Post/Author/DateTime	Post
snakeman830 02-07-07, 08:06 PM	I know this seems like a simple subject, but if you really think about how you like running your combat, you will realize that you do have specific strategies. Mine was with a minotaur barbarian who liked to sunder limbs from his opponents.
trapspringer 02-07-07, 10:27 PM	That's technically impossible unless all his opponents were giant squids.
Paneki 02-07-07, 10:44 PM	Tiny or smaller opponents with rods of fireball, wands or any other magic item. No clear way to beat them, and thus to their size, the party melee combatant was having a lot of trouble. Then, I (the rogue) came next to them and I say: "I'm gonna attempt a grapple Check" My DM didn't even want to roll. He knew he had no way out (as long as I didn't get a nat 1) and, a couple of rounds later the party ended up having rods of Fireball :) The answer is always there, as long as we dare to look at it. Thats what I've learned :)
Grognor 02-07-07, 11:37 PM	It all depends on the character :D My cleric tends to chuck his mace at the foe before closing in with a spiked gauntlet, healing as necessary.
ZolDarklock 02-08-07, 01:16 AM	so far i seen no real strategies given... I always look to take the high ground, the more natural cover the better, like to deal as much ranged damaged as possible before enemy closes, try to use obstacles, high ground and such to make the enemy fight with as much a hinderance as possible, I wont hesitate foer a second to disengage in combat if I can do so safely and go heal, rest, and/or requip /reload up and then re-engage enemy, preferable in an ambush, also like to use superior speed if I have it to attack and back away from enemy trying to do as much ranged damaged as possible until forced to engaged in a more favorable battle for the enemy, if enemy has superior ranged attacks, then I use cover and high ground to get enemy to come to me up close... I just use whatever advantage the terraine, enviroment, and situation allows for to the best of my ability, if the battle layout looks unfavorable I have no problem retreating and waiting or engineering a better more favorable battlefield
DarkRhystar 02-08-07, 01:29 AM	One of the most unique strategies I've seen went along the lines of... So the PCs are on the other side of a door from the enemies and they knock on the door to call the enemies over. PC A: I ready an action to stab the next person who opens this door. PC B: I ready an action to shut the door after PC A stabs someone. PC C: I delay my action until after PC B shuts the door then ready my action to shut the door. I figured, "Oh that's clever, I'll let it work a couple times then have the enemies bust down the door." Sure enough, once the PCs see the door starting to splinter one of them just had to say... PC C: Fall back to the last door! D'oh!
Gamili 02-08-07, 01:53 AM	That's great and dandy except for it's impossible by standard rules. First, you can't ready an action while not in combat so the whole ready an action to stab the first thing that comes through the door is moot. That's what initiative is. Furthermore, I don't see how you can shut the door when an enemy has already walked through the door to get stabbed. Even if you do allow this, it should only take you a few tries to realize you can either sunder the door open or simply open it without going through. If they get reach weapons to counter-act that, you can always have the monsters use Mage Hand or something to work in the same effect.
Keiichi_m 02-08-07, 03:29 AM	I had a wolf man who liked to tear the spines out of his opponents, he has to date a shocker lizard, a megaraptors a blue dragons and a gargantuan Behir, the last one he retreaved after it was dead. It was usually an attack roll followed by an opposed STR check and then a second STR roll DC silly. More checks for more difficult situations. for the blue dragon I took one turn to climb on his back and claw his neck (opening a hole) the second round was Balance roll (to stay on the dragon) Attack roll opposed STR check, STR Check, a balance check to run up his neck holding the spine a jump check to leap off his head and bring the spine with me. Made all the checks with 3 20's, DM wouldn't have believed me if he hadn't watched me roll every one of them.
DarkRhystar 02-08-07, 03:42 AM	First, you can't ready an action while not in combat so the whole ready an action to stab the first thing that comes through the door is moot. That's what initiative is. 1) There is nothing in the PHB/DMG that says you cannot ready an action outside of combat. Furthermore, I don't see how you can shut the door when an enemy has already walked through the door to get stabbed. 2) You've obviously never dealt with a door-to-door salesman. Even if you do allow this, it should only take you a few tries to realize you can either sunder the door open or simply open it without going through. If they get reach weapons to counter-act that, you can always have the monsters use Mage Hand or something to work in the same effect. 3) Because enemies are always carrying the right weapons and spells for the situation... That's great and dandy except for it's impossible by standard rules. And even if I accepted your point as fact, it would mean...? I'm one of those silly folks who believe that the rules of D&D are meant to facilitate a fun game and that bending them to make the game a little more fun will not bring about doomsday.
