Combat Complications

Combat: Trading attack rolls and toughness saves with the big bad until combat is over. La ti da. How can we make combat more interesting?

- Takes place with breakable objects or volitile chemicals or something where damaging nearby items can cause consequences

 

-The big bad has multiple "forms" and evolves into them with each "defeat"

- Surrounded by innocents who can be attacked or hit by friendly fire

- Takes place on moving platforms (cars/trains etc) and the platform itself can be targeted by the villain to help him escape (such as attacking the car)

- The battle is timed in some way (the villain must be disarmed of his gizmo before the moon crashes into the earth)

- The boss is load-bearing in some way (he maintains the ice fortress or the bubble around the undersea city)

- The boss is possessing/employing innocents in some way that can hurt but shouldn't be hurt back

- The party destroys the mcguffin by destroying the boss (like in Antrax- destruction of the AI would also destroy the information contained within it)

- The boss has diplomatic immunity or some other reason he shouldn't be killed

- The boss often employs mind controlled decoys so it's hard to know if you're killing the right person.

- The boss is shielded by secondary targets so he can damage you without being harmed until the targets are destroyed

-  The boss will explode or carries a bomb or whatever so he will damage people if he is not let go.

- The bad guy doesn't realize he's doing wrong, or is doing it accidentially/passively (he's leaking radiation, his anger is killing people)

-The battlefield/combat arena is littered with traps or obstacles making it difficult to manuver (less of an issue with flying or perception powers)

- A bad guy can only be harmed by "weaker" attacks (like his is not harmed by powers, only by physical punches or guns for example)

- You cannot tell when you are damaging a bad guy, so you assume that you aren't.

- The bad guy's regeneration is powered by absorbing the life of people around him (including resurrection?), so hurting him will actually hurt those around him (including PCs!)

- The bad guy absorbs wounds (reverse of above) so you hurt him by damaging yourself.

- The bad guy must be killed with mcguffins or plot coupons (go find his heart in the egg or whatever)

-The minions are more powerful than the big bad (or more deadly anyway) so represent more of a threat.