Seeking fun, dynamic and engaging combat advice

[bigsteveuk]

Hi,

I have a game starting on Monday and was wondering what you guys do to spice up combat e.g letting your players interact with the environment, use called shots for special tricks etc.

Just so the game doesn’t turn into a “I hit you, you hit me” and lets see who falls over first situation

Cheers,

Steve

[kevperrine]

Never allow the game to devolve into that, is my best advice...

Even on a "standard" or obvious rudimentary ACTION of any type (combat or otherwise - such as describing HOW the PC-Hero takes off/flying...) ask the player to describe it....

In some cases make it clear (by giving Hero Points) or for actions/combat Difficulties, give then bonus modifiers for BETTER description.

One thing I always do that BEGINS games.... (and the BEGINNING is the best place to establish the STANDARD for the game) is to ask...

"If this were a movie (like a Michael Bay movie) HOW would you describe the very first INTRODUCTION of your hero?"
meaning...
If this were a movie, and your hero were a hollywood superstar... what's their OPENING "hero shot". Think about the opening of most any summer blockbusters - for example: consider the most recent Indiana Jones movie (like it or hate it) think about Harrison Ford's "intro" shot.... the establishing for like 5 minutes of the audience KNOWING that it's Indy in the back of that Commie trunk.... then his hat falls out, then his shadow (while taking a beating in-shadow and sound), then Indy literally circles his fedora leans over - hand in frame, picks it up, hat masking his face, and then tilts it up and sturdies it on his head. INDIANA JONES!! YEAH!!

Or
Remember the immense anticipation of the new Star Wars movie (Phantom Menace) the first time we got to see R2D2? We were both surprised and uber excited as the little droid wheeled out to repair the ship in combat! It was the biggest roar from the crowd in the whole movie!!


THAT!
Ask them for that!!

Look at EVERY Michael Bay movie.... the audience gets that classic slow motion "hero walk" usually with explosions in the background...

THAT!!
Explain that - THAT is what you're asking for.....

Establish it up front. The description of their hero. The way they run/walk/swing/fly - like Superman (hands stretched out), like Magneto (almost standing straight up), like Silver Surfer, etc...?? How? Describe??

Same said, especially with "first" uses of powers or stunts or team actions or role-play moments yelling battle cries!

Remind them it's a COMIC BOOK. Comics are at least 50% visual medium...

So "turning the page" describe your hero's first "Splash Page"...?!! Make EVERY action feel great for the player... let them soak up the awesome.


NOTE.
This will 110% "slow down" your gaming. I figure I get about 40 minutes out of every hour played for actual forward momentum of the adventure/story, simply BECAUSE I stress the above.
But then again, that's the best part of gaming to me. And, to my enjoyment, that's what ALL of the gamers I play with LOVE about my GMing style.

I allow them to be AWESOME.
And encourage their fellow players to "be allowed" to TELL their pal beside them that "that was an awesome description!!" and not feel weird or self conscious about *hogging* the lime-light for the moment.

If someone says "I punch them" and that's it, in games I run... the Difficulty just increased. It's not fair (to some) but I give fair warning of my expectations. And honestly, after TRYING it even the most old-school "I hit it" player ends up basking in the light of getting to describe how awesome their hero is!!

PS...
This ALSO (surprisingly) translates into the same players "being okay" with helping describe their big FAILURES as well, instead of just grumbling and feeling bad at failing.


Just my take and experience. Give them a reason and stage to describe the awesome. Let them know it's EXPECTED and it's all easy after the pattern is established.
Hope it helps some.
-kev-

[Baelor]

On a mechanical note, letting characters use their skills to aid them IN combat can help them stay out of the boring punch-trading rutt.

- Last night in a 1950s game I run, a ghostly character could have charged the * soldiers ringing the room with relative impunity. Instead the player asked if she could cling to the ceiling and sneak around like an insubstantial version of Batman in Arkham Asylum, reaching down from the roofbeams and pulling soldiers up to their reward.

An Acrobatic character in another game leaps and capers a lot in combat. I let her move half her normal move, make a Difficulty 20 Acrobatics check and give her a +2 Dice bonus against a single attack if she makes it. She loves it and describes Jackie Chan-like maneuvers, running up wall corners or doing salmon leaps, etc.

I also reward characters with hero points for good descriptions, or novel ways of doing things. The better the described action, the more hero points. But the same description doesn't work again, they have to come up with another one if they want hero points.

[Boost]

The neatest trick I've had done on me by someone running their first BASH game was Memory Tampering on us and made us think we were attacking each other instead of the enemies. We didn't know each other well in game so it was plausible. I was the only one unaffected and as a result long after we dispatched the enemies I was left trying to get my teammates to stop attacking one another. It was fun, and awesome, and stretched my imagination on how to stop them without hurting/killing them.