Combat tips [Archive] - Wizards Community

Combat tips [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
GaffeR
01-19-05, 12:47 AM Hey there, I'm just wonderin if anyone out there has some effective combat tips/tricks/tactics for myself and gaming group. Our party (at the moment) consists of

14th lvl Paladin (me) : Sword n Shield
13th lvl Cleric of Sune, battlecleric type : Warhammer (2 handed)
13th lvl Cleric of Helm : Weapon/shield
Barbarian 10/Fighter 2 : weapon/shiedl
12th lvl Archery Ranger : bow.. duh
12th lvl Bard :uh... flute? maybe a sword.. not too sure
12th lvl Dwarven Fighter : warhammer (2 handed)
13th lvl Halfling rogue/invisible blade : daggers, usually thrown in rapid succession

We seem to get worked by encounters that we should have no problem with.
We aren't underfunded, I think it comes down to poor planning and tactics. Any help you guys/gals could give would be fantastic. Thanks :D
Draco Strang
01-19-05, 12:55 AM First off, mix it up a little bit. Encourage one of your secondary combatatants to swap out for a polearm, as they'll have reach and be able to back up their front-line buddies when they aren't buffing with spells. This works great for sorcerers, wizards, and weaker clerics.

Flanking IS YOUR FRIEND!! I can't specify how nice it is to have a +2 to attack. Get your rogue in there to sneak attack. That's paramount. At 13th level he's doing what, +5d6 on a successful sneak attack? Hoo boy!

Have your characters team up on foes. Split them into say, 2 teams of 4, with a spellcaster, main combatant, secondary combatatant, and someone else ganging up to kill the enemy as fast as possible. Then, move onto the next. However, don't keep the groups too far away from each other, as it'll be hard to get back and save the other one if they're getting whomped on.
Quijenoth
01-19-05, 09:06 AM Check out the Complete Warrior section on Tactics and Fighting styles

Maximise your defence: With so many weapon/shield combatants you might find it worthwhile taking on a shield wall type of fighting style. Get the 2 handed hammer weilders to change to polearms and upgrade to tower shields in the front rank. this way you protect the weaker ACs in the party and increase your own staying power.

Increase DPS: The problem with so many defensive fighters is the lack of fast killing in this group - you have no arcane spellcaster so you would do well to find ways of increasing your damage capability...
convince the barbarian to switch to either a huge damage 2 hander or (if his dex is sufficient) change to duel weilding.
Consider yourself as the front rank fighter. convert your style to reflect the amount of damage you can soak up. tower shield, heavy armor and fight defensively.
tell the invisible blade to get in close more - his sneak attack damage needs to be maximised and the bleeding ability though nice should only be saved for fights against one tough target.
Dwarven fighters are great for using special combat actions - their stability bonus makes them less prone to backfires. So get the dwarf to set up trip attempts (consider halberd instead of 2 handed hammer) have the cleric of sune and the bard hold actions until the dwarf succeeds, when the trip suceeds have them rush in and beat on a prone target :)

Additional observations: The ranger is your strong ranged combatant but because the rest of the group seems pretty much close up hes probably firing into melee all the time. Use the ranger to deal with spellcasters. have him hold his actions and use his bowfire to interrupt enemy spellcasters.
If the cleric of sune is very gung ho and always finds himself up with the fighters get him to consider using spells that will aid the rogue to sneak attack rather than powering himself and the fighters.
Nyferto
01-19-05, 09:55 AM You deffinately need someone who can do large amounts of damage suddenly. Depending on what your Clerics do, they may be able to step into that fold, but at this stage it might be difficult.

Why are your Warhammer uses not using a 2-handed weapon rather than a 1-handed weapon 2handed?
Rulebook
01-19-05, 03:22 PM opening round: have anybody who scored high inits hold until the clerics and bards can do buff spells, then have them advance like madmen and press on

nextround, while they're closing, have the clerics blast away with heavy damage area effect spells, or even try to section off the battlefield with things like blade barrier. 5 of something is a lot easer to fight than 15 after all.

when everybody closes in, send the clerics forward, begin bard songs and have the fighters spend a round of defensive actions (unless you know you can take em, or sure they're gonna smash you) to gauge the strength of the enemy.

have your rogue tumble through to flank, maybe along witht he barbarian for support on the other side. failing that, make use of the feinting ablities of the invisible blade class.

your battlecleric might object to these tactics until he notices he's got an extra round of buffs on him. ;)

then proceed to beat the living daylights out of them, repositioning as needed and fleeing if you dont know how to play a group with a pair of clerics and a bard in it.
Hunter the Archer
01-19-05, 05:12 PM Your party's biggest problem is lack of a dedicated arcane spell caster. Our group had a make up similar to your party's and we got toasted regularly until we got a wizard in the party. D&D is designed to make use of complimentary skills of different classes. Your party is definitely fighter and cleric heavy. It would be like a modern army trying to go into battle without air support. (Ask the Iraqis how that worked for them.)

