending on the class, this cuts high tier combat health down ~30-40%. Unfortunately I haven't coerced my (forgivingly inexperienced) party to try it out. Overall, the first time watching this through, I was (as usual) on the fence / in complete defiance of your perspective. But then I found that I often employ similar tactics. Not in the explicit manner that you've exemplified ('the room will explode in X rounds' or 'the bridge will collapse in Y rounds') but still giving the encounter (especially lairs or bosses) some sort of timed event that's designed to hit the party hard if they don't do something to delay or prevent it in time, in hopes of having the party pushed to their limits sooner and building tension by reminding them of their mortality in a traditionally 'heroic' game.

[@elendil4321]

Learned a lot from your vídeos. thanks from Brazil!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Glad you like them!

[@jonswift6173]

I've got some of my own rules to make combat more deadly. Players should fear but also get excited about combat

[@claude-alexandretrudeau1830]

We play with grids and my pals don't understand the importance of proper positionning. When things got rough, I litterally saved the party from TPK a couple of times by telling the fighter to just move to a specific position. I'm still baffled at how little they learned from those moments. I didn't think that round gridless board you showed was a thing. Makes me want to give it a try.

[@AzraelThanatos]

Another option for messing with HP is to shift to the Vitality system. It first appeared in the Star Wars rpg for the OCR and RCR while also being a variant rule in the 3.5 Unearthed Arcana...and the Spycraft/Fantasycraft games took it and ran with it. You end up with the ability to actually handle a lot of damage, or you might go down to a lucky hit. The basic set up is that you have Vitality Points and Wound Points. Vitality Points are basically what your standard 5e HP would be, Wounds are equal to your Constitution score. Vitality goes away before wounds with standard damage and heals the normal way, Wounds took damage after the Vitality was gone or if you got hit with a critical (or with the CDG rules). and it heals at a slower pace. Big change for 5e's basic rules would be to modify how criticals work, instead of double damage, you roll your damage with modifiers twice, once applied to vitality and once to wounds. You can heal 1 wound if you spend HD to heal during a short rest (This would be using any number of HD for it, you just get 1 wound), and during a long rest it would be the number of HD spent plus your Con modifier. If you're under 1/2 wounds at the end of a battle, you are considered to have a level of exhaustion higher (This only gives 1 level of exhaustion no matter if there are other combats). Perhaps adding Proficiency to wounds and a version of the Toughness feat would expand it slightly to have less chance of players getting surprise one shotted, in it.

This channel is pure gold. I couldn't agree more with all of the points. The best fights my groups ever had were always around 1-2nd level. As for the nay-sayers, my theory is that they've never tried any other way than what is in the official rulebook.

[@dreadmaps]

Love it. Always putting the master in DM a+

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for saying so.

[@BradFonseca]

That was pretty awesome! Thank you, PDM!

[@mattnoel2447]

Great stuff as always, helping to crystallise the ideas we have about how the system can best allow us to tell the stories we want to tell...

[@ericpeterson8732]

I was going to stop watching your videos, but Deathbringer convinced me to change my mind. I don't know what it is about that guy, but he's very persuasive.....

[@DMApprentice]

I am starting the beautiful process of creating my next campaign world and I will definitely be integrating some of your ideas.

[@ttprophet]

Great video! The best fight I was ever a part of that I'll never forget, today, on comment craft: BUM BUM BUUUUMMMM BUM BUM BUUUUUUUMMM! TLDR: my party fought a chain devil, which wasn't that much of a challenge at their level, but all the tension, level design, timer mechanics, and roleplay made it a fight to remember. - The party was stuck in the plane of ash. A ritual book was at the top of the crystal tower. This book contained a ritual which was the Mcguffin to get back to the normal world. - the hazardous environment and poor oxygen was lowering max health every hour spent in that realm. - The **tower was guarded by a chain devil** imprisoned to forever protect it. Chain devils are **immune to fire** - An ash storm blew in, which was the weather pattern that signaled the change from blistering hot day to frigid night. **Night in this realm lasted 24 days in real-time**, and the nights were plagued by **hunting parties of Azer** (flame dwarves) who wanted to plunder the tower but could not since the chain devil is immune to fire, and fire is pretty much their only strength. - The ash storm made visibility 15 feet, and all actions that required the verbal skill had to make a concentration check first. **any spell with verbal, or any talking, required concentration.** - The tower could be ascended by a 5foot wide spiral platform on the outside of the tower. some of it was broken at places. - the party had to act fast and tried using the sand storm to reach the tower top unnoticed. They failed the roll when a paladin could not jump a broken gap and fell into the devil's aggro zone. The chain devil was awakened and a fight broke out in 15-foot visibility. - The wizard, who was the only one who could perform the ritual, had to successfully make 10X intelligence checks at DC10 to comprehend the ritual, and DC10 con saves to be able to speak the ritual aloud in the dry smoke-filled ash storm. - While she was choking out the ritual, quasits started nipping at her heels. So she has to decide which was more important, using her action to read the ritual or attack the quasits. - the party is trying to keep the chain devil (CD) away from the wizard. The CD used its nightmare illusions to create wild hallucinations that dug up the character's past while using the 15-foot visibility to try to attack with its puppet chains from a safe distance. - So here we are, in a sand storm, coking to death, dealing with our past, and fighting inanimate chains while hunting for the actual CD, when the Azer show up on the courtyard perimeter. **The Azer start playing drums and cheering on the party. They want the CD to die so that they can raid the tower for themselves.** - So the fight became about the timing of the ritual that the wizard was trying to cough her way through, being timed out with the death of the CD. If it was too soon, they would get swarmed by Azer, if it was too long, the CD would most likely kill them all with prolonged puppet chain attacked. - The CD by itself would not have been that challenging of a fight, but between wasting the wizard's action economy, fall damage from climbing the tower and being pulled off by chains, 15-foot visibility, verbal concentration, nightmare illusions of past events, and a small army of Flaming Azer waiting on the outskirts to move in, it was by far the best D&D fight I was ever a part of.

