Greetings, 3WD-verse! DM Chris here. As you’ve no doubt picked up from some of our #MinisMonday posts on social media, me and the boys have recently picked up a mean Warhammer 40K habit. Credit to the Wizard Washburn, as Scott has assisted in our introduction to the wonderfully addictive wargame. Although it can get pricey (I think of it a lot like golf for geeks), the combination of modeling, painting and battling with your army is a rush that tugs at the heart-strings of gamers like us who love minis and combat.
But what does that have to do with D&D, and more specifically how does that help us as Dungeon Masters, Chris? That is a legitimate question. I’ve been wrestling with it myself. As with any of my hobbies, I love to talk about it. But that’s not enough. We pride ourselves on providing advice to DMs with problems. There wasn’t an article there, or at least there wasn’t until Me, Tony, Dave and Scott had fought several battles. Then the article idea appeared to me in a Warhammer-influenced daydream.
I think of it a lot like plyometrics. If you want to jump higher, then exercise by jumping. That is a gross oversimplification, but the essential idea remains. Every game session, D&D or not, is exercise for your gaming, and by proxy DMing, skills. We’re always learning and evolving. The beauty of our game is how easily it lends itself to the little tweaks and homebrews we imagine as we play other games. So herein lies the little nuggets that I’ve pulled from my recent Warhammer experiences and added to my bag.
1. Incorporate Epic Battles
This one is fairly obvious. Running an epic campaign, there are times when you want to ratchet it up and expose your players to the horrible onslaught of the BBEG’s forces. DM Tony’s excellent recent article, When DMs Go To War… Again? 3 Wise DMs 4 Best Ways To Run Epic Mass Combat In D&D., covers a group of our time-tested ways to simulate mass combat. They all take the chaos of mass combat and distill it into a set of simple mechanics to allow you to run a large-scale battle without a lot of crunch. But what if your table consists of a bunch of serious nerds, like us?
This one requires some buy-in. The magic is in the work here, as there will be additional rules to learn, but the payoff is you get to scratch two itches and add some needed variety to the long months and years of an epic campaign. The Warriors of Krynn game that pairs with the Shadow of the Dragon Queen adventure is a nice dip of the toe in more advanced wargaming rules, but Warhammer and other large-scale wargames like Kings of War, take that to eleven. If it sounds interesting, talk to your players and see what fits. Nothing says high fantasy quite like an epic clash of armies.
2. Know Your Monsters
I don’t know about you, but I love to comb through the Monster Manual, etc. and find new and interesting monsters for my players to encounter. It’s part of what makes being a DM cool – we have a wealth of creatures at our fingertips to send at the unwitting party members. On top of that, we can homebrew whatever our heart’s desire. But how well do we really know our horde? Are we giving the monsters we select their intended due?
Understanding how each of your army units should be deployed and utilized is one of the cornerstones of wargaming. The same can be said for D&D. You wouldn’t deploy a band of goblins the same way you’d deploy a dragon. Give them the respect that they’re due. Both when you’re designing your encounters and right before the game, take a moment with their stat block and description. Ask yourself what they do, how they do it, and then finally why they do it. Your encounters will be better for it.
3. It’s Where You Fight That Matters
Terrain is a fundamental part of wargaming. Whether it’s a re-production of a historic battlefield or the bleak, cratered surface of a frozen moon, the choice of where to fight based on the surroundings has been a part of wargaming, and war itself, since the beginning. In a D&D campaign, we’re often constrained by the world and story we’re creating when considering the terrain to use in an encounter. But it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to learn there.
Cover. It’s something I don’t use enough of in my encounters. I’m not talking about half-cover and the occasional overturned table, I’m talking about full-cover obstacles that force you and your players to move in order to both see and attack their target(s). Risk vs reward. I love a pile-in, good old-fashioned melee, but with a few walls, for example, you can add a little bit of fun and engage your players mentally.
4. Patience… Just A Little Patience
I’ve spoken in the past on how tactics aren’t my strong suit. I’m certainly not weak, but the keen focus on tactics in Warhammer has forced me to evolve my thinking. As a story-focused DM, it’s liberating to free yourself and focus on the details of the battle. Those synaptic muscles feed both game systems, so like the idea of plyometrics I started with, by playing wargames I develop my tactical skills. And those very same skills are compatible with the ones I use when DMing.
The one big thing I’ve picked up so far tactically is patience. It can be difficult. Winning faster is better, right? If you strip away a lot of the ego from that statement, then you’re focused on the real prize. Winning is better. Now, as a DM, we win when the players at the table are having a fun, engaging time. Challenging battles are a big part of that. You don’t want to kill them, but you want to scare the pants off them. Break up big encounters into a series of smaller ones or build small encounters up by bringing reinforcements late. By being patient and letting the combat breathe, you’ll be able to sustain player interest throughout.
Final Thoughts
I love a good story, but in truth D&D was spawned from a wargame. Wargames are a way for us to strip away all the plot lines and NPCs and focus on that one glorious original purpose. So whether you’re using it to enhance the mass combat in your campaigns or just playing for fun, let wargaming inspire your DM imagination. I’ve outlined the things I’ve learned after playing just a short time, but like we always say – keep learning and evolving. The beauty of 5e is how you can make it want you want, so let your experiences in other games, like Warhammer 40K, grow your DM skills. Grab an idea or a mechanic, or just enjoy yourself. Happy DMs are better DMs.
So, what have you learned from gaming, and wargaming in particular, that helps you at the table? Your experiences might be different from mine and we love to hear what you have to say. Feel free to leave a comment and let us know.
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