Pro Combat Tactics for Dungeons and Dragons 5e

[@Taking20]

Hey there everyone! Here is the Fantasy Grounds Link in case you missed it: bit.ly/FG-Unity-Stay-Inside-Sale Also I am GENUINELY excited about this book by Wizards (I just hope it doesn't sell out with all the quarantines...) amzn.to/33yG4uo

[@vvsandgaming4648]

I just DM'd my first FG D&D game last night. It was awesome, but the interface was kinda wonky in FG, hopefully it will get better as they release it and I get more experience using it. We used a mix of FB messenger, Microsoft Teams and Fantasygrounds Unity.

[@rapkush]

it is not on sale, $149..

[@solace5362]

@@rapkush Sadly classic is the only one on sale. (from what i can find)

[@D20Little]

Agreed. There is a discount if you already own classic but nothing for new customers. Unless I'm missing something.

[@FuNeRoCk]

an easy combo would be to use minor illusion to make the floor look like the floor to hide traps or charm person dimension door with it 300 feet up in the air and then dimension door back down alone to give that one massive fall damage

[@jeffreyseamons5514]

Thanks for all this advice on how to make my NPCs more dangerous.

[@calebjmurray]

As a fellow spinner of deadly yarn, your comment made chuckle.

[@setlerking]

As a fellow DM I can’t agree more. Evil laughter ensues*

[@martintoranzo2718]

U fucker

[@naptimegaming1347]

I was thinking on the same thing! Tho it should only work with smart enemies.

[@kaseybennett7415]

You're evil. My thoughts exactly.

[@tommymartin364]

Hold your action people. dont have a clear shot yet? "holding my action to fire when I see an enemy"

[@JadenLingerfelt]

Tommy Martin I had that come up. We had the wizard hold a fireball until the Paladin and my fighter pushed two enemies in the AoE of the fireball

[@tommymartin364]

holding you action is underrated. it is amazing

[@JadenLingerfelt]

Tommy Martin it’s just so great for teamwork and getting that feel of all contributing when it works

[@AdmiralKarelia]

From the DM perspective, held actions are fine until the entire party is doing it. Now this easily-parsed initiative order is all over the place and the flow of combat rounds are completely disrupted.

[@tommymartin364]

while I can agree as it can get tiresome keeping track I as a dm never had a problem keeping up with held actions. I make the player keep up with it and continue on.

[@aliince9372]

Obviously, this guy knows nothing about D&D. He said nothing about FireBall or seducing the beholder. Must be new.

[@zacgranne1754]

do not like this as it has the perfect like count

[@aliince9372]

@@zacgranne1754 AND it's gone :( You can like it now :)

[@kaseybennett7415]

@@aliince9372 in one vain I get mad every time I hear nothing but these two things from players. Then I remember that I did it too so who cares? Grade A comment btw

[@aliince9372]

@@kaseybennett7415 I meant it as a parody of "those" people. That's totally not me.

[@jasonsorin1021]

A bard with a fireball fetish would actually be useful.

[@holden426]

Tip: A wizard has access to spells that can alter reality and greatly change the dynamic of any battle. Don't waste spell slots on damage if you can turn the situation in favor of your entire party.

[@DampeS8N]

Agreed. There is something to be said for a true DPS wizard, but a C&C wizard will always outperform them. Just remember that without DPS party members up and attacking, all the C&C in the world won't save you. Someone has to be killing things too.

[@tofastninj9747]

Wall of force for the enemies and have your party get the loot. Besides that mold earth can suffocate enemies and let you move downwards so as a wizard if I was in trouble and surrounded I would flee to the earth.

[@WexMajor82]

@@DampeS8N That's what the paladin and the rogue are there for.

[@DampeS8N]

@@WexMajor82 Those would be the DPS party members I mentioned.

[@dylanherbst3088]

This, always this.

[@patches1090]

"Unless you can kill a 40hp enemy in 1 turn" *smite intensifies*

[@brettcurry4265]

I played a barbarian who dealt about 80 damage on an average turn (plus a bonus attack if he killed someone or landed a crit, which he was doing regularly with 19+ crits and advantage on every swing). That, along with being virtually unkillable, was an amazing time.

[@TheRABIDdude]

@@brettcurry4265 I'm struggling to see how he could be dealing 80 before using a bonus action or crit? If you're including Action Surge, it's not an average turn.

[@brettcurry4265]

​@@TheRABIDdude Might've been more like 70 actually, this was a few years ago. He was using a magic weapon that dealt a base damage of 2D8+2 (average of 13 per hit) plus strength (+5) plus rage bonus (+3) plus the GWM power attack (+10 damage in exchange for -5 to hit), plus the GWF ability to reroll 1s and 2s on damage die. He had +12 to hit usually, which was +7 when using power attacks (which he basically always did). So 2D8+20 damage per hit, rerolling 1s and 2s once. I was hitting most targets with most attacks, and the most common damage I dealt was 34 per hit. Including the bonus action attack, which he got to use on about half his turns from crits or killing enemies, he was fairly regularly dealing over 100 damage in a turn. With action surge he could (and sometimes did) break 150 damage in a round.

[@nicholas3141]

Double smite double intensifies

[@TheRABIDdude]

@@brettcurry4265 Thanks for the breakdown! That's pretty beastly. With a ~40% crit chance just from the first two attacks, and that massive damage output, I can see how your GWM bonus attack would be triggered pretty often! I also play a barbarian with GWM. I've gone Beserker path so the free bonus action from GWM basically never actually applies for me because I always get one from Frenzy. Average 52 damage before the free bonus attack, 78 with it :D

[@Panory]

One enemy at full health does less damage than two enemies that are half dead. Focus your damage, people.

[@JwanCortez]

My issue with this is that... I don't like it (? I think is too meta. It would be great if a hurt foe did less damage or something like that, so it could be more real, but of course it makes it all SUPER complicated. In my table we just agree (the DM with the enemies and us with our PC's) to make it realistic taking into account feelings and strategy. For example, last session I could've hit a minotaur which was low on HP with a guiding bolt, killing it, but another PC had just been hit by a lot of damage and was far away from everyone else. I asked if I'd saw what had happened, the DM said yes, and without hesitation I cast my guiding bolt to the one hitting my friend, which was a puny minion. Roleplay is the most important

[@defeatstatistics7413]

Focus damage, spread statuses. Monks, stun multiple enemies, that's why you got all that movement.

[@Cosmic_K13]

@@defeatstatistics7413 Monks have the potential to stun multiple targets... if they land all their hits... and none of the targets have a good con mod... and the monk doesn't focus fire. Monk isn't designed well enough to be a solid cc option, but there aren't many martials that get to do so, so they win by default.

[@necogreendragon]

I used the drop down tactic with my warlock and my patron/dm called me a coward. I said naw man, that is just good tactics.

[@sleepinggiant4062]

When formation fighting faced off against guerrillas, guerrillas were called cowards for not standing in traditional formation. It's only cowardly if you stop fighting and run away when it's not necessary.

[@stueyman2099]

Back in my day, we punched each other and used our smites that way! And we didn't use armor or shields, those are for cowards!

[@alucardbunche4197]

necogreendragon what is drop down tactic

[@mgb360]

Frankly, ranged attackers that aren't dropping prone are just being dumb. Even in real life, duck and cover is a completely valid strategy, so it isn't even an abuse of the mechanics.

[@necogreendragon]

@@alucardbunche4197 I was referring to going prone and standing up while ranged fighting.

[@jamesorth8231]

Make a note when you receive a buff or something beneficial from your ally. I can't tell you how many times I have to remind my party members that they got a buff from myself or someone else. "Don't forget you have *Bless* " "You still have *Bardic Inspiration* " "You have *Haste* so you have a +2 AC remember?" "There's no way you are down, did you write down the extra 20 HP I gave you with *Aid* ?" I don't expect players to remember all the time, but some people picked their class & spells to benefit others and when its not utilized it does feel wasted/diminishes the role they wanted to be.

