Many times the success or failure of an adventuring expedition or quest is determined before the party leaves its base of operations. More often than not, it is the party’s failure that is thus determined, for they have failed to take some vital feature of the adventure into account, or have neglected to bring along some essential piece of equipment or information. Other times failure is caused due to an unorganized party, or perhaps just plainly due to the lack of tactics. Today I will help you with that very thing. I will be talking about expedition planning, and how to fight more effectively.
Expedition Planning
Before the party leaves on yet another adventure, they should find out everything possible about the mission. Interviews with NPCS, exploring the approaches and the periphery of the goal, and using magic to gain insight into the party’s objectives and potential obstacles will save a lot of potential headaches later on. Information is the key to success.
1: Your goal
Find out your goal, what are you going to do? This step is usually the easiest one; define what you are going to do, yet be prepared to always change your goal during the course of the journey. Cause nothing never is as simple as it first seem.
2: Obstacles
Know your enemy, who and what will stand in your way? How will you defeat them?
Even rumors should not be disregarded, for often such talk has a basis in fact. If rumors or hearsay indicate the presence of a certain kind of monster, then appropriate measures should be taken if possible.
A scouting mission should compromise characters traveling much more lightly than they normally would, and the typical tactic of scouting party is to avoid combat at all costs. One or two thieves, possibly aided by invisibility spells, potions of gaseous form, or some other magical protection will most likely be of great use.
3: How
How will you achieve your goal, how long will it take? Note that it is rarely as simple as just walking in and accomplish your goal. Now that you know what your goal is, and know the obstacles it is up to you to know how you are going to overcome them. If someone reports hearing of basilisks slithering through an underground locale the PCs wish to explore, then wise characters bring along a few mirrors.
4: The Tools
Common tools useful for every adventure, sure your character doesn’t need to carry it all the time. But it would be useful to keep it nearby; or carried by a mule with a carriage.
10-ft pole: You never know when you will need a ten-foot pole; I’ve never needed one myself yet. BUT I AM CERTAIN THE DAY WILL COME!
Crowbar - A crowbar is great for bending up a chest without having to bash it open; destroying all the potions inside. Or you could use it to bend open doors, in any case.
Shovel – Great for digging, once saved me and my party when my dwarf fell into mud which reached as high as the upper body. As you all could had imagined, in full plate. My dwarf literally drowned in a in mud, and was thankfully saved by the shovel.
Compass – Use when lost. Common tool in most setting that always points to the north.
Light source: Use in the dark to light up your path, a great tip for rouges would be to have a potion of dark vision, low-light vision or whatever it is. It Is gold worth to be able to see in the dark in addition to stealth. Because you DO NOT want to turn on a light and make every living thing (and undead) to know your location.
Manacles – Use for that special BBEG that doesn’t just simply deserve to die, but deserve to be locked away to rot forever instead. Manacles probably won’t hold him, but hey! At least they work great on almost anyone else!
Chalk –Don’t underestimate the use of chalk, or anything else that you can write with. Sometimes you need to get a message across, and just simply don’t have anything to write with. Small and easy to bring along.
Rope and Grappling Hook – Great for tying up the BBEG or climbing a wall, its uses are almost endless. Imagine placing it on the ground and hide behind two nearby trees. When a group of riders suddenly pass by, suddenly your strongest characters pull up the rope and BAM!
Maybe making make-shift Bridge between a chasm in order to climb over or over two buildings. BE CREATIVE!
Mirror – We once used this item when the thief was about to sneak into a zombie village and scout things a head. In order to signal us of any type of danger…actually now that I think back about it. I can’t remember why the fuck we did it use there. Awh well, might be good for Medusas and Basilisks.
Whistle – Can work as the groups signal for when to strike. Blow the whistle; 1, 2, 3 and STRIKE! (Useful when the group is too far away to simply whisper to each other.)
Fighting Effectively
1: Explore ahead
Whenever possible, at least one character adept at sneaking; should get a look at an area that the party will be entering before the whole group gets there. This not only reduces the risk of ambush, but also greatly increases the tactical options available to the group if they find themselves engaged in combat.
The ones scouting ahead should have means of alerting the group if discovered, and have preferably magical ways of escaping. And remember to listen at doors!
2: Be in control
Make sure that all situations happen under your own conditions, for an example; fighting in large areas are encouraged in order to have the ability to maneuver properly. Cast spells BEFORE combat and not during combat. Another something could be fighting in tight groups, but sometimes this is not always the best since there are a lot of spells like Mind Blasts from Illithids that can instantly take out a party in tight formations.
