This article is designed to provide DMs with some options for making humanoid encounters more interesting and challenging for their players. Many of the tactics below assume that the players are up against more experienced and/or better equipped versions of standard humanoids. However many of these tactics can be applied even with totally standard humanoids such as goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears. Some minor equipment changes (different weapons, heavier armor, oil, caltrops, and tower shields) can give even standard humanoids a much greater range of options.
These tactics may greatly increase the difficulty of encounters, possibly to lethal levels, particularly against lower level characters. At mid levels (8+) humanoids are rarely a threat anymore, but with these tactics they can be again. DMs should be sure to adjust experience points upward to reflect the increased difficulty of the encounters.
This article is focused on using these tactics against a party of adventurers (as opposed to another military unit) with an emphasis on negating PC spellcasters so that close formations may be used with reduced risk of being decimated by a single area effect spell.
I should also note that this article is intended for use with the core rules and does not include, nor account for, options available in Complete Warrior, the Minature's Handbook, and other sources.
Anti-Spellcaster Tactics:
-Thunderstones (possibly hurled by slings at range): DC 15 fortitude save (not good for most casters) or deafened for 1 hour. -4 to initiative and 20% spell failure chance.
-Nets and Tanglefoot bags: Force a DC 15 Concentration check.
-Snipers: Have several archers or crossbowmen ready actions to fire upon spellcasters to force Concentration checks. Heavy Crossbows may be best for low strength snipers. Spellcasters may be substituted for archer/crossbowmen if available.
-Poison: use poisons which inflict wisdom or intelligence damage, or cause the victim to become unconscious or nauseated.
Archer Tactics:
-Use heavy armor to increase AC.
-Use cover to increase AC.
-Use feats to increase encounter distance (PBS and far shot)
-Use full cover and shoot once per round (stand from prone-MEA, fire- Standard action, drop prone again- free action). The archer can only be shot at by opponents using a ready action and still has a +4 cover bonus to AC.
-Set up cross fires so opponents must handle attacks from both sides and either split up or cover the distance between twice.
-Fire from elevated positions so that enemies must climb to reach you.
-Use poison arrows with a poison that inflicts Strength damage. Strength damage is less likely to reduce the effectiveness of the archers if they accidentally poison themselves.
Cavalry Tactics:
-Use lances and heavy armor.
-Use Ride cover checks to increase AC (free action, Ride DC 15, grants +4 cover bonus to rider)
-Use Spur Mount Ride check to add 10 to movement rate for 1 round (MEA, DC 15, 1 pt of damage to mount).
-Use feats to increase mobility and defense (Mounted combat and ride-by-attack)
-Use ride-by-attack and spurred mount to end your turn outside melee range of all opponents.
-Consider trample attacks instead of ride-by-attacks (if feasible) to hit multiple opponents.
-Use Worg/Dire wolf trip ability to make opponents prone especially when confronted with other enemies on foot.
-Use Dire bat's for air cavalry and aerial attacks. Same tactics apply but with greater mobility.
-Drag opponents behind mounts by using nets tied to their saddles:
House Rule: The mount charges past the target (this requires that the rider have the mounted combat and ride-by-attack feats). The rider nets the target (ranged touch attack, which provokes an AoO from the target). If the net attack is successful, the mount makes a free trip attack with a +2 bonus for the charge. If successfully tripped the target is dragged. If the trip fails the net rips loose and is ruined.
Each round on his turn the mount moves and makes an opposed grapple check against the target to drag him. Failure of the grapple check rips the net free and ruins it. If successful the mount moves at half speed (as though grappled) but may take two move actions. The target follows the exact path of the mount.
The rider can only direct the mount during this time, though he may also spur it to faster speeds (Ride Check DC 15).
The target takes 1d6 subdual damage per round on the mount's turn regardless of distance moved. Double this amount on rough ground and reduce it by half on soft ground. The mount must make a double move or no damage is inflicted. If the mount is spurred to higher speed it does 1 extra point per round.