[@Taking20]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! +1 Great tip and yes yes yes Use a brighly colored D6 or a bless die if you play in person.

[@jamesorth8231]

@@Taking20 Thanks! I watch you all the time! I appreciate your in-depth topics and more mature tone of D&D in & above the table. Keep it up!

[@Battleguild]

Giving out note cards out to affected players also works.

[@meganofsherwood3665]

I got special mini d6s just so I could literally give my teammates bardic inspiration. While very cool, it did not keep them from hoarding it during our final battle with the BBEG. So that's another point: IF YOU HAVE INSPIRATION, _USE IT_! If you always wait for your most desperate moment; you won't use it at all, and then it will be too late *side-eyes our now-departed cleric*

[@SquishyTrym]

When I played my halfling cleric, I kept telling my party that they are blessed and now we made and inside joke about that.

[@nickwilliams8302]

#2 is hands-down the most valuable tip. Don't spread your damage lovingly around the battlefield. Take. Enemies. Out. Of. The. Fight.

[@justanotherglorpsdaymornin5097]

Anyone who has ever played any combat videogame should know this instinctively, it just makes sense as something to carry across to D&D combat.

[@Zulk_RS]

This. People should really start doing this more. I've often purposely spread my damage around as a DM to not TPK the party.

[@varasatoshi3961]

People do this in EDH/Commander and it annoys me. KILL SOMEONE THREATENING FIRST.

[@RobKinneySouthpaw]

@@Zulk_RS I think players copy us on that, not realizing we're doing it because it's a bad strategy. I actually like to lower the CR of what I am throwing at them and model these tactics, rather than chuck a giant at then and have to spread the attacks around.

[@Zulk_RS]

@@RobKinneySouthpaw Huh. I did not see it like that. I think I will take your approach and start taking more optimal strategies with my players.

[@asisio230]

"Stuck at home alone for the next few weeks" didnt age well.

[@juliaemerald4602]

Lol no it did not

[@shawnmoeckly4075]

I came to the comments right after he said that for this

[@robertwittwer1276]

trudat

[@thegiantcrow7416]

Lol

[@grantbaugh2773]

2021 didn't make it age any better 😂

[@mattkuhn6634]

I had a great example of tactics in the final battle of my last D&D adventure. We were playing Tyranny of Dragons, and Tiamat was just wrecking shop. Her fire breath knocked out half the party in one go, and her five heads were cackling as she started picking off the weakest members of the party first. So, even though she had been the party's biggest damage dealer so far, instead of going crit fishing for another doublesmite the paladin popped Beacon of Hope. Not only did this let the druid use her Staff of Healing to bring everyone back up, but the threat of the Beacon made the paladin clearly the most important target. Tiamat focused everything she had on the paladin, and with her final attack of a round, took the paladin down, but that bought enough time for the group to focus enough damage that they were able to beat Tiamat. Literally one more turn, and they would all have died. It was super tactical, and also, incredibly flavorful - the paladin bravely sacrificing herself to save her allies.

[@GuardianTactician]

Expanding on #4: Counterspell has a range of 60 feet. If you can move out of range to prevent a counterspell, do so.

[@sovelisholimion2680]

Or move in range to set up yours, do so :)

[@raymondmacdonald2464]

Automatic field

[@meganofsherwood3665]

😲

[@centurosproductions8827]

Wait, people Counterspell in these games?

[@crimsondragon2677]

Battle mage: I cast fire ball DM: Who do you throw it at? Mage: Nobody. I smack the closest guy in the face with it.

[@mhDarkWolf]

This hand of mine burns with an awesome power!!

[@borntodie297]

@@gamecavalier3230 My Sorceress has dipped into Wizard to kind of get this result. She drops a Fireball, ignores the damage with evocation feature and turns the spell into the GW1 spell Inferno. And on a sidenote, you are immune to fire, but your stuff is not, so be wary of rule lawyer DM's in your case XD

[@piemaniac9410]

borntodie297 I dont think fire spells, like fireball, hit your gear IF you are wearing it. If your armor is beside you while you sleep and you get fireballed it would be destroyed, assuming its flamable

[@Pancakeli]

@@borntodie297 Actually, if you want to rules lawyer it up, fireball does not affect "objects being worn or carried" so even if you are some sort of plant creature that's vulnerable to fire damage, your spell book made of leaves a paper is completely unaffected by fire

[@ThisNameIsBanned]

@@borntodie297 If fireballs would melt equipment, spellbooks and whatever else could go up in flames they would be down ride OP.

[@ExplodingMarmalade]

To reiterate your last point, keeping it simple can help with the flow. There have been so many times that I’ve seen a game grind to a halt because a player tried to do something weird when a simple melee attack or a cantrip would have been more effective. Just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

[@dreaddinosour3728]

Having fun is the most important, so even if it slows combat as long as everyone is still having a good time then it's all good

[@PLAY-oe1nn]

Not if they take 30 minutes to get to my turn...

[@pkrangehit]

The amount of times the last enemy has been on 1 hp and a player was like "hmmmm there are so many things I can do" for 10 minutes. Just hit the damn thing

[@damienpeters6004]

Be aware of the Initiative setup! If you are a healer of some kind and one of your allies is down, and their initiative is just above yours, a first level healing word is most likely not going to prevent them from going down again by the time it's your turn. Burn bigger heals, isolate the threat, or simply hold your action until it is just before their turn and heal then so they can actually do something. Also: Hold Your Action! It's easy to get lost in the moment and want to do the most things that you possibly can right away. But holding your action can have tons of applications. Waiting until an ally is flanking before striking, attempting a grapple on a flying monster just as it swoops in, preparing a Dispel Magic if you know an effect is about to hit and you may not be able to Counterspell it. The reasons to do this are limitless.

[@horserage]

a first level healing word is most likely not going to prevent them from going down again by the time it's your turn. But, you don't give the enemy the chance to add a bonus 2 death saves to it. Having the padding of needing an extra instance, can save lives.

[@TonyStormrage]

That high AC dodge reminded me of a broken combo i did once. Imagine this. 20 AC full plate with shield paladin holing a choke point having used sanctuary as a bonus action and taking the dodge action. That meant the oponent had to roll 3 succeses in a row to deal damage. Held of 7 or 9 opponents in place long enough for the rest of the party to absolutely wipe the floor with them

[@OrangeGills]

Replying one week like to remind you that advantage and disadvantage doesn't stack.

[@TonyStormrage]

@@OrangeGills indeed it does not but sanctuary makes anybody that attacks you have make a will save or redirect their attack. That combined with disadvantage on attack rolls made against you by taking the dodge actions stacks up to 3 succsesful rolls for an enemy to make an attack. The only downside is if you attack back you lose sanctuary.

[@charliescheirmann2926]

Recently made an abjuration wizard that had armor of agathys, with prep they can go into battle with a 15 AC, 30 temp hp, and while they have that temp hp if they are hit with a melee attack, the attacker takes 15 damage, and can have mirror image, making the opponent only hit every 1 in 4, 1 in 3 then 1 in 2 attacks, they can also hold concentration on a spell like flaming sphere and then take the dodge action. And so the opponent with the shield spell their ac is 20, when the opponent attacks they have at the most a 50% chance of hitting, and if they get through that have to roll a 20, with disadv, and then even if they do that, probably won't hurt the wizard, meaning there are no conc checks, and may even take damage for doing all of that. Keep in mind this is level 5 lol

[@tabunga4669]

Did this as a Devo pally cast sanctuary and took the dodge action as I walked into 100+ werewolf pack to try and talk to their elders

[@hex124]

Doing this combo as an artificer in my current campaign. Extra benefit being i can command my homonculus servant to attack without breaking sanctuary since im not attacking. Considering grabbing the Fey-Touched feat and Bane for that extra hurt on the wisdom save.

