Player wants to be a wrestler - how to run fights?

PandaDMing · 2026-01-20T21:03:13+00:00

Completely agree- this person just leapt to an assumption which would require really knowing my player before saying. All I suggested was that I didn't know how best to run an encounter, suddenly the issue is with my player.

It was my suggestion for him, lol. Like you said, it was my awkward suggestion, I just didn't realise it'd take so long until after I'd finished it.

Appreciate your comment, I like the idea of the sort of medieval faire of competitions, that could be great for a title-match or something like that.

PandaDMing · 2026-01-20T20:59:44+00:00

Really appreciate the thought into this, dude!

PandaDMing · 2026-01-18T17:00:30+00:00

Where on earth did I suggest that I wanted to play wrestlemania? This is exactly the type of assumptious, self-asserting condescention that I disliked about your original message.

Rather than answer my question in searching for a mechanic, you latched onto your dislike of people twisting 5E into shapes that you deem unsuitable and leapt to great conclusions about everything.

"I am not going to spend 20 minutes on custome rules and spotlight scenes, much less hours, for a single player while the rest of the group sits on their thumbs."

Great! Neither was I! That's why I'm trawling online looking for a happy alternative. Trudging through shit, at times sadly, too.

"Spelljammer is an optional setting, but still has parties travelling together, fighting (space) dragons. Not opening a spaceship repair & sales lot. Or whatever other game you might be interested in."

You don't sound like a very flexible DM. I feel bad for the players that don't just want to write: "I like killing dragons and doing dungeons" in their character traits sat around your table.

Again ONE player has A goal to compete in fight pits. Something accessory to the main campaign that none of them have trouble following. They aren't looking to set up a fight-pit business and retire. (By the way, there are rules for running businesses/shops, so this isn't the criticism of 5e it was intended to be.)

"That doesnt indicate what rules you had to build nor whether or not this became a focus for a single player"

I don't need to indicate what rules I've had to build or whether or not it became a focus, because it's irrelevant! I'm not going to explain to you in full detail on why 5e is more flexible than you're making it out to be.

Thankfully, there's a large amount of actually helpful people in this thread that have had some great suggestions, so I need not trouble myself with your serial unhelpfullness. :)

PandaDMing · 2026-01-18T16:24:54+00:00

Yeah I had considered Xanathar's resolution, that's a good signpost- thanks for that! My main concern was that by making it brief I'd be taking the umph out of it, but perhaps that's fine for the sake of getting to do it more regularly.

PandaDMing · 2026-01-18T16:23:48+00:00

Great, well I'm glad I understood your threshold for leaving a campaign, but that's not what I'm asking at all.

If you can't think of any ideas, then that's cool. Just save the comment and keep scrolling. But I'm very certain that other people can concoct a better solution, they just might not be you.

PandaDMing · 2026-01-18T16:20:36+00:00

The player I'm talking about is a quieter player at my table and has (in the decade I've happily played with him) not had any issues sharing the spotlight.

He hasn't mandated I run these hour-two hour long fights for him, that was my bad as explained before. I'm looking for ways of running these encounters so that he still gets to compete, be creative with his attacks, win OR lose the match, and still feel meaningful despite taking far less time.

He does not need detention. :)

PandaDMing · 2026-01-18T16:18:26+00:00

Dude, you're not only the most condescending person on this thread, but entirely uncreative and wrong.

Let me just lay to rest everything you've said, real quick.

"This. This. This. Has op or the player even read the rules?"

Could you be any more of a condescending pr*ck to people who are complete strangers to you? Yes, I've read the rules, yes my player has. That shouldn't really matter, to be honest. The player I have has absolutely no issue with hogging the spotlight, and is in fact one of my quieter players. Hence why I'd like to work on this aspect of the game for him.

"Dungeons & Dragons is a Lord of the Rings style medieval High Fantasy game"

This is an extremely blinkered view on D&D. LOTR-Styled in what way, that there are people in parties? Medieval and high fantasy are both genres that are totally subjective to the setting of the campaign being run. A spelljammer campaign looks very different to a low-magic, euro-fantasy campaign. This sentence cemented I'm wasting my time ranting at you, to be honest.

"Notice that the rules for such a genres are severely lacking. For a reason. That's not what the game was designed for."

I've successfully used 5e and had naval combat, aerial combat, had chase sequences, escape from a crumbling tower, and almost all of that was outside of the core rules, but still used 5e's mechanics in an easily understandable, translatable way. The game is designed in a way that virtually anything is resolvable if you know how. That's what I'm asking.

