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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
GM Core / Chapter 1: Running the Game / Running Encounters / Running the Encounter

Special Battles and Movement

Source GM Core pg. 29 2.0
More complex battles can require specialized rules.

Mounted Combat

Source GM Core pg. 29 2.0
The logistics of mounted combat take some extra work. If you know one is coming up, make sure the fight takes place in a location with plenty of space to move, since you'll likely be dealing with multiple larger creatures. For a fight in which only one side has mounts, you might want an environment with a few areas too small for mounts, so the side on foot can get a tactical advantage there to offset the other side's greater mobility.

When the PCs are mounted, their enemies should focus most of their attacks on the PCs, not their mounts. It can be frustrating for players if foes target PCs' mounts too frequently, so have the enemies remember who the real threat is! When PCs fight mounted enemies, try to keep the mount's level fairly close to the PCs' level; rather than putting a 13th-level enemy on a 2nd-level war horse, use an 11th-level greater nightmare or something similar. This will fit better thematically and prevent the enemy from being dismounted too easily. If a mount is knocked out, the rider might be able to dismount without trouble if the mount was stationary, but if they were in motion, you should probably have the rider attempt a Reflex save. If they fail, the rider is thrown a short distance and falls prone. Setting a simple expert DC of 20 often works well for such checks.

Mounted combat on a grid is difficult for a running fight with both sides racing at full speed. In these situations, it can be better to forgo the grid, though miniatures can still help for relative positioning and distances for ranged attacks. For such a race, consider using the chase subsystem instead (page 156).

The mount rules are for common cases: humanoids riding quadrupedal animals. However, you might allow someone to ride a beast or other type of creature by making a few adjustments. For an intelligent mount (such as a pegasus or unicorn), use the standard rules for mounted combat, but instead of attempting a check to Command an Animal, the rider uses the same number of actions to ask the creature to do what they want. As the GM, you determine whether the creature does as requested and whether Diplomacy checks or the like are needed. If one of your PCs is Tiny, they might want to ride on another PC's shoulder. In this case, the two PCs should both roll initiative and act together on the lower count, and they gain only two actions at the start of their turns instead of three since the larger PC must spend one action keeping the smaller PC balanced, and the smaller PC must spend one action holding on.

Aerial Combat

Source GM Core pg. 30 2.0
Determining positioning in the air can be tricky, and it's often best to be more relaxed with movement rules, flanking, and so forth than you would be on a flat grid. Note that battles can get more spread out with flight. If any creature is flying, it's important to establish the height of potential obstacles in the area early. This way, no one is surprised to suddenly find out the ceiling is lower than they thought or tall trees create a barrier. Be careful about using aerial combat before PCs have magic that lets them fly. Be especially careful with flying foes who use ranged attacks because PCs might not have many good tools to fight them.

The rules for flight say that a creature might need to attempt an Acrobatics check to Maneuver in Flight to pull off tricky motions. You can generally use the same judgment you would while calling for Acrobatics checks when someone is moving on the ground. Trying to dive through a narrow space or make a sharp turn might require checks, usually with a simple DC.

Falls can be deadly and often happen when fly or a similar spell gets dispelled. This is part of the risk of flying! Flying enemies might keep closer to the ground to avoid this danger, or use magic such as the gentle landing spell to prevent the damage or a jade cat talisman to reduce it.

Aquatic Combat

Source GM Core pg. 30 2.0
Pathfinder's rules are fairly generous for high-action battles underwater. Two significant challenges for non-aquatic creatures are breathing underwater (or holding their breath) and lacking a swim Speed. It's often best to save aquatic adventure until higher levels when PCs can get magical solutions for these problems, but you can instead give out such magic early since it isn't easy to exploit in land-based adventures the way flight magic can be. As with flight, dispelling can be deadly if someone relies on magic to breathe underwater. It's generally best to avoid having enemies who can breathe underwater dispelling the water-breathing magic aiding PCs. Though PCs might be able to use air bubble and quickly cast water breathing again, having this happen repeatedly can be frustrating, and being forced to prepare an extremely high-level water breathing spell to avoid it isn't much fun either. Lacking a swim Speed is easier to deal with, except for characters with poor Athletics, who might need to strategize around their shortcomings. The DC to Swim underwater shouldn't be very high—typically 15, or 13 in calm water.

When someone gets knocked out underwater, they usually float up or sink down. You decide based on their buoyancy; most adventurers carry a heavy enough load to sink.

When one group is in the water and another is outside it, note that the aquatic combat rules for attacks apply when either party is in water. You might decide that a character in the water is concealed against someone outside it due to distortion, and vice versa.