The Problem with D&D Combat (and how to fix it)

Summary

This video script discusses a new combat skill system for Dungeons and Dragons to enhance gameplay and reduce repetitive combat scenarios. It introduces 'tactical actions' replacing movement, allowing characters to use skills like Acrobatics, Athletics, and Insight in combat. The system categorizes tactics into six types, including attack enhancements and area control, offering players and monsters more dynamic options. The script also provides advice for Dungeon Masters on maintaining game pace and balancing the new mechanics.

Takeaways

• 🔪 The fighter charges into the room to face the pit fiend, followed by the Barbarian, Rogue, Cleric, and Wizard, each taking their typical combat roles.
• 🎲 Combat in Dungeons and Dragons can become repetitive with characters using the same actions repeatedly.
• ⚔️ Introducing a combat skill system can provide players with more options, making battles more dynamic and interesting.
• 🏃‍♂️ Movement actions are often underused in combat; the new system allows characters to use their movement for tactical actions.
• 🎭 Skills such as animal handling, deception, intimidation, and others can be integrated into combat to add variety and strategy.
• 🔄 The new system includes 32 different tactical actions that players can use, enhancing the variety of combat strategies.
• 💥 Monsters also benefit from the new system, gaining proficiency and expertise in skills related to their highest ability scores.
• 📋 To keep combat moving smoothly, game masters should prepare optimal tactics for each monster and encourage players to decide their actions in advance.
• 🧙‍♂️ The new combat system replaces the movement action with a tactical action, offering attack enhancements, penalties, area control, concealment, information, and movement options.
• 🗡️ The system allows for creative and customized combat tactics, which can be developed by both game masters and players to fit their specific needs.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the video script regarding Dungeons and Dragons combat?

The main issue discussed is the repetitive and static nature of combat in Dungeons and Dragons, where characters tend to perform the same actions round after round, leading to a lack of variety and engagement.

What is the proposed solution to make combat more interesting in the script?

The proposed solution is the introduction of a combat skill system that allows players to use their character skills in combat in meaningful ways, providing more options and tactical depth to their turns.

How does the new combat skill system change the standard turn structure in D&D?

The new system replaces the movement action with a tactical action, giving characters the choice to either move or use a combat tactic based on their skills, thus adding more choices and complexity to the game.

What are the six categories of combat tactics mentioned in the script?

The six categories are attack enhancements, attack penalties, area control, concealment, information, and movement.

How can monsters benefit from the new combat skill system?

Monsters can also use combat tactics, giving them more abilities during combat and making them more challenging and engaging for players. This helps balance the power curve and keeps combat interesting.

What advice is given to Dungeon Masters to keep combat moving smoothly with the new system?

Dungeon Masters are advised to prepare by noting down the most likely tactics for each monster based on their role and skills, and encourage players to choose their combat tactics while others are taking their turns to avoid slowing down the game.

How does the script suggest enhancing monsters' skills for the combat skill system?

The script suggests giving monsters proficiency and possibly expertise in skills related to their highest and second-highest ability scores, making them more effective when using combat tactics.

What is the trade-off mentioned when introducing the new combat skill system?

The trade-off is a reduction in the speed of combat due to the added complexity and the need for players and Dungeon Masters to make more choices, in exchange for an increase in fun and engagement.

How can players create their own combat tactics within the system?

Players can use their creativity to come up with their own combat tactics, as long as they are reviewed for game balance, allowing for a personalized and engaging combat experience.

What additional resources are mentioned for Dungeon Masters to enhance their games?

The script mentions the DM Layer store, where the complete combat skills system is available, and Patreon benefits for DMs, which include access to additional resources like the Layer magazine and Foundry VTT modules.

Outlines

00:00

🛡️ Enhancing D&D Combat Dynamics

This paragraph discusses the repetitive nature of combat in Dungeons and Dragons and introduces a new combat skill system to diversify player actions. The speaker critiques the standard combat routine and suggests that the game often becomes a dice-rolling and math exercise. To address this, the paragraph proposes giving players more options on their turns by utilizing their movement and skills in creative ways, thus making combat more engaging and strategic.