J_Riley 02-08-07, 09:08 AM	1) There is nothing in the PHB/DMG that says you cannot ready an action outside of combat. How about the fact that the Ready action is talked about in the COMBAT section of the PHB under the huge heading SPECIAL INITIATIVE ACTIONS....
snakeman830 02-08-07, 05:19 PM	Of course you can sunder limbs. Never in any rulebook does it say you cannot. It just gives you specific stats for tentacle-like appendages. Treat it just like you would a normal sunder attempt. The hit points are 1/10th the creature's total (or the DM assigns an amount). If you cause enough damage, the limb is now useless. If you used a slashing weapon, by useless, I mean lying on the floor with blood streaming from the stump and the target is in absolute agony.
Leo 02-08-07, 06:59 PM	Hmm, how being at absolute agony affects your character? Anyway, favorite strategy is pretty simple. Half the party throws everything at hand against the enemy whil the other half charges into melee. Heal as necessary. Fallen comrades are to be dragged to the back lines and healed. Please don't go in the middle of the enemy forces so the casters can blast at will.
Siduakal 02-08-07, 07:27 PM	Best fight we had with a strategy that just owned I remember was this. Party: Psion, two Assassins, Ninja, Fighter, Sorcerer/Rogue, and a Ranger. Set up: We were clearing a town of a DMs custom monster that had a disease that if you got infected and weren't cured within so many hours, it was uncurable. The disease would turn you into these things (A heinous template). So I, the Psion, had devised a plan to look through doors with my third eye and see what was on the other side of them. We had fought one -really- nasty one before, and I saw atleast 3 in a room. They were all set up around the door waiting to ambush us. At that point, I came up with the idea to disintigrate a chunk of wall (I had Knowledge Architecture/Engineering. So the DM let me roll to determine a spot that wouldn't cause the building to collapse.), then another.. then another. So soon the room was wide open for viewing and we were volleying our shots into the room (as I went through the wall chunks one a round, they fired arrows and such). When we engaged in melee, we'd already weakened them a great deal from ranged attacks.
Hack and Smasher 02-08-07, 08:03 PM	Throwing bags of spices at things it one of the more intresting "tactics" that have being employed on numerous occasions. Sure theres no actul rules for it goddam its hilarious to do on beholders. Oh, hit it til dies, then burn the bodies proably doesn't count.
jacobi289 02-08-07, 08:10 PM	In one campaign I played in, all the players decided to make high dex characters with combat reflexes. All except one - I made a bull rush character. They'd all gang up on one enemy while I held off for a round. Then I'd charge. Needless to say, the rounds that I pushed an enemy multiple spaces were the rounds that they got the **** AoO'd out of them.
Dei 02-08-07, 09:01 PM	1 grappling monk: Rushes the spellcaster and knocks them flat. 1 spiked chain wielding Fighter with Combat Reflexes: Wades in and crowd controls/trips/disarms their melee 1 ranger/shadowdancer sniper: Yeah, about that surprise attack you were planning, don't bother, he was leaning over your shoulder while you planned it and is now perched on that high-ground above you with a seeking bow and a lot of alchemists fire. 1 cleric with divine metamagic: Sudden Maximised Inflict Wounds spells on tripped/grappled opponents anyone? It's a wilderness campaign so the lack of a lock/trapsmith doesn't hurt us too badly and against "normal" opponents this combo has yet to prove anything but utterly lethal.
Azerian 02-08-07, 09:53 PM	1. Wizard (cause who wants to play a sorcy?): Evards Black tentacles+ Incindiary cloud :whatsthis: (its how I kill the mice in my house, as well as any goblins that might be hanging around from that party last night....who invited those guys anyway ) :detect:
NerdNumber1 02-08-07, 10:06 PM	"I prepared explosive runes this morning" -oots recuring joke
LordQuazk 02-08-07, 11:16 PM	Favorite tactic? Depends on the foe. Against Nobles... Rogues use disguise to make us look diplomat-y, one forgeries the seal of a foreign nation, so we have a "treaty" to bring Fighters dress up pretty and get ready to fight. Wizard casts explosive runes on the treaty. Halfling rogue hides in a bag of holding, held by the cleric. Main target gets Rune'd, cleric takes the first turn to throw the halfling at someone (since they don't need to heal yet), and everyone else starts brawling. It's all about how you set up your ambush. :)
Serrin 02-08-07, 11:24 PM	I think most things in D&D are going to be resolved with tactics, not stratgey... That having been said, I'm a huge believer in Solid Fog + Freedom of Movement.
