From a gameplay perspective there are many objectives for combat in an RPG. To ramp up tension. As a punishment for delaying or making noise in a dangerous dungeon. To allow PCs to use their newly found toys (what wizard doesn't want to cast fireball immediately after first learning it?). An often overlooked one is simply to stall for time as the party heads to a location you haven't entirely fleshed out. Nowadays, I am more likely to be honest with my players and call for a ten-minute break while I prep, but I have used combat in this way in the past. Then every once in a while you need a combat to just let the players whoop on the bad guys so they can feel powerful. In my case these are never planned, but happen anyways and when they do, I just embrace it.
Most of the time though, you want a combat to be engaging, to be tense and push the players. The type of combat that gets players excited. In future posts I will get into specifics, but for now the important lesson is this:
To have exciting RPG combat, go into it with the objective to push the players to change their tactics and try something new.
Bringing this mentality to the combat will lead to more exciting combats. Think about this when thinking of terrain, twists during battle, monster abilities, monster tactics, the monster's goals, and the loot you award PCs with.
Remember that successful strategies in warfare do not stay successful forever, the enemy adapts and what once worked no longer does. Likewise, if the party is using the same strategy over and over, the world will adapt. Force your players to change tactics and they will not get bored.
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