05:00

🎲 Introducing Tactical Actions in D&D

The speaker elaborates on the combat skill system, explaining how it works by integrating skills into combat as 'tactical actions'. The standard D&D turn structure is modified by replacing movement with a 'tactical action', allowing characters to either move or execute a skill-based tactic. The tactics are categorized into six types, including attack enhancements, attack penalties, area control, concealment, information gathering, and movement. The paragraph also encourages players and game masters to create their own combat tactics for a more personalized experience.

10:02

🐉 Balancing Combat with Monster Skills

This paragraph addresses the concern of how to make the new combat system work for monsters, which traditionally have limited skill applications. The speaker suggests enhancing monsters' skills based on their highest ability scores, granting them proficiency or even expertise in related skills. This approach aims to balance the game by giving monsters more combat options and making them more formidable and engaging adversaries for players.

15:04

⚔️ Implementing the Combat Skill System

The final paragraph provides advice on how to implement the new combat skill system to maintain the pace of the game. It recommends that game masters prepare by noting down the most likely tactics for each monster in an encounter. Additionally, it encourages players to choose their combat tactics during other players' turns to streamline gameplay. The speaker also mentions the availability of a complete set of 32 tactical actions on the DMs Guild store and highlights the benefits of becoming a patron, including access to additional resources and the new combat skill system.

Keywords

💡Combat

Combat in the context of the video refers to the gameplay element in Dungeons and Dragons where characters engage in battles. It is central to the video's theme as it discusses ways to enhance and diversify combat scenarios to avoid repetitive gameplay. For instance, the script mentions 'combat begins characters rushing forward against their hated Foe' and 'round after round of combat' to illustrate the repetitive nature of standard combat encounters.

💡Tactical Actions

Tactical actions are new gameplay mechanics introduced in the video to add depth to combat in Dungeons and Dragons. They are alternatives to the standard action, bonus action, and movement, providing players with more options during their turns. The script explains that 'characters get an action, a bonus action, and a tactical action' and that these actions can be used for various purposes like enhancing attacks or controlling areas, making combat more dynamic.

💡Skills

Skills in the video pertain to the abilities of characters in Dungeons and Dragons, such as Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, Insight, and Intimidation. The script emphasizes that these skills are underused in combat, and the new combat skill system aims to incorporate them into the gameplay. For example, 'skills such as animal handling, deception, intimidation, investigation, perception, and survival' are mentioned as being primarily used out of combat but are proposed to be used in combat as well.

💡Dungeons and Dragons

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is the role-playing game that the video is discussing. It is a tabletop game where players create characters and embark on adventures in a fantasy world. The script uses the game as the basis for discussing combat mechanics, such as 'in Dungeons and Dragons now, there are lots of different things we can do as game Masters to make our combats better'.

💡Game Master (GM)

A Game Master in the context of Dungeons and Dragons is the individual who guides the story and controls the game world, including non-player characters and the environment. The video script discusses the Game Master's role in enhancing combat by 'making our combats better in other videos I've talked about tactics and environment' and creating a combat skill system.

💡Character Classes

Character classes in Dungeons and Dragons represent the roles and abilities of player characters, such as Fighters, Barbarians, Rogues, Clerics, and Wizards. The video script mentions these classes to illustrate the typical actions they take in combat, like 'the fighter swings his sword' and 'the Rogue stabs with her dagger', and how the new system can diversify their options.

💡Monsters

Monsters in the video refer to the non-player characters controlled by the Game Master in Dungeons and Dragons. The script discusses the potential for monsters to also use the new combat skill system, thus making them more formidable and engaging in combat. It is noted that 'monsters get to do all those cool things, too', ensuring balance in gameplay.

💡Complexity

Complexity in the video refers to the additional rules and options introduced by the combat skill system. While it makes the game more interesting, it also slows down gameplay due to the increased number of choices and actions available to players and Game Masters. The script acknowledges this trade-off, stating 'this does add complexity to the game' and 'the added complexity will probably result in slightly slower combat'.