If dragged through threatening squares the target provokes attacks of opportunity from enemies and allies alike. Allies may use this attack of opportunity to attack the net instead of their comrade (AC 10+ horse's dex modifier, +4 prone, +4 to avoid hitting comrade, 5 hit points).
The target has the following options for escape:
The target may escape the net normally (Escape Artist or Strength check as a full round action).
The target may make a second opposed grapple check on his turn (standard action) against the mount. If he wins the net is ripped free and ruined. If he wins by more than 5 points he also automatically unseats the rider from his mount.
The target may make an attack on the net with a light slashing weapon (standard action), but with all penalties for being entangled, grappled, and prone (total -10 to attack against AC 10 + horse's dex mod, the net has 5 hp).
Melee Tactics:
-Total Cover Shield Wall: place reach fighters behind full covered tower shield bearers. The shield bearers will have total cover and the spear wielders and their opponents will have +4 cover from each other, but will be able to attack over the shield wall. Also archers behind the wall may be invulnerable to melee attack.
-Armed Shield Wall: Reach fighters behind a tower shield equipped group of longsword/battleaxe wielders. Any approaching opponents will be subject to a multitude of attacks by heavily armored foes. Tower shield wielders still threaten to the sides and behind so they may take attacks on opportunity on foes who try to pass them by.
-Guisarmes: The second rank behind the shield wall may be armed with guisarmes allowing them to make trip attacks in front of the shield wall (possibly with combat expertise and improved trip feats if they are high enough level).
-Aid another/flanking: multiple weaker opponents with reach weapons can provide flanking and multiple aid another bonuses to stronger opponents (aid another is an unnamed bonus and so stacks with itself). This can allow allies with power attack a chance to do heavy damage. These same spear wielders can take advantage of attacks of opportunity provoked by their victims (particularly good against archers and spellcasters).
Mobility Reduction Tactics:
-Caltrops: The caltrops make a +0 attack which ignores armor, shield, and deflection AC on anyone who enters a square containing them. It does 1 pt of damage and halves movement until cured by magic or a DC 15 heal check. Shoes give a +2 armor bonus. Spot DC is 15 to notice pre-placed caltrops. Caltrops may be poisoned. Anyone may avoid caltrop damage by moving through them at half speed.
-Tanglefoot bags: ranged touch attack, -2 penalty to attacks, -4 penalty to dex, Reflex save DC 15 or rooted to floor, even with a successful save movement is halved. Concentration check DC 15 to be able to cast. Grows fragile and breaks off in 2d4 rounds. DC 17 Str check or 15 pts slashing damage frees target.
-Nets: requires Exotic Weapon Proficiency (net) or –4 non-proficiency penalty: ranged touch attack (10 ft range) -2 to attacks, -4 to dex, moves at half speed, no running or charging. If controlled by rope movement is limited to length of rope. DC 15 Concentration check to cast spells. DC 20 escape artist check or DC 25 strength check (full round actions) to escape.
-Shield Walls: rows of tower shield carriers are essentially portable walls. By taking total cover they are nearly immune to attack. The shields must be sundered or bull-rushed to penetrate the wall. Two flanking shield walls can trap opponents between them if terrain allows (such as in a hallway or alley).
-Splash weapons: once the opponent’s mobility is limited use splash weapons to damage as many of them as possible per attack. The total cover provided by a shield wall will block splash damage to shield bearers who are helping to pin them down.
General Strategies:
-Prepare the Battlefield: if possible place traps in the area before hand (pits, caltrops, oil slicks, etc.). Oil slicks can serve to make opponents easier to bull-rush or can be lit by flaming arrows to cause fire damage.
-Use Terrain: If natural terrain can aid you use it. Push foes off cliffs or into deep water (bull rush), attack from a cliff (requires them to climb and limits them to ranged attacks, allows you to drop rocks etc.), use underbrush to hide. Always seek cover for your ranged and reach combatants.
