Dead combatants as difficult terrain - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dead combatants as difficult terrain

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
bodyknock
May 30, 2010 21:19:48 A quick houserule we're giving a whirl is, instead of just removing dead monsters from the battlemap, we leave the corpse and treat the square as difficult terrain. Treating dead monsters as difficult terrain seems to work well in few ways:

- In terms of game mechanics it spices up the battlemaps as the fight progresses. It makes sure that every battle has changing terrain rather than static. This is turn encourages players and monsters to move around a bit to try and take advantage of the new difficult squares.

- Another nice effect is that it adds additional spice to killing minions. With this rule all those dead minions become difficult terrain as they're killed off, really changing the map quite a bit as the fight progresses. Being a fan of minions myself I kind of like this effect.

- Finally, from a realism standpoint, it seems pretty realistic to assume that a square with a corpse in it is difficult to step through. Common sense says moving on a square of dirt is harder to do when there's a dead corpse in the way.

The extra step of leaving the dead monster on the map doesn't significantly increase the workload for the DM or players, although if you're intimidated by maps with a lot of difficult terrain cluttering the area this houserule might not be for you.

Anyway I figured I'd share the houserule we're using since it seems to work pretty well. Not sure if any of you are using the same rule but if so, how's it be working for you?
#2
LFK
May 30, 2010 21:26:50 I've used this before. We didn't not enjoy it, but in general it's not something we do all the time, more as a matter of the board becoming somewhat difficult to play on one there's a ton of toppled minis all over the place.
#3
oldguygaming
May 30, 2010 22:57:57 We tried this back in 1e. When a monster died, we would remove the mini and place a bottecap in that hex. Fortunately, we all drank a lot back then so there were always lots of bottlecaps handy. They worked nicely, since the minis could stand on top of them.

This system worked out ok but no one was really excited about it so we dropped it.
#4
diggles
May 31, 2010 4:57:18
I've used this before. We didn't not enjoy it, but in general it's not something we do all the time, more as a matter of the board becoming somewhat difficult to play on one there's a ton of toppled minis all over the place.

why not lose the mini and just put an X in the square with wet-marker?
#5
bodyknock
May 31, 2010 12:56:10
I've used this before. We didn't not enjoy it, but in general it's not something we do all the time, more as a matter of the board becoming somewhat difficult to play on one there's a ton of toppled minis all over the place.

I should mention that we use Maptool on a highdef TV for our battlemap as opposed to physical minis. I can see where physical minis would get in the way. I guess a workaround if you're using actual minis might be to replace a dead monster with a small poker or piece of paper or, if you're using a laminated map, mark a slash in the square with erasable marker.
#6
tequila_sunrise
Jun 02, 2010 12:59:06 My group used pennies. Although like OGG's group, the rule didn't last long. I do miss that bit of realism though.
#7
fjw70
Jun 02, 2010 13:41:37 I may have to try this. This would be a good use of those monster counters that they are releasing later this year (I have some from the first basic set).
#8
evilvegan
Jun 05, 2010 9:23:49 How many would be blocking terrain, cover, etc?

HIDE BEHIND THE PILE OF BARDS!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 bodyknock May 30, 2010 21:19:48	A quick houserule we're giving a whirl is, instead of just removing dead monsters from the battlemap, we leave the corpse and treat the square as difficult terrain. Treating dead monsters as difficult terrain seems to work well in few ways: - In terms of game mechanics it spices up the battlemaps as the fight progresses. It makes sure that every battle has changing terrain rather than static. This is turn encourages players and monsters to move around a bit to try and take advantage of the new difficult squares. - Another nice effect is that it adds additional spice to killing minions. With this rule all those dead minions become difficult terrain as they're killed off, really changing the map quite a bit as the fight progresses. Being a fan of minions myself I kind of like this effect. - Finally, from a realism standpoint, it seems pretty realistic to assume that a square with a corpse in it is difficult to step through. Common sense says moving on a square of dirt is harder to do when there's a dead corpse in the way. The extra step of leaving the dead monster on the map doesn't significantly increase the workload for the DM or players, although if you're intimidated by maps with a lot of difficult terrain cluttering the area this houserule might not be for you. Anyway I figured I'd share the houserule we're using since it seems to work pretty well. Not sure if any of you are using the same rule but if so, how's it be working for you?
#2 LFK May 30, 2010 21:26:50	I've used this before. We didn't not enjoy it, but in general it's not something we do all the time, more as a matter of the board becoming somewhat difficult to play on one there's a ton of toppled minis all over the place.
#3 oldguygaming May 30, 2010 22:57:57	We tried this back in 1e. When a monster died, we would remove the mini and place a bottecap in that hex. Fortunately, we all drank a lot back then so there were always lots of bottlecaps handy. They worked nicely, since the minis could stand on top of them. This system worked out ok but no one was really excited about it so we dropped it.
#4 diggles May 31, 2010 4:57:18	I've used this before. We didn't not enjoy it, but in general it's not something we do all the time, more as a matter of the board becoming somewhat difficult to play on one there's a ton of toppled minis all over the place. why not lose the mini and just put an X in the square with wet-marker?
#5 bodyknock May 31, 2010 12:56:10	I've used this before. We didn't not enjoy it, but in general it's not something we do all the time, more as a matter of the board becoming somewhat difficult to play on one there's a ton of toppled minis all over the place. I should mention that we use Maptool on a highdef TV for our battlemap as opposed to physical minis. I can see where physical minis would get in the way. I guess a workaround if you're using actual minis might be to replace a dead monster with a small poker or piece of paper or, if you're using a laminated map, mark a slash in the square with erasable marker.
#6 tequila_sunrise Jun 02, 2010 12:59:06	My group used pennies. Although like OGG's group, the rule didn't last long. I do miss that bit of realism though.
#7 fjw70 Jun 02, 2010 13:41:37	I may have to try this. This would be a good use of those monster counters that they are releasing later this year (I have some from the first basic set).
#8 evilvegan Jun 05, 2010 9:23:49	How many would be blocking terrain, cover, etc? HIDE BEHIND THE PILE OF BARDS!