💡Balance

Balance in the context of the video pertains to maintaining a fair and enjoyable gameplay experience in Dungeons and Dragons. The script discusses the importance of balancing the new combat skill system to ensure that it enhances the game without making it overly complicated or unmanageable. It mentions 'it is always wise to review everything for game balance' and the need to avoid giving players and monsters abilities that could disrupt the game's balance.

💡Dungeon Master's Guide

The Dungeon Master's Guide is a reference book for Game Masters in Dungeons and Dragons, providing advice on creating and running the game. While not explicitly mentioned in the script, the term is implied when discussing the creation and implementation of new gameplay mechanics like the combat skill system, which a Dungeon Master would use to enhance their game.

Highlights

Introduction of a combat skill system to enhance player options during turns in Dungeons and Dragons.

The system addresses the issue of repetitive combat by offering more than just swinging weapons or casting spells.

Players can now use their skills in combat in meaningful ways, adding depth to character abilities.

The combat skill system includes tactics categorized into six different types: attack enhancements, attack penalties, area control, concealment, information, and movement.

Tactical actions replace the standard movement action, allowing for more dynamic use of character skills.

The system introduces complexity but aims to increase the fun of the game by offering a variety of new abilities.

Players are encouraged to choose their combat tactics during other players' turns to maintain game pace.

Monsters can also use combat tactics, balancing the game and giving them more engaging abilities.

Monsters' skills are enhanced based on their highest and second-highest ability scores, making them more formidable.

The system provides a base for Dungeon Masters and players to create their own combat tactics, fostering creativity.

Examples of combat tactics are provided, such as 'Prepare' using Acrobatics for evasive maneuvers.

The 'Disguise of Spell' tactic allows spellcasters to confuse enemies about the nature of their spell using Arcana.

The 'Strengthen Strike' tactic uses Athletics to increase damage output for melee attackers.

The 'Determined Intent' tactic uses Insight to reveal an enemy's plans or intentions.

The 'Area Denial' tactic uses Intimidation to control space and restrict enemy movement.

Strategies for maintaining combat pace, such as pre-selecting tactics for monsters and encouraging players to prepare in advance.

The combat skill system is available on the DMs Guild store for those interested in enhancing their D&D gameplay.

