I can't share the example graphic here ( I posted it on the Cauldron: https://discourse.rpgcauldron.com/t/theater-of-the-mind-combat/2635/2) but I think that a point-crawl inspired encounter design can go a long way to supporting more complex combat elements in theatre of the mind. It allows you to define locations, and their interconnections in a mentally manageable way.
I think trying to make OSR combat tactically interesting is a dead end. Cinematics such as chandelier swinging rely on novelty and lose their charm after a a dozen sessions. I can't make better tactical decisions than my lvl 5 fighter, so if you add a tactical layer anyway it needs to be based on mechanics that are only loosely tied to the fiction. In practice that means pausing the RPG game and playing a game of chess to decide combat, and then continuing with the RPG game. This also becomes stale (I like chess but I don't want to pause my RPG for it).
I think the fruitful vein to mine for OSR designers is to make combat faster. Accept that combat won't be as fun as exploration: then make combat faster so that we have more time for exploration.
I also think there's value in making the outcomes of combat more interesting and chaotic: Death, failed morale checks and HP loss aren't the only outcomes that make sense. "The PCs are captured by the orcs" is a classic trope that's impossible to do in most OSR systems without GM fiat, it would be nice to have rules that makes that happen once in while.
Maybe I misunderstood the topic of 'flatness' in a TotM fight, however I provided this solution for my game (which I run with TotM) based on a narrative solution and not a mechanical one. Hope it helps!
If a DM describes terrain I will make use of it in theatre of the mind, especially if it’s 3D space.
Pushing melee opponents off things or down stairs always seemed like an easy way to separate the party from danger (manage the gap) and using doorways, pillars, or even a wall and a pool of flaming oil to create choke points to keep the heavy armoured, high HP characters in melee while the lightly armoured distance characters out of melee was key. A hold person spell can turn some of the opponents into terrain!
Not every DM will respond to that kind of approach, but the ones I’ve played with usually get excited when players engage with the description or the space as a resource.
Minor typo: Dolmenwood, not Dolemwood.
This is really interesting. Thank you for sharing!
I can't share the example graphic here ( I posted it on the Cauldron: https://discourse.rpgcauldron.com/t/theater-of-the-mind-combat/2635/2) but I think that a point-crawl inspired encounter design can go a long way to supporting more complex combat elements in theatre of the mind. It allows you to define locations, and their interconnections in a mentally manageable way.
This is really interesting. Thank you for sharing.
I think trying to make OSR combat tactically interesting is a dead end. Cinematics such as chandelier swinging rely on novelty and lose their charm after a a dozen sessions. I can't make better tactical decisions than my lvl 5 fighter, so if you add a tactical layer anyway it needs to be based on mechanics that are only loosely tied to the fiction. In practice that means pausing the RPG game and playing a game of chess to decide combat, and then continuing with the RPG game. This also becomes stale (I like chess but I don't want to pause my RPG for it).
I think the fruitful vein to mine for OSR designers is to make combat faster. Accept that combat won't be as fun as exploration: then make combat faster so that we have more time for exploration.
I also think there's value in making the outcomes of combat more interesting and chaotic: Death, failed morale checks and HP loss aren't the only outcomes that make sense. "The PCs are captured by the orcs" is a classic trope that's impossible to do in most OSR systems without GM fiat, it would be nice to have rules that makes that happen once in while.
Maybe I misunderstood the topic of 'flatness' in a TotM fight, however I provided this solution for my game (which I run with TotM) based on a narrative solution and not a mechanical one. Hope it helps!
https://viviiix.substack.com/p/how-to-run-a-kup-game-5-active-narration
If a DM describes terrain I will make use of it in theatre of the mind, especially if it’s 3D space.
Pushing melee opponents off things or down stairs always seemed like an easy way to separate the party from danger (manage the gap) and using doorways, pillars, or even a wall and a pool of flaming oil to create choke points to keep the heavy armoured, high HP characters in melee while the lightly armoured distance characters out of melee was key. A hold person spell can turn some of the opponents into terrain!
Not every DM will respond to that kind of approach, but the ones I’ve played with usually get excited when players engage with the description or the space as a resource.