Editing Encounters (section)

== Combat ==
Any combat encounter falls in this category. Many encounters could lead to combat, depending on your players. Combat can also be used to supplement other encounters.

Combat does not always have to be deadly or even challenging. The setting the combat takes place is important to keep into account:
*Barfight
*Street brawl
*Fighting city guards
*Shaking down an NPC
*Duel with an audience

In social settings especially these types of combat should be viewed differently from your typical bandit or goblin fight. City folk tend to think of themselves as civilized after all, even if you know better as DM.

Besides the standard combat encounters iconic to D&D think about spicing it up:
*Add combat to a puzzle room, making the puzzle harder to solve or making it a part of the puzzle itself.
*Create a threat of violence when the PCs deal with NPCs (a bad mouthed PC shitting on the guards might lead to an (attempted) arrest!)
*The drunk orc at the bar is not amused with the bard's raunchy musings and throws hands at him.
*The suspicious fellows asking for exorbitant amounts of toll to pass initiate combat when the players refuse to pay.

=== Tactical Combat ===
One way to spice up combat is by adding elements that require the players to think tactically:
*The goblins are hiding behind walls with slits in them, making them much harder to hit.
*Verticality makes the enemy spellcaster hard to reach, requiring someone to jump a gap, climb a wall, or for the caster to be attacked at range (perhaps while enjoying cover because of the angle!).
*Pillars around the room make for a perfect place to dodge the dragon's breath attack.
*Spike traps around the combat space can be used to push enemies on (or get the players impaled!).
*The dungeon's floor collapses in a specific pattern, making the area smaller every round.

There are many, many elements to add to make players think about combat and it can be as involved as you want: From the tiny, 1 square wide hallways to multi-staged boss rooms with lair actions, floor traps, and cover.