Transcripts

the fighter grips his sword in knuckle

whitened hands and charges into the room

he spies his hated foe a terrible Wicked

pit fiend before him and rushes forward

the Barbarian slightly upset that he

wasn't first into the room follows suit

and the Rogue skirts around the corners

remaining hidden looking for that

backstab and the cleric tentatively

steps into the room preparing healing

spells they will most assuredly be

needed and The Wizard stays out in the

hallway peeking around the door jam

knowing that the best way to not die is

to stay out of that kill zone and thus

the combat begins characters rushing

forward against their hated Foe and

players readying their dice in character

sheets the fighter swings his sword and

hits the pit fiend with all his might

the Barbarian swings his axe the Rogue

stabs with her dagger the bit fiend

slashes and whips with all of its Fury

Flames sprouting up around it the cleric

calls down healing upon her friends and

The Wizard nearly casts Fireball but

then goes with magic Missile instead and

that was just the first round of combat

in the next round of combat the fighter

swings his sword the Barbarian swings

his axe the Rogue stabs with her dagger

the pit fiend slashes and whips the

cleric heals and the wizard doesn't even

think about Fireball because he knows

better and goes with magic Missile

instead and that was just the second

round of combat we now move on to the

third round of combat and I know you

know exactly what's coming next because

every single one of us has been in

combats like this haven't we round after

round after round of the characters

doing the exact same thing they swing

with their swords stab with their

daggers and cast mostly the same spells

that they're accustomed to Casting every

single combat because that's what works

right and thus the combat essentially

comes down to chucking Dice and doing

math and I submit to you that this is

perhaps the worst sort of combat that we

can have in Dungeons and Dragons now

there are lots of different things we

can do as game Masters to make our

combats better in other videos I've

talked about tactics and environment and

lots of other things that will spice

things up however today we're going to

talk about something that is perhaps

under addressed in the game and that's

what characters can actually do on their

turns today we're going to be looking at

a way to give players more options on

their turns so that they aren't always

having to do the same thing over and

over again and what exactly do I mean by

this well we know that the fighter can

swing their Sword and the Barbarian can

hack with their axes right and the Rogue

hides and then backstabs the

spellcasters well they cast spells but

what if there were something else you

could do on your turns for instance if

you analyze the average D andd Combat

Characters don't use their movement a

whole lot a lot of times once You' have

settled into your position you kind of

stay put there are certain classes such

as Rogues and spellcasters to a certain

degree that are behooved when they move

around but a lot of times we find that

positioning is rather static for most of

our turns so what would happen if there

was something else you could do with

your movement action in other words you

could hack with your sword and then

instead of not using your movement and

just kind of standing there what if you

could use your movement action to do

something else and another thing that is

underused in the game specifically in

combats are skills skills such as animal

handling deception intimidation

investigation perception and survival

get a lot of views out of combat but

they're really underrepresented in

combat now yes I know that you can shove

somebody or trip them with your

Athletics and Rogues are going to do a

lot of sneaking with stealth for sure

but the options are very limited and

they don't get used a whole lot so what

my team and I have done is create a

combat skill system that allows you to

use your different skills from your

character sheet in combat in meaningful

ways and in our new combat skills system

we have every single skill from the

character sheet represented that means

no matter what class you're playing you

will be able to do things with your

skills and com

and you will have more options now the

immediate benefit of having more options

during combat is that combat gets more

interesting you now have a whole wide

new array of abilities that are open to

your character you can do more than just

swing your sword or cast the same spells

and it's not an either or you can swing

your sword and use a combat skill or you

can cast your Fireball and use a combat

skill now of course this does add

complexity to the game players are now

going to have to choose from an array of

different combat skills they can use and

in the game system we actually call them

tactical actions so there are more

choices to be made and the added

complexity will probably result in

slightly slower combat and frankly this

is a tradeoff that you make anytime you

introduce something new to the game

there is a reduction in speed in

exchange for an increase in fund and as

I've said before when you introduce

added complexity to your game you want

to make sure that the resulting fund is

increased at least three times over in

other words you want the added

complexity to be worth it

and a lot of times the only way you're

going to know if it's worth it or not is

to try it out and when we were play

testing these new combat skill options

players really seemed to enjoy them how

the combat skill system works okay so

you're probably saying that all sounds

wonderful but how does your stupid

combat skill system work Luke first of

all it's not stupid so stop calling

myself stupid and I'm going to explain

to you how the system works right now so

just calm down maybe I'm the one that

needs to calm down I I don't know I can

never tell the standard Dungeons and

Dragons turn consists of three different

types of actions a character can take

they have an action a bonus action and

movement and they get one of each in our

combat skill system characters get an

action a bonus action and a tactical

action so the big change is that

movement has been replaced by a tactical

action and with their tactical action a

character can do one of two things they

can either use their movement or they

can use a tactic and the tactics are are

the really cool things that you can use

that are based upon your skills they

open up a wide array of possibilities in

combat they allow you to do new and

different things to affect and change

the course of battle and this

intrinsically makes combat more

interesting and fun because instead of

just standing around and Swinging your

weapons you now have a ton of new

different things you can do on your

turns now the tactics that we made fall

into one of six different categories

first you have attack enhancements these

different tactics give you a bonus to

your next attack and a few of them allow

a character to follow up with a bonus

action to get a bonus to all their

attacks next you have attack penalties

these tactics cause a targeted creature

to suffer a penalty to their attacks

against you then we have area control

these tactics allow you to control a

larger area than you normally would be

able to sometimes this refers to Direct

Control and area denial but other times

it's manipulating the terrain to make

traversal more difficult then we have

concealment these tactics allow you to

conceal your actions they make it harder

for creatures to discern what you're

doing or you can modify an action with

the intent of deceiving other creatures

next up is information these tactics

allow you to gather or convey

information that information may include

a battle strategy current strengths and

weaknesses of enemies or general

information about the Battle environment

finally we have movement these combat

tactics affect the way a creature moves

about the battlefield unlike all the

other tactic categories these combat

tactics always allow you to move up to

your movement speed while using the

tactic now the really cool thing about

this system is that it creates a base

upon which you can build your own combat

tactics now I'm going to give you

several examples of the combat tactics

that we have made in the system but they

don't need to stop there you can

literally just make up your own and it

doesn't have to just be the game master

who's creating the combat tactics

players can pitch in with their

creativity and their ideas and help come

up with more things that can be done

with their skills during combat of

course it is always wise to review

everything for game balance by the way

if you're finding this information

useful please give me a thumbs up and

leave a comment about how delicious

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fellow game master and if you're not