-Hit and Run: if your enemy is far from shelter and support, strike quickly, and depart. Try to use up their resources (spells, cures, ammo, etc.). Damage or steal their equipment and wear them out with repeated attacks. Attack frequently enough to prevent them from healing naturally and recovering spells.
-Spread Disease: cover weapons with infected filth to deliver filth fever with each attack. (Fortitude Save DC 12). Particularly effective if combined with hit and run attacks over the course of a couple of days.
-Use spells to your advantage (bless, obscuring mist, silence, darkness, etc.)
-Use Bard’s inspire courage ability (a single bard 1 can provide a +1 to attack, damage, and saves versus fear to all of your troops). A goblin war drummer is a good example of this kind of bard.
-Maximize your advantages: If you have darkvision attack at night. Seek to extinguish your opponents light sources.
Well, that's what I've got so far. A group of 12-16 well equipped humanoids using these tactics should be a challenge even for a party of 9th or 10th level characters. And they should provide an encounter they will never forget!
Feel free to add additional ideas or expand upon these if they spark a new idea.
Also I need to extend a big thanks to all the people on the Goblinoid Tactics thread who contributed to these ideas.
Thanks,
-Finarin
Melee Tactics:
- Attack from higher ground (a rock, table, slope...): Attacks from higher ground get +1 to melee attack rolls (PHB p. 151, Table 8-5)
Craith
I have an issue with this statement. Where does it say the total cover from a tower shield prevents bull-rushing?
It's my understanding that the cover provided by a tower shield is not normal, in the sense that it doesn't protect against touch attacks and the like. I believe bull rushing falls in the category of effects that a tower shield would not protect against, even though it does not involve a touch attack itself.
P.S. Although not technically humanoid, elevated skeleton archers can be very devastating. Armored skeleton longbow archers on a ruined keep, for example. If the ways up are guarded by melee weapon skeletons and the archers are spread out enough to prevent area effect spells, the difficulty can increase to "run like hell" levels.
However in the latest issue of Dragon magazine Skip Williams explains quite a bit about tower shields and he stated that you could bull-rush someone using a tower shield for total cover.
I'll edit that part of the article.
Shield Wall
Type: General
Source: Heroes of Battle
You are skilled in using shields when in formation with other shield-bearers.
Prerequisite: Shield Proficiency
Benefit: When you and an adjacent ally are each using a shield, your shield bonus to Armor Class increases by 2.
Normal: A fighter can select Shield Wall as one of his fighter bonus feats (see page 38 of the Player's Handbook).
In case you have to defend a site, this is (I think) a good way to do it, but it requires a good bit of time to prepare. This is good against a large invading force, but with modifications can be made to combat an adventuring party. Dig a long, wide, and deep ditch and fill it with water (a moat, essentially). On your side of the moat, use the dirt to build a berm at whatever height you prefer (see DMG, page 91-92), providing cover for your troops. Cover the pitch beyond the moat with fences; they don't provide decent cover yet they slow movement. Pepper them with arrow and siege weapon fire as they slowly make their way over the fences and swim across the moat (not easy in heavy armor). The invaders’ slowed speed over the berm will ease the archers’ retreat (which can be covered by a second line of archers). Have your first line retreat over another ditch, this one concealing your melee troops (kind of like how the swordsmen hid in The Last Samurai), ready to form a surprise Shield Wall when the invaders draw near, with “Reach” troops behind them and etc.
Here’s another scenario the party might face. A canyon with a unit of archers with lots of cover on either side, with a lower ridge running through the middle (very location specific, but can be replicated in an elaborate dungeon whose owner has a lot of cash). The party must make their way along the ridge, contending with archer fire from either side, no cover whatsoever. Cavalry on flying mounts will stand by to deal with any flying characters, and can also Bull Rush them off the edge of the ridge, making them fall to their death.