Black Kitten 02-09-07, 03:54 AM	My group has 3 parts to kill any opposition: 1 - Investing in Knowledge (about everything) so they can succesfully identify the opponent. 2 - Look at the amount of damage opponents do and their relative strength. 3 - Bring down the hurt! In other words, find out what you are facing, then kill it as effectively as they can, using any advantage they can get. This has included tossing people into ravenes, dispelling buffs, tripping, disarming, sundering weapons, flanking, grappling, totally depending on the situation. Best example: Large group of opponents, spread out in a room, no abilities would be able to damage them all as far as I had seen in advance (I planned this). So the Warlock looks at the Psion, 'teleport'(Not sure what spell it was, but it used not action from the Psion) the Psion in who proceeds to totally buff an area of effect spell that she could do, doing 70 damage to all creatures in a 40ft. area (including the warlock), killing all (rather tough) opponents in one sweep. The Druid runs in an uses a kind of instance Rez-spell (from the Spell Compendium, I believe). Deadly encounter for the warlock (failing ref-saves is bad), but overall I counted for something like 500 dmg done by the Psion in total. The Drow who was flying above them didn't like the dispel of his fly spell. *splat*
Takoda 02-12-07, 01:18 AM	Tactics always depend on the situation. Some basic principles the group I game with would go by: - Ambush when you can... if you're hunting a bandit group or a tribe of orcs, best to fight on your terms - Use terrain/setting to your advantage... get thee behind a tree!! Take the high ground when possible, get around a corner if you can strike with missile weapons - Keep your casters in the middle of the marching order, and in back during combat... let them cast around and overhead, but keep the danger off a them as they're there to back up the fighters and take out the big threats most the time at higher levels - Target enemy casters first... hit 'em with a dispell magic if you can to hopefully blow any buffs, then start in with spells that preferrably offer no save or spell resistances (there aren't a lot, but some)... send in Monks with their high saves to distract/engage/knock the frack out the enemy caster... cast any number of spells to distract/damage/disrupt what the opposing mages are up to... rogues can sneak attack... point is, these casters are generally the biggest threat either by dealing lots of damage or buffing/healing their own comrades... take them out, and the rest of the party's magic is limited... - Have ways to comunicate silently... Rary's Telepathic Bond is good at 5th level... you can always learn the Drow Handspeak... or approach your dm about a silent hand sign language that your party can create to comunicate basic ideas while adventuring... pay the usual cost for a language skill - Coordinate your casters with your fighters... take advantage of available buffs for the melee gang, casters will support the melee effort when any/all magical threats are dealt with... know a basic strategy ahead of time of who goes after what, like a check-down list for any situation, makes for less confusion in combat - Don't cast Fireball in an area that will hurt your own party... yeah, it happens, again, coordinate enough to not do that - Recon... try to get as much info about the fight you're getting into, discuss a strategy if you can... if you know there are 5 orcs behind the door, but they don't know you're there, you certainly have the advantage. - Marching order... as touched upon earlier... Rogue/Scout/Ranger up front to check for traps or follow tracks/trails... depends on what your party has or needs... fighters next (save some for rear too), then casters, then more fighters to shore up the rear... possibly ranger dead last to cover tracks and make sure you're not being followed. Keep your casters in the middle to keep them safe... the fighters in the rear should be mainly archer types and will step up protect the casters should danger rise from the front of the line. - Make use of your utility spells... cast light on a stick to use as a torch... or a pebble to throw into a darkened room/chamber/pit... mage hand to pull levers, open/close to open/close doors/lids... ghost sounds to make your party sound much larger in those dark tunnels, or to throw off where the enemy thinks the attack is coming from... create food n water on the road when adventuring... rope trick to sleep safely every night... - For Casters: Slow is a great spell when facing larger numbers... so are Web and Grease... battlefield control is a beautiful thing... walls of whatever, stone to mud/mud to stone, etc... - Know when its best to avoid the combat... if the trigger for those 5 Iron Golems is to step foot in the room, then cast Fly