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think I don't completely suck why not

subscribe while you're at it the combat

tactics okay now I'm going to give you

some examples of specific combat tactics

from our system the first one uses your

acrobatics skill and is called prepare

you must be proficient with acrobatics

to use this and its duration is

instantaneous essentially you anticipate

an attack coming your way from an enemy

and you can Dodge out of the way you

roll an acrobatics check and the result

determines the bonus you receive if you

hit a dc20 you get a plus one bonus to

the next dexterity saving throw you make

before the start of your next turn and

if you hit a dc30 you get a plus two

bonus then we have the disguise of spell

spell tactic which uses the Arcana skill

essentially you can attempt to disguise

a spell you're going to cast befuddling

attempts to identify it you make an

intelligence Arcana check and the DC

required to identify a spell that you

cast is increased based on the result of

the role if you hit a dc20 the

difficulty class to identify the spell

has a plus one bonus a dc25 gets you a

plus two bonus and a dc30 gets you a

plus three bonus so essentially you're

trying to trick an enemy into thinking

that you're casting a different spell it

does not alter the spell component

requirements it only makes it seem like

the spell being cast is something

different okay here's one that's really

useful if basic one that melee types

will probably love it uses the athletic

skill this tactic is called strengthen

strike basically you make an Athletics

check and then your next attack deals

extra damage based on the result of your

role a dc20 gets you a plus one to your

damage rolles a dc25 gets you a plus two

and a dc30 gets you a plus three and

then we have the determined intent

tactic which uses your Insight skill you

see we're giving useful things you can

do with some of these skills that almost

never get used in the game and

especially not in combat anyway this

combat tactic allows you to attempt to

discern a creature's intent by observing

the subtleties of Its Behavior you can

make an Insight check contested by the

target's Charisma saving throw on a

success you learn one of the following

the target of the creature is next

attack spell or other action it intends

to use on its turn whether the creature

intends to make a melee attack ranged

attack or cast a spell its loyalty to

its allies or whoever it's working for

or its degree of personal hostility to

you for this tactic the information you

learn is random but you may attempt to

learn a specific piece of information by

taking a negative five penalty to your

check and this next tactic is called

area denial and it uses your

intimidation skill essentially it allows

you to attempt to control an area larger

than you could normally control using

your threats and stance to keep enemies

away this doesn't expand the range of

your attack or your attack of

opportunity but it does prevent enemy

creatures from moving through the space

and then you're going to roll an

intimidation check and if you hit

certain thresholds of difficulty classes

you control additional 5T squares

adjacent to the one that you're standing

on now in our combat skill system we

literally have 32 different tactical

actions characters can take on their

turn so I'm not going to talk our way

through every single one of them that

would just take a crazy amount of time

and I'm not sure how extremely valuable

you would find it in a video format but

what about monsters now I imagine that

my fellow dungeon Masters out there have

been asking themselves a particular

question do monsters get to do this too

because if players now get to do all

these cool things am I as the game

master going to get to do them as well

and the long and short of it is that yes

monsters get to do all those cool things

too otherwise we would have a rather

unbalanced system wouldn't we and the

very next follow-up question or

complaint or concern that I know my

fellow dungeon Masters are going to

bring up is that the skills of monsters

in D and D fifth edition generally suck

and you are 100% right like you have big

huge massive larger huge creatures that

are like CR 58 and 10 that have no

Athletics modifiers many monsters just

simply don't have the skills on their

stap lock or the skills are very limited

and frankly this is kind of

understandable because in the base

system monsters don't really have much

use for many of their skills however if

you're implementing our combat skill

system monsters now suddenly have

something they can do with those skills

and this could be pretty cool and fun

and exciting for Dungeon Masters I

imagine well the question then is what

is the game master going to do with

these monsters who have sucky skills and

of course we address that in our system

otherwise having monsters use skill

checks based on their ability scores

with no modifiers would be well pathetic

the basic rule of thumb is that you take

a monster identify its highest and

second highest ability scores and then

