Solo Play Guide for FGU - INDEX

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Solo Combat Strategy Series:

UPDATE: Solo Combat Guide Part II - new comment.

COMBAT STRATEGY (cont.)

Know Thy Plan (NEW)

First and foremost, it is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women, as Conan said. In order to do that, you need to survive first:



* DETERMINE YOUR OBJECTIVE: Your battle plan should not just be limited to battle mastery. If, say, your objective as a Phlegmatic PC is to protect villagers while in combat, it would be unfair to think "ends justify means." You'd do anything to protect them first. But if you're playing Result-Oriented Pragmatist, you would use ANY way to win a battle; these may include methods that are deemed dishonorable by some.

* BASE your battle plan on WHERE you are fighting in. Is it a place you know, or is it your enemy's turf? Is the terrain in your favor? If you can't use environment to your advantage, they will. Use Reconnaissance Tactics for the perimeter and mobs within, before entering battle. And make a habit of assessing places you entered tactically at least once. Covers, ambush & choke points, hazards, light sources, hiding spots, entries & exists, secret doors, etc.

* PREPARE A Hit List: Target Priority from highest to lowest to deal with them individually. Unless you have access to Area of Effect Nukes. A Fighter can also throw fireball: Oil bottle + Alchemist's Fire. The list depends on the composition and individual Challenge Rating of the monsters in it. Also take lethal abilities into account.

1 - Monsters with Disabling Effects mean you're dead. Deal with them in a way that avoids the CC. Know the nature and appliance method of CC for it.

2 - Intelligent enemies are the deadliest. Casters, Clerics. Single them out by positioning yourself well & focusing fire with your action / bonus / reaction. Latter slot may mean they have to attack you first, raise your DEFENSES and bait them to attack you. They usually show themselves AFTER their infantry engaged in melee with you, so, before they secure their Zone of Control, use Cunning to bait the infantry into showing their hands with misdirection methods. (Send animal companion in, trigger noise far away, minor illusion, arson in their bed rooms, etc.)

3 - Enemies with highest damage & everything else comes next.

* Know What you CAN'T do in combat: Based on risk/reward factors, either don't bother with them at all if you don't want to prolong game time. OR put some effort to substitute or compensate them, if you really need them. Latter choice may mean backtrack, so do that in Prep.

* Know What you CAN do in combat: Work your way as a loner in a well-organized and competent way to resolve conflict.

* If you are better at Close Combat, start by chipping away highest priority enemy HP with ranged attacks and by other means before entering melee.
* If you are better at Ranged Combat, start by setting traps and/or disabling enemy's economy after the reconnaissance. Stealth is a must for this style in Solo.
* If you're better at Arcane Warfare, start by Pre-Buffs before the engagement. Then focus on controlling the battlefield (AoE CC infantry first). Use a damage soaker as a meat shield against whoever standing while unleashing your spells on the priority targets from high threat level to lower. If you need to get hit to take advantage of your counter-spell reaction, etc, tell the enemy caster that "his mother smells so bad that his father has a ghast mistress just to feel refreshed!"

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Solo Combat Strategy Series:

# Combat Roles

I didn't add them to comments but the descriptions will be in the module.

## Melee

Any form of combat involving close proximity to and direct physical contact with an opponent, whether unarmed, using weapons or, occasionally, through other methods besides typical strikes, such as maneuvers (i.e: grapple). It is also for certain status effects (i.e: stun) that require physical contact to implement with On Hit effects.

The Mask of Zorro, training scene. 2:45


## Ranged

It involves using bows, crossbows and thrown weapons to damage opponents from a distance while in the safety of a cover or out of reach of the opponents. Status effects that can be applied with this style varies from physical poisons from an arrow to elements such as fire from a bomb.

War of Arrows (S. Korean). No subtitles but no need. Ranged Warfare Scene; 1 vs. 4.
!GRAPHIC VIOLENCE! but excellent tactics (bait, 1 stone 2 birds). 5:45


## Caster (Arcane)

Arcane Combat is relying on magic from the Weave to be used as weapon or protection instead of traditional combat methods. These are typically spells devoted to manipulating energy, converting one substance to another, or calling on the services of other creatures.

D&D Honor Among Thieves- FINAL FIGHT; 1 -very disturbing- Thayan Wizard VS Party of 4 (Bard, Barb, Druid, Wiz). 4:45
How many spells can you identify?

EDIT:Oops. To hide the disturbing undead face-paint of the Thayan Wiz in thumbnail, here's the link version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSyy0ETtoQk

[Tempered7]

Solo Combat Strategy Series:

UPDATE: Solo Combat Guide Part II - new comment.

COMBAT STRATEGY (cont.)

Know The Consequences (NEW)

"No plan survives the first contact with the enemy."
~ Helmuth von Moltke.

Don't just think about your combatants' plan but also consider its CONSEQUENCES. Especially in the context of its execution for present and future time.

* "What might it cost me if I do it?"
* "Can I afford it?"