2a Surprises and Diversions
While surprise primarily depends upon keeping a party’s presence secret from the opponent, it is not always necessary to conceal the party. A diversion created by the party or simply taken advantage of an opportune time can so distract a foe that the PCs can approach with little regard for stealth. Diversions can be accomplished with any of a wide variety of magical spells, as well as other characters actions. A single character, for example, can take upon himself the task of drawing the attention of a group of monsters away from the rest of the party. Fires are excellent diversions since they often require the immediate attention of the monsters in order to prevent the flames from spreading. Other acts of sabotage, such as collapsing a bridge, tunnel, or dam, can often be devised. Clever characters might even work out remote control systems for diversion: a long rope, for example, might be tied to a statue and yanked to topple it. Alerted by the crash, the monster’s attention is naturally directed to the stature rather than the PCs.
3: Formations
In case of battle always have a generic formation ready. A potential formation could be a warrior with a long range weapon like a spear standing behind a unit wielding a weapon with a shorter ranger. Like a long sword. And whenever the characters get down to half his life, they switch position.
Personally I recommend a group of three fighters, two melees to do the rotation and one ranged in order for further rotation, but also to stay behind to guard the spell casters.
5: Combat
Aiming for the leader, taking him out quickly can demoralize the rest and hopefully lead to a quick end. But that can also have the opposite effect by rallying the enemy, instead try to focus the most fragile enemy targets, like spell casters.
Disarming and grappling can be of great use, aiming to disarm dangerous weapons such as vorpal swords, or even grappling single enemies while your companions mangle them to death.
Tactical retreats can also be of great use, letting the enemy attack you instead of them. It gives you your full attack and them only a single attack the first round.
When you only have half your HP left, switch with another player in order to avoid certain death. When on only a third, retreating should be carefully considered. If not by everyone, consider retreating by yourself, in order to switch to ranged or heal up far away from close combat.
6: The Archetypes
There are three archetypes in my opinion, if you really simplify things. They are warriors, ranged, and magicians.
Warriors: Warriors the meat tanks for the squishier spell casters, there in order to prevent you from reaching them. Warriors should be dealt with quickly; they often depend on a weapon or a hand. Sometimes they include a horde, others they are alone. When few, focus on taking away their weapons, disarm and grapple them. When many, fight in tight formations and in areas with little space in order to limit the amount able to strike at you.
Ranged: Seek cover and concealment. If they can’t see you, the chances that they will hit, will probably not be very good either. Take cover behind a rock or a tree and then rush closer, preferably with the help of a shield.
Magicians: Magicians are not that very different from ranged units. Take away their spell casting abilities, by the use of silence, grapple or close combat, get behind concealment. Since a Wizard need line of sight in order to use most of their spells on you.
Monsters: Most monsters are not very intelligent and can be easily tricked. Example, a bear can be tricked away by surrendering a piece of meat in order to escape. And most kinds of traps will most likely work.
Tips & Tricks -Combat
* Move on covered and concealed routes - travel in gullies, in the tree-line, below the crest of a hill or ridge, etc.
* Do not move directly forward from a covered position - go around one side or the other. Anyone watching to shoot at you when poke your head out above that boulder will be less likely to be looking there.
* Avoid likely ambush sites and other danger areas - give dark caves, buildings and deep, murky swamps a wide berth (unless exploring them is a vital part of the mission.)
* Assign a battle leader for every adventure, or session. The battle leader will be more or less fully in control of the combat scenario. Of course, everyone else can still come with suggestions, but this method helps create a more realistic and easier flowing fights. Considering how you normally can’t discuss your next move with your companions during the middle of a fight.
*Always have a mean of escaping from combat, each player and especially the scouts should have a way in order to escape from combat. Personally, I suggest a Potion of gaseous form.
* Create an Assembly area/Campsite for resting periods that should be an easily defensive area. It should have concealment, room to spread out (Fireball. BOOM!), traps placed outside, guard shift and preferable cover from air attacks. This is where orders are issued, plans are made, maintenance is done, and the unit resupplies, rehearses and rests.
Tips & Tricks -Spells
Detect Magic and Detect Evil –A must have spell for everyone, Detect Magic and Detect evil (first level priest and wizard spell, 2nd AD&D) are great tools for survival. They tell you of magical loot in the vicinity, traps, or anything just to be careful with. Anything evil and anything magic is something to watch out for.
