Hey! So, I've got a question for you Fine Folk: how do you usually go about controlling the opposition in combat? So far the two methods I've been using were:
1) "Press X to Hit the Protagonist" - when playing a highly abstract and open ended system, such as Fate, I would just have the opposition make the basic attack over and over again. Lack of more complicated manouvers would be compensated for by slightly increasing the monster's stats.
2) "Just ask" - If playing something more crunchy, I would usually ask about what action makes the most sense. "The Flame Oracle just wolloped the dragon for a quarter of it's hit points, that's the character it's probably going to focus on. [Roll for it] Ok, and since there are other PCs in range and it has it's breath weapon available, it's likely to use that too [Roll for it]". Even in that system I would usually use more abstract rules for things like positioning, using either Fate-like zones, or again, asking questions (" Is the dragon so far away that the Oracle can't see it because of her curse?"). The problem here is that, particularly in case of high level Casters, there can be na abundance of options available, and thus a problem with prioritizing them. Not to mention the temptation to "Ask the right question" when suddenly it's your protagonist's life that's on the line.
How about you people? What's the method you've been using to decide what the mooks/BBEGs do?
I can see in the responses, as I often do, that there is a bit of a line that is defined by how much you want to step into the GM role. The less you want to step into those shoes, the more likely it is that you'll want some sort of procedure to act as an 'AI'. The less you mind stepping into the GM shoes, the less of a problem you'll have assuming what the motivation of the enemies is.
ReplyDeleteThat's the way I see it, anyway.
Alex Yari interesting observation. Also, an interesting take on Solo ruling in general. I am going to have to ponder this.
ReplyDeleteI play them exactly as I would if they were my characters except for Morale, which is either defined in the game I'm playing or simulated with the Oracle. All things being equal, they often choose random targets, which is something I do for my PCs too, since they can't often discuss tactics in the heat of battle, nor can they tell which of the 6 identically dressed mercenaries happens to have an 18 dexterity and is most likely to hit with their crossbow.
ReplyDeleteThe more options an NPC has, the more likely it is I'll roll to see which they choose, but only if there's nothing immediately obvious. The magic-user isn't going to cast Light to maybe blind one opponent when Sleep is still available.
I will admit my party-based games get pretty lethal this way. My games for single PCs tend to involve a lot less combat, and I'd probably just avoid (or re-roll) encounters that could insta-kill them, unless I knew they were going somewhere they really oughtn't to be.