The GM-nastics of dynamic encounters!

Whether you've been playing tabletop RPGs for a month or a decade, you might feel that combat drags its feet at your table. This can happen for any number of reasons.

That happened to me more than once. I just found myself saying "Well, I'll just sing, I guess!" and throwing my hands in the air. Sometimes it's just one player being difficult, but other times, it's like the whole table completes turn after turn after turn with a mechanical detachment.

When that happens, it may be time to consider less "why" combat has turned stale, and more what you can do to remediate the issue.

Lucky for you, this geek's been around for a while and compiled a list of things GMs and players can do to create more dynamic encounters.

1. Consider, use, and exploit the environment

I don't mean for you to stop throwing your trash out the window (although you really shouldn't!)

As a game master, when you create an encounter, think about what's the environment and how it can be used your players or their foes. Sure, flat surfaces are easy to manage, but using them over and over can create a super repetitive combat experience.

Consider the following:

• Water and ice (rivers, ponds, and wetlands work quite well for changing the flow of battle (see what I did there?))
• Stairs, hills, rubbles (difficult terrain and basic Athletics checks can make players change how they handle combat)
• Cliffs and ledges (many will feel quite threatened by hum ... falling)
• Rain, snow, sandstorms, wind (changes in visibility, basic Athletics checks, the general discomfort of being stuck in the rain)

That covers the basics of the environment, where your encounter takes place. Take this up a notch, think about what's also present in the scene. Before you can encourage players to use the environment, you have to know what they have available at hand.

One simple trick to set a scene: mention three elements that stand out. Your players may think there's something "special" about these elements, but if they're cognizant of their presence, well ... they may start using them!

Here are some items you can easily include in a scene:

• Trees and branches (you never know when a Monk is going to try to punch a dead tree to make it fall on an enemy)
• Barrels and crates
• Equipment of a dead adventurer
• Nets, bags, and ropes
• Rocks of various sizes and columns

As a player, don't be afraid to ask a GM what environment element you may use to describe your actions. Your GM may just go "well there isn't much" but asking should make your GM think about it in the future.

Once you know what's available, it's time to use it cleverly: try to push an enemy in a moving river, or blind them by throwing a discarded scarf over their eyes.

Not all GM respond positively to this kind of ideas, mostly when it's not covered by the rules, but to me, you don't risk much by just asking!

2. Create encounters with different goals

This is two-fold advice for the GMs:

1. Not every encounter needs to be concluded by killing every last enemy
2. Not every encounter should be about even defeating enemies

Bear with me here. Even when a combat is about defeating enemies, defeat does not necessarily mean death (which can often be achieved by doing this optimal damage-dealing routine). Defeat can take many shapes:

• Enemies can be captured and questioned later
• Enemies can be knocked unconscious (like in the case of a bar brawl, you don't want to kill every last villager!)
• Enemies can just run away if they feel overwhelmed

There are many ways to "get rid" of a problem that create a more authentic and dynamic experience. After all, let's say you see your long-lost half-sister among your enemies, wouldn't it make sense to try to knock her unconscious instead of splitting her in half with your great sword? Just a thought.

Second part of this equation is the goal of the encounter. In case of "casual dungeon crawls" it may be harder to define what the goal of the encounter is: it's there, it's in the way, players must overcome it to continue. But let's be honest, do monsters really just wander around the halls of a long-abandoned church in the hopes of jumping a party of adventurer? Maybe, maybe not.

As a GM, you can create all sorts of encounters with all sorts of goals. "Fighting to the bitter end" doesn't need to be your go-to. Here are a few examples:

• Create a diversion (make it a timed battle, that they only need to survive x rounds, or do y number of things)
• Protect or rescue a civilian
• Chase down an enemy in the middle of a crowded city
• Steal or take something from an enemy or location
• Reach NPCs that are standing on the other side of the battlefield
• Distribute supplies to friendly units

By varying the goals and results of encounters, you can make sure that they don't become as predictable or boring.