[@hordie1337]

Tip 0: Friendly fire isn't very friendly This is true even if you let your ally auto pass the save or they are a gold dragon paladin with fire resistance and their Cha added to their save

[@sovelisholimion2680]

Two of my players got psychic immunity through a blessing and now they keep bombing the party with synaptic static whenever they are surrounded by lots of enemies. I find it quite fun

[@raymondmacdonald2464]

Meta Magic, Careful Spell

[@danielwalker8411]

Evocation wizards get a pass though, I love Sculpt Spells

[@crimfan]

Friendly fire can be totally OK at times. A Bear Totem Barbarian, an Oath of Ancients paladin, and or a Rogue with Uncanny Dodge and/or Evasion should be OK with it if it ends up doing markedly more damage to the enemies.

[@AbyssArray]

The Wizard in one of my campaigns has done more damage to allies (including herself) than to enemies.

[@goodmadra]

To the "Use different actions" point, I recently played a game where my character half made a deal to not attack the monster we were fighting, however, I spent the entire combat running around taking dodge and help and dash and helped my team so so much, despite not dealing a single point of damage, certainly helps being a mastermind rogue too

[@zotro123]

you sr are the real MVP

[@oldmanandrew]

IRL battle master.

[@TheRABIDdude]

Who did you make the deal with?

[@goodmadra]

@@TheRABIDdude My dm likes homebrew monsters, so this was the combination of a Chimera and an Elder Brain, said if I didnt hurt it, I could walk away unharmed if my group failed to kill it

[@hasmhas]

I think the "Ready" Action is largely underutilized by most players. When utilized well you can shut down some enemy strategies or optimize the effectiveness of each action you take.

[@BYOBando]

merp yea it is. I had a new to my group player in game last Thursday who wanted to cast a spell on a Roc. I said you can ready it for when it’s in range so he did and his hold monster spell completely negated the 2 very devastating attacks the party was about to be hit with. Ready more interrupt spells/actions people!

[@mlpowers1991]

My players used this and great positioning to overwhelming effect a few sessions ago. Warlock dropped Hunger of Hadar on a spread out group of enemies. Apparently not spread out enough as he managed to get all of them, even ones he didn't see (not placed on the map) and then he and the ranger readied actions to fire on anybody who escaped the Eldritch nightmare while the fighter and Bard both used a cape of the mountebank to first teleport to a hostage and the bard used their own cape to teleport away with the hostage and readied actions with the other 2 They turned what was going to be a difficult battle with numbers not on their side into outright slaughter

[@NotMyRealName6]

Taking20: Rules as written is awful! Also Taking20: Take full advantage of this, it's rules as written.

[@allthingsgood6345]

Welp I mean if you might as well use rules as written if it’s gonna help you in the end 😂

[@NotMyRealName6]

@@allthingsgood6345 It'll teach "rules as written" DMs to make actual rulings and create homebrew rules on things instead of blindly adhering to the rules as written.

[@AGrumpyPanda]

@@NotMyRealName6 It can also lead to groups that want to play rules as written to find systems that support that, rather than expecting the DM to fill in blanks, which is also a good outcome.

[@floopthevolcano2330]

Proof that rules in d&d make perfect yet very confusing sense.

[@Glimmcomp]

Yeah...it's called being a Dungeon Master

[@TheBoastWang]

If I'm a character with extra attack, I like using the shove attack to set up my barbarian or paladin party members

[@rafaelcalmon2858]

The barbarian probably wouldn't care too much, since they could just Reckless, but the paladin will love ya.

[@mlpowers1991]

@@SkarmoryThePG as with all things D&D, there's no single perfect strategy. There's an ebb and flow to combat and players need to be ready to adapt. This goes for the rogue who's target has been knocked prone, as well as the fighter that usually knocks enemies prone to give melee combatants advantage

[@michaelmatejka1294]

If I’m a Goliath barbarian I grapple the BG I my teammates slaughter them

[@duraemakye1384]

it's an extra attack not an action the only way you will be able to do that is with action surge

[@horserage]

Shoving can be made with an attack.

[@deus3x236]

Another 2 tips would be: 1. Be a bully - use the shove action to knock an enemy prone. Granted this only works if you have a relative high STR score, but giving all your melee allies (and potentially yourself) advantage on a success is worth considering. Especially if you have more than one attack per turn since the shove action only costs one attack (afaik) 2. Aim high - aim a spell at a point above the enemy. Many spells like fireball let you choose a point in space that you can see (some don't even have that constraint), but often it doesn't state that this point has to be on ground level. Combine that with a sphere shaped spell and you can regulate the affected area. Your melee allies are surrounding a major enemy and you only have high dmg spells with an AoE attached? Be a bit more creative in your aiming. Granted this has limited usage in narrow dungoens, but is noteworthy if the battlefield has enough space.

[@nickwilliams8302]

Re: #1 I would say that players should familiarise themselves with the actions available on pp. 192-3 of the PHB generally. So many players overlook things like the Help action, fail to consider the difference between the Attack action and the Cast a Spell action (ie. just because a spell requires an attack roll doesn't make it an Attack action), fail to consider that Use an Object is a full action (looking at you, nerdy-ass voice actors) or don't know how Readying an action works. And, as you say, Shove. Quite apart from tactical considerations, these rules describe how the world works in D&D when stuff gets rough. If you don't know them, it's going to be really hard to roleplay your character as an actual person.

[@ryanm6004]

I aimed high on a shatter spell... right into the cave ceiling above an ogre. Dropped a ton of rocks right on it’s head. I also hit it with the spell since it was a kinda low ceiling(for a cave with an ogre in it). Did around 30 damage in one action at level 3.

[@jeohranalfhir8366]

@@nickwilliams8302 actually, about Use an object, the phb clearly states that you've got a free action to use a normal object (for example opening a door during your movement costs no action). However, it says that it you want to use two items or use an item that's hard to use (for example if the door in question's locked) you'll need to take the Use and object action to do so. So you clearly can use one object by turn without needing to burn your action on it, it's becoming a twist when you're at two

[@TheFirstLanx]

@Deus 3x Excellent point about the spell shaping. You can cast a sphere high and it will affect targets at ground level as though it were a smaller sphere. You can cast a cone high and it will affect targets as if it were a narrower cone of the same length (possibly even a longer length if you rule your cones as being flat-topped). You can cast wall of stone like a pyramid out of the ground, it doesn't say you need to angle it along the grid-lines. (incidentally this means that by tripling up the walls of your wall of stone you can encase yourself in a stone barrier with around 600hp). I'd like to add my own tip too: ALWAYS have a ranged damage option. This goes for everyone, even you, honour-bound barbarian/samurai/paladin. If you want to be effective, bring a ranged weapon/cantrip. Thrown weapons for strengthies are worthwhile, everyone else please bring at least a sling. It should be perfectly fine for you to hold your big weapon with one hand whilst throwing your dagger at a baddie without impacting your action economy. Upside is you can pull off a manoeuvre known as the fighting withdrawal, where you move back and shoot. You might deny your opponents an entire turn of swinging at you by moving back, choose terrain you'd prefer to fight on and force them to come towards an area you already know they don't have traps set up to complicate things.

[@nickwilliams8302]

@@jeohranalfhir8366 It's things like picking locks that I was thinking of.

[@DurdleDers]

Taking 20 releasing a video on March 20, 2020. I see you. ; )

[@Haggispk]

I might be missing something, what is special about march? I would guess February 20th to be the day to do it

[@arekpetrosian4965]

He needs to release one on the 20th of every month this year. THAT would make it awesome.

[@VOzer00]

Man who would have known of the disaster this year would be

[@tackle50cal87]

Can't wait to be dubbed burpee boi in the next combat.