These last two are not applicable everywhere, but are examples of how to take advantage of your environment.
Ok, now general tactics and ideas.
A party with several casters (I DM one with a Cleric, Druid, and Kineticist) might be harder to deal with. Just make sure the snipers are targeting the casters properly, because most likely that Tower Shield Wall won't stand up to a Fireball. Maybe toss a caster into the formation with some Dispel Magic scrolls or wands. Have him cast Invisibility on himself beforehand, too.
Make sure the snipers (The Anti-Mage Unit, as I like to call them) make good use of their attacks. Give the lead sniper the Manyshot Feat (or to every Anti-Mage if they're high enough level). Have at least one Rogue in the mix who can Hide then Sneak Attack any mage who just WON'T fail a Concentration check. Depending on your resources, you could equip each archer with one or more magic arrows, for either extra damage or hit chance for when times get rough.
Or better yet, target the casters with Mounted Troops. Casters won't be on the front line; it should be easy to ride in from behind one unexpectedly, hit him with a net, drag him far away, and then drop the net so that some other foot soldiers can come out and swarm grapple him, or just poke their swords into the net. If that's not practical, a successful Spirited Charge can take a great chunk out of his low HP. Coordinate several Mounted Troops to charge him all at once, so you'll certainly take him down.
The guys holding the tower shields can be lightly armored. They won't have their speed reduced by heavy armor and can still get Total Cover.
Have all of your squad leaders (or everyone if it’s a small unit) in constant communication via a Whisper spell. (Mounted Soldier is about to charge the mage): "This is Red-5. I'm going in!" :D But in all seriousness, this is useful for changing tactics on the fly and coordinating strikes. Great, now I want to call the mounted unit Rogue Squadron. SO many Star Wars quotes come to mind.
I hope I was helpful.
You have some good ideas. Your shield wall ideas are similar to Greek Phalanxes. Check out Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" for a detailed description of the internal workings of a phalanx, probably the best ancient military formation, at least when employed by disciplined, well trained soldiers.
Not to start a debate, but while the phalanxes were powerful in Europe, it was the slow speed and lack of adaptability in this maneuver that won Genghis Khan much of the Eastern world. He'd ride up his horse archers, firing along the way, then turn tail before crashing into enemy spears, firing more bolts as his armies fled. Brutal yes, but you really have to marvel at the wonder of the Universal Leader.
Not to start a debate, but while the phalanxes were powerful in Europe, it was the slow speed and lack of adaptability in this maneuver that won Genghis Khan much of the Eastern world. He'd ride up his horse archers, firing along the way, then turn tail before crashing into enemy spears, firing more bolts as his armies fled. Brutal yes, but you really have to marvel at the wonder of the Universal Leader.
The Roman Phalanxes were a watered down version of Alexander’s Macedonian Phalanxes i.e. longer spears (much longer). After all, the Macedonian's defeated the Persians and their war elephants using the Phalanx and the Cavalry charge. Had they continued in this tradition they may have indeed killed Khan and his hordes.
The Roman Phalanxes were a watered down version of Alexander’s Macedonian Phalanxes i.e. longer spears (much longer). After all, the Macedonian's defeated the Persians and their war elephants using the Phalanx and the Cavalry charge. Had they continued in this tradition they may have indeed killed Khan and his hordes.
But if the only variable between the Roman and Macedonian phalanx was in spear length, I'd still rule the battle in favor of the Khan. All the spear length in the world isn't going to aid you if you can never close in on your enemy.
If you came to this conclusion by drawing a parallel between the Persian and Mongolian tactics, their is a slight error. The Persian's charged and continued to charge into the enemy front lines. The Mongol horde charged while attacking, stopped while attacking, and turned while still attacking. And if I remember my history correctly, the Mongols defeated the Persians. So to say the Macedonian phalanx tactic would ruin the hit-and-run of Mongolia is untrue, as both armies in question took down the Persians. Mongolian hit and run is also more adaptable then the phalanx system.
