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Thread: Phase-Based Combat [PEACH]
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2020-07-28, 03:12 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Phase-Based Combat [PEACH]
Problem: hit points are a boring defense system. They encourage players to use their most damaging abilities over and over, round after round. They turn combat into a contest of statistics, rather than a contest of tactics.
Solution: provide enemies with smaller pools of hit points, but unique defenses that must be penetrated before hit points can be effectively targeted. This turns combat in a series of hurdles, each to be overcome in a unique way.
Here are some homebrew monsters I wrote and playtested at my table.
I'm curious to see what you think, and what ideas you have for similarly designed enemies.
EDIT: I've made the following changes since posting these monsters:- The dragon's Soft Underbelly reduces its AC to 10 instead of 15. This means that a dragon performing a barrel roll has just 15 AC, instead of a whopping 20.
- When a ghost is hopeless to resolve its business, it simply dies. It does not have the option to come up with a new mission (such as vengeance).
- Necrotic and radiant added to the list of damage type that can affect a ghost.
- The damage oozes deal with Engulf has been reduced from 4d6 to 2d6.
Last edited by GalacticAxekick; 2020-07-28 at 04:56 AM.
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2020-07-28, 03:50 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2017
Re: Phase-Based Combat [PEACH]
I like the concept as a whole. The idea that you can just Yeet an enemy if you want, but if you want to be more tactical you can find ways to win more easily.
Some Notes
Dragon underbelly is a classic. Lots of good ways to get a dragon to reveal its belly. (Most of my ideas involve fire, though that probably won't work on most dragons)
I think Poltergeists are not spirits, but rather emotions made manifest. I'm, of course, basing this off of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but its a rule i live by to this day. Either way, I think forcing it to either resolve its business, resolving its business, or making its business unresolvable is good! I would removed that "It comes up with a new mission." and instead have it just "die" (Although technically it would just go to the next plane, right?), that way we don't have snarky DMs who say, after ruining its business: "Oh, well it has new business now, to kill you!." I can imagine a whole luigi's mansion style quest where you sneak around a haunted mansion, avoiding ghosts, while learning who each of them are and why they are here, and resolving their business to make them leave.
I might add Necrotic and Radiant as other non-damage immunities.
So the idea with the giant is to get them Prone? I suppose we could also do a surprise attack from the trees or rooftop or something. Lots of options now that i think about it. I'm not a fan of your solution, however, that they take less damage (Since you're only hitting the legs). I might emphasize that their legs are well armored and just give them a huge AC for small-medium creatures without reach or ranged weapons that are on the same elevation as the giant.
Swat Missiles should be an action, otherwise its quite broken.
Did the Ooze/common slime have a weakness that I did not notice? It seems like it has lots of strengths but i didn't notice a particular way that you're supposed to defeat it... Also, Why does an ooze have wisdom 10. I imagine its instincts are largely "Eat." Is there an enemy? Eat. Am i dying? Eat. Am i safe? Eat. If anything I think that THAT should be its weakness. "If the slime consumes more tiles than its size, it is forced split." The counter intuitive strategy is now to Cannon-Ball into the ooze.
Are mimics Oozes? My understanding was that they were cephalopods. Regardless, this would be a good opportunity to add something like "While in their changed form they are weak and have 0 AC." or something.
Overall
Good instincts. If you made a book with a collection of these reworked monsters I think it would sell. There's sure to be a market for both DMs and players who want monsters that are more than reskinned fodder. Zombies that are afraid of Fire, trolls that turn to stone in the sunlight, Vampires who are nearly invulnerable unless you pound a stake into their chest while they're sleeping.Last edited by John Out West; 2020-07-28 at 03:52 AM.