[@stephenburley4581]

This is a great list for newer players, or players that struggle with the tactical side of play. However, this is also a great list for GM's who have players that are already good at combat, and want to look for ways to challenge their players. These are all the things that your players are doing to be good at combat, find ways to subvert them! Have a combat where your players aren't able to focus fire down one guy at a time, and see how they respond! When they're dropping prone in a ranged combat fight, prepare an action to shoot them as they're standing up. When they funnel actions in to crit fishing on the Paladin, find ways to deny the Paladin attacking! Treat your combats like a puzzle for your players to figure out, and you'll find they have the most fun possible. It'll also be really fun to see the creative solutions they come up with, and then find ways to counter those in the future. Because there's nothing more boring than a combat where two armies calculate their average damage per round and hitpoint totals, and math out who's going to win before they even start (mostly because I did that before we started, to make sure the combat was appropriately balanced, guys. How did you think I came up with this encounter? Seriously).

[@Covertfun]

Yep. It can also function as a way of teaching newer players. I ran this combat to introduce the Dodge action and show grappling: In a flooded hallway/sewer, 6 kobolds with shields and 2 crocodiles. The kobolds only ever take the Dodge action, and opportunity attacks (sometimes with advantage). The crocodiles are trained to grab one enemy at a time and drag them behind the shield wall, drowning, prone and grappled. Vs a 2nd level party it was a good fight, dividing and frustrating the players until they use something out of the ordinary to thwart this tactic

[@stephenburley4581]

@@Covertfun That's a really fun concept! I'm definitely borrowing this idea! Curious what your group came up with to overcome the situation!

[@Covertfun]

@@stephenburley4581 the warlock used Beast Speech and Persuasion to convince one of the crocs to snack on a Kobold instead. She's a Dragonborn, so she began her Persuasion with "egg brothers! Turn on your captors and be free!"

[@Covertfun]

@@stephenburley4581 glad you like it by the way. Of course using a Giant Crocodile (CR 5) and some tougher humanoids would amp it up. (Lizardmen, maybe?)

[@jarnivanwaesberge3984]

The best tip I can give is this: Know. Your. Character. I see a lot of players, especially newer ones but also more experienced players, who come to a DnD game without knowing how their own abilities and/or spells work. A barbarian who forgets to rage and use reckless attack, a rogue who doesn't know how sneak attack works, casters who don't know their own spells and sometimes don't even know how spellcasting works, tanks who stay in the back while the squishies are taking hits, etc. That kind of stuff can be very annoying to both the DM and the other players as it really slows the combat down and lowers the efficiency of the whole party. Please learn the mechanics of your own character. The other people in your group will thank you.

[@TraskNari]

Grappling a target and shoving them prone is a fantastic way to remove a troublesome enemy from the equation. If you have a free hand left, you can still attack, cast spells, or do other actions, while still holding them on the ground where they can't stand up, since their move speed is 0. And for bonus fun, you can then just drag them along the ground wherever you want! I once played a half-orc fighter who had an reputation for charging through enemy lines, grabbing the enemy mage, or priest, by the leg, flipping them over, and then just dragging them out of the area entirely to stab (with advantage; they're prone and can't stand up, remember?) It's a great way to remove a strategic element of the enemy's group, and it's hilarious to boot.

[@Pancakeli]

I had never thought of using it that way, that's a really good use of it Although if your group gained a reputation, and folks knew you were coming after them, some mages would start preparing they're teleport spells. Still that sucks up at least a level 2 spell slot for most people

[@demonlace]

Great advice! I'm playing a half-orc monk (way of the four elements (reborn) homebrew it's much better than the current!) playing him more like a shaman/brawler but my last game I was in a grappling fight with a goblin and I didn't think to shove him prone. I'll def. remember this!

[@oliverworley5162]

Remember, you don't need two weapon fighting or a weapon in your offhand to take an attack with it. With this bonus action attack you can attempt to grapple, trip, disarm, even without training.

[@timelessadventurer]

Jeremiah Webb Their*

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

If you want to be a real jerk, do this as a monk. Step of the wind to jump 10 ft in the air, and no falling damage. This bypasses the need to shove prone, and RAW does not end your grapple.

[@gimlym6641]

Watching this made me realise that my party basically doesn't use tactics at all. We still manage to blitz through combats way above our CR though. I think maybe it's just very hard to lose combat in 5e.

[@NuclearHeadshot]

Action economy is the key. I run a huge party (6 pcs) and I they've had far more trouble with many low CR monsters than a few high CR ones, even though the encounter difficulty is considered lower with many monsters.

[@evannibbe9375]

The key is to have your DM give better tactics and similar class attributes to your opponents.

[@peterwhitcomb8315]

If the DM uses no tactics and treats every sentient creature as a "speed bump" a party can punch way above its level of CR.

[@sven3540]

@@peterwhitcomb8315 Also, more encounters a day more make days last longer. A fully rested party can easily burn through a deadly encounter, a worn out one will definitly have trouble. Also, don't let your party long rest in a dungeon thats not designed for that.

[@NaraOfCambodia]

I mean CR won't do much for thing like Shadows..... which can wipe my party last session if my DM want to (Tho he did drop False Hydra on us afterward).

[@Vynalith]

One thing you missed was using the environment to your advantage. I've pushed several enemies to their deaths, sometimes off a steep cliff and a couple times into a pit of lava.

[@jordanmchighlander9365]

This! I'm a nee player and most combats have been in a dungeon, so I haven't had many opportunities to try this. However, I DID get to throw a kobold down the stairs, he failed the dex save, and went prone.

[@skexis1212]

The funny thing with all of these tipps: what a PC can do, also NPCs can do...so "sorry DM, suck it" is only half the truth ^^

[@RemedialHappyMan]

A core tip that you didn't discuss is KNOW WHEN TO NOVA! I can't tell you how many times I've been in a party with Paladins and Fighters where the first turn everyone looked around and gave eachother the nod and we just took the kid gloves off and decided to action surge and throw out level 3 smites etc. All that matters is killing something so that the fight becomes manageable instead of a ultra dangerous encounter. You'll save resources in the long run if you Nova at the right time. Also use Bless, it's really good. Build your character so that you have things to do during your action, bonus action, and reaction. Try to keep people up sometimes instead of having them jack in the box so that they don't waste time on the ground. Use spells like dissonant whispers to force enemies to move so that allies can get free attacks of opportunity.

[@claude-alexandretrudeau1830]

My DM (new to the role, learning the ropes) threw 6 CR2 monsters at us, a group of 3 level 2 PCs. 19 AC wasn't enough. The Dodge action saved me from 4 critical hits in that fight. 4. That's how powerful it is.

[@Pancakeli]

It drops a 1 in 20 chance to a 1 in 400 chance

[@MentalMittens]

Expertise in athletics, multiple attacks, and high movement speed makes you beast for battlefield control. Grapple an enemy drag them away from their friends and throw them on the ground with a shove. Or just barrel in and knock everyone down one after another.

[@CopperStar]

“Stuck at hone for the next few weeks” *looks at calendar* Feb. 2021 *looks at times of posting* March 2020

[@alphaxtitania5597]

So one lesson I learned after I accidentally made an encounter that was too hard for my players; don't be afraid to run. It's better to live to fight another day when you're more prepared than to die because you tried to tough it out. Thankfully my players were smart enough to do just that.

[@kevingross4141]

5E is a SPLIT MOVE and FIRE system for those wargamers among you. Something Cody forgot was DOOR DODGE: Bottleneck your opponents by blocking HALF a door with a crate or something. Then ranged characters can step into the door, shoot whoever show on your obstruction, and then step away from the door to get out of the line of fire. Stepping back to behind cover can add 2 or 5 to your AC. Encouraging door dodge should be what your squishies should do when you're in a dungeon or house room and all the enemies are outside.

