Crafting Memorable Combat Encounters

One thing I always think about when designing combat is 'Do I want this combat to be memorable? And what can I include that will achieve that?'

Let's set the scene, shall we?

So, you have your monsters all set up, you have your boxed text ready to be read to the players. It describes the scene in front of their characters.

"Five bugbears await your approach, readying their morningstars as their eyes blaze in fury welcoming the oncoming onslaught of clashing steel, grunts of pain, and the distinct smell of blood."

A fight to the death is inevitable, but so are most combat scenes in D&D and you want this particular one to stand out and live-on fondly in your player's memories for years to come.

Rather than just making it round by round of hack and slash combat encounter (by which there is nothing wrong with it at all... and sometimes it is the right design choice, but that isn't what we are pondering here), what can we do to save this encounter from simply being lost into the ocean of blended combat memories the characters partake in over the course of a whole campaign?

Here are three things that I regularly go to when I am looking to spice things up a little.

1. Add an environmental trick (or trap) to the combat encounter.

2. Pick one monster/NPC and add a quirk to them.

3. Have monsters/NPCs use the terrain to their advantage during the combat.

Adding just one (or all) of these elements to an otherwise mundane combat encounter can spruce up your combat considerably.

The Bugbears are actually a distraction for the goblins hiding in the dark recesses of the ceiling ready to swing down on vines to surprise attack the characters, escaping with their nimble escape feature.

One of the bugbears carries its tribal chieftain on a harness on its back - the chieftain is a deformed hobgoblin, with wandering crazy googly eyes that keep looking in random directions, so the PCs never know quite who the hobgoblin is looking at or talking to, his name is SKREEEE.

On initiative count 15 the earth shakes, causing all creatures who fail a DC 15 Dex saving throw to fall prone and take 1d4 bludgeoning damage.

Next time you sit down to create a combat encounter, consider adding one of the three points above, your players will love it!

Do you have any other methods that YOU use? Remember, these are methods that work for me, but they may not be a good fit for your kind of game.

What helps you create memorable combat encounters? I would love to hear about them in the comments section below!