Art of Combat - Enviroments

The combat environment is something that can be easy to overlook as the GM, and if you aren’t intentional about making use of it, the environment might not matter. However, I’d like to make a case for lending your creativity to this aspect of the game with as much effort as you put towards the storyline.

Just imagine this-

 Scenario one: Your party meets the skeletal captain of the cursed pirate ship in the middle of a storm, and he cackles menacingly before threatening to make you all a part of his crew.

What’s your move?

 Scenario two: Sopping wet boards creak noisily beneath the feet of your party members, two of you stumbling with the rocking of the waves. The storm seems to be building quickly, rain pouring down harder and the wind speed picking up.

A flash of lightning races across the sky, revealing the skeletal figure standing steadily before you all. Waves crash angrily against the side of the rotting ship, more and more water being taken on. The cursed captain laughs mockingly, saying that soon your whole party would die and become eternal members of his crew.

Do you try to escape the boat? Or do you try to defeat the captain and claim the treasure before trying to escape?

Which of these two scenarios does a better job of setting the scene for the battle? And does it even matter in a campaign?

Combat in an RPG often defaults to the “stand and swing” format, but being intentional about the environment can change that. It can make for a deeper immersion for the players and more “cinematic” moments. This can also add more of a challenge to the players, encouraging them to be more creative in their thinking during the battle, not just focused on optimal damage output. The environment can impact strategy, hinder some tactics, or even offer more “tools” to the players beyond their raw stats.

Here’s an overview of possible environmental features.

Terrain

•  Difficult terrain, such as and mud, ice, rubble

 Elevation and line of sight

•  Cover, such as trees, barrels, walls

Hazards

•  Collapsing structures, fire, acid pools.

•  Magical anomalies or cursed zones

•  Traps and unstable platforms

Dynamic Elements

•  Weather, such a fog, wind, and rain

•  Shifting platforms, rising water

•  Creatures in the environment such as swarms and wildlife

Social/Scene-Based Features

•  Civilians, hostages, destructible objectives

•  Levers, switches, magical artifacts

But what exactly should you do with these features?

Sure, they sound cool when you’re describing them to the party, but it’s even better if you can make the players actually interact with them. Here are a few suggestions!

Players can push, shove, or trip their opponents over (or into) hazards on the field. Have a plan for the consequences of getting pushed into an acid pit! With the example at the beginning of the post, you can have a plank randomly break under a players foot, causing them to miss their turn at fighting while they struggle to get their foot free. In a cursed land, you could even have the undead enemy be a lot more resistant to a cleric’s holy symbol. Maybe the players will use spells to change the terrain via Grease, Entangle, or Wall of Stone. They could climb the wall rather than just use it as a barrier, and that could give them an advantage (“I’ve got the high ground, Anakin!”). The mud or ice could contribute to a critical fumble or failure. And the classic, traps allow any rouges on the team a perfect opportunity to shine!

Now that we’ve got those synapses warming up and sparking in creativity, let’s move on to a few helpful tips to enrich the combat experience. When planning out the battles, design the environment with at least 2-3 interactive features per map. Too many stacking negatives can be overwhelming, much like spice is good but too spicy makes food inedible. It’s better to have a balance between the complexity and the clarity.

Since you’re going through all the effort to plan in these environmental funsies, don’t forget to actually bring them up as cinematic cues during your narration! Describe those crumbling ledges, crackling fires, etc., with much aplomb. And in this spirit, it’s okay to reward your players for their creative uses of the environment, even if it breaks the rules as written slightly.

Lastly, here are a few system-specific notes regarding environments.

D&D 5e

•  Simpler hazard rules, improv is key.

•  You can leverage skill checks for interactive terrain use.

•  Use optional rules from Dungeon Master's Guide.

Pathfinder 2e

•  Has more granular terrain & hazard mechanics.

•  Environmental traits can be found in Bestiaries/GMG.

•  Terrain as tactical resource (flanking, positioning) is more codified.

I hope that you’ve found these tips and suggestions helpful as you prepare for future sessions. There’s more to the fight than your character sheet.

What about you? Do you have a favorite environmental moment in combat? As a GM, what’s the best environment that you’ve created for your players so far? We’d love to hear from you! Share with us in the comments below, jump in on our

YouTube video, or even on our Discord Channel!