Opportunities
I had an interesting discussion with one of my friends the other day. He’s running a Dungeons and Dragons game for us and it’s been a lot of fun so far — but I noticed something and had to ask. Why doesn’t anyone ever provoke opportunity attacks? Not that he house-ruled them away or anything, but enemies just weren’t moving in combat. No matter what. Even when the Storyteller cupped his chin and looked at the battle and said, “Oh, they’re in a bad position.”
To me, that seems like a cue to have the enemies move, then, to get out of that bad position. Sure, they might eat an opportunity attack, but then they’re on the move. Especially if the enemy’s being pounded between a rogue and a paladin, I’m willing to provoke an attack or two rather than hang around and take that beating with no chance of escape.
But even if it’s a risky move because an enemy is low on hit points or something, I will still provoke an opportunity attack when I’m Storytelling. Why? Sometimes I really want the villain to go after the character who’s been hanging back, raining damage on them at range, or because I want the enemy to retreat. And sometimes I provoke an opportunity attack just to give my players an opportunity attack.
To me, the villains exist to be defeated. That’s their job. Player characters get one reaction each round — but if they never get to use it, then that’s just a card in their hand that they’re never able to play. And I want my players to get to use the full range of their characters’ abilities. If I place and maneuver my enemies so perfectly that the PCs never get to take opportunity attacks, or never get the chance to knock them into pits of lava or conveniently placed spikes… Well, then why even have conveniently placed spikes at all?
It doesn’t matter what game system I’m using — I want to give my players a chance for their characters to be awesome. It’s not always D&D opportunity attacks, but a choice whether to try to close off openings for my players to do something — either using their abilities or just being creative with their surroundings — to intentionally give them the chance to do those things.
That’s my style, though, my preferred method of Storytelling. Some people may run their own games more competitively. Enemies fight their hardest, with all of the tactical ability that the Storyteller can muster. If that’s how you run your games and what your players enjoy, then more power to you.
But Storytellers hold all of the power at their table, though, and gets to choose what challenges to set for players and their characters. I could throw a legion of dragons at them, or a fleet of battlecruisers. I control every factor and facet of the game except for the players’ characters. I’m already (correctly) holding back by setting challenges appropriate to the group and not just smiting them with the biggest demon in the monster manual.
If I worry about my enemies being easier to defeat because I subject them to some opportunity attacks, then I can just throw a few extra monsters onto the map, or make them a little bit stronger. If I’m worried about enemies being killed too easily because of all the conveniently placed spikes, then I can fix it the same way — I can make the encounter a little harder, encouraging my players to start knocking villains into the lava.
It seems more fun for both the Storyteller and players to ensure that the characters get to make opportunity attacks and slam their enemies into interesting terrain. If I control my villains too conservatively, I’m not giving my players as many chances to do something awesome. And I always want to encourage my players to be awesome.