[@anglosvm9923]

I give my dm's hell with how I play. They aren't the best with combat balancing and don't think in a very tactical fashion. So I'm more often than not, able to consistently move through a whole combat encounter without taking much damage if any. The group I play with is consistent btw, so these are people who I talk with regularly outside of the game. And I preach to them to stop playing the game like final fantasy or Pokemon, and start playing it like it's XCOM

[@shadowscall7758]

So, I can't use explosive weapons to kill my targets without ticking off my scientist? :)

[@OniGanon]

Assume any action with a 90% chance to succeed has a 50% chance to fail?

[@rafaelplugge3214]

Just like in my friends campaign, I wanted to play a Wizard, so he let me with the condition that I start at level 1, while the rest of the party is level 4, going into one of the biggest fights of the campaign. With proper positioning, not... one... point... of... damage... did my Wizard take. He is still alive and kicking (and has catched up to the party in levels)

[@keithroach2105]

When playing as a healer heal people when they go down rather than when they take some random damage, now they can pop back up and not have to worry about death saving throws instead of you just running out of crucial spell slots before they really are in dire need of healing

[@NicholsHomeTeam]

along the same point not standing them up as soon as they go down can be the right move. Aka if the foe takes it turn right after the and is standing over the downed PC healing them so they can just get knocked down again would be a waste.

[@christiandessibourg2751]

Last time, I've used a funny strategy with a friend : He flies 30 feets up to the monstrer we met then I changed him to an elephant (polymorphism via my bird familiar) : it was a pachidermic meteor !!!

[@meganofsherwood3665]

That is amazing! 😂

[@writerblocks9553]

Oh man if I used that peak a boo tactic my DM would make something come out of the ground directly underneath me 😂

[@tofastninj9747]

You: well nothing can shoot me Dm: you begin to hear a rumble beneath you

[@abiggs4828]

little did you know, the "All Hungry Earth God" the goblins were worshipping was a Bulette, and the little bastards led you right into it's favorite feeding spot...

[@evannibbe9375]

Alternatively the opponents can hold their actions until you come up again.

[@arcanecontent]

Or just use the reverse gravity spell.

[@DXYS95]

@@evannibbe9375 But then you lay prone to avoid getting shot. And no one takes initiative... Days pass

[@Jwilhoftstg]

Cody: Action economy is everything! My bard: laughs in animate objects

[@TwinerJack]

Learn all your possible action types - action, bonus action, reaction, interaction and movement. And prepare something to use if needed in any of these. Especially bonus action at the beginning of a longer encounter (f. e. Spiritual Weapon, Fire Sphere, Crown of Stars) and defensive reaction (shield, absorb elements, that one feat to boost your AC)

[@brendanpalmer5746]

The new flock of familiars spell is basically mass advantage for your party if you have each familiar take the help action

[@feartheghus]

“Focusing down targets” as a gamer, I was already prepared for this.

[@CitizenSlammu]

Good video. I think something that is often overlooked is group planning. Having in-game characters discuss their strengths, weaknesses and fighting preferences. Even the most basic of plans can really help when things go sideways

[@christopherclubb9167]

1. Create cover and difficult terrain: Kill the baddie in a hallway so his friends have to clamber over his corpse. Use object interaction to slide or knock over chairs and other lightweight furniture to use as cover or make it harder for an enemy to reach you. Use melee enemies as cover against your ranged foes (RAW a medium humanoid creates half cover, granting you +2 AC against those pesky arrows). 2. Use spells for alternate strategies. A minor illusion could make a door appear closed, or stand inside of an illusion (with a character under 5ft tall) to create a hiding spot where one normally would not be (just remember the enemy might notice that the huge rock in the corner wasn't there yesterday). An Arcane Gate spell can be used as a shield against your opponents, but you can see through the opposite side. A readied wall of force cast on an enemy your teammate hits with wall of fire can make a nice homemade oven. Mmmmm, roasted cave creatures.

[@jeffzimlich1464]

Oh one thing that I have learned is to always keep a pound of flour on you or any other identifiable item that the rest of the party can perceive. When you are fighting invisible creatures, it really helps expose them, thus negating their advantage on attacks

[@ChristopherWalrath]

"Sorry DM, suck it!" Love the videos. Some new ideas. Thanks, man. Another thing would be to change the battlefield. If, say, your Druid has Move Earth, make a wall in an open area to channel enemies into a choke point.

[@mayhemivory5730]

Here's another: separate enemies. Use a cantrip like thornwhip or lightning lure, or a spell like earth tremor to knock them prone. A barbarian can just grapple two targets, walk back to his group and drop prone with them (or shove them prone if your DM doesn‘t allow the first one). There‘s no AoO if you take the enemies with you, and there will be no one to save them.

[@KenchiofTaichi]

Thank you for the tip! I had never thought of that before. What an excellent idea! >83c

[@Thunder-bw9xm]

iiirc, you can't grapple more than 1 enemy at once

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

@@Thunder-bw9xm nope. You just need a free hand

[@HivisoftheScale]

Pop'n'Shot: Copyright Taking20

[@Dereliction2]

Tip: When out numbered, it's often better to focus fire on the weakest targets that you can be more certain of eliminating. This takes away or reduces the enemy's action advantage and better manages the party's resources, especially when you might otherwise spend several rounds whittling down the toughest target before ever turning attention to the small guys.

[@BertyBadass]

Taking20 Please do a video going into a bit more depth on if and when grappling is a good idea and some of the ways it can be used. Would love to get your take on this For me it has to be said that grappling is overlooked, in a lot of situations it is be the wrong choice to go for in lieu of damage or a buff, but every so often there will be a situation where removing a person or monsters ability to run away or maneuver is the right thing. Not to mention all the juicy RP you can muster about putting people in headlocks. After grappling you can knock an enemy prone and get advantage on all attacks within 5ft. The creature that is grappled and prone will attack with disadvantage, can't move and can't get up from being prone without first trying to break your grapple. You can also move them, without a skill contest upto half your movement speed. Using this in combination with shove enables some creative tactics; Move with them to the edge of a cliff and shove them off Run them through the camp fire for a cheeky bit of bonus damage Move them back into that powerful spell they just tried to escape from There really are alot of possibilities The best part is you only need one free hand to grapple an opponent RAW, and you come with two! So the fighter at level 5 with action surge could (dice allowing) grapple 2 opponents, shove them both prone AND pull them back towards his team. All of this works off of just your Athletics skill I just need to convince my DM that a Loxodon's trunk ability enables a 3rd creature to be grappled and i'll be set My bonus tip is: If you have extra attack feature, always choose to shove an opponent who has you grappled instead of using your action to break the grapple. Shoving an opponent only counts for one of your 2 (or more) attacks. Where as breaking the grapple is a whole action. With the grapple breaking upon them being pushed away from you, you can now move away without taking opportunity attacks or move in to grapple them right back.

[@GymJAM117]

Man, it sounds like you just found out what Marines train to do. Seek cover, concentrate fire in a single target, use buddy rushes and KISS (keep it simple stupid). This is really good and I’m gonna share this with my newer friends.

[@theHedgex1]

can't i just let everyone else do the heavy lifting while i fail every check?

[@cybermage99]

Thats what my characters 's use to feel like. Now I powerbuild to overcome my consistently bad luck, then become a god in combat when my rolls happen to be good for a day.

[@theHedgex1]

@@cybermage99 i got bad stats for in game reasons xp you see.... my turtle knight.... is a raging drunk.

