A Tale of Two Smites
Combat scenes are a core part of role-playing games; unsurprising, since RPGs grew out of war gaming. Then the storytelling came into it, combining to form a game totally unlike any other. Board games struggle with the story, video games struggle with the RP — but the games we play have it all.
So now combat scenes are part of a larger story. We’ve talked before about using them to propel the story forward; a combat may tell the story of a heroic triumph or a bitter defeat, may feature saving an NPC who becomes a part of the story, and can change the map itself. A well-run combat scene with stakes and character can be just as much a part of the story as any pure RP scene. The combat tells a story.
And the reverse is also true: sometimes the story tells the combat.
In one of our games, I wanted to throw a water elemental of some kind at Erica. She wore a magic item that gained powers from each elemental type, and after playing with fire powers for a while, I figured it was time to add some water powers and she was on a sea voyage, following the next leg of the plot.
Plenty of the elementals I looked at were neat and had some abilities that would make the combat interesting, and I even picked out a variety of them so I could spice things up. I settled on a marid, though — because of all of them, it was the one that presented the most options for a story. I came up with the Great Mardita, who left his home in the seas beneath the ice sheets in the Plane of Ice when he discovered a way to leave and build a home in the tropical Thunder Sea.
Mardita had left his opulent palace behind, bringing only a few servants, and began stopping ships to collect tribute and servants to build himself a new court. Erica and her companions, of course, volunteered to handle negotiations, hoping to pay out reasonably and be on their way.
But first, they had to get a tour of the underwater palace! It was under construction by aquatic species — slave labor, so you know this guy is a villain. Mardita described his vision for the palace and heartfelt wishes to fill it with not just riches, but with art and culture. Of course, he demanded an exorbitant sum and either half the crew to work as laborers, or their finest artist. He was shocked that surface people didn’t travel at all times with courtiers. So instead, Erica’s character volunteered to try her hand at sculpting a grand statue for Mardita using one of her spells.
The whole thing became a role-playing scene that culminated in a statue of the Great Mardita that looked more like a blobfish than a marid and offended host… And the battle that I almost forgot was my original point. All I had needed was for Erica’s character to fight a water elemental to power up a magical ring, and now it was a whole story with terrible art and affronted bluster.
Exciting battles can advance the story, but exciting stories can also advance a combat scene and give your players really fun and memorable reasons to leap into the fight.
