“The land itself can be just as deadly as any beast to the unprepared.” – Bryce Ward 8/15/2021

How can we make fights in Dungeons and Dungeons more exciting? By transforming the environment into an element that forces the players to change their tactics. This can be as simple as pointing out details in a location that could be useful in a fight. For example, inside the barn for my Infested Farm quest where the party had to fight off the Broodmother, I pointed out a platform full of wooden crates was hanging above. My players preceded to lure the Broodmother under the platform and, with a lucky throw, cut the rope holding up the platform. The party left the session talking excitedly about how they smashed the giant spider.

Moving Landscapes

For the following two quests I am working on in my Siege of Amberfall campaign, I plan to test out the idea of moving landscapes during combat. For the first quest, players are tasked with rescuing a group of Dwarfs trapped below ground by the Black Dragon’s army. The party will take a minecart ride down to the Dwarfs; however, a group of raiders riding in carts will attempt to take down the party. The party will have to fight off or outrace the raiders. Players can pump a lever to speed up their minecart or focus on fighting the raiders. Until the tracks split, everyone would have to change their fight styles from shooting arrows at rang to close-up melee fighting.

Thank You!

Hey, thank you for reading this week’s post! What have you tried to spice up your encounters? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thank you again for your time and for reading this post!

Have a fantastic day!

Sincerely,

-Bryce Ward