[@FishofMuu]

0:42 By that logic, increase all hit point values by 100x. You get to be "tactical" all night long

[@sarainy9775]

While I don't disagree with PDM's statements, I think your comment is a reduce to absurdity fallacy. No one remotely thinks that's a good idea.

[@DjigitDaniel]

Excellent video, as always.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I appreciate that

[@MrRemorseless]

That UTD piece looked awesome

[@user-pe2mx2cs5y]

I definitely will be using your initiative idea. I like stating what there actions will be before the round starts. But the hit point idea, while I do agree it would have the desired effect, would bring out the pitch forks and torches leading to my lynching.

[@blinddog4288]

You have my trust and thumbs up before even watching. Great work!

[@zan917]

I set my most recent combat encounter on a crowded street. Before every attack roll I had the PCs perform a perception roll against the bad guys secret stealth roll. If they were confident in their perception they could roll to swing at a bad guy. But if they chose wrong they cut down an innocent bystander. The result was a little rolley, but it had some pretty tense decision points (and they ended up killing 5 civilians).

[@tyrfree1]

Please continue to do theese videos , they are greats!

[@zephyrstrife4668]

My players' favorite fight actually came down to an early battle in Tyranny of Dragons. The monk player was using Way of the Long Death and he was ready for a rematch against the blue half-dragon, the rest of the party was dealing with the pair of berzerkers that I had flavored to look like the pillar men from Jojo's Bizzare Adventure. (Not as powerful, but it was still fun) The monk and the half-dragon were both down to where one hit would take the other out... it was the half dragon's turn and all he had to roll was anything other than minimum damage on his greatsword attack and he'd kill the monk... aaaaannnd.. minimum damage, the monk was still up with 1hp, the party gave a cheer and my monk finished off the half-dragon with a "Your Soul... Is Mine" kind of moment, though in a less ostentatious manner since the half-dragon was a Lawful character who had indeed let prisoners he had no need of go in exchange for a battle in the end of the first chapter.

[@Blazbaros]

I've used grids, zones and theater of the mind and my conclusion is that its very situational for how cinematic or how tactical you want to be. Recently my players fought a marid and his master (who was riding a flying carpet), while on the rooftops of a town being flooded by said marid's water magic. One of the players was flying via magic, one player was sneaking around trying to find a high tower to snipe the master, while the other fought the marid head on, jumped onto his back and rode him around while the marid tried to throw him off. Had I drawn out a map for this (we're using Roll20, so its all in the 2D) and the players used their tokens, I doubt it would've been as kinetic or exciting. You just need to explain things clearly so that players can collectively imagine the scene. Now this worked well because there was a very low amount of targets for them to focus on. Sometimes my players are confused about whose next to who, especially if there's far more combatants, so theater of the mind or even zones might not be good enough. This same group was ambushed by 30+ bandits in an earlier session and keeping track of them all without a grid map would've been a nightmare for them. They like to know if the targets are near edges or in a position to get some kind of advantage, since I've put an emphasis on using your environment to get a leg up on your enemy. It be very frustrating to them when sometimes they are, sometimes they're not and they don't know why since they have no visual reference to retain all the information. That being said, probably had too many bandits after them, it dragged a bit until the bandit leader spontaneously combusted into a fire elemental and tried to burn down the town. For context, I'm playing D&D 5E without too many modifications to the core mechanics of the game (I do love my homebrew), so health, AC and whatnot remain unchanged.

[@Satori2046]

Definetly need to work on my combats, thanks for the tips !