[@meganofsherwood3665]

@@theHedgex1 🤣 That sounds like a riot! (Though a pain in combat, lol)

[@elijahturner6910]

i had a barbarian once. In the two in game years he lived he did 50 damage

[@theHedgex1]

@@elijahturner6910 xp lol damn

[@allerasthesphinx7184]

My personal strategy, use the mobile feat and know the booming blade cantrip. You cast booming blade, get that free weapon attack, then walk back 10 feet. Because of the mobile feat you won’t get opportunity attacked and when the enemy runs after you they take the booming blade damage. This is amazing for melee classes like Paladin or warlock who dont get that many attacks anyway.

[@mgb360]

8:09 "technically even thrown weapons" Is that true? A thrown weapon is still listed as melee as far as I know. It still uses your strength modifier, for example. Edit: Huh. The prone condition doesn't say anything about ranged attacks, just attacks that aren't within 5 feet. I never realized that before.

[@chromaticblue3976]

Yep, which means even Reach weapons would be included.

[@henriquedelarosa5419]

if a weapon has the finesse propriety, you can actually use dexterity to throw it!

[@Nickabokabookie]

If you are throwing a weapon it is considered a ranged weapon for that attack

[@nicklance4788]

I’m a Brand new player. I also am a brand new DM. Your videos have been suuuuper helpful for making our game fun for everyone. You’re the man!

[@stueyman2099]

Would love if my players started doing stuff like this. As it is, combat is a fairly rote affair. The cleric stands up front with his high AC, the paladin smites stuff, and the casters do middling amounts of damage (though there are occasional good uses of the darkness spell). Them doing more would give me more opportunities to have monsters doing cool stuff.

[@DanishHellhound]

lucky you... meanwhile me and a friend is caught in the middle of about 15 cultists, a first mate (ship related) with a magic sword), harpies... oh, and a ship at sea, firing ballistas at us... last session ended with me being on an outcrop on a cliffside, cultists below, and the sound of three ballistas firing xD

[@Gwentel776]

The best advice I can offer is to add more environment around them. Thunder wave is a great spell for damage alone, but people feel clever when thunderwave is used to knock a wall full of barrels down on someone or to hurl people into pits. Combat in a 10x10 room will almost always be simple, but if you put a 2x2 pit in the middle of it with spikes at the bottom then you're going to see people naturally gravitate towards trying to hurl enemies into it.

[@completelyuselesstrivia5319]

Love your videos, could you do please do 3 best spells at every level

[@RyeFields]

And the three worst spells

[@xTheRadioStar]

And three random spells. And don't tell us which are which. Just make a video about 9 spells.

[@real_evin]

God, level 3 would be such a tough one. Counterspell, dispel magic, fireball, lightning bolt, haste, fly, mass healing word, REVIVIFY and slow to name but a few

[@Rmason3156]

Thank you cody i am going to use the peek a boo with my warlock this is going to be so much fun

[@duckforceone]

had a party in mines of phandelver. In the first bandit dungeon underneath the manor, they opened the door to the room on the left side, with a door at the opposite side. They decided that instead of rushing in and engage everyone, they would stand outside the door, and pick them off one by one. The left over enemies then just held the door, while the rest started flanking the players from 2 more sides, and knocking on a nearby door. The players had several rounds of warning where they saw everyone rushing out of the other door and hearing noises behind them... they did not reposition.. Then they got brutally murdered from all sides because they just stood there... yeah players, think tactically, or i will brutally murder your party... :D (but i will give you several warnings before)

[@Glowmoff]

Dude. That's not classy. Why not something like "you hear heavy scraping of wood on wood from the other side of the door. Nobody has exited in a good while now." "I open the door" "Make a dex check" As you open the door, you and all those directly behind you are hit by a ballistic, dealing 2d10+3 piercing, and pinning them to the wall. Remaining bandits rush them.

[@wingtrek8914]

First rule: It's your turn, act. It isn't time to hold a party meeting. Act. And act efficiently. Try to get your turn down to 30 seconds or less. Second rule: shut the fuck up when it isn't your turn (unless you are pointing out something relevant to the encounter). Third rule: pay attention to the events happening. Who got hit, who needs healing or help? Fourth rule: If your party only has one front liner, go help that guy. Go flank for them. Go use the help action.

[@larksco]

it bothers me when people are CONSTANTLY looking at their phones during sessions. i’m thinking about giving disadvantage to people that do.

[@wingtrek8914]

That is exactly what I do. Not only disadvantage to their attack, but enemies also have advantage on attacks vs them. This rarely has to happen twice. I also include book diving into this distracted pc stuff.

[@samuelsteuber5821]

The Face of Many Characters. I would recommend checking out the ‘Angry Gm’s’ combat urgency article. I’m sure once you apply what he says there you won’t see another phone in combat again

[@NuclearHeadshot]

Do it, call it a distraction mechanic. Also, if you notice that a lot of your players have their noses in the phone, talk to them to see if you can make the sessions more captivating. Maybe your players have changed their minds from when you had your session 0, or it didn't work out the way they imagined then. Don't be afraid to try to improve. They should give you their attention, but you should give them a reason to give it to you.

[@johnathansanford8206]

I use dnd companion app on my phone for my character sheet, and tracking. Makes the game far easier and faster to keep track of.

[@razorraptor2247]

Also, might I suggest simply asking them to put it down first? I've had a few incidents in which there were players on their phones that had no ill intent and actually did have a good reason to be on their phone (friend needed to be calmed down, family issues that didn't seem urgent enough to need a "get up and go" reaction) but got punished by the DM for it. Don't get me wrong, the player should have said something or excused themselves, but things could have been handles better by both parties

[@BillAllanWorld]

This video is so on-point. So many people have no grasp of combat; in real life or in games. So it is foreign for them to consider how to handle combat as a group. So many good tips for newbies.

[@drakeford4860]

Rule #2 literally saved my party's lives last night. I was running a Mass Effect game (if you google N7World, you'll find a wonderful Mass Effect conversion for 5e), and my players fumbled a bit with their kidnapping scheme and got into combat with some bodyguards. Most were pretty much mooks, but the Captain was one hell of a contender. He was a Krogan that hit like a truck and regenerated like mad. One member of the party was a Turian who had specialized in melee combat and tore through the other guards like tissue paper, but that Krogan closed on him and went to work. If the other two PCs PCs hadn't diverted their attention from the grunts to help, he would have been dead meat. And then that Krogan would have turned right around to mop them up afterwards. As it was, the Turian scraped by with 5hp, and the three of them were able to wipe up the remaining guards. If they had played that any differently, it definitely could have been a wipe.

[@mrmaster9801]

It's a very useful tip, indeed: sometimes overwhelming offense is the best defense. Also, I like the idea of a Turian defeating in close combat a Krogan, even if it sounds strange, so accustomed to Garrus and his sniping skills I am ^^. As for the game, I've found it searching on Internet for a scifi rpg with a good setting (and I adore the ME setting, so that game is a serious contendant), but I haven't tried it yet. Does it run smoothly? Is there anything unbalanced? Is it playable at all levels or (like it happens with some rpg) only at low levels? Is there any extra material beyond the one you can find on the official site?