on the group and glide on through unharmed (or have the rogues hook up a rope to shimmy across on) I once had a VoP monk with a high enough con and endurance that he'd basically go into combat fully defensive and draw about 4 enemies who'd either get picked off by other party members or tire themselves out to the point I could subdue them easily. Now I'm a sorc, so most of my strategy is based on what to cast and when... still working it all out... but for the most part there are the spells I cast in the morning that last half a day or longer, then there is the list of actions/spells I cast when I have time to buff before an encounter vs. the list of actions/spells I go to when I get jacked and am caught unprepared. Also a lot depends on who I'm facing... if I know there is a big bad evil mage on the other team, Prot v Evil for all my buddies!! If it seems to be an overwhelming force of bandits then its Q'd Shield and Greater Invis on my first turn (if not earlier as a buff) then ways to give advantage to our group through battlefield control tactics: slow, grease, web... either way its often 2nd or 3rd round before I'm really focusing on my first offensive action... with my party thats okay... we're 1 assassin, 1 rogue, 1 rogue/shadow-illusionist, 1 cleric (built as a tank, but we needed the healing), 1 sorc (with 1 dedicated barb/ranger bodyguard). We don't look to rush into anything if we can help it ;)
Drag0nUL 02-12-07, 04:58 AM	1. Know your enemy. Find out what it plans, it's strengths and weaknesses. that's what divination school is for. 2. Never do what the enemy expects you to do, but exactly the opposite if it is feasible. For example: the most common battle line setup is fighters at the front and archers/casters further back. Fighters are put in the first line to take damage. So focusing your firepower on them is doing just what the opposition wants you to. Instead just keep them at bay and focus on eliminating their support forces(rogues in hiding or monks with high speed and tumble or later dimension door on your heavy hitters will do). But always remember the enmy can do the same. 3. Never underestimate your enemy. Even if most orcs/goblins/etc are plain dumb, today you might meet an exception. 4. Be flexible.
kelvinaw273 02-12-07, 03:46 PM	I tend to use my monk as the party mobile reserve - go to where needed and keep the foe busy. It works very well, especially as with Tumble getting through the ranks of minions and keeping the BBEG busy let's the party tanks and casters clear the battle field in double-quick time. Of course I can be half dead by the time they turn up, but the battle for the BBEG is pretty much a foregon conclusion at that point.
Jo_Pistachio 02-12-07, 04:11 PM	Mine is to use a warlock that uses chilling tentacles, nightmares made real, then nauseating blast. Then the enemy is entangled, grappled and nauseous. Then I level drain them. :D
Pandaemoni 02-12-07, 05:47 PM	Of course you can sunder limbs. Never in any rulebook does it say you cannot. It just gives you specific stats for tentacle-like appendages. Treat it just like you would a normal sunder attempt. The hit points are 1/10th the creature's total (or the DM assigns an amount). If you cause enough damage, the limb is now useless. If you used a slashing weapon, by useless, I mean lying on the floor with blood streaming from the stump and the target is in absolute agony. That's a houserule, then, I'm afraid. The rules on sundering expressly say that you can attack a weapon or shield or a worn or carried object...nothing about limbs, not even natural weapons. (You also can't sunder armor that is being worn). If you can sunder limbs, why not just "sunder head" for the insta-win? Why wouldn't every enemy sunder your limbs/head?
kelvinaw273 02-12-07, 07:11 PM	Of course you can sunder limbs. Never in any rulebook does it say you cannot. It just gives you specific stats for tentacle-like appendages. Treat it just like you would a normal sunder attempt. The hit points are 1/10th the creature's total (or the DM assigns an amount). If you cause enough damage, the limb is now useless. If you used a slashing weapon, by useless, I mean lying on the floor with blood streaming from the stump and the target is in absolute agony. Ah ... the classic Munchkin argument of "nowhere in the rules does it say that I cannot do this!" I must point out that nowhere in the rules does it say you CAN do it either (except in specific monster descriptions - look up human, is it there? no? too bad!), and that if something so basic was intended to happen there would most certainly be rules for it. They even removed from 3.x the old Sword of Sharpness which could sever limbs on a critical (why they kept the Vorpal Blade I am not sure), so it is clear to me this was not intended. But when has that ever stopped a Munchkin?