Also to be remembered is that the Macedonian phalanx had the genius of Alexander the Great. And the Mongolian had the advantage of Genghis Khan. At the time of the Mongolian "crusade", the horde had the Khan. The Romans (and anybody else for that matter) didn't have such a competent and intelligent leader. A leader can make all the difference in a battle. A competent head can steer the fist toward key objects and manipulate the body to take advantage of enemy weaknesses.
The Roman Phalanxes were a watered down version of Alexander’s Macedonian Phalanxes i.e. longer spears (much longer). After all, the Macedonian's defeated the Persians and their war elephants using the Phalanx and the Cavalry charge. Had they continued in this tradition they may have indeed killed Khan and his hordes.
Doubtful, the Persians used chariots and elephants, both relatively slow to change direction and weren't horse archers like the Mongols. The adaptability and overall mobility of the Mongols forced a change in tactics that the Phalanx just couldn't compensate for effectively without places to anchor the line.
The Roman Phalanxes were a watered down version of Alexander’s Macedonian Phalanxes i.e. longer spears (much longer). After all, the Macedonian's defeated the Persians and their war elephants using the Phalanx and the Cavalry charge. Had they continued in this tradition they may have indeed killed Khan and his hordes.
Just a note on history here, the problem for the Romans was that Khan et al used their own technique, Parthian Shot, instead of crashing their horses blindly into a wall of spears. Run forward, shooting, then cut to the side, shooting, then retreat, shooting, while the next batch came in. And keep in mind that they had iron arrow tips, which could seriously staple a legionnaire’s tower shield to his chest (while still killing him). So in reality, it wasn't so much that the Roman tactics sucked, it was that they were out-geared and had never faced an opponent like Khan.
Warmages, clerics, fighters, marshals, warriors, and several other classes all have simple weapon and light armor profs. By placing them all in the SAME armor with the SAME weapons it becomes very difficult to recognize who the front line fighters are and who the Warmages are. This is very useful especially if the party targets spellcasters and commanders first.
Attack from ambush whenever possible. A free round of throwing spears is great to soften up the players, especially if you can target mounts/pets. If using light armor (See above tactic) you get very few if any penalties to those Hide Checks. I believe Hide is also a skill you can take 20 on. Making the DC fairly high. When ambushing always prepare simple traps to prevent enemy advance. Pit traps only have to be 10 feet deep to stop a charging character. Or try a rope stretched between two trees.
Most small-unit conflict that I've seen - meaning 10 on 10 or 20 on 20 men - tend to evolve into a shield wall vs. shield wall conflict. Lines 5 men or so with large shields stand their ground and use small weapons to flail at each other, rarely to great effect. On the flanks, archers and spellcasters spread out to gain lines of sight and attack the wall with effects the shield wall can't block readily. A flanker who's charged runs back behind the wall.
An especially devastating technique against this strategy is a rogue who's hidden or invisible and manages to get behind the lines. Enemy spellcasters, archers, and sallying flankers have little protection in such attacks. Even if you are visible, a rogue who's fleet of foot (expeditious retreat helps) isn't going to be caught readily by the main fighters, who may well have to deal with a lot of attacks of opportunity to break off and pursue the lone rogue.
-One tactic is to have the monsters buy large metal shields with spikes and have them get the Improved Shield Bash feat, if possible, though this is not necessary. Have them coat the shield with oil. When they spot the PCs, have them light the shields on fire. According to the rules for oil, the shields should burn for 2 rounds and add 1d3 pts of fire damage to the monster's shield bash attacks. In addition, there is a chance on a successful hit that they may light the PC's clothes on fire, and it could be argued that the smoke may give the shield's bearer some concealment.