you give that monster proficiency and

perhaps even expertise in all skills

associated with those ability scores in

fact I would recommend taking its

highest ability score and giving the

monster expertise in all related skills

this means the monster would add double

its proficiency bonus to those skills

and then for its second highest ability

score you give the monster basic

proficiency with all related skills and

once you've done this you're pretty much

good to go your monster is going to have

a variety of skills that they can use

and the modify s to use those skills are

going to be pretty darn good now

something else that I want to mention

here is that giving your monsters

additional abilities that they can use

during combat is going to help solve one

of the problems that has plagued

Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition from

its conception essentially what we have

seen over the last decade is that

players and their characters continue to

get Buffs and receive more options and

more power but monsters have not theyve

basically lagged behind on the power

curve and for many groups this is undes

desirable because it makes combat less

challenging and unengaging which means

that if game Masters want to correct for

that they need to tweak things in their

games and giving Monsters the ability to

use these combat tactics is one such

tweak that a dungeon master could do

especially if as the dungeon master you

start using all these combat skills to

buff your monsters that your players

don't get to use them but that would

just be devious I'm not sure that I

would recommend that how to keep combat

moving okay now something that I alluded

to toward the beginning of the video

that I want to address in more depth now

is the idea that introducing this new

added complexity these new combat

tactics are going to slow the game down

a bit so I have a few pieces of advice

for ways that game Masters can keep

combat moving along when using this new

system the first one is that when you're

preparing for the session and setting up

the encounters consider each creature's

role in the encounter that is your

monsters some will be attackers others

will be Defenders and some will focus on

support and then based on the creatures

role role and which skills it can best

use make quick notes about which tactic

it is most likely to use and which

tactic it is second most likely to use

that way you have these notes on the

stap lock and during combat you can

quickly choose from a couple options you

might even jot down two additional

tactics as backups but the last thing

that you want to do when you're in

combat is for every single Monster be

flipping through and choosing from 32

different abilities because that's how

many we've published our rule system

that is going to bog things down like

crazy you you need to have a few optimal

choices ready to go for each monster

that you can quickly choose from and

that is going to speed things up

incredibly now as far as players go I

suggest strongly encouraging them to

choose out their combat tactic while

everyone else is taking their turns I

mean they got like 10 or 15 minutes at

least to figure it out right and then if

on their turn they're not ready to go

they should have a backup tactic this is

basically a combat tactic that they will

take if they have a hard time choosing

what to do if they're a fighter for

instance they might always use the

strengthened strike tactic which

increases their damage obviously this

kind of goes without saying the more

everyone is familiar with the different

combat tactics and reads up on them

before the game Begins the smoother

gameplay is going to be now I think I've

given you enough information in this

video to be able to use our new combat

skill system though you will of course

have to make up your own Tactical

actions however if you'd like to get our

entire combat skills system along with

all 32 tactical actions that we created

it's available right now on the DM lay

store at the link below also during this

month all DM L patrons at the $25 level

and above will get it as part of their

monthly patreon benefits and by the way

our DM layer patrons get tons of other

monthly benefits as well for instance

you get a new issue of layer magazine

every month which includes roughly 60

pages of fifth edition game master

resources such as Adventures monsters

traps puzzles and more and it also comes

in Pathfinder 2 as well patrons also get

adventures and monsters in Foundry vtt

which makes prepping for your online

game a breeze so if you're thinking of

picking up the combat skill system but

you'd also like to get a taste of all

the other cool things that we publish at

the DM layer becoming a $25 Patron is

definitely the way to go let me know

down in the comments what you do to

spice up your combat so they aren't

boring and repetitive and if you'd like

to learn how to implement a reputation

system in your games that gives

characters benefits and drawbacks based

on their reputation with groups and NPCs

in the world watch this video right here

and until next time happy game mastering