3. Use conditions and effects

Both as GM and player, you have a whole toolbox for encounters (mostly when you play games like Pathfinder or D&D). Sure, you can just swing your weapon around and hope for the best, but sometimes, you can create much cooler and memorable effects by taking a chance and using a different tool.

I'm gonna speak Pathfinder 2E language here, but honestly, it's not limited to this system.

• Got an enemy that's really mobile? Try tripping or grappling them.
• Enemy's got a big sword that does a lot of damage? Disarm them and use it for yourself!
• A nasty spellcaster keeps flinging spells your way? Counterspell or grapple them!

Games give you lots so many options, and maybe they don't seem optimal at first. Just because it doesn't do the maximum amount of damage, an ability like Demoralize or a spell like Befuddle can shift the tide of a battle.

Conditions and effects are your friends (and your enemy if you're not lucky LOL). If you're a GM, don't shy away from using them on your players from time to time to remind them these options even exist!

4. Give enemies strengths, weaknesses, and fears and use Recall Knowledge

If you don't play Pathfinder 2E, "Recall Knowledge" may not mean much to you, but basically it says what it does. Takes one action and you can recall something that you know about the enemy you're fighting (provided you roll high enough, of course!)

Fighting a Troll? A Recall Knowledge will reveal its weakness to fire and encourage players to change how they tackle the battle. But several enemies have no said strength or weaknesses, they just have lots of HP or a high AC or high saves.

Unless the enemy is a non-sentient being, as a GM, you can decide it has strengths, weaknesses, and fears that players can use.

• A wolf could be afraid of being bitten and make sure to stay away from the party's Goblin.
• Another wolf could just like the taste of dwarves and attack specifically any in your team.
• A fey could really dislike shrieking sound because of its sensitive hearing

This will change how everyone approaches the battle and may make players wonder what the hell's happening even without a Recall Knowledge check.

5. Use enemies of different power levels and types

Note: this is a little more difficult at lower levels.

It's a good idea to use all kinds of different enemies for players of higher levels even if your campaign relies more on one enemy type (like demons or feys).

Create synergy between enemies, as though they're a real party rather than a hodgepodge of weird stuff. This may mean using lower-level enemies in greater numbers (so they act as decoy, minions, etc.) or have parties of mage-like and fighter-like enemies that work well together.

You may be tempted to use stronger enemies to create more memorable experiences, but sometimes, lower level enemies in bigger number can give them a run for their money, and enable players to try out new tactics without fear of retribution (although ... a crit is a crit is a crit.)

6. Set hazard and traps to keep players and enemies on their toes

This isn't something you should do too often, but it can be interesting once in a while. Set traps and hazards on your battleground (falling rocks, pit traps, snowfall, runes, etc.) The idea here is not to increase the challenge unilaterally, meaning that your enemies would fall for the same traps.

Often, enemies control the battlefield and traps are part of the encounter(s) but imagine fighting on a battleground where traps exist but both party are unaware. Maybe your players will fall and feel betrayed, but what if both a player and enemy fall in the same, pretty deep pit trap? Talk about a curveball!

When doing this though, make sure you don't meta the enemies' strategy: if they can't know a trap is there, they should make no effort to dodge it.

7. Describe actions

Rather than just saying: "The guard swings at you and misses twice." try providing more elaborate descriptions. Perhaps the guard was very confident and seeing a player dodge both of his attacks with fancy footwork will put a dent in that confidence, or maybe it'd anger him and he'll become more reckless.

If you do this as a GM, it could encourage your players to see the encounter as a scene and take part in it the same way.

There are a few very important things to not before you start doing this though:

• Keep descriptions short, you don't want to steal the scene
• Don't force any players to describe their actions if they don't feel confident in doing so
• Don't control players except to state the obvious, if they rather describe how they dodge an enemy's attack, let them do it; and don't tell them how they feel about it: the guard may be angry, but you can't decide that it boasts the character's confidence

It might take a bit of practice before you get this right, but it will inevitably create more descriptive and less mechanical encounters. Some some games reward players who describe their actions well (like Exalted with a stunt dice), which can be cool but also can make players who just want the static bonus to overdescribe or try too much and it becomes annoying.