[@drakeford4860]

@@mrmaster9801 I won't pretend it's perfect, but I really like the system. It's very closely connected to the 5e system, and I'd say it runs rather smoothly. There are some blindspots in the rules from time to time, but these can often be quickly resolved by either looking for precedent in 5e, or with a reasonable on the spot adjudication. For example, the Engineer's ability to deploy a drone doesn't actually list the range at which it can do this. With no precedent in 5e, I ended up looking at similar gadget deployment abilities, and placed the range at 10m (each grid-square is 2m). The whole thing took about a minute to resolve, and we were back on track. One big shift from 5e is that there's a lot more bookkeeping. It doesn't suffer (and I use that word subjectively because I know some people love this aspect) Pathfinder's flood of temporary pluses and minuses (though Cover is far more relevant here than it will be in most 5e games), and classes themselves aren't much more complicated than standard 5e, however the equipment system is significantly more complex. Shield Points and Heat (essentially ammo) aren't difficult to track, but they are things you need to keep in mind. The complexity comes from the emphasis on customization. There's a lot of options, varying from simple flat or circumstantial bonuses to serious functional alterations. This is a good thing, on the whole, but it can make it a bit daunting when first trying to wrap your head around it. As for balance and levels of play, I think it's pretty well-built. I haven't actually played into tier three, but I'm seeing nothing on paper indicating it would be an issue. At the higher end of Tier 2 and thereafter, the DM's workload will have to shift a bit, either placing more focus on objectives, running a greater number of enemies, or brewing more dangerous ones. Classes are relatively balanced, but not entirely around combat. All classes are more than viable combatants, and I don't want to insinuate otherwise, but the combat-centric classes seem to have the edge on might expect. The Biotic and Engineer are both key participants in combat, but it is the Turian Soldier that stands as the team's clear backbone. That said, I think this is very well-balanced by the importance of utility in the game. This isn't the fantasy dark ages- tech is ubiquitous, and so too is the need to engage with it. Security systems, communications, vehicles, equipment management, and a lot more all fall into the portfolio of the tech classes, and that gives them plenty of opportunity to display their ability and value. Biotic classes vary in role, but they're no less valuable, bringing in options for utility, support, control, damage, and even durability depending on how you choose to approach them. I haven't seen much content support outside of the official site, but I haven't really gone looking for it. Even so, I'm not too concerned. The complexity of the gear system gives you loads of options for implementing items or effects, and I've personally brewed several enemies by fiddling with the statistics and equipment of those provided. It's also important to remember the value of re-skinning. A Blue Suns Legionnaire minus the grenades can just as easily be a nightclub bouncer in a seedy part of town. A Reaper Brute can be the alpha of some form of aggressive endemic life, or a Cerberus Phantom can be a Drell assassin. So long as you make the appropriate tweak here and there, and don't run around sharing the Stat block, your players will never know the difference. As for content, you've got 3 games (4, if you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel), a few books, and an entire genre to pull from. My party is currently a bunch of mercs working for the Blue Suns, but they could just as easily be a Council Task Force, independent vigilantes, and running their own little version of Firefly. The options are pretty much as limitless as the setting, and it's pretty manageable once you get the groundwork in place. I really suggest giving the system a go. I've had a blast with it, and my players have too.

[@themadhacker9376]

Good tip: if you can take it for your class, take Heat Metal, no save, just "you're on fire now". cast it on armor preferably cause it takes a long time to take armor off, but an opponent can just drop most weapons if they're hot...

[@drailvarr_r2q5]

USE MORE ILLUSIONS!! Even minor image can be used for cover and seeming can be cast on enemies. Hell, Phantasmal force is one of the most powerful spells in the game if used creatively.

[@natashasurvivallady8021]

On this note, just make sure you know how your DM reacts to illusion magic ahead of time, so that everyone is aware of what is and is not allowed, and the most likely outcome of a certain casting.

[@shadowscall7758]

Concealment, not cover. If the enemy saw you cast it and knows its an illusion, it won't do a thing to protect you.

[@drailvarr_r2q5]

Shadowscall775 if all the enemies saw was looks like 3 stone walls pop out of the ground then they likely won’t know it’s an illusion right off the bat. And even if they do, unless they have true sight they still can’t see you so they can’t target you with anything

[@shadowscall7758]

@@drailvarr_r2q5 If they know its an illusion, they can see through it. "If a creature discerns the Illusion for what it is, the Illusion becomes faint to the creature. "

[@drailvarr_r2q5]

Shadowscall775 ok, fair. They still need to discerned is an illusion. if you make something that is relatively reasonable. They will still have to burn an action to do it and then you can just throw up another one by the RAW

[@strongsmith1897]

my advice, protect your squishies. They might go down like a sack of potatoes, but chances are if they survive long enough, they can change the battle favorably.

[@Megidramon]

I actually killed two of my players during a combat with an Ancient White Shadow Dragon by optimizing the action economy and shifting the dragon's positioning. Granted, I didn't actually mean to, I thought they could've survived the breath weapon.

[@y2a1979]

Considering that ancient dragons are quite intelligent, you may not have meant to kill the characters, but you did it by actually playing the monster correctly, so that falls partially on them for not fighting it as though it were more than meat with eyes. ☺

[@nickwilliams8302]

Killed two of your _players?_ That's hardcore, man. Hardly anyone uses those optional rules anymore.

[@justanotherglorpsdaymornin5097]

@@nickwilliams8302 you don't ritualistically sacrifice a player when their character dies?

[@nickwilliams8302]

@@justanotherglorpsdaymornin5097 Well, it's just so hard on the carpeting ...

[@Thunder-bw9xm]

dang. a shadow dragon too, which means that when/if they get revived, they're without a shadow. thats kinda cool tho

[@TheReykjavik]

Tip #10 of just dealing damage sometimes is pretty important. If every member of your party is doing control things, you may lock down the enemy to the point they only get one or two attacks, and at disadvantage, but if you aren't dealing damage, they'll just keep swinging at you forever, and eventually impose the most powerful status effect on you, which is death. On the other hand, if your whole party deals damage, especially if you focus fire, you will put them in the ground and be victorious most of the time. With most of the party dealing damage, and one or two control effects, you can reduce their damage dealt per round while maintaining your own (or even increasing it).

[@essejay7952]

I fought a boss who's max health was 178, my party of five I was in killed it in a single rotation

[@joe7176]

A level 11 party I was running killed an ancient blue dragon with a combination of ready actions, superpowerful spells early on, flanking, summoning quite a few creatures to manipulate action economy, etc. They did this before it even could attack. Lucky feat on initiative is very undervalued.

[@JLakpuri]

Paladin worshipper of Torm here. My tip.... Do what I do and shout "For the glory of Torm!" every time you need to make a clutch crit. I have only done it twice so far but both times I have rolled a nat 20! The group goes wild, I go wild, my paladin completes a badass beat-down on the unfortunate heretic caught in his divine fury!

[@bigperc5777]

“Home alone for a few weeks” Oof

[@freddaniel5099]

Lots of good advice delivered in an entertaining way! Your channel is awesome!

[@seanduffy9715]

"Since everyone will be inside for the next few weeks here are some tips!" Hits different after being inside for almost a year now...

[@SeanStanleyRedheadWeb]

A tactic for many spell casters is try to “divide and conquer” a group. Take the action economy advantage back with spells that seperate or stall some of the enemies. Sleet storm, spike growth, sleep, hypnotic pattern, watery sphere, etc.

[@hans.m.j]

When i play i use shoving and grappling alot. And the ranger in my game im running is shoving his shield into the ground to create half cover

[@rjc777]

I started my first campaign yesterday, and your videos are a big influence

[@relicraiding]

Can we skip the “lean, mean, fighting machine” in a more favorable “portly, polite, and potent” ? Hehe much luv ❤️

[@emissaryrnd1692]

Me and a couple buddies haven’t been able to continue our session for months due to work schedules and now this quarantine crap. I had no idea there was even an online DND map creator. Thank you for sharing hopefully we’ll be able to set it up again haha! Awesome video man!

[@Wanderingsage7]

"You'll never take MAjor Benson Winifried Paine alive!" (butchered i know. give me a break, it's been years since i've seen the movie. :P)

[@bjiggles8145]

Love your stuff Cody. As per your request there is one thing I would add that is absolutely HUGE in nearly every encounter in every campaign I've ever experienced: Communication! The good: it's in the PHB that a few words in combat counts as a "free action", use it! If you just found out that radiant dmg is the way to go, tell the team (in character, because you're metagaming if you don't). Suggest tactics before during and/or after combat, it's called 'teamwork'. Learn what everyone is all about and what they can do (again, in character), it's a big part of what makes the game fun even if it means the wizard has made it clear that Fireball is happening if they get charged at so don't let them get charged lol. The bad: Do everyone at the table a big favor and don't metagame communication. That means in combat words have to be SSS (short sweet and simple, if it takes more than 6 seconds it took you a whole round to say it) and no "telepathic discussions" while you're talking to an NPC (having a debate with the whole party for 15 minutes about what to say next after ever single response from the DM). No disrespectful words towards other players (in or out of combat). Just look at what happened together and share ideas for next time, no b!+ching or making it about who's a better player and being an @ss.

