Daniel (@dungeondive) tackles his least favourite part of sitting down to a solo RPG: combat that grinds into tedium — miss, miss, hit for one damage, and a stat block with thirty HP still to whittle down. This is a house-rules brainstorm, and an invitation for viewers to share their own fixes.
He runs through several approaches. Maximum tactics — leaning all the way into positioning, cover and elevation — he acknowledges but admits isn’t for him. Scaling HP (a nod to D&D 4E’s one-HP minions and to Scarlet Heroes’ hit-dice-as-hit-points trick) tiers enemies into minions, lieutenants and bosses so fights don’t drag. Strong/weak/miss moves borrowed from Ironsworn and Mörk Borg’s Solitary Defilement — roll two d20s, always apply some damage — keep heroes feeling heroic. A damage chart rolled on a single die (again Scarlet Heroes, plus its ever-hitting “fray die”) guarantees progress each turn.
His own favourite: narrative combat simulation via a dice pool — hero die plus bonus dice versus the enemies’ dice, highest die wins, outcome narrated rather than tracked to zero (and no character death unless that’s the story). He ties it to lessons from his in-progress game, A Land in Peril, and a new interest in Pulp Alley.
Daniel would rather narrate a single decisive clash than tick an enemy down from 30 HP. When solo RPG combat turns tedious for you, do you house-rule it faster — or lean in and make it more tactical?