trapspringer 02-12-07, 09:00 PM	I was just gunna' let his comment die, but since you brought it up: It deosn't say anywhere that I can't kill the bad guys by picking up a folding chair and bashing their mini's to little pieces, but guess what? Also, sunder lists specifically what you can and cannot target. These things are all inanimate objects. Also, that it specifically states a squids limbs can be sundered suggests that limbs otherwise cannot. Also, haven't you seen all those threads about "no called shots."
Salla 02-12-07, 10:22 PM	A friend of mine and I put together a nasty team-up one time ... a Warblade with White Raven Strike (which renders the foe flat-footed) teamed up with a Catfolk Rogue/Nightsong Enforcer with Catfolk Pounce and Two Weapon Fighting (which lets you full attack when charging a flatfooted opponent). Every other round ... THWAM! *pounceSTABSTABSTAB*
Light_Colonel 02-13-07, 02:04 AM	Most of the basic stuff has been summed up pretty well already. As for specific stuff, I had a sorcerer who's only 7th level spell was Reverse Gravity. Good times. I would Reverse Gravity, then Ready an action for when they were within LOS again (we did a lot of fighting outdoors) to cast Fireball on their way down. Alternately, if they made their Refex save for RG, they would be "hanging on" to the grass and trying not to fall upward... so they weren't getting their Reflex saves on the fireballs....
Yokomohoyo 02-13-07, 04:42 AM	If its alive and walking: Hypnotic patter, greese, mass charm monster If its dead and walking: Incederary slime and a torch If its flying: Earth bind, binding winds, solid fog If its in water: Ball lighting, lighting bolt or any other electic spell I got handy. If its immune to my elemental damage (not much sine I tend to make crowd controllers): I'll charm, dominate, suggest it, wall it in, force cage it... If its immune to magic: Well what are the melee's good for? Cats grace, Bulls Str, haste what ever is needed for my team to win.
FrostWolf 02-13-07, 09:47 AM	When I used to play a Fighter, I'd Find ways around needing the craft:Alchemy skill. Used home made moltovs all the time with a tripping weapon.
Pandaemoni 02-13-07, 05:30 PM	For dealing with a BBEG armed with some super-weapon, I still like to use the fighter to disarm the guy, followed up by a casting of Grease on the weapon. Once the BBEG drops the weapon, it's unattended, so no longer gets a saving throw. When (if) the BBEG picked it back up, he has to make a save every round or drop it again.
fullmetal80110 02-14-07, 02:18 AM	I've got a fun strategy (with my elf warlock), hide behind the other mages and blast for alot of damage :D
snakeman830 02-14-07, 08:56 AM	If you couldn't sunder limbs, then why in creature descriptions (specifically those with regeneration) does it state how long it takes to regrow lost limbs and re-attaching them. Surely this is never an issue with the tarrasque since no DM in their right mind would allow a tarrasque PC, so it must come down to combat. The only way to lose limbs there is by having them chopped off (sundered). with that said, D&D is meant to be a game with freedoms built in. The rules don't say you can raise your hand, but you can do it anyway. If, as you are suggesting, the RAW define everything you CAN do, then it is, in reality, a very limiting game. Go play tic-tac-toe where every possible game has already been mapped out if you like stuff like that. if this really is the case, then Wizards can take it and shove it up their :censored: :censored: . However, if the RAW simply say SOME of the things you can do and ALL of the things you CAN'T do (plus what the DM says), then the game allows much more, becoming the game we all know and some of us love.
