Different ways to set up battle encounters?

[Jellyburd]

How do you approach encounters?
Other than make a perception check..success. you hear a baddy..fail. suprise attack!
It gets repetitive. I'm a new DM and want to keep things fresh.

[sophontteks]

I play without a grid.
What I do is lay down a few index cards that describe zones in the area and list notable features within that area. This helps players visualize and stratergize and helps to make the fight more interesting. I got the idea on a youtube video and its solid.

[Armored Walrus]

The easiest way to juice up your creativity on encounter-building, IMO, is to ask these questions:

Why are the PC's here and what are they trying to accomplish?
Why are the opponents here and what are they trying to accomplish?
How do these two things conflict?

If you put the encounter together while asking those questions, many times combat is not inevitable. They might be able to talk their way past their foes, or negotiate with them to get what they need from them, or bluff them, and then ambush them once their guard is down, or .....

If you're planning your combat encounters by looking in the MM and picking something cool to fight, you're going to end up with what you describe, more often than not. Not that that's a wrong way to play, but, as you say, it does get repetitive.

[Jellyburd]

I guess I should clarify.
When they reach a point where I want them to have a combat encounter.
for example, traveling along a trail and I want them to fight (insert creature here)
or while someone is on watch at night they hear something.
how do you build up the combat and let them know there is something ahead without just saying
roll perception....you hear something up ahead.

[Armored Walrus]

What do they hear? Do they see anything? If so, what?

If they're about to fight a bunch of rats, they'll hear scurrying in the underbrush. Maybe hear some squealing and hissing. Maybe they catch a glimpse of a snake-like tail vanishing at the edge of the firelight. Maybe smell a musky, animal smell, or smell the sewers.

Let them react to that information, then add another layer, the sound gets closer, the smell gets stronger, multiple shapes appear at the edge of the light, eyes gleam in the darkness.

Let them react to that, then roll initiative.

Watch some horror movies and see how they build up to the bad guy jumping out.

[opaopajr]

Older editions talked about this more, with some solid suggestions, and tables to spur inspiration (or keep the game moving when drawing a blank).

The two biggest elements that changed play were Encounter Reaction and Distance.

Encounter Reaction is basically the creature/s emotional response to the party. As GM, you were to take the party's travel posture as a result, the more weapon ready and aggro looking, the less "positive" of an Encounter Reaction. However, that could range from "attack on sight" to "run away screaming." There were tables to roll on as well, in case when out of ideas.

Sometimes the most memorable encounter is the unexpected ally, such as a group of orcs who wanna befriend or trade.

Distance is self explanatory, but crucial in approach from both parties. Terrain (and lighting, and weather) often affected visual radius, which can make encounters frighteningly close -- or inconveniently far to pursue. And a table or two helps delegate to the dice what a tired GM's brain may freezes up on.

Next is active description. However avoid Box Text readings, a la canned adventures. Too often those use purple prose (over-embellished wording) when describing obvious things. Keep it short and sweet, and hit major bulletpoint details with which PCs and NPCs can interact.

I personally use a goofy acronym that sounds like an old 1990s rapper to remember these bulletpoints. I call it LL WAND:

Location - terrain, elevation, cover, etc.
Lighting - sight radius, concealment, etc.

Weather - self-explanatory context
Accessibles - that you can readily reach.
Noticeables - that which you cannot, or with immense effort.
Dangers - that which can hurt you... or others. :smallgrin:

Hope that helps!

[BW022]

I guess I should clarify.
When they reach a point where I want them to have a combat encounter.
for example, traveling along a trail and I want them to fight (insert creature here)
or while someone is on watch at night they hear something.
how do you build up the combat and let them know there is something ahead without just saying
roll perception....you hear something up ahead.

Lots of options...

1. Have them pre-roll perception checks (or use passive perception). You don't have to ask for perception checks so they don't necessarily know something is happening out-of-character.

2. Put in lots of mundane descriptions and have them make lots of perception checks. Describe rocks, trees, old buildings, sounds, etc. Make the swamp full of noises, rocks, old cabins, etc.

3. Put them in an area where lots of happening -- a busy festival, a flat plain with 200 water buffalo migrating, a wind storm, etc. or when sleeping at an inn.

4. Put in non-combat encounters. Group was once sleeping in a nasty woods and I had a pheasant outside their camp at night. Barbarian woke everyone as soon as he heard something.

5. Put in combat encounters where combat itself isn't the goal. A chase across some roof tops, attacked by birds while climbing a cliff, a drunken bar fight, a fight in a burning building or sinking ship, etc. Maybe there is a fight underway and the PCs get involved in it. Sensing the encounter isn't so as important as taking actions.

6. Let the players start the combat. Maybe they know orcs are coming by and they setup an ambush or they sneak into a building and find some sleeping ogres.

7. Perception need not give the show away. For example, a high perception might notice some birds flying away from an area, but not necessarily see the orc ambush there.

8. Allow sensing other than just basics -- and give them freedom to avoid combat. Never get stuck that they must have a combat. Give the ranger a tracking check. Allow them to avoid the entire area.

9. Use movement. Don't always have the monsters stationary (without a reason). They could be traveling somewhere. PCs might be in front or behind them.

etc.

[Kane0]

how do you build up the combat and let them know there is something ahead without just saying
roll perception....you hear something up ahead.

All characters have five senses and some sort of worldly experience and intuition.
As DM part of your job is to insert the characters into the world with all the information they need to act within it, including all of the senses at their disposal. Props can really help for those that need some extra help with their imagination.
The more depth and detail you can breathe into the world the more you encourage immersion and investment. This also extends to your own enthusiasm.

Just be careful not to do the classic box text thing of intimately describing the luxurious tapestries on the far side of a 100' chamber and then say 'oh yeah and a wyvern is in the room too'. It's a careful balance of when, where and how much information to provide and a balance that you really only learn from practice and experience.

So basically, you make it interesting by being interesting about it, not by relying on gimmicks.

Edit:
Then after that comes mechanical variety, then finally narrative variety.
Mechanical variety are mostly a function of the creature, you use the features they have and add extra bits and pieces where necessary to avoid them being a boring slab of HP. Adding in scenery and objects within the world to interact with also really helps, eg rubble causing patches of difficult terrain, turned over furniture as impromptu cover and rotten support beams barely holding up the roof.
Narrative variety is more an art than science. It's basically having all the NPCs act and react appropriately within the world, sometimes 'efficiently' and sometimes 'realistically'. This is where things like morale and personality are expressed inside as well as outside of combat. Beasts that are just hungry, mercenaries that will listen to coin, dragons that you can appease by stroking their ego, it helps make encounters more than just another statblock tossed at the party to increase their XP bars.