When a battle goes well for our party it generally goes something like this. Our fighters with the help of the cleric engage the enemy in melee, forcing the opponent into static combat while the archer and wizard and rogue maneuver to attack for best effect. The wizard generally brings the heavy artillery.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
GaffeR 01-19-05, 12:47 AM	Hey there, I'm just wonderin if anyone out there has some effective combat tips/tricks/tactics for myself and gaming group. Our party (at the moment) consists of 14th lvl Paladin (me) : Sword n Shield 13th lvl Cleric of Sune, battlecleric type : Warhammer (2 handed) 13th lvl Cleric of Helm : Weapon/shield Barbarian 10/Fighter 2 : weapon/shiedl 12th lvl Archery Ranger : bow.. duh 12th lvl Bard :uh... flute? maybe a sword.. not too sure 12th lvl Dwarven Fighter : warhammer (2 handed) 13th lvl Halfling rogue/invisible blade : daggers, usually thrown in rapid succession We seem to get worked by encounters that we should have no problem with. We aren't underfunded, I think it comes down to poor planning and tactics. Any help you guys/gals could give would be fantastic. Thanks :D
Draco Strang 01-19-05, 12:55 AM	First off, mix it up a little bit. Encourage one of your secondary combatatants to swap out for a polearm, as they'll have reach and be able to back up their front-line buddies when they aren't buffing with spells. This works great for sorcerers, wizards, and weaker clerics. Flanking IS YOUR FRIEND!! I can't specify how nice it is to have a +2 to attack. Get your rogue in there to sneak attack. That's paramount. At 13th level he's doing what, +5d6 on a successful sneak attack? Hoo boy! Have your characters team up on foes. Split them into say, 2 teams of 4, with a spellcaster, main combatant, secondary combatatant, and someone else ganging up to kill the enemy as fast as possible. Then, move onto the next. However, don't keep the groups too far away from each other, as it'll be hard to get back and save the other one if they're getting whomped on.
Quijenoth 01-19-05, 09:06 AM	Check out the Complete Warrior section on Tactics and Fighting styles Maximise your defence: With so many weapon/shield combatants you might find it worthwhile taking on a shield wall type of fighting style. Get the 2 handed hammer weilders to change to polearms and upgrade to tower shields in the front rank. this way you protect the weaker ACs in the party and increase your own staying power. Increase DPS: The problem with so many defensive fighters is the lack of fast killing in this group - you have no arcane spellcaster so you would do well to find ways of increasing your damage capability... convince the barbarian to switch to either a huge damage 2 hander or (if his dex is sufficient) change to duel weilding. Consider yourself as the front rank fighter. convert your style to reflect the amount of damage you can soak up. tower shield, heavy armor and fight defensively. tell the invisible blade to get in close more - his sneak attack damage needs to be maximised and the bleeding ability though nice should only be saved for fights against one tough target. Dwarven fighters are great for using special combat actions - their stability bonus makes them less prone to backfires. So get the dwarf to set up trip attempts (consider halberd instead of 2 handed hammer) have the cleric of sune and the bard hold actions until the dwarf succeeds, when the trip suceeds have them rush in and beat on a prone target :) Additional observations: The ranger is your strong ranged combatant but because the rest of the group seems pretty much close up hes probably firing into melee all the time. Use the ranger to deal with spellcasters. have him hold his actions and use his bowfire to interrupt enemy spellcasters. If the cleric of sune is very gung ho and always finds himself up with the fighters get him to consider using spells that will aid the rogue to sneak attack rather than powering himself and the fighters.
Nyferto 01-19-05, 09:55 AM	You deffinately need someone who can do large amounts of damage suddenly. Depending on what your Clerics do, they may be able to step into that fold, but at this stage it might be difficult. Why are your Warhammer uses not using a 2-handed weapon rather than a 1-handed weapon 2handed?
Rulebook 01-19-05, 03:22 PM	opening round: have anybody who scored high inits hold until the clerics and bards can do buff spells, then have them advance like madmen and press on nextround, while they're closing, have the clerics blast away with heavy damage area effect spells, or even try to section off the battlefield with things like blade barrier. 5 of something is a lot easer to fight than 15 after all. when everybody closes in, send the clerics forward, begin bard songs and have the fighters spend a round of defensive actions (unless you know you can take em, or sure they're gonna smash you) to gauge the strength of the enemy. have your rogue tumble through to flank, maybe along witht he barbarian for support on the other side. failing that, make use of the feinting ablities of the invisible blade class. your battlecleric might object to these tactics until he notices he's got an extra round of buffs on him. ;) then proceed to beat the living daylights out of them, repositioning as needed and fleeing if you dont know how to play a group with a pair of clerics and a bard in it.
Hunter the Archer 01-19-05, 05:12 PM	Your party's biggest problem is lack of a dedicated arcane spell caster. Our group had a make up similar to your party's and we got toasted regularly until we got a wizard in the party. D&D is designed to make use of complimentary skills of different classes. Your party is definitely fighter and cleric heavy. It would be like a modern army trying to go into battle without air support. (Ask the Iraqis how that worked for them.) When a battle goes well for our party it generally goes something like this. Our fighters with the help of the cleric engage the enemy in melee, forcing the opponent into static combat while the archer and wizard and rogue maneuver to attack for best effect. The wizard generally brings the heavy artillery.