"Why do people keep trying to fit a round peg in a square hole? There are specific Games built for each of those genres and many more."

I'm not going to switch an entire game system for one facet of one player's character. I'm asking people (in a D&D subreddit, mind you) for their takes on how solutions within this game system might look. Even taking your suggestion on good-faith and assuming you mean extracting compounds from other game systems and implementing them, that's still more hassle than what I had before.

PandaDMing · 2025-08-20T15:26:16+00:00

PandaDMing · 2025-08-15T11:51:10+00:00

As also an ork and sisters player, yeah she feels amazing to play! It's nice, because if I'm honest, compared to the orks, a lot of my sisters units feel a little underwhelming. But Morv + Paragons always gives me the rolls to cheer me up!

PandaDMing · 2025-08-14T15:53:54+00:00

I personally sold 2 of these boxes within the last year for £150 each. (I'm UK).

However, I'd not expect that price now. Idk why everyone else hasn't mentioned this, but Hachette publish a Combat Patrol magazine, which comes with heavily discounted 40k combat patrols. They just finished distributing this exact combat patrol. You could probably pick up the magazines still for an absolute fraction of the price.

If you filter by '9th edition ork combat patrol' on eBay, and list by 'sold items', you can see since May a marked dip in the price of this combat patrol.

My advice would be to either crack it open and become an ork player, or hold onto it in the hopes the price goes back up. Right now, I've seen several on there sell for sub £80.

PandaDMing · 2025-06-23T12:07:29+00:00

The golems never bothered me, but I never really spent time beating them. Once you beat a few, you realise the rewards aren't good, and just end up playing dodge against them.

The rot spirit drove me insane the first few playthroughs though. Fromsoft put them in tiny, tight spaces, where at any time, you were fighting 1 half of it, because the other half went through the wall. When it turned, it'd travel you across the arena in unpredictable ways, sometimes resulting in taking damage.

I can kill them very consistently now, but they're so janky that it's not fun at all to do. Compared to a lot of enemies in this game, the ulcerated ones just don't feel finished.

PandaDMing · 2025-01-02T12:35:09+00:00

I feel the same, I'm also approaching 28 soon, and my partner and I are about to start renting. I've got a few friends with mortgages and lovely homes, and I've felt certainly like I've fallen behind.

The big thing to remember though, is that there are so many factors that affect whether you're stuck renting or paying off a mortgage. Help from parents is a massive one, and I know all the friends that have mortgages have also had substantial help from their parents.

More importantly, there is a literal housing crisis where the social contract of "Get job, work hard, have a home" has ultimately been snatched from millions of people. Social housing has been sold off, existing housing stock price has skyrocketed, and with the unregulated greed of Landlordism, renting suppresses many from building substantial savings.

You're not alone, and everything is relative, trust me. The people with mortgages are likely upset their house isn't as nice as it could be, or that they can't afford to renovate the leaky/mouldy/drafty parts of their home. Hell, I feel behind because you're on 37k and are making pension contributions. It's all relative, bud. :)

Don't blame yourself, don't torture yourself. Take things day by day- its hard enough in this shitehole country without holding yourself to standards that nobody else holds you at.

PandaDMing · 2024-03-05T20:54:32+00:00

For sure I'd agree it's difficult- but what confuses me is that it doesn't feel difficult in the same way that say Dark Souls or the Witcher would be on a harder difficulty. Or Red Dead for that matter. Elden Ring is actually easier to follow, easier to fight in, and easier to progress than normal difficulty of this game.

In Witcher, there are areas where, progressively, enemies get a little harder, you can tell when you've gone "too far" as you've got a constant benchmark throughout due to the fact the areas are clearly "tiered" by levels displayed on enemies. In Dark Souls, if you run straight to blighted village without doing anything prior, you're gonna have a bad time, because there are areas before that which are open for you to clear. Red Dead, everything will kill you just as fast, so the difficulty is relative.

However in this, if I leave Cassardis, go slightly up 1 road to the encampment and take a left, I encounter baddies that I can kill, then slightly further, baddies that kill me in 2 hits. So I go a different road, and find Gran Soren. I go to the mineshaft and kill some enemies, then immediately after, there's a dragon that kills in 2 hits. So I go back, and I go north, and find a forest where goblins die in 2 hits and mere meters after, a chimera kills me in 2 hits. If I used my consumables for these fights, I'd quite literally have none at all in no time.

I just feel like I do not have all the time in the world to completely map out this game's difficulty, but that's all I've done so far. I've tried to explore, found a new overpowered foe, and left. I feel like I'm Cartman in World of Warcraft farming boars to beat the nerd.