[@joelpepper1188]

I know this is an older vid but at least in my group I specifically remember one time when the enemies where 60 feet away and everyone was using there dash action to get close but I the paladin was like why would you do that get i melee range with no action so I ran my distance then just casted shields of faith and everyone was looking at me like I was dumb got it think tactfully

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

Yeah like, 30ft one turn then 30 ft next turn and you still get to attack. Meanwhile everyone else actually got nothing done one their turn. Good move op

[@ben9689]

Tip for casters: look at bonus action and reaction spells carefully, the more ways you can use your actions the better, you will be most deadly when using every action when possible

[@archielamarr2950]

Well i have been playing an assassin/shadow sorcerer dragon born and for 3 full sessions i didn't take one point of damage becouse while the whole party was inside the inn fighting 3 pals and one judge that were being dushbags to our party so,the party was attacking and almost had a few of there pcs killed and i was standing at the window with my shortbow pinging them over and over after each hit i would move into shadows and on my turn pinging another arrow and back into the shadows

[@jmass4207]

Just keep in mind if you’re doing such a good job not taking any hits, the rest of the party is being relatively focused down. Being at full hp with multiple party members down is less helpful than having taken some hits and your allies still up. Let the high ac guys take most of the early attacks, but as they start to falter you need to get in there.

[@archielamarr2950]

@@jmass4207 well we beat them but the problem is if i had gotten in the middle of it i would have been a one hit kill i have only got 18 hit point's and on average the paladins and there judge was doing 26 to 28 hit points in damage every attack and that was to the heavy hitters and meat shealds of our party now if i had played with my Minotaur champion then yes i would have gotten in the thick of it but i have a Dragon born assassin/shadow sorcerer that was hitting almost every 3rd or 4th round with critical hits and doing 28 to 36 points of damage with my arrows. And 2nd reason i didn't get in the middle of the fight is i didn't start the fight by doing something stupid like 2 members of my party did they opened the window and used mold water and dumped a bunch of water on the paladins becouse they felt that the paladins were being dicks and they in fact were but that's paladins for you i am playing with nubbs that seem to think just becouse you can do something that it is a good idea to do it

[@ShadowWolf2396]

Cody, thank you for all of your info! I just started playing D&D ever and...its just fantastic! You've been helping me out a lot with just a few short videos. Thank you so so so much!

[@ericcollins1727]

I love when characters create a “fighting system” together, like a caster using hold person or monster so the paladin can nuke the opponent or distractions for sneak attacks or buff/rebuff! It’s a team game and it’s perfectly reasonable that a group would learn to create “combos” off of abilities....

[@meganofsherwood3665]

Exactly! Lol, yhe whole time I was watching this video, I was thinking: "...so basically, work as a team, instead of trying to draw blood yourself on every turn"

[@strongsmith1897]

Work together with your party. Learn their strengths and weaknesses and figure out how to best mesh your abilities.

[@jawsthemothshark8090]

I really want to play D&D but One: I got no friends that even know what D&D is. And second: I got no friends. Edit: there's also the whole virus thing, but playing online is a thing.

[@energyscholar]

Join Roll20, find a game, and start playing!

[@jawsthemothshark8090]

@@energyscholar, thank you, I'll check it out.

[@final_catalyst]

Holes with caltrops, and forced movement. Make it hard for them to climb out then pop them back in when they do

[@valky5318]

I would be interested in a video on how to roleplay these metagamey tactics.

[@TheBlackLibraryOriginal]

Good tactics is not metagame. Its how that character survived to be where they are today and not dead. Metagaming is when your character uses info that they have no access to know. Communicating to another character that you are about to use a lightning bolt down the corridor, and warning them to duck and get out of the way is tactical and brilliant.

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

Why don't people know what metagaming actually is

[@OnlyMain1]

Two tips that I would add are: 1) control the battlefield and 2) use your own concentration spells (if you are a spellcaster). 1) Control: My party once turned a near impossible combat encounter into a cakewalk by putting a fog cloud on top of a bunch of ball bearings and caltrops, the foes had such low movement speeds that if they tried to move they would have to roll to stay up. This made a giant choke point into a flailing mass of enemies who were incapable of doing anything. 2) Concentration spells: if a warlock uses a level 5 hold person against an army of humanoid foes, then that can be useful as it can grant close range allies instant critical hits for example, or using hypnotic pattern can take a bunch of enemies out of the battle, giving you a massive advantage in action economy.

[@jaredbowers9503]

"#DEMONETIZED" XDXDXD

[@hadcam4962]

Hey! Thanks for that video, Don't think you've mentionned it but forced movement doesn't provoke opportunity attack, so if you need to get another character out of the fire, dragging them out is a valid option! my players do it often since the paladin has awful luck at dice.

[@triffnix]

"I really like to out-think combat" Ye, my 3 intelligence fighter doesn't

[@raymondmacdonald2464]

Lol

[@vikingraven4758]

Your 3 intelligence fighter is more stupid than a cat. He shouldn't understand how to open a door, hold a sword, or put on his shoes. Once had a 3 wisdom paladin though, so perhaps I shoudn't talk. Everything more than 30 feet away was a blur, and it couldn't hear what people said more that 10 feet away. Most oblivious character I ever played, good times.

[@triffnix]

@@vikingraven4758 good thing my fighter has a cleric that takes care of him. He hits hard, though. I think having a really low stat can be really fun to play, but it can also be a big obstacle for the party.

[@vikingraven4758]

@@triffnix Yes, having low stats can be really fun when played right. Giving your character significant flaws or personality traits can be really fun to role-play too. Earlier mentioned Paladin for example was very much against stealing, but was kleptomaniac, and would occasionally have to run a CHA(willpower) save or take random seemingly worthless objects. A current character simply refuse to lie, ever, even is lives were at stake. With such a trait you can't let metagaming DMs know though.

[@triffnix]

@@vikingraven4758 I consider metagaming in general to be an issue. I somewhat refuse to talk about my characters with my party, and I can see that telling the DM might be an issue if he can't handle it properly. Inner conflicts such as the one you described really flesh out a character, but having the others know of them kinda takes away the spice, it somewhat warps their view on your character and how their characters interact with him, even though they didn't get to know the conflict in-character yet.

[@unityspirituality2960]

Great list!! We are starting our first Eberron homebrew campaign tomorrow, my first time DMing and I'm wicked excited to use these ideas! B) Thank You for creating really fun, engaging content. I like the idea of utilizing 3d space inside the battlefield by interacting with things they otherwise wouldn't. For instance, a rogue can run, jump and kick off a tree during movement in order to land an attack on an unsuspecting enemy but they have to pass an athletics or dexterity check to avoid being split in twain by a wayward branch.

[@andrewdevine2369]

Choke points are AMAZINGLY useful! Even if you have to create them yourself. Flanking is also great, a quick dimension door to the rear of the group of enemies is enough to sometimes shaking your DM. When you can’t make a choke point do your best to create more than one point of contact to freak out your enemies

[@omnisquirrel]

These are fantastic tips! And a lot of them are applicable over multiple games. Thank you!

[@kylestandridge8666]

Something I love that my dm allows is letting players subject creatures to conditions in place of attacks. Like how you can use an attack to instead grapple someone, and if you have another attack you can try to restrain them with a high enough athletics check.