trapspringer 02-14-07, 01:07 PM	If you couldn't sunder limbs, then why in creature descriptions (specifically those with regeneration) does it state how long it takes to regrow lost limbs and re-attaching them. Surely this is never an issue with the tarrasque since no DM in their right mind would allow a tarrasque PC, so it must come down to combat. The only way to lose limbs there is by having them chopped off (sundered). Umm, no? The only way to lose limbs is to have them sundered? So every person walking around on the planet Earth with crutches or a prosthetic hand had 'is limb chopped off by a 6'2" barbarian with a great axe? Those rules exist becuase there are "some times when you will have to deal damage to a specific body part" to quote the DMG. Sundering a limb is a called shot, there are no called shots. Rules for regenerating limbs are for when the player sticks his hand in a sphere of annhilation or, out of combat, dips the bad guys arm in lava. Those rules are there to handle situations the develope (or devolve, I'm not sure) through role play or the DMs description of things. At any rate: My favorite tactic has become grapple, especially at low levels. A cleric and a sorcerer hit me with enlarge and bull's strength, which usually push my grapple mod up over 25 at level five. Then I grapple what ever we are fighting and the rogue runs in an stabs away 'till it dies. This really kinda' negates low to mid level casters who don't prepare some escape-y spells, and grappling a dragon is just hilarious.
snakeman830 02-15-07, 04:17 PM	Umm, no? The only way to lose limbs is to have them sundered? So every person walking around on the planet Earth with crutches or a prosthetic hand had 'is limb chopped off by a 6'2" barbarian with a great axe? No. I was referring to those creatures. When an ogre mage, for example, loses an arm, it is almost always grown back in time for a fight, regardless of how long it is. Therefore, the time involved must have a realtion to combat. Therefore, having it cut off. Also, if you touch a sphere of annihaltion, you are completely dragged in, not just your arm.
Limousine_Liberal 02-15-07, 04:42 PM	If you couldn't sunder limbs, then why in creature descriptions (specifically those with regeneration) does it state how long it takes to regrow lost limbs and re-attaching them. Surely this is never an issue with the tarrasque since no DM in their right mind would allow a tarrasque PC, so it must come down to combat. The only way to lose limbs there is by having them chopped off (sundered). Actually the bit about trolls reattaching limbs has been around since at least 1st edition (when there were magic items that could sever limbs), so I think that's a holdover from prior versions. It was just incorporated into "regeneration" generally. Besides nothing says some DM won't reintroduce the Sword of Sharpness (since it's less powerful than a vorpal weapon). If sundering limbs were allowed, why would the descriptions of certain specific monsters (for example, hydras and krakens) mention that you can sunder their limbs. Those are clearly special rules for those specific monsters. As others have noted the "sundering" rules are specifically limited to objects and D&D (rather notoriously) has no generic rules on called shots. If you could sunder limbs, only an idiot would waste time with regular attacks, and Improved Sunder would be a must have feat. Actually, only an idiot would waste time sundering "limbs"...every attack would be "sunder head."
Downtym 02-15-07, 08:35 PM	2 words: Dynamic Entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_entry) Learn your small unit tactics.
NerdNumber1 02-15-07, 08:52 PM	Sundering an opponents arm is not in the rules, but the freedom of DMs to ad-hoc actions is what sets D&D above online RPGs. If a character says, "I'm going to rip that guy's arms off!" then the DM sets what he has to roll to accomplish that feat, whether it be 5 sequential natural 20s or a successful sunder check. Talk to your DM for their stand on the subject.
snakeman830 02-16-07, 10:04 PM	Okay, can we get off the subject of my one barbarian's strategy (even if you guys don't like it) Another strategy is simply hide and snipe. It drives the DM crazy to try and provide you with a challenge, yet still play within the rules. (It drives the monsters crazy too)
NerdNumber1 02-16-07, 10:14 PM	Hide & snipe is easy to counter. Just have a close quarters encounter against a creature with tremorsense/blindsense.
trapspringer 02-17-07, 03:20 AM	Yea, but by the time those abilities become available, counters also exist. I called BS on his last strategy because, well, it was BS. This one is a legitmate tactic which can be used to great effect against a variety of enemies (and even BS/TS if you are far enough away).
Elsydeon 02-19-07, 05:02 PM	Not blowing your initiative if you go first. First blood can be nice, but if you have experience with your enemy (or they're easy to read as x class) you can often cause a lot more trouble by reacting to their first moves via readied actions/delay than you could throwing off a spell or charging in before you know what the battlefield is going to look like.
ravenspawn 02-19-07, 07:38 PM	I've posted this tactic in another thread but here we go again... Place a Silence spell on a tanglefoot bag and chuck at enemy spellcaster. You only need a to hit "touch AC" so even a rogue could do it. It shuts them up and sticks them in place. I've used that tactic on my players' and they have used it against their enemies.
the_narrator 02-19-07, 08:03 PM	Mine would probably be to use a massive AoE (in the last game, it came via my character's sword with a built-in breath weapon) and rely on the Monk's/ my evasion. Kinda like Darwinism: if they fail the save, they deserve to be crispified. Not my fault the monk put a 12 into Dex...