-Another, similar tactic is to have the PC’s opponent douse their arrows or weapons in oil and do the same thing. It could be argued that this will cause some additional fire damage, though except in bludgeoning weapons it probably won't be more than an extra point of hp. With arrows and thrown weapons, however, since the weapon will stick in the PC, they may do additional fire damage and potentially light the PC or his equipment (such as hide armor or a wooden shield) ablaze.
-A more obvious oil tactic is the old Molotov cocktail, wherein the oil or some very strong brandy is put in a bottle, a rag stuffed in, lit, and thrown. The details for such bombs are in the oil description in Adventuring Gear section. Alternatively, alchemist’s fire may be used, which is much more effective. This tactic is most effective if a small group of the monsters co-ordinate their attacks for maximum spread, raining the bottles down on the PCs in ways that block their movement.
-A much more devious fire tactic is having a single man with a torch sneak in behind the PCs while they are fighting and light any traveling gear they may have on fire. The other monsters fighting them can then disengage easily. If enough stuff is destroyed, the PCs may have to turn back, or, in the best case scenario, may begin to suffer from starvation, giving the monsters an advantage in a follow up attack.
If the PCs are asleep when the monsters attack, and have stupidly forgot to set watch, the monsters could sneak in and set not only their equipment of fire, but their tents and bedrolls as well. If the PCs have set watch, the attackers could instead try shooting their tents and equipment with flaming arrows or throwing flasks of oil or alchemists fire at their tents and equipment. In either case, during the ensuing chaos they can strike the PCs swiftly, and, if the battle goes badly, retreat and let starvation and thirst do the rest. Of course, this works best in a wilderness setting where the attackers can hit and run quickly.
-A final tactic is a smokescreen. Simply by digging a ditch and filling it with dried weeds or hay, or by constructing a wooden frame out of wicker and covering it with straw, and then lighting them on fire the monsters can effectively conceal themselves from the PCs. They can then do anything from sit behind the screen with readied attacks, fire arrows or throw weapons or grenade weapons blindly through the smoke, or even retreat and set up an ambush beyond the screen. The screen could even be used to hide traps to snare any fool-hardy PCs who rush blindly through the smoke, such as spiked pits.
Flying Tactics:
A small squad of flying humanoid-shaped combatants (either through spells, equipment, or natural wings in the case of angels/demons and such) can be a formidable challenge if their opponents lack similar flying abilities.
1. Fly by Attacks can quickly devastate casters and lightly armored PCs while immediately putting them out of reach of the party tank.
2. The additional mobility and often increased speed of flying opponents also allows hover-capable melee flyers to quickly isolate individual targets and flank them from every direction, and fight from "high ground" by hovering 5 ft. off the ground.
3. Flying melee units can also deliver downward charges for double damage, as covered in a Rules of the Game article, which can often be a substantial amount of damage if backed by a Power Attack and/or smite.
4. Flying spellcasters should also make use of dispelling spells to shut down counter flying tactics (dispelling flight spells, suspiciously winged boots, and magical-looking ranged weapons), as well as spells that limit mobility (entangle, web, even wall of force to separate flightless party members).
I'd like to point out that many of the pre-industrial tactics suggested (such as shield walls) have substantial limitations when applied to most fantasy campaigns. In a fantasy world, war more closely resembles modern combat, with flying creatures providing air support, giants acting as living tanks, and spellcasters providing magical artillery.
Pre-industrial tactics often cannot beat these "modern" forms of fighting, for example, the shield wall is incredibly useless when dragons or griffins begin dropping large boulders from 2,000 ft. up in the sky, far outside of the reach of most retaliation. A cavalry charge also stops suddenly when they run into a wall of force at full speed (which should definitely result in ad-hoc damage).
In a "modern" context, infantry forces should be highly mobile and dispersed (and thus best able to evade magical artillery issues of fireballs dropping into their formations, and should ideally fight from the cover of natural terrain or magically generated cover.