Combat in 5e can get boring pretty fast. Starting 30 feet away and never moving after the first round or two gets stale. However, there are some easy steps you can take when building an encounter to breathe some life into them. The best part is you won’t have to add or remove any rules or mechanics to the game. Here is a list of tactics you can use to create more engaging and memorable combat encounters.
Number of Enemies. Add more or fewer enemies in the encounter depending on your party’s resources and intended difficulty. In general, some creatures equal to your PCs will be easier, and a number that is double or more will be closer to deadly.
Number of Attacks. This is a big part of the action economy. The side that has more attack actions will usually overpower the other. One way around this is to have a creature multi-attack if the first one misses. You can also not multi-attack if the first one misses.
Amount of HP. I use the average or max HP depending on the creature. Minions and lieutenants will have the average HP and bosses will have max HP. You can increase or decrease the HP to change the difficulty of the fight.
Elevation. Height can help or hinder the PCs depending on the situation. Include sections with varying heights and ways to get there (or not!). Allow the PCs to have the higher ground over the enemies sometimes and vice versa.
Distance. Not all creatures have both melee and ranged attacks. Start encounters further away to give time for the combatants to maneuver and position. If you have a PC with a feat or ability for extra distance give them a chance to use it!
Difficult Terrain. Limit movement and cause some damage to any creature in battle. Changing conditions of the terrain create hazards for both sides. Allow the PCs that can ignore difficult terrain to shine on the battlefield.
Multiple Waves of Enemies. This is a great way to put your PCs on their back foot and use resources. Have more enemies arrive at the top of a round or shortly after combat so they can’t rest. Alternatively, You can give the PCs a round or two in between waves to heal and prepare.
Multiple Types of Enemies. Use no more than 3 types or it gets hard to manage. Not all combat encounters have to be groups of the same creature. Different creatures with different tactics create multiple options of approach for the PCs.
Multiple Fronts of Enemies. Oh no, the squishy wizard is in melee!? Enemies arriving from behind create a unique challenge for those used to staying in the back. Get the PCs to change their tactics by attacking from multiple fronts at once.
Use Communication. Have the bad guys communicate with each other in short messages on their turn. Have enemies talk with the characters and if needed you can add charisma-based skill checks. Provide context and depth to the enemies with a little bit of backstory.
Alternate Win Conditions. Killing everything is not always possible. Other options include: making peace, protecting someone/something, retrieving an object, surviving a gauntlet, sneaking in, or stopping a ritual.
Changing Win Conditions. Have the objective change mid-combat. Use a twist to complicate the story and change the win condition in the middle of the encounter. Examples: a group of rival NPCs arrive, a timer starts/stops, the PCs discover their info is wrong, the PCs actions help the villain, or a prophecy is fulfilled.
Start with Roleplay and Exploration. Pull back and start as an exploration and roleplay encounter. While they are exploring you can describe the action, introduce new NPCs, let them interact with the environment, and don’t forget to reward their creativity. If they avoid an encounter or make it harder on themselves, it’s ok because they made the story together.
Create Choices. Allow the PCs to make choices that can change the balance of the encounter in either direction. The choices they make before or during combat can alter the terrain or change the win conditions, for better or worse. Give the PCs the chance to affect the encounter before the initiative is even rolled.
Be sure to think about the action economy when planning combat encounters. The action economy is how many attack actions each side of combat has. Not always, but usually, the side with more actions is going to win. As one side loses actions from creatures going to 0 HP it’s even easier for the larger side to succeed. This is why one monster battles go so favorably for the PCs. Multiattack and legendary actions don’t mean anything against six level 11 characters with haste, flurry of blows, and action surge. The number of enemies and how many attacks they have is important and it’s something you can change before combat even starts. Include elements that the PCs can interact with like potions, traps, and decorations. If you want the PCs to do it, have an enemy or NPC show them the way.
Keep in mind you don’t have to do all of this for every combat. Vary them by using different techniques from this list. Alternate between small theater of the mind encounters and big set-piece battles. I hope all of these tips help you create more engaging and creative combat encounters for your players.
Good luck with your next session, I believe in you. See you in the future!
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