At my tables, an interesting battle is a reward in itself!

8. Beware of tactics

Let's say your players are fighting a group of highly intelligent spellcasters-slash-fighters who are used to working together ... so ... another party? it makes sense to use the best possible tactics because this group of enemies should have a good synergy.

You can use this as a learning moment for your player: make your NPCs work well together, surprise them with the scope of their actions, be imaginative ... I can assure you that if you play Pathfinder 1E and you start using Teamwork Feats against your players, they'll become far more attractive to those who like them numbers.

Most encounters are not gonna be anything like this. You'll usually have a string of disconnected creatures who are out for themselves, often not very smart. Or you'll have a boss and their minions, who are not expected to be super smart, so unless their master orders them around, they're bound to trip and do stupid shit.

That's a thing I tend to do myself: play optimally. Truth is, though, that most creatures will not use "optimal" strategies. They'll leave openings, risk attacks of opportunity, attack only the strongest-looking party member because they're afraid of what will happen once the barbarian's hammer reaches their face.

Poor, sub-optimal tactics may seem counterintuitive, but they create unique moments where characters shine and players appreciate how cool it is that they work together decently.

9. Bring morale into play

For this, let's assume that the encounters you're planning include enemies that have their own volition or sentience at the very least.

Honestly, not everyone wants to fight to the death. Most animals wouldn't even attack a party, even less stick around when they become wounded. Many would beg for their life (genuinely or not) when faced with what feels like an impossible situation.

Sure, if you're gonna have them fight off swarms of rats, they're probably just hungry! But bandits on the highway? I dunno, maybe there's been a famine and they're just hungry, too. Maybe their goal is to distract the players while little thieves steal their coin or food. Maybe they'll accept turning themselves in if players promise to feed their family?

Motivation plays a huge part into how an encounter is run and what the fallout is. Assuming that not every creature will fight to the death, creating a general sense of personality, and considering other outcomes for an encounter can bring surprise to the table.

10. Take and reward chances

I left this for last because this is, to me, the mooooost important of all these tips.

Players, try stuff! Want to use your grappling hook to tie a large enemies legs? Try it! Make your case and hope your GM's in a good mood.

And GMs? Listen! If a player wants to try something because it sounds like a fun, cool, or new way to tackle a situation, why not let them try? I know there's a lot of talk about the "rule of cool" but for or against, I feel like you owe it to your players to let them try crazy stuff. This is the best way to avoid stale combat.

Just because you say "Ok sure you can try with a -2 to your Athletics check" once should not mean that this is set in stone. Next time it might not work. Let the kids enjoy themselves for fuck's sake!

Alright those are my 10 main tips to make your encounters more interesting and more dynamic. Encounters can quickly become stale when players (and even GMs) start doing the same damn thing every damn turn. Most games give you plenty of options, and the rule of thumb is ... use them. Even if they seem suboptimal, a good GM will seize opportunities to make something repetitive just a teensy more interesting.

And because you stuck around for so long, here are two extra suggestions that might require a bit more effort, but that are sure to help:

• Try out other games. I know learning a new ruleset is a hell of a time investment, but it'll expand your mind. Two games thoroughly changed how I approach combat in Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder:
• Nephilim has a more fluctuating system of actions. Seeing the magic chart should give you an idea that this is not a basic, run-of-the-mill "I move, I attack" situation. Also, while playing immortals, some have very specific weakness: when you can get one-shot by an orichalcum sword, you tend to be a bit more cautious and creative.
• 7th Sea makes players fight against groups of enemies rather than individual enemies. Descriptions are heavily encouraged and may change how well you do on your rolls.
• Play a mapless, gridless, miniless game (theatre of the mind) game and use your imagination to figure out where things how, who will be hit by what spells, how many actions one requires to reach an enemy... and most of all, it'll make you used to describing your actions and the environment because with no visual support, words have a lot more weight!

That's it for real! Hope you enjoyed this and if you have any other tips and tricks be sure to let me know!