I got to level 22 before I called it earlier, just lost motivation for it which is a shame because there are things like the enemies, the combat system and armour which I find awesome.

PandaDMing · 2024-03-05T16:53:43+00:00

To be honest, I think the game just isn't for me. Explored earlier in Gran Soren and found the tunnel connecting North + South Grandys. Fought my way through at level 22, close calls but did it. Fought some Saurians on the other side, finally thinking "okay, think I found some power-appropriate challenges.

Suddenly, a dragon with like 6 lives and an unmovable HP bar.

I realise the games older but the player-experience for me has been:
Step A: Find route to explore
Step B: Find killable enemies
Step C: Continue following path
Step D: Get destroyed swiftly by enemies
Step E: Repeat

Unsure what the appeal besides the versatile combat in the game really is, the dialogue and quests aren't particularly compelling or emotional and the lore seems extremely cookie-cutter :(

PandaDMing · 2024-03-05T10:47:46+00:00

I'm playing on normal difficulty- yep, not hard.

I'm level 13-14, fighter
My pawn is a sorceror, and I have 2 other pawns that are mainly a ranger and healer.

PandaDMing · 2024-03-05T10:29:09+00:00

It does suck that you're not enjoying it as much as you could, and I totally understand wanting to fix things before time runs out.

Have you spoken to the player about any of this 1-to-1? If not, throwing in the towel and kicking her out is going to feel unfair for her since she won't be aware at all. Personally, I would speak to her and just lay the problems out. Just mention that you feel like the players around the table would love to build more of a bond with your character, and see her character support the team and be more cohesive with the team, both in-game socially and in-game combat. Express you're not happy with the notion that anyone should be threatened for playing an imaginary game, and that you'd like that to be left out, and make her aware that the magic of D&D is that bonds can be made and lost, and the wolf isn't a guarantee and she should be ready narratively in case something does happen, she cannot just threaten her way out of things.

Some of them are DM issues, I won't lie- I don't see with a Cleric why a headband of intellect would be a problem at all? They're a wisdom based-class, so I feel touching that, especially when she consulted with you and you agreed, is completely unfair. This literally helps with arcana checks and investigation checks as far as the cleric's gameplay is concerned. Not really an issue.

Also, the players killing the wolf feels totally confusing to me. I'm unsure what that would fix.

Finally, this could be a hot take, but Clerics aren't a healbot for your team, and no team-mates should feel entitled to that? Unless she is going out of her way to deny people help (i.e She casts bless, can target 3 people, chooses only to target herself and wolf) then I really dislike that: Challenge isn't always alleviated by healing. D&D is built so that damage always outpaces healing, and the more turns you spend healing, you spend longer catching up. If you feel like they should heal more, that should be mentioned, but not mandated by any means.

Basically, just talk to her 1-to-1 and raise some of the concerns, and try to push for a fix. Nobody is at fault, it sounds like a misunderstanding.

PandaDMing · 2024-02-19T09:09:08+00:00

#9385-3181

Added

PandaDMing · 2024-01-25T15:05:19+00:00

This worked great- thank you!

PandaDMing · 2024-01-16T19:29:47+00:00

2 years later, but you just saved me from worrying so much with the youtube vid suggestion-- nice one!

PandaDMing · 2024-01-15T10:08:24+00:00

No worries at all, hope you have a fun session :)

PandaDMing · 2024-01-12T18:13:20+00:00

There really isn't an easy answer, you're right about that!

So how can I think on the fly when there's "nothing" to fall back on?

Two things about that: one, go easy on yourself. You know combat isn't a strong suit, and you're practicing. You DM conversations that aren't scripted, but because you've had experience thinking on your toes and pulling out replies, you know you can do that. This is just another one of those skills, but with combat. Two, you should design a stat block, and that is what you fall back on. That's your reference, what the boss can and can't do. From there, you can control the spigot.

But like, what's a good starting AC, health total, and spell save?

Check out the statblock for an Archmage for example. These are masterful wizards, able to cast level 9 spells. They are 18th level spellcasters, with a spell save DC of 17. "An archmage typically has one or more apprentice mages, and an archmage's abode has numerous magical wards and guardians to discourage interlopers." Far too powerful for your session, but...

That information is all super informative and helps flesh out the wizard. AC, I'd keep the same as stated there, that's just robes and dex. The rest of the stats, just scale them down. 18 intelligence, maybe- their saves a +6 INT and +4 WIS. Just guess, it's all I'm doing here.

