We all know combat can sometimes be a bit of a slog when done poorly. I’m trying to get better and introduce more tactical nuance (interesting terrain, varied enemies, etc.) but things still tend to devolve into roll, hit, roll, miss, roll, hit, you win!

I know there are a few blog posts around that encourage alternative win conditions (no fights to the death, grab the MacGuffin, etc.) but a lot of that still feels handwavy to me (“Just be creative! It’s easy!”) and more or less still “feels” like the same old combat.

As an example of what I’m thinking, I’ve been playing Warhammer Vermintide. 95% of the game is just mindless fighting. But every so often, they throw in a simple puzzle to keep you on your toes. Everyone has to stand ground on a specific spot while something powers up. We have to find and break open all the eggs in the area. Bring the explosives to the target site without accidentally exploding. Protect one player while they fire the cannon/push the cart/read the map. All while an endless horde chases you. It’s minimal, but is just enough of a shift in priorities that it “feels” exciting.

I’m not sure how well any of these would really translate over into D&D anyway, but perhaps some of you experienced folks have some tried and true examples? It would be especially handy to have a resource to quickly spice up an encounter on the fly using some kind of flowchart or tables. Is there anything like that? I’m hoping for enough variety that every fight can feel a little different beyond just different enemies.