Basic Combat Training

[blackjack50]

Anyone know of any ways or methods to get a lot of practice with combat? Different scenarios. Almost no to limited RP? I need practice to help learn the game. I have finally started to grasp the monk. Last night I had a great night with combat because I really grasped the stick and move. I did way more damage than expected, but had I not...my heavy hitters would have dominated the bad guys.

So please help. :) I need some ways that can help me practice combat.

[Waazraath]

Anyone know of any ways or methods to get a lot of practice with combat? Different scenarios. Almost no to limited RP? I need practice to help learn the game. I have finally started to grasp the monk. Last night I had a great night with combat because I really grasped the stick and move. I did way more damage than expected, but had I not...my heavy hitters would have dominated the bad guys.

So please help. :) I need some ways that can help me practice combat.

Eh... you mean, how to get better in combat with your monk, how to play more to its strengths? Gaming experience is 1. If you have a friend, you can have him run some combats in 1 on 1 sessions, maybe create some encounters for this (1 big monster, several small, special environments). Or just think about what you did in former sessions, what worked, and what not, and how you can do better next time, tactically?

[Rukelnikov]

For improving tactical thinking in general, you can play games like X-Com, set them to a difficulty level where you are not having an easy time making the missions, and that alone serves as great practice for tactics in general.

For better grasp of your character in particular, you can make mock combats against enemies. Just pick the MM and some dice, set up an encounter and play both sides. It'd likely be better if you had some "party members" not necessarily your ACTUAL party members, but some companions, since your are rarely gonna be fighting alone. So either make some other chars to go along with the monk, or pick some NPCs to be his allies, like guards, veterans or w/e. I'd recommend having other PCs as party members, since that will also help you understand how other classes work, when you are in a party, to make the best tactical choices you should not only understand how your PC works, but also how other PCs work, since then you can make choice taking into account what capabilities your companions have.

So, make mock combats, roll some dice, dont be afraid to put yourself under extremely unfavorable odds, its not a real game, so no prob if your PC dies, and being under extreme odds tends to have the effect of making you think outside the box, or resort to tactics you don't normally use, it "gets you out of your comfort zone", which will likely make you learn stuff about your character you may not be using much or taking into account (like how in action games early on you will likely run into bosses that require specific strategies to beat in order to "teach" you to use them for the rest of the game)

[zinycor]

Anyone know of any ways or methods to get a lot of practice with combat? Different scenarios. Almost no to limited RP? I need practice to help learn the game. I have finally started to grasp the monk. Last night I had a great night with combat because I really grasped the stick and move. I did way more damage than expected, but had I not...my heavy hitters would have dominated the bad guys.

So please help. :) I need some ways that can help me practice combat.

At the store I play at, we have PVP tournaments, they are really fun and helps on learning to play various kind of characters.

I also love to hear DnD podcasts while doing repetitive tasks or driving, that also helps understanding the mechanics.

[Vogie]

Play Munchkin with your PCs

Basically, grab a friend and walk down one of the lower CR random encounter tables with your & your friends' PCs.

So if you all are level 3-4, working down a series of CR 1-2 encounters (or the equivalent, depending on your PC's level), and just seeing how long the 2 of you can go until you need to rest. Then, only take a short rest, and see how much further you can go.

That'll give you varying numbers of targets and tactics that is needed. If your friend has multiple PCs they could use, that's even better - that allows you to see how to take on 2d4 Bandits with a wizard, and how it's different from taking on 2d4 Bandits with a Protection Paladin.

You don't really need a DM for this - just like the game Munchkin, you're just kicking down a metaphorical door, and attacking what's on the other side.

As you level up and get your head around combat, try to give yourself additional challenges - Maybe those 2d4 Bandits are hiding behind rocks for half cover, or that pack of wolves surprised you in the dead of night during a new moon.