Encounters

Initiative

Rolling initiative as GM involves rolling 1d20 and adding the Level of the enemy the party is encountering. To diversify combat, you may separate enemies into three categories: Minions, Leaders, and Specialists. Each of these enemies may roll separate initiatives, however to avoid the party getting swarmed by every enemy taking their Turn together, it is smoothest to have some enemies hold their Actions until after some party members have taken their Turns.

Balanced Encounters

Enemy stats are super simple in Arcane Dominion. As the GM, simply use the party's level as your roll modifiers!

Enemy HP pools are [10 x the party Level] (minimum 10), and their defenses are all [10 + that number]!

You can then think if your enemy is particularly good or bad at what they are rolling, and apply a +/- 5 on top of their Level to your roll. You can make an enemy even more challenging by adding +10 rather than +5 for some devastating numbers.

If you are going to have an enemy fight the party solo, then use 100x the party's level for its HP so that the fight doesn't end in a couple Turns.

Ending a Fight

Not every encounter must end when the last enemy is defeated; it is best ensure each player has a chance to take their Turn. If an encounter would end before every player has had their Turn in a Round, you may implement a "Rout". Routs are when the party has overwhelming force and can finish an encounter by having each remaining player who has not yet had their Turn perform an attack roll and you as GM can describe the encounter ending in a flurry of blows defeating the remaining enemies in a montage. Alternatively, if every party member has taken their Turn and left onle a meager enemy presense, have the remaining enemies retreat.

Enemy Types

Enemy Minions

These grunts should be ready to fall in one hit, so don't be afraid to add lots of them. Either set their HP to 1, or have their stats as the minimum values based on the party's Level. While it is easy to take them out, don't underestimate the strength of a horde!

Enemy Leader

The enemy may have one or more leader character, and taking them out might end a fight early with the remaining minions losing confidence and running away. Be sure to give these enemies some tactics and defensive maneuvers, they should not fall down easy!

Since Leaders will often go first in Initiative, you can have them Command their Minions.

Enemy Specialist

These enemies should have some of their stats maxed out for the party's tier of gameplay. For Adventurers leveled 0-5, that would be ~10. For levels 6-10, ~15. Continue adding +5 for every set of 5 levels beyond level 10. These enemies can therefore pose a real threat, they should hit hard or be hard to hit!

Enemy Stats

All entities, like enemy and ally NPCs, have one core modifier to add to all rolls. This is typically the entity’s Level which is detailed as its “Primary Stat”. An entity’s Level may vary depending on the Level of the party, and is modified to suit how challenging the encounter should be for players. All stats can then have a modifier which indiates which stats an entity may be better at than what is typical. GMs may adjust any stats dynamically to respond to player interaction, such as making a Leader have maximum stats in their offence, but terrible Magic Defense. Note that an entity's modifier for their Defenses will also reflect their Passive Traits, which can be used in place for any Skill.

Marching Orders

When the party is between Combat Encounters, it is useful to clarify what the party's Marching Orders are. This is a term that can be used to represent three key pieces of information:

Order of Characters: choose where characters are in relation to each other. This is best done using miniatures or tokens to represent each character so there is a clear idea in everyone's head about who is closest to who. The Method of Travel may affect the space available for characters to spread themselves out.

Method of Travel: how is the party moving through the world? On foot? By mount? By car/bus? By boat? By Airship? The method of travel may require money to purchase tickets to get aboard, or it may consume fuel for the vehicles to run. Travelling by foot or on animals requires food and rest. How the party travels determines what kinds of activities they can do while travelling, which affects what Training they can reasonably accomplish with that time, and what Skill Checks can modify their movement.

Speed of Travel: How fast the party goes is the most important detail. This is the primary factor in food consumption, fuel consumption, risk of Exhaustion, and Stealth. There are three choices in speed: Lesser Speed (slower than a marching pace, allows time to roll Skill Checks and maintain Stealth at leisure, consumes normal amounts of resources per day or less if rationing), Greater Speed (average marching pace, allowing time for only some Skill Checks, forcing the party to prioritize), and Major Speed (faster than normal, consuming double the normal resources and eschewing Stealth, but quickening the pace of travel.

Terrain

Providing Cover for characters to hide behind can make a battle more dynamic. Adding further details or interactable objects helps players become immersed and creative with their actions. Encourage your players to duck in and out of cover, leap over gaps, push enemies into water!

Environment

Add variables to your encounters every once in a while. Most species in A.D. do not have a way to see in the darkness. High winds may affect projectiles. A heat wave may Exhaust those heavy armor, while exposure to cold or wet conditions can make things Slippery.