Darkuwa 02-19-07, 08:07 PM	With my psion I'd usually just spend as many points as possible on a mind blast in the first round, then light my pipe and go sit in a corner.
freeholder 02-19-07, 08:11 PM	Bump
freeholder 02-19-07, 08:13 PM	I summon prismatic walls everywhere Then I summun Iron walls Then Flaming walls Then me,the cleric and the psion teleport away while the rouge sets traps. Attack rolls are rare
Zoycitenega 02-19-07, 09:17 PM	W/Rogue/Ninja/anything w/sneak attack - feinting all the way. W/Sorcerer - Scorching Ray. W/Cleric/Fighter team - Cleric first casts Imbue w/spell like ability on the fighter, granting Ebon Eyes and Enlarge Person(out of battle), then casts darkness on the enemies, then casts ebon eyes on himself. Then stays by the fighter to heal him. Meanwhile, fighter casts ebon eyes on himself, and then goes in to kill the party.
tiercel 02-19-07, 09:46 PM	I've posted this tactic in another thread but here we go again... Place a Silence spell on a tanglefoot bag and chuck at enemy spellcaster. You only need a to hit "touch AC" so even a rogue could do it. It shuts them up and sticks them in place. I've used that tactic on my players' and they have used it against their enemies.Yeah, this one is classic and awesome. My favorite battlefield tactics tend to the lines of battlefield-control. With the right spells, you can literally reshape the battlefield (e.g. wall spells), cut off lines of sight (walls again, or fog), distract your enemy (summons, illusions), debuff them, and slow/stop their movement. A classic combo type is multiple "shut down" spells or effects hitting a single group of foes (tanglefoot bags, grease, glitterdust, web, stinking cloud, slow, spike growth/spike stones, Evard's black tentacles, solid fog etc.) followed up by ranged and/or AoE attacks. Sure, you can make a wizard or other spellcaster that does damage, even in big gobs. But other characters can do damage -- let the fighter do what he's good at. Instead of trying to outdamage your damage-dealer class, work with him -- deny your enemy his ability to concentrate and use his attacks on you, and let your hitters do what they do best. Though it has been mentioned the power of good advance intel is worth restating. Being the one doing the surprising, rather than being surprised, is a huge advantage at all levels -- from low levels, when combatants are relatively fragile compared to taking more than one hit in a round, to high levels, when high-end spells and effects concentrated on a single foe can one-round an unprepared opponent just as effectively. Additionally, especially at the mid and higher levels, the ability to take even a couple rounds before a combat and "buff up" appropriately can be a huge difference. If every combat round is a round you spend attacking the enemy and/or his ability to counterattack you, you're way ahead of where you'd be burning precious combat actions responding to enemy attacks with buffs and heals. Most combats in D&D in my experience last only a relatively short number of rounds, so number of actions is a precious resource. (Heck, that's why swift and immediate actions can be so powerful, and why 3.0 haste was a game-breaker.) Along these lines are the infamous "scry and die" techniques (scry on opponent, buff up, teleport in, ideally while your opponent is asleep/unaware/vulnerable, kill, proft), which thankfully have at least some counter-tech with anticipate teleportation. More generally though are the more divine kinds of divinations -- being able to ask a series of yes-no questions (commune) or for general advice (divination) at a relatively low cost can be a very valuable resource when you are in a particularly bad or confusing situation. At the more immediate tactical level, the ability to scout ahead stealthily, either by mundane means or by clairvoyance, wizard eye, prying eyes etc. allows for surprise and prebuffing as mentioned above. In addtion, the ability to go into combat with a general idea of a plan and *group* tactics can be invaluable. The difference between a party which works together well in its aims and one that consists of 4-5 PCs all taking totally individual actions on the fly can be the difference between an easy victory and a TPK.
Hoser 02-20-07, 11:22 AM	Roll 20's. Just roll 20's. Seriously though, I like to do things like tackle dire bats off cliffs (before King Kong came out) and anything else that require stat checks and divine intervention to survive.