{"id":2073,"date":"2016-01-15T09:08:13","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T17:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theredactedfiles.com\/?p=2073"},"modified":"2016-01-15T09:08:13","modified_gmt":"2016-01-15T17:08:13","slug":"narrative-combat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theredactedfiles.com\/?p=2073","title":{"rendered":"Narrative Combat"},"content":{"rendered":"

While many if not most modern RPGs tend to favor some other aspects such as investigation, discovery or collaborative narration, the time often comes for the knives to come out. As someone who tends to enjoy these sorts of systems more, but still enjoys a good melee, I thought I\u2019d share some thoughts on combat\u2019s roles and best practices for the more narrative-minded GM.
\n
\nDon\u2019t Overdo It<\/em>
\n-Not every session needs a fight, don\u2019t force one just because it feels like you\u2019re missing out. More importantly, the threat of conflict can sometimes prove more tense than the grimmest firefight, and avoiding it as harrowing a conclusion as a pitched cavalry charge. For your players cast in the role of protectors, their characters can be treated to all sorts of ordeals other than stand up fights: identifying potential threats for instance, or simply being a fish out of water.
\n
\nDon\u2019t Drag it Out<\/em>
\n-I loved techno-thrillers growing up, and what separated a page-turner from a snoozer was the author\u2019s ability to keep the dance between combatants interesting and know how to satisfyingly end things just before that breaking point. When you aren\u2019t in a dungeon crawl killing things to steal their stuff and gain experience points or meticulously modeling the 37th day of the Battle of Stalingrad then, there\u2019\u2019s nothing wrong with a retreat (panicked or planned), a surrender, or even an act of God: where thematically appropriate of course.
\n
\nMake it Feel Real<\/em>
\n-This isn\u2019t so much about accuracy to any sort of reality or fictional continuity, but a basic reminder to keep your players immersed in the story you\u2019re telling. This might be leaning heavily on movie tropes if you have no other background or more reliable common point of reference. Don\u2019t just move miniatures around the tactical grid or tokens on the virtual table, tell your players how the bad guys are walking, talking, using cover, shooting around things. Tell them how well-trained their character thinks the opposition can be, and as always, be ready with the cinematic details.
\n
\nDon\u2019t Be Afraid to Fudge
\n<\/em>-Your job is to tell a story. Don\u2019t let any game element get in the way of that, not even the dice. The one exception to this is your PCs: pay attention to what they\u2019re doing and what they want: don\u2019t get in their way either\u2026
\n
\nMake it Count<\/em>
\n-So you\u2019ve paced the campaign to have one or two pivotal clashes between the good guys and bad, you know just what the bad guys will do and how they\u2019ll do it in a timely way, and you have a few aces up your sleeve; now you can begin to make the PCs care about fighting. Give them something to fight for, something to risk, often best provided by the players themselves. Now set the stakes appropriately high. The rest writes itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While many if not most modern RPGs tend to favor some other aspects such as investigation, discovery or collaborative narration, the time often comes for the knives to come out. As someone who tends to enjoy these sorts of systems more, but still enjoys a good melee, I thought I\u2019d share some thoughts on combat\u2019s… Continue Reading Narrative Combat<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[41],"tags":[15],"class_list":["post-2073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts","tag-aser"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5r9Oo-xr","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3399,"url":"https:\/\/www.theredactedfiles.com\/?p=3399","url_meta":{"origin":2073,"position":0},"title":"Finding a System for Your Next Campaign","author":"Aser Tolentino","date":"June 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Every couple of months around here at TRF, we finish up one of the three or so ongoing campaigns we have running at any given moment. 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