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2020-07-28, 03:53 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2017
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Re: Phase-Based Combat [PEACH]
I've taken a look over your enemy designs, and though they're interesting, none of them are particularly martial friendly. The wyrmligns are manageable on the ground, where a martial could just knock them prone to hit their underbelly, but in the air they're still AC20. The ghosts just flat-out can't be harmed by martials at all, the giants can only be harmed in melee if the DM uses the optional 'climbing large creatures' rules (which requires a free hand, meaning no dual-wielding, sword and board or two-handed weapon attacks), and they have an elevated AC against arrows and similar. The ooze also punishes being in melee with it by having a no-action save-or-lose (restrained+high damage is really nasty), and punishes slashing damage used against it.
Now all of this could be 'working as intended'. Maybe you want martial characters to play smarter than just hitting things with a big axe or bow. But if so, step 1 should be redesigning martials to function within the new paradigm you want to set up.Last edited by DeTess; 2020-07-28 at 03:54 AM.
Jasnah avatar by Zea Mays
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2020-07-28, 04:43 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Phase-Based Combat [PEACH]
Spoiler: For DeTessNoted! I'd like to highlight a few options that exist with the rules as they exist, as well as brainstorm new tools to fill the gaps.
The wyrmlings are manageable on the ground, where a martial could just knock them prone to hit their underbelly, but in the air they're still AC 20.
To help with this, I would introduce a rule that says "You can use your opportunity attack to shove or grapple a creature, rather than make a melee weapon attack against it".
The ghosts just flat-out can't be harmed by martials at all
The ghost was designed to be basically unfightable. You are encouraged to investigate or interrogate the ghost to discover what its mission is, and then to either complete that mission or convince the ghost that it's hopeless. The spellcaster's unique roll—as the only one who can incapacitate the ghost—is to buy the party time.
The giants can only be harmed in melee if the DM uses the optional 'climbing large creatures' rules (which requires a free hand, meaning no dual-wielding, sword and board or two-handed weapon attacks), and they have an elevated AC against arrows and similar.
To help with this, I would introduce features that allow martial characters to wrestle with larger creatures, and even to knock creatures prone with ranged attacks (in the vein of David & Goliath).
The ooze also punishes being in melee with it by having a no-action save-or-lose (restrained+high damage is really nasty), and punishes slashing damage used against it.
You might be right about reducing the damage that Engulf deals, however.
Spoiler: For John Out WestRemoved!
So the idea with the giant is to get them Prone?
I'm not a fan of your solution, however, that they take less damage (Since you're only hitting the legs). I might emphasize that their legs are well armored and just give them a huge AC for small-medium creatures without reach or ranged weapons that are on the same elevation as the giant.
Spears and arrows to the legs will hurt a giant, but like a rat biting at your ankles, they're hardly deadly. Meager attacks need to be directed to the face, the neck, the heart or the gut to deal legitimate damage.
Swat Missiles should be an action, otherwise its quite broken.
Did the Ooze/common slime have a weakness that I did not notice? It seems like it has lots of strengths but i didn't notice a particular way that you're supposed to defeat it...
If you're not a spellcaster? Slice the medium ooze into two small oozes. They're probably too small to engulf you, and they have few enough hitpoints that you can kill each in one turn.
Also, even if no party member can deal 26 damage in one turn, several members can ready their actions and attack simultaneously.
Also, Why does an ooze have wisdom 10. I imagine its instincts are largely "Eat." Is there an enemy? Eat. Am i dying? Eat. Am i safe? Eat. If anything I think that THAT should be its weakness. "If the slime consumes more tiles than its size, it is forced split." The counter intuitive strategy is now to Cannon-Ball into the ooze.
Are mimics Oozes? My understanding was that they were cephalopods. Regardless, this would be a good opportunity to add something like "While in their changed form they are weak and have 0 AC." or something.
Good instincts. If you made a book with a collection of these reworked monsters I think it would sell. There's sure to be a market for both DMs and players who want monsters that are more than reskinned fodder. Zombies that are afraid of Fire, trolls that turn to stone in the sunlight, Vampires who are nearly invulnerable unless you pound a stake into their chest while they're sleeping.Last edited by GalacticAxekick; 2020-07-28 at 05:18 AM.