[@Xion_Toshiro]

One video that comes to mind; is "How Metoid Fusion creates fear". A situation where a door needs unlocking is one thing; unlocking that same door with a Zombie slowly creeping up to the Character.

[@johnleach8553]

Great advice as usual. Thanks

[@RiverwestRich]

I think you make a excellent points. I ran a Vampire: The Masquerade game for a group for years with no grid. And, even with healing, you had less than 10 health levels before you were a dead-dead undead.

[@brianv7581]

Thanks Professor, love the Deathbringer comments.

[@ohnoitisnt666]

Good advice. Many thanks.

[@kamikaze9699]

My descriptions of most things are sub-par at best, letting personalities do the lifting, only going into detail if people or objects are closely examined. But, as I run games for metalheads, I describe battle damage in great detail- You loose the arrow and watch as it runs through one goblin, it's life essence spraying the nearby chairs and tables as it exits, before skewering a second behind him, pinning the goblin to the wall, desperately clutching the shaft in a vain attempt to free himself. The ogre's axe hits home with such force it cleaves a gash down your shoulder and chest so deep you don't know how your arm is still attached. My little gore-filled balloons know they're always in death's shadow.

[@fulminatus6241]

Questing Beast sent me. Cool stuff.

[@gustavosouza7518]

What a great video, Professor! Everytime that I think that you taught us enough, you go there and bring more knowledge to the table! If I may, I would like to propose a video idea: As a new DM, I don't like grids and I also have a difficulty calculating the distances between the PCs and their enemies in the middle of the action. To be fair, I get caught up in the excitement of the encounter and usually ignore this detail. So, what I'd like to propose is a video with tips to manage distance in combat in real time. I know that you've already told us about the zones system in this video (and in others as well), but I would really appreciate it if you uploaded a video focused on this matter. I really want to improve this aspect of my games, because I know how important the distance is for magic and ranged weapons users. Anyway, I really enjoy your videos and I'm always excited to see new notifications from your channel. Thank you for your attention and keep up with the GOD TIER content!

[@lastbaumstanding1802]

I use a combined system of Grids and Area combat. My players are all super new, so the grid helps them a lot and I can place furniture etc more precisely. Also I love turnbased RPGs ( Fire Emblem, XCOM etc), so the Grid system helps me to balance the enemies better

[@gustavosouza7518]

@@lastbaumstanding1802 Thanks for sharing! But I'd like to completely get rid of grids or as much as possible. I do understand your point, though, and I think it's totally acceptable as long as you and your players are comfortable with it! :)

[@lastbaumstanding1802]

@@gustavosouza7518 I can 100% relate to that. When I started DMing I only did Theatre of Mind, but quickly changed to miniatures (I love minis) because the clear upsides of it and with that the grid is super awesome imho. Also stuff like line of sight is way better to explain to new players. I basically use an UTD with more zones and a grid that is only used for eyeballing distances, reaches etc. Helps a lot and you dont have to measure at all

[@Krooks44]

This is exactly why I love how warhammer 4e treats combat and magic. In my mind it is a more realistic representation of how it should be. You don't see Gandalf casting off magic missile left and right and making things levitate. He has a finite number of spells and still kicks ass with his sword and staff. The balance between realty and fantasy is what makes TTRPG enjoyable for me.

[@datalore7311]

If you are in a campaign that is getting boring due to high HP, just do what I do and crank up that monster damage. Give the players silly damage too. Flaming swords for all! In the end, if you double everything's damage, you basically halve everything's HP. Your players won't notice it but you will be stealthily nerfing that HP.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

You are correct, of course. But it gets challenging rolling and adding fistfuls of d10s. In my experience, that math slows the game.

[@timblighton6216]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 correct

[@rockwallaby550]

all hail the professor! great stuff

[@marceloave30]

It took me a good deal of maturity to understand HP as an "abstract measurement" to run combats. I also use an adaptation from DC Heroes RPG where players declare if the damage they are inflicting is "killing" versus "bashing" damage. This abstract combat distances concept you apply to these marvelous terrain you craft, I have first seen them in Dragonlance 5th Age game. I really believe all these tips and house rules that make a great DM.

[@Bleydex.]

I took your advise when you did the video of the initiative and rolling all at once, it`s so much better, and also set a system with max hit point to be 20 for players. So much better for me, it changes the combat completely. Thnx for your advises

[@nickhosford7801]

Pathfinder v2 does a surprisingly good job at keeping combat tense. While PC's have what seems to be a bucket of hitpoints, monster damage scales up very quickly to keep pace so that the Lvl 2 fighter with 30 hitpoints can actually be two- shot by a tough lvl 2 encounter. The Fall of Plaguestone module is particularly brutal and taught me to NEVER be overconfident when walking into a room no matter how many hitpoints you think you have. Monsters don't follow the same rules as players so those orcs you meet might just do 2d8+5 damage with their swords because that's just how dangerous they are. It's a different approach than the Prof suggests, but it's quite effective at achieving the same result.