Continual Light and Continual Darkness- In low levels, the priest spell known as continual light and continual darkness (third level priest spell, 2nd AD&D) cast on a coin can become a valuable asset. Keep preferably five of each in separate bags, and take one out from the bag of continual light, or the bag of continual darkness whenever you need some light or darkness.
Telekinesis – Creative uses for spells such as telekinesis (fifth level wizard spell 2nd AD&D) are not hard to come by. For example, a character might seal green slimes and other deadly creatures into clay or wax pots. Using telekinesis to position them over the enemy, the pots could then be dropped, with the monsters serving as a deadly missile weapon. But even the lower version of this spell can serve in a similar fashion
Reduce and Enlarge – These spells are just god sent, Reduce (first level wizard spell 2nd AD&D) can be cast on a large boulder and then be carried with you, and thrown above an enemy and suddenly release the spell. And now you have a flat enemy. Or, the reverse can be done when you need an escape path. Carry a small rock and whenever you need to block monsters from following you, throw out the rock and cast enlarge. Reduce and Enlarge can even be used to enlarge or reduce an enemy’s weapon in order to render it unusable. Creative high level players can use reduce on vorpal swords and use them as arrows.
Silence – One technique used to good effect in several campaigns is the silence (second level priest spell 2nd AD&D) spell cast upon a coin or small gem. When carried, the enchantment benefits the party. In an encounter, the coin can be thrown among enemy spell casters to silence their efforts at spell use. But it’s generally preferred to have it cast on a fighter instead, since a coin can be easily gotten rid of. Note that the spell doesn’t last very long.
Dispel magic – Okay, the need for dispel magic (third level priest and wizard spell 2nd AD&D) is obvious. But I still have to point it out since it’s just such a vital spell. Your team mates will often end up affected by horrible spells that could very well lead to your doom, spells such as suggestion, slow, or even
The following paragraph is not done by me, but taken from
http://www.strangelove.net/~kieser/Gaming/tactics.html
I felt the need to add it because the ability to talk without speaking adds a whole other level on both the tactical and roleplaying plane.
Tactical marching is used when stealth is needed and there is some concealment. Camouflage clothing, noise and light discipline are important. Weapons must have all shiny surfaces blackened/dulled. No
Visual Hand Signals:
Hand signals must be passed down the line of march, so that everyone gets the message.
"Come forward/Come to me." Point at the person, then beckon them to you.
"I'm ready/OK or Are you ready/OK?" Give the "thumb's up" sign affirmatively or questioningly as appropriate.
"No/Stop." Wave hand from side to side, palm forward, in front of body.
"Cut that out, now!" Make cutting motion across throat.
"I don't understand." Shrug in an exaggerated fashion.
"Advance/Move out." Face the desired direction of movement. Hold arm extended to the rear then swing it overhead and forward in the direction of desired movement.
"Speed Up." Thrust fist up and down in the air over head rapidly several times.
"Slow Down." Hold arm out to side extended horizontally and wave downward slightly several times keeping the arm straight.
"Pay Attention/Look." Poke the index and middle fingers toward your eyes (don't actually poke yourself), one finger for each eye. You can then point if there's something in particular you want someone to look at.
"Assemble/Rally." Wave arm in circles over head. This means that the unit should circle around the mission leader forming a secure perimeter or go to a place pointed out after the signal is made. May also be used to define a rally point during a march. In this case, the rally signal is made and then an object at the rally point is touched to indicate where the unit will reassemble if they get into trouble later on up the trail.
"Halt/Stop." Given while on tactical march. Raise hand overhead and hold until signal is understood. When a march is halted this way, it may mean that someone has seen something suspicious and so everyone needs to "take a knee" immediately. If the march remains halted for more than a few seconds, everyone needs to quietly find concealment/cover. The person who called the halt should keep their hand up so the mission commander or team leader can go to them and find out what's going on while everyone else stays down and guards the perimeter.
"Air Attack." Rapidly cross and uncross arms above the head. Everyone should seek cover/concealment and, if the group is in single file, disperse to the sides of the path in an orderly manner.
"Enemy in Sight." Hold a weapon overhead pointed at the enemy. This can be used as a more specific version of the "halt/stop" signal above or may be used when already halted.
This is my first post here on Svartblod Gaming; I’m a regular player that always seeks to improve myself. Both tactically and roleplaying wise; and since I’ve been one to struggle with tactics, as many other in the group I’ve devised a guide. I will most likely change and update this guide as I learn myself, so I would appreciate any tips from anyone out there!
Hope you enjoyed this and will enjoy any future post that will come.
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