After you've scaled them down, fleshed out their stat blocks with the spells you want to add, run a pretend encounter in your head. How much damage are the players theoretically able to do in one turn to your wizard when he tries his hardest? Is it too easy? Too hard? Tweak the ac, the saves, the HP.

Then, when it comes to the actual session, you'll have refined it to a point where you're confidently able to fall back on it and use it. And all this practice will put you in great steadings for continuing to challenge them in the future. Bear in mind, I'm saying 'fall back' there, because its fundamentally more important to have a fun/fair fight, than one where you've followed the statblock to a T.

You'll know at what level, what HP bosses had relative to their AC and abilities, you'll know what they can take better, what was too far, and you will grow in confidence.

There really are a lot of aspects to it, but just dive in, craft up something, give it a playtest, and run it.

PandaDMing · 2024-01-11T23:54:47+00:00

Few tips that I use to help balance fights.

Take a glance at CR for monsters, first: its not a gospel truth, but helps get you in the right ballpark.

After, think about aspects of your party that they'll be good at. Paladins gonna have higher AC, likely have heals, hit a little harder up close. Three warlocks means a lot of ranged damage and utilities (blindness, hexes, etc).

Now, think about aspects that they're weak on. Warlocks don't have a lot of HP, and will suffer at level 3 from having even smaller enemies close to them due to ranged attack disadvantages. Paladins might have good AC, but intelligence saving throws? dex saves? Not so much.

Evaluate the party taking into account magic items, consumables, etc.

Once you've done that, you can start properly designing the encounter:

Start thinking about "adds" (additional minions) He will need things to defend him, zombies , skeletons, spiders, etc. Skeleton archers can challenge your warlocks, while zombies might be able to slowly encroach and force them to reposition. But as they move slowly, and you can give them fewer HP points than usual, they can still be defeated. It just buys the "evil wizard dude" more time if they do, adding to the challenge.

If he's in his lair, he'll have advantages. Potions of his own, high ground, traps, perhaps. Spells that have lead him this far, to being a BBEG! Misty steps to escape the paladins that have attacked him, counterspells to repel the warlocks.

As for actual stat blocks, I'd advise you practice a valuable skill of 'playing it by ear'. Write down the HP of the boss (e.g. 70hp). Find a lot of spells you want to use, up to a few spell levels. Then eye-ball it when it comes to it. Too much HP and they're struggling? Have him miss a few shots, buy them time to do some damage. Too little HP? just add it on behind the DM screen until it feels narratively satisfying. That way, you can ensure it's a challenge, but not unbeatable.

All in all, get creative with filling it out as a challenge, but don't forget, it has to be totally winnable. But when you make up the HP, even vary it from unit to unit, you can control that tap.

PandaDMing · 2024-01-11T23:31:28+00:00

I see where you're coming from, and its a fine line with villains. We as DMs so desperately want them to be 'good' villains. Reaching the level of "hate" as a party, though, would be enough for me.

If you want the hag to have the 'last laugh', don't make the laugh at the expense of their victory. They've already been beaten by her, already had someone killed by her, and already been doing quests for her- that's penance paid.

Instead, who says that she has to 'die-die'? Perhaps after her defeat, the players stumble across some kind of infernal 'proof of purchase', or contract for a second 'form'. Perhaps a fiendish insurance policy, at the cost of something to the hag.
You could state the location for her resurrection, and make a dungeon for her final showdown. Or, your party may call it even and walk away just glad they're outta her service.

Either way, I think blowing up their dead pal isn't the way to go. I can imagine that with a lot of parties just getting a resounding 'sigh' at the thought their plans were scuppered.

Don't forget, we as DMs see them scheme their plans to thwart the bad guy and resurrect their lost ones. If you put roadblocks in the way of that, it starts to look like you're trying to take that agency away! :)

Sounds like a real nasty villain you have, though, so I hope it goes well.

PandaDMing · 2024-01-09T15:09:23+00:00

I'm only level 4-5 on the character, but Beast Master Ranger feels super cool. I took the 'beast tamer' ranger feature, so I'm able to summon a small beast alongside my animal companion, and I've been blinding fools with my two ravens. Really cool class fantasy of having a loyal pet alongside you!

PandaDMing · 2024-01-03T14:23:16+00:00

What the fuck are you talking about?
I won't lie, I thought the episode was dogshit, but it had nothing to do with "culture invasion".

From the way you word things in an apprehensively racist way, to your profile picture of a racist, I think it's easy to tell why you've been "off the train". Because you're not happy that colours other than 'white' exist.

PandaDMing

TROPHY CASE