Pubblicato il 28/9/2025
Combat in tabletop RPGs should be the moment everyone leans in, not when half the table checks their phones.
Too often, fights become mechanical chores: rounds, turns, damage rolls, and someone going “wait, what initiative are we on?”
Let’s fix that.
Here are 10+1 unwritten rules to make your combats raw, thrilling, cinematic, and horrifying (if you’re into that kind of thing).
Use them. Break them. Hack them into your game.
Combat should cost something. If no one fears loss, no one’s truly engaged. Think broken limbs, corrupted minds, ruined gear, or permanent scars.
You feel your femur snap under the blow. You’re not dodging anything with that leg for a while.
Where is the fight happening? Is it raining oil? Are you on a bridge made of bone? Does the temple collapse mid-battle?
If the scenery doesn’t impact the combat, you’re just playing chess with minis.
The mutant smashes the pipe. Now there’s acid flooding the chamber. Good luck.
They want loot, revenge, survival, honor, to delay you, or to protect something. They don’t always want to die. Sometimes they flee. Sometimes they surrender. Sometimes they lie.
The cultist fights like a zealot… until they see the relic break. Then they run.
The moment you feel combat getting stale, twist it. Add complications. Bring in reinforcements. Start a fire. Trigger a countdown.
If nothing surprising happens after round 3, you’re wasting time.
Don’t say “it’s weak to fire.” Show it flinching from a torch. Let players learn by trying. Use asymmetry.
The construct absorbs lightning, but cracks under thunder damage. Who knew?
Does this fight matter emotionally? Is someone protecting someone? Is this revenge? Is there guilt, fear, pride, regret?
The enemy begs you to stop. They look like someone the rogue used to love.
If a player does something wild, cinematic, rule-bending? Say yes. Find a way to make it work. These moments are gold.
“I shoot the chandelier to fall on the ogre, then ride it down.” Hell yes you do.
The fight isn’t always about killing. Maybe you’re buying time. Maybe you’re destroying a portal. Maybe your ammo’s low and escape is the real goal.
If the goal doesn’t evolve, your players will stop caring.
Combat is part of the story. Drop lore, reveal secrets, trigger betrayals during the fight. Don’t wait for it to end.
Mid-swing, the paladin hears: “You’re fighting for the wrong side.”
Every player should get to do something cool. Not everyone deals damage. Some manipulate terrain. Some shout orders. Some cause chaos.
If one PC is just rolling and missing, that’s not a them problem. It’s a design flaw.
A great fight should leave a mark. A fear. A loss. A weird mutation. A permanent limp. A cursed sword.
You survived. But you’ll never be the same.
Combat doesn’t have to be a numbers game. It can be a stage, a nightmare, a memory. Scare your players. Surprise them. Make them care. And if your system fights you? Hack it until it bleeds.
Make combat unforgettable.
Blog Dawn of Pripyat, dynamic battles, enemy design, fast paced combat, game master advice, GM tricks, horror RPGs, interactive storytelling, post apocalyptic roleplay, RPG combat tips, TTRPG encounters
Lascia un commento