If you expect certain actions from certain enemies and base your plans according to it, RNG might blow your plans off course. For example, you might ask a question (related to combat) to your oracle and the words it give you might be interpreted in a disadvantageous way for you.

"Killing Your Darlings," (cut the excess even if you're attached to it) is not just a term used in Storytelling or World Building. Sometimes it means abandoning a plan to pursue another way to the same goal. Adaptability while sticking to a goal is the key to success in Solo Combat, because RNG is a harsh mistress.

Solution: Keep your goal in mind and if one way fails, try to find another way to achieve that goal, instead of blindly sticking to a predetermined plan. This might take trial & error if not thought out in Battle Prep, and cost you many dead PCs. Embrace it. One thing is certain that it'll teach you Warfare in a solid way. You may forget battles you won, but you never forget the reason of defeats if you lose something important because of it.

[Tempered7]

Solo Combat Strategy Series:

ADDED TO: Solo Combat Guide Part II - comment #3.

GROUP DYNAMICS # 1

Group Roles

* Tank: Damage Soaker. It is not efficient to play this role with 1 PC in Solo Mode. Unless you want to RP or learn about the role with sidekicks as Damage Dealers.
* Damage Dealer: This is the preferred type in Solo but not without building your PC to cover weaknesses by borrowing from other dynamics or other sources.
* Skill Monkey: Problem Solver in and out of Combat with a range of skills. Typically Bard & Rogue.
* Healer: Also not recommended to go full healer (1 PC) without any type of damage source. Can be compensated by potions, scrolls, henchmen. Unless you want to RP or learn about the role. This is harder to play solo because you'll also need to play 1 Tank + 1 DD but if you really want to be a Healer Specialist, you'd want to learn about those, anyway.
* Magic User: Typically, Glass Cannon (Arcane) but can be temporarily tanky with certain spells. In case of Druids (Divine), can be versatile through Shapeshift (Tank or DD) or use heal and damage spells as a caster. In case of other Divine Casters, they can combine Hand-to-hand Combat with spells to buff, heal or aid themselves & hinder or damage their opponents.
* Face/Social: Typically Bard, otherwise different CHA classes with different styles. Sometimes you need to avoid combat or gain access to certain benefits with a silver tongue (entrance to enemy den, removing a coward enemy from combat tracker).

NOTE: As you can imagine, Solo Play is also a great way to master your role along with synergies of other roles.

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COMBAT STRATEGY (cont. #3)

# Resource Management added to bottom comments in Solo Combat Guide - Part II.

It contains ways for Managing Game/Combat Mechanics in the context of real world Game-Time Management as well as combating problems caused by wrong approach to Solo Mode.

Believe it or not, this is still Part II.

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ADDED:

• Solo Combat Guide - Part III (Soloing in Practice)
• Anthology of Topics
  
  • Theater of Mind in Combat (Art of Imagination. Not necessarily visualizing, though.) Not to bloat Part II, I created another entry for it.
  
  

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ADDED to Oracles:

Took a break from Combat Guide to finish Mythic Game Master Emulator v2 (Paid Module) Review.

It is such a beauty, especially in module form!

I can't help but send Tana Pigeon my best regards for sharing Mythic with us. v1 has shaped my life in a positive way! *sniff* I'm not crying, nostalgia stuck in my eyes. :')

And of course I thank Marmus once again for his hardwork and generosity! I am so grateful to both of you.

[Tempered7]

ADDED to Oracles:

Mythic Game Master Emulator v2 (Paid Module) Review.

Oops, as a strongly rooted tradition, once again I forgot to add Fate Roll pic:

1st second edit: Aaand, the link is corrected.

3-mythic-fate-roll-.jpg

[Tempered7]

ADDED to Strategy Series:

Today's last work is Solo Combat Guide - Part III (Solo Combat in Theory & Practice).

I summarized key points of solo strategy & solo tactics based on my adaptation of respective military versions.
Practice & example battles will be added to comments, later.

Note: I'll shave some parts off of Zone of Control (for part I) tomorrow and add it to the blog instead of making it exclusive to the module.

ALSO EDITED:

COMBAT ROLES (cut content) in Part II:

* Caster: [Divine]: EDIT: Clerics, Paladins, Druids; I categorize Rangers as Ranged and/or Infiltration class. My experience with these classes are limited to none. But I can presume that they can be good tanky frontline combatants or powerful casters/self-healers. So I think if you don't have a solo class in mind, yet, you can safely pick one of these and enjoy being a paramedic for yourself while dishing mid(?) damage from your weapon attacks. According to what I've read so far, Divine warfare revolves around the use of divine magic and abilities granted by deities or devotion to a divine cause. It emphasizes the fusion of martial combat and divi powers to fulfill a sacred mission or fight against supernatural forces. So, their "holy" nature can be a foundation to your PC's combat style: Their sacred texts / divine prophecies can provide crucial info about an enemy as to ways of defeating it, its weaknesses, etc. Unless, you just want to be a tanky fighter/caster as a self-ambulance to cover all your bases.