[@xaosbob]

When talking about RPGs (and fantasy/sci-fi in general), I've switched from using "realistic" to "authentic." It's more accurate for my purposes, and prevents having to disclaimer myself when talking about our beloved elf game.

[@MrBiggybit]

Professor! Listen, people are always hating on you but I love you. Even though I might not do about 90% of what you suggest, your videos are fertilizer for a plant. My thought grows, and my perceptions gets a +3. Thank you thank you thank you!

[@devalt1]

If your players are resistant to reducing their HP or spells, you can do what I do: Super Minions. Monsters only have a few HP, but they hit much more consistently, I'm talking give them a +10 modifier or something. To reduce time calculating damage just inflict the average damage. Obviously you have to balance this according to the strength of your players. It makes combat quick and ensures that players get damaged, but they also get that joy of cutting down enemies and feeling powerful.

[@aaronparker7898]

One can decrease HP increase damage and maintain the same average CR. My players get satisfaction out of dishing out big numbers, so they do get a few extra perks and magic items. I just adjust my encounters to maintain the balance of fun versus grind. I use your cinematic advantage often; it is a great tip. Cleave damage can be used to clear a battle and make players feel like gods. Max the crit dice value. This feels good to, it makes crits feel critty. The environment is a great tension builder, especially, when there is a box of alchemist fire that is starting to burn due to the dropped torch when the fighter shoved the thug away from the hostage. Gith-yanki strafing the battlefield on red dragons raining down fire and fly-off for another run in N-turns. Grids 15% ,no grid with general map 35% and theater of the mind 50%- it may be ADD, but I sprinkle all 3 around depending on how the pace needs to flow. The good DM learns to read the table like a rules lawyer reads the PHB. I use the round table initiative. Players like to roll dice so I will still use the normal mechanic for special situations like who is going to get hit with a flying bar stool when the high roller walks through the tavern door first. You really need experienced players to make the - declare - all roll- reconcile system to work. I get distracted and miss actions with the other things we have to keep up. I have played with some people for years and they still ask "which dice do i roll to attack and what do I add again" . Sand timers can speed things up and add tension. What happens when 5 minute timer ends? evil laughter echoes through the dungeon. I have trained 3 generations of my family how to play. My mom is over 70 now and she still rocks her level 20 ranger. I usually homebrew that the mini-boss of each group has a special action like a layer action. The players never know what to expect so meta gaming is stunted. A single big boss will get multiple attacks within the initiative until the players figure out the puzzle tactics and lop off some jiggly bits of the boss. I love the 4e minions with 1 hp. The "gnats" make a good distraction and you don't have to do as much math. I started using tick marks with values of of 10 hp to track my monster health. If it had 100HP then when it gets to 10 tick marks it is dead. I also round the damage using the proper math rules. (25 damage round up to 30 which is 3 tick marks, with a 24 round down to 20 and 2 tick marks) It averages out in the end. I love the content keep it up Professor!

[@lankas]

I had never thought about the effect of the CON modifier exploding the total HP. Some of the house rules you use take some time to convince me, but this one makes total sense straight away. I like it! I don't like when there are too many rule mechanics, one for each situation. It should always be a 1d20 DC check (sometimes with advantage and disadvantage), followed by a set of dice representing intensity of the check (damage, spell intensity, duration). Morale checks with 2d6, or thieves skill checks with 1d100 or 1d6... unnecessary complexity. In this sense, the HP is a kind of intensity (or call it a timer instead). This kind of roll always gets the ability modifiers only once. If you multiply it by the level, it becomes an exploding value, as no other roll is in this game.

[@user-dd9dh9kw5c]

I don't really understand his proposition a party of 4 in D&D 5e often kills a large enemy in several rounds anyway. The only time I have ever had a problem with combat in 5e is when the players are up against large groups of enemies because that bogs down combat like nothing else.

[@alanschaub147]

You sir, are a gaming genius! 👍🏻

[@legendnetwork9153]

Can’t wait for the video on ultimate tavern terrain

[@Wallach_a]

Love that fog of war idea. 👍🏻

[@RobertWF42]

Professor DM ought to publish a book of interesting combat scenarios that add tension & creative tactical opportunities. :-) Love the orc lowering a prisoner into the black pudding pit. Rather than attacking the big bad monster, enterprising players might see the better solution is to charge the orc & push him into the pit. Let the black pudding do the hard work & the PCs still get the XPs. :-)

[@remyQuillmeister]

I think the "declare actions" thing is great. It forces players to actually develop strategies--maybe even a plan--BEFORE they enter a combat scenario rather than exploiting the "bullet-time" of 5e rounds and just winging it. The lowest in the initiative order gets like 5-10 minutes